caribou hunt decision

I'm trying to decide whether to go to NWT for caribou this fall. It's on my life list and I have a sense of urgency because of concerns over declining caribou numbers. The Central Bathurst herd is at about 160,000, down from about 450,000 in the mid-80's. NWT outfitters have been asked to request their hunters only fill one tag. They are uncertain about future allocations. Should I go while I have the chance? Is Quebec/Labrador a better bet? Alaska? Any info would be appreciated.

I'm really worried about the Bathurst herd. I did a week long hunt there in 2001 and saw hundreds and hundreds of animals and went to the exact same spot last year at the exact same time and I did not see one Caribou the entire week. Some camps did better than others up there but it is definately not what it used to be. I don't know what's happening up there but it is not good.

Chet

Five years ago I'd have said to go to the NWT without reservation but it's a different hunt up there now and camps that used to go 180% and now going 50% or under. It's still a great hunt up threre and the landscape is spectacular but expect to hunt hard and possibly come home without game. Regardless, it's still highly recommended!

Parklander. I went on a Caribou hunt last fall up in the NWT territories. Sheep is correct it is spectacular. However we hunted as hard as we could and only managed to see one herd of Caribou. It was disappointing in that regard.

As to the future of that herd, when I was in F/W I noticed a graph on the board. It stated that the herd was at the same level it was in the 70's. Then the numbers increased until the mid 90's, then it fell down again. Perhaps we are just on a down swing and the will rebound. Though I would like to chase Caribou again, I probably would do it some place else for the next 5-10 years. Perhaps Alaska is the place to start?

Good luck
Jamie

BTW. feel free to get in touch with me if you want more info.

I also went to the NWT in 2003. Hunting was very hard, but my brother and I managed to tag out on great Bulls. I believe we saw around 3-400 Caribou total and mostly cows. I think TJ, you went 2 weeks after us and saw thousands from the same camp if I recall. I have said it before that if I were to rebook a hunt in the NWT I would book with Peterson's Point Lake Lodge. They are further north and have still been having good success and seem like a top notch outfit. They also take Canadian money at par.

Does anyone know if there are any outfitters in Quebec that book hunts at par? I have also been thinking of heading on another hunt.

both me and and ms varmitr would love to go, but it seems the value of a the hunts grows faster than the account to do it. about $15K now, plus flight/fuel to drive etc
i was researching the blackstone gang.
but have little to input on doing it, other than a burning desire.

I spend a fair amount of time in the NWT and I know the locals all track the herds on the internet. Gov't has collared many animals in each herd with GPS tracking beacons and that information is available to the general public. They simply log on, find the location of the herds, hire a float plane jump on skidoos, or whatever and go hunting.

I have not looked into but my guess is that outfitters have this information as well and know very well where the boo are at any given time. If you have paid to go on a hunt with them but the animals are not in that region at that time, then too bad.

Park....I sent you a pm..

did you consider hunting bc for your caribou cause your chances at a great bull i really good with most outfitters.

Just got my Outdoors Canada. According to it, a proposal , among others, has been made to ban non Natives from hunting barren ground caribou in the N.W.T., to help save declining herds. Better go, while you can.
Grizz

Go to Northern Manitoba.Two caribou per hunter and no export or trophy fees.We went in 2003 and up and back,tags and everything was $5100 cdn.We seen lots of caribou and good ones too.I went with Webbers Lodges and they have had 100% success for nine years staight.Look it up.I have looked into Quebec but you really should do your homework and find a really reputable outfit.I have heard some horror stories from Quebec.There are some good ones there as well though.I would have went there this fall but we ended up buildinga new house so it got put on the back burner.Yukon has some good caribou hunting a well,I managed to get two there as well on the Dempster hiway but as with any caribou hunt,migration time is key

you got that right double, we went up in 2005 on the migration hunt and seen thousands and had a blast, i shot a grizzly on that hunt too, we shot 7 caribou out of 5 of us, one of them was 2 inches from the book.
last year the migration never happened and jim had to cancel about 40 hunters,,its deffintly changeing up norht with the caribou and everyhitng....the inuits on my polar bear hunt said that everyhting is almost two months different than it was 10 years ago, as far as pack ice and feeding and migration and stuff.

just to let you know, i live here in yellowknife, and hunt the caribou every year. it's true the caribou are down from historic levels, but the reason some of the hunting camps aren't seeing them is not because of that. the animals do not migrate exactly the same every year.

i was working on the house of husband wife team of biologists a few months ago, and they said that the animals stayed way east this year. only the outfitters that were able to move their operation came out successful.

two years ago we had thousands of them right out on the ingram trail 60km from town. i went ice fishing last weekend up the ice road 200km, and didn't even see a track anywhere. in the middle of december we flew over thousands of them in a twin otter, but they were way west of historic routes.

once again, it's sure they are down in numbers, but don't be fooled by low success rates for the established camps.


......just my two cents

I was up in the territories last year, and I would highly recommend the trip. If you are concerned about getting an animal, I'd suggest going early in the season, as the summer resident animals will usually be around the lakes in decent numbers, and they will usually be there until the first week in September. Although if you were lucky enough to hit the migration later on, that would be unbeatable.

I was with Arctic Safaris last year and throughout the season, they had a very good success rate for caribou. With the earlier part of the season being close to 100%. Barry runs a very good camp and I would highly recommend it.

All this talk makes me want to go again.

Jamie

I went to the NWT last year for a 5 day Caribou hunt and did great. My husband GRTWHT has posted pictures of my bull before. There were 9 hunters and only one did not come home with a Caribou. According to the outfitter hunting was a bit harder last year because the lack of rain. The hunt that was before ours was very successful as well. It is God's country up there. You will enjoy it if you go. Good luck on your decision.

Hey Guys,
I live in Manitoba, and the Caribou that migrate down from Nunavat here are great. Went up last fall with a buddy and we both tagged out on 2 great bulls each. Timing is deff the key to seeing lots of animals, the camp we went into had 100% success. The cost for out of province hunters at this camp was $4500 US. Everything was good, we saw about 850 animals as we kept track daily. The fishing for Lakers is awesome too as they are coming up to the shallows at that time of year. We hunted out of a boat and cruised the lake shores, set up on high hills and glassed, worked well.
If anyone wants some more info or some pics let me know and I can forward the outfitter info and everything to you. I have another guy that just started up last year, who I would go through as well, they had animals in their area 2 weeks earlier than the area we were in.
Shoot straight!

Me and my bro went with Barry taylor 2 years ago and had a hunt of a lifetime.We did not hit the migration but killed 3 great caribou bulls and a monster wolverine.NWT is a beautiful place that will leave you breathless.You will be hard pressed to find an outfitter anywhere that is as honest and hard working as Barry.

RkyMntGal...I remember seeing the pics of your caribou and congrats as it was a magnificent bull.

Thanks for the info folks. If I go to NWT, it will likely be with Peterson's Point Lake Lodge, 'tho Barry Taylor's operation is likely just as good. Northern Manitoba is tempting also, and I might swing that way with more investigating. I'll pass along any worthwhile info as I go.

My brothers and I went on a self-guided caribou hunt to Quebec and it was fantastic! We went the last week of August and tagged out by the 3rd morning of a week long hunt. We hunted local bulls because the migration wasn't really on the way yet and we only saw 1 cow the entire week, but we could have shot numerous bulls each day. We went with Explo-Slyva, it cost $2200 canadian and we had to make our own way to Caniapiscau (2000km north of Montreal) or for another $1000 they fly you from Montreal. Check out the pics.
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i cant seem to see your pictures it jsut takes me to photobucket then nothing is there, maybe im doing somethign wrong of jsut paste them on a image

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I'll try this again
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I went Caribou hunting with Petersons Point lake outfit in 2005. Out of the 4 of us that went we shot 7 bulls. Me and my partner probably saw 20 bulls a day. Only one or two cows all together. Jim Peterson said the Caribou calved on a Island north of there. I cant remember which one. and that it depended where the cows calved on that island. The main migration goes to the west side of Point Lake if they calve on the west side and the main migration goes east of Point lake if the cows calve in the east. Every year it could be differant. It must all depend on the flies. We saw bulls running for their lives being chased by flies. It was amazing. If the bulls are running from the flies all day then the horn growth is not as big. I talked to Jim after the season and there were very few flies for the last half of the summer and the bulls showed it in horn growth. He also said that they tagged out. Petersons has a web address www.petersonspointlake.com/ in the site they have a news letter but 2006 is not there yet. Also an email address to get ahold of Jim if you have any questions.

Thanks for the thought, guys.

Well, I booked a hunt with Peterson's in NWT. Could've swung towards northern Manitoba or Quebec, but ultimately felt the pull of the Coppermine system. Also, couldn't stand the notion of the opportunity going away without taking it. If the caribou biz gets done in a timely manner, there's wolves, wolverine, ptarmigan and lake trout to contend with. Made the financial commitment, now it's all about anticipation and preparation. Hasn't sunk in yet, but I imagine I'm going to be hard to live with in August.

Parklander. Congrats. I hope you have better Luck with the Caribou than we did. It's funny you picked that place, becouse if I ever did it again that is probably who I would book with.
Did you get a discount becouse you were Canadian? Is this a 2 Bou hunt? When are you going? And if you dont mind, what was your total cost?

You are going to love it up there! As a hint, if your going to be riding in the boats, take a pair of snowmobile Googles. It makes the boat ride much more enjoyable.
Also dont be afraid to take a hard case instead of a soft case. You gun will appraciate the extra care. I used a RINO soft case and my gun still got beat to hell.
Feel free to give me a call and I can Email you my packing list and give you a few more hints to help out. BTW I have a KILLER restaurant in Yellowknife!

Congrats
Jamie

best of luck to you bud, takes lots of pictures for us

Thanks for the info offer Jamie, I'll likely take you up on that. I like the goggles tip. Good thing you didn't say anything about a snorkel or wet suit! For sure I'll be taking a hard case - I'm thinking Pelican.

Peterson's takes Canadian $'s on par with the price quoted in $US, so I guess there's a 14% discount if that's considered. For me, it's a 1 bull hunt. Cost is right around $6K, including round trip travel from Yellowknife to lodge, excluding licences. Air travel between Edmonton and Yellowknife is about $500.

According to everyone I've spoken to that's either been there or dealt with Jim, Peterson's runs a top notch operation, and I'm sure this will be a worthwhile investment in dream fulfillment.

Parklander, what might work also is a Quad case for your gun.
We took a Double hard case for the Plane ride from Calgary. Then switched to the Rino cases. With the quad case you could use it on the plane ride up and in the boat. That expensive double case will just sit in the basement gathering dust. It ticked me off about the gouges on my stock. But every scar tells a story.
Feel free to let me know when you want to talk.

Jamie