Finally posting about my caribou hunt

[Jake Diebolt]

Well, I initially intended to post about my Quebec caribou hunt right after I got back, but I ended up waiting on a buddy to send me some pics (he hasn't yet). I decided to post now anyway.

We set out for Quebec early in the afternoon in September from Manitoulin Island. Me, my Dad, my uncle and a friend of ours. Even from where we were it was a heck of a long drive - about 23 hours. We only stopped once for a 1 hour nap. The rest of the time we just switched on and off.

It rained the WHOLE DRIVE up. I couldn't believe it. Driving for that long in the rain and the dark is not good for a man!

When we finally got to LG-4, the floatplane base, there were a few people being flown in from the camps at the end of their hunts. There was only one bowhunter there, so I chatted him up to see how he'd done. He seemed disappointed with how things had gone - until he told me he'd actually got a caribou, and gotten to within 10 yards on a few! I don't know why he was complaining.

The verdict seemed to be that most of the camps (the outfitter we were with had access to 7, I think) were devoid of caribou - and that everyone was being flown in to one or two camps that had caribou around. That evening we got a full briefing from the owner of the outfitter (Cargair). He gave us the same story. The caribou migration has apparently been getting later and later every year, and when they do migrate, it's not to where they used to go.

We flew out the next day - as the rain continued unabated. Our hunt was unguided - we would be flown out to a camp with a camp boss who would make sure the camp was in order, and maybe give us some tips on where to go. But as far as finding, shooting and packing out caribou, he was supposed to be hands off.

First camp: no caribou at all, though another group of hunters in the same camp saw some bears and porcupine. The weather was bad - rain and wind, all day, every day we were there. If you're going caribou hunting BRING GOOD RAIN GEAR. if you don't, expect discomfort at best, hypothermia at worst.

We covered a lot of ground glassing for caribou for the next couple of days, over some varying terrain:
 

A lot more bush than I was expecting for sure!

Continued in later posts...

[Teacher_of_the_Arcane]

Caribou hunting is on my bucket list !!  

[Jake Diebolt]

After a couple days in that first camp, we were told we were being flown into a camp where there was at least some caribou - later we discovered that everyone was rotating through this one camp. The main herd was some 60 miles or so to the east of it, and some small groups had moved in to that area. So we packed up our things, threw them on the plane, and away we went...

While the first camp had been in pretty good shape, this one was not. It had been hurriedly opened up for the season, and was not one of our outfitter's regular camps. Our group and the guys we were hunting with were all crammed into one cabin. The guys flying out from that camp were, to a man, in a foul mood, and were downright rude to the camp boss. Once again I didn't get why they were so grumpy - they had been into caribou, after all!

Even with all this, I couldn't shake my optimism. Finally - caribou!

The camp boss called us all in to the kitchen for a little briefing. The camp was on the tip of peninsula jutting out into the lake. He proposed setting up most of the rifle hunters on a ridge on the other side of the lake. Me and my Dad (who was hunting with a muzzle loader) he stationed in a choke point at the narrowest point of the peninsula, an area flanked by two swamps.

Caribou are creatures of habit, and after only a short time they wear out distinct trails. It was basically balsam fir, cedar and rocks. I set up behind a clump of a few trees and waited...

About an hour into my sit I heard some splashing off to the east. There, about 80 yards away, a cow and a calf were crossing the swamp. My first caribou sighting! I hoped they would move towards where my dad had set up, but no such luck.

The next day we set up there again. This time, neither of us saw any caribou, but the guns on the ridge across the lake were shooting steady. I only hoped they would drive some caribou our way...

[coaster500]

[Jake Diebolt]

The next day we set up across the lake, as many of the hunters over there had tagged out (each caribou license allows you to take two caribou, but no party hunting). After crossing the lake we climbed to the top of the ridge. Our friend set up on the lake-side slope of the ridge, while my uncle set up on the other side. I hunkered down in a strip of bush at the top of the ridge, where the camp boss had told me caribou moved through.

I really have to mention something about our new camp boss- he was something else. He found you spots to get set up. He butchered and packed out caribou meat (the man could quarter a caribou in about 8 minutes!). By the end of the trip, he had made it his personal mission to get me a caribou - all this above and beyond what he was supposed to do. He was truly a fantastic guy to have around!

I made a makeshift ground blind to hide out in, and settled down for a wait. No caribou moved through for me - though on either side of me, our friend and my uncle shot a caribou. The caribou my uncle shot left no blood at all, but we found it by following a compass bearing of the direction the bull had run in. Keep that in mind for tracking! The lichen and moss up there do not show blood well, if you get a lot.

No caribou for me that day. I was consoled by the fact that my blind worked exceptionally - at one point another hunter walked within 5 yards of me and didn't see me hunkered down behind the conifers.

Here's an admittedly poor picture of my blind, plus the gear I was carrying - I packed light!

 

[huntsman247]

Hope to tackle that someday......

[Jake Diebolt]

The next day we moved again - and this time our guide was serious. He told us that morning "you will all shoot two caribou today!". I was skeptical - I would be happy with one!

This time the setup was much more open. My dad was setup on a ridge overlooking a river crossing. He was told to wait until the caribou crossed, then shoot one. The idea was that the caribou would then head along the river and towards were I was set up on a trail going south. I was then to hit them as they passed by me.

I was actually set up on a huge boulder with firm instructions - if I heard a shot from my dad's direction, I was to leg it down to a small copse of trees overlooking the trail - if the shot was from the other direction, I was to stay put as my position covered another trail.

Looking North:
 

As you an see, much more open and rocky.

This little guy walked within 15 feet of me - almost gave me a heart attack when I heard him scuffling around behind me. If you can't tell from the poor photo, that there is a porcupine.

 

Well, the first time I heard a shot, I jumped down off the rock and roadie-ran right to where I was supposed to be. I waited, heart thundering, tension on the bowstring...fifteen minutes, nothing.

The second time I heard a shot, I did the same thing, but slipped off the rock and put my leg right into a hole full of water, overflowing into my boots. I legged it over to where I was to go, soggy boot and all.

Still nothing.

[Jake Diebolt]

At this point I decided to walk over to where my Dad was to see what all the shooting was about. He had put down two caribou, each with one shot. The rest of the group that had come through had passed too far downslope for me to see or shoot at. The guide had come up to help my dad with the caribou, and instructed me to set up in some cover near where my dad had shot the two caribou, with about 1.5 hours of shooting time to go.

[Jake Diebolt]

I sat for the rest of the evening - but nothing else moved through that day.

That was supposed to be the last day of the hunt - but our guide wouldn't hear of it. He told us the plane wouldn't be there until 10:30 the next morning - so if we hurried we could get in a last few hours of hunting before we had to hit the plane.

We agreed, and the next morning, while everyone else (tagged out) slept in, me and our friend, who still had one tag left, hopped in a boat and crossed the lake.

Within about an hour of being set up, my buddy nailed a caribou with his rifle while I sat below in some cover with my bow. With time running out, and admittedly a little frustrated, I walked up to help him out with the 'bou.

Just as I reached him, he pointed behind me and said - "look who's back". Apparently a calf had been running around near the river crossing for an hour or so out of my line of sight - and had come within 60 yards or so of us.

The wind was blowing from us to him, and he seemed agitated. Not a good position to be in for a stalk! At this point though, I was willing to take any chance I could. Keeping some trees and cover between me and him, I moved towards him as stealthily as possible.

Unfortunately, as I got to about 40 yards, he lost his nerve and trotted off.

I shrugged and turned around. I figured that was the end of the trip. I went and joined my buddy up on the hill to wait for the guide, my dad and uncle to come and meet us.

[Tsalt]

   

[khall1]

[Jake Diebolt]

As we waited and chatted, one of us happened to look over and said "You gotta be kidding me."

There, again, was that silly calf! Back again at 80 yards! I was gonna leave him be, but my partner said "What've you got to lose?"

This time I was much more meticulous in my stalk. I only moved when I knew he couldn't see me, finally moving up behind a small tamarack tree. Between me and him there was no more cover. I could only wait.

The calf picked his way towards me - obviously nervous, but unwilling to go back into the bush. He was at 45 yards - then 40 yards. The shakes started coming. the range I'd practiced all summer for was 30 yards, and he was getting pretty close to that line...

He moved in, and finally, at about 25 yards, he gave me a broadside. The shakes disappeared - and always before I'd had nearly debilitating buck fever. My thinking was absurdly casual - I remember saying to myself "I guess I'll shoot now." I drew the arrow back to anchor, picked my spot, and released...

It was probably the best shot I'd ever made on game. The arrow flew perfect. It went right where I was looking. I watched the arc of the arrow...

... as the calf turned and trotted away, the arrow passing through the space in the air where his vitals had been.

I turned around, scowling, to see four heads poked over the top of the hill - my hunting partners - I had apparently had an audience for the shot. I made a dismissive gesture - no hit - and went to retrieve my arrow.

My dad came down to join me and we found the arrow. We confirmed what I already knew from watching the shot - it was a clean miss. Looking back I think I maybe shouldn't have taken the shot. WIth the animal so keyed up and at the limits of my range, it was perhaps not the best decision. Still, I learned from the miss, and maybe I've finally got my jitters at least somewhat under control.

I walked back to the group, where the guide apologized to me. "I feel very bad for you. You should have got a caribou." I told him we'd all done our best, and I had gotten a shot on one within bow range - a feat in and of itself. I think, in the end, he was more disappointed than I was!

In fact I can say I wasn't disappointed at all. The hunt was spectacular - varied terrain, good people to hunt with, a new quarry to stalk...all in all, a great experience to have. A lot of the guys who came before us came and went with a bad attitude, and they got out of it what they put in. How could you be surly in such beautiful country? I couldn't help but think that even without a caribou, I'd gotten more out of the trip than most!

[Jake Diebolt]

PS: Some thoughts for those planning a caribou hunt:

1. RAIN GEAR. IS. A MUST.
2. This goes without saying, but be nice to your guides and camp bosses. A lot of the guys in the camps were just plain rude and disrespectful, treating these professionals like they were slaves. Not cool.
3. Be aware of the language barrier. Everyone we worked with spoke english just fine, but on the road up through Quebec you'll run into many people who don't speak English. Be patient and polite!

4. Dehydrated food is a must. Don't bring liquids if you don't have to. We brought a couple small bottles of wine and my uncle brought some craft beers along with him. I've seen people bringing in cases of bottled water - don't bother! It's too much weight and the water up there tastes great!

5. Travel light during the day. I carried everything I needed with me in my Asbell possibles bag (thanks Teresa!). Other guys were carrying full packs with god only knows what in them. It's not as bad of terrain in Elk hunting, but you climb a lot of hills and go through some marshy areas. Pack only what you need!

6. Bring lots of bowstrings! I only needed to change mine once, when my good string got caught on a nail in the cabin. But no string=no bow.
7. Waterproof your broadheads. When it gets that wet, they oxidize faster than I would have thought. I was resharpening them every morning.
8. Good binoculars are definitely a bonus, for when you are hunting open areas - but the area we were in was more taiga than tundra. Be prepared to hunt in bush as well as in open lands.
9. Bring waterproof boots. I just wore baffin green rubber boots with a good liner, and brought spare liners, but if you can afford it, bring two pairs of good waterproof walking boots with ankle support.
10. the hunt we went on was unguided, with 6 guys per group max. Two 6-man groups were in each camp. The cost was about 3000.00 for the outfitters, 150 for the license (Americans pay 300, Canadians outside quebec 150, and Quebec residents 80.00). Other costs came to about 2000.00 in total, with gas, food, tips and other expenses. Divided among 4 guys, that's 500.00 total. In other words, it's possible to do this caribou hunt for a little less than 5000.00 each, even if you're driving from the states. Not a bad deal!
11. Get used to the idea that you may go a long time and see no caribou. If you let that get you down in the first few days you will ruin your trip. Our outfitter was really good about flying us out of unproductive camps, but there's only so much they can do about the caribou not moving.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Ask any questions you want, and I'll tell you what I know or remember.

Sounds like a great experience.

Bisch

[Stumpkiller]

Love to try someday.

Thanks for the story.

Had a porcupine story myself.  I was sitting in a blowdown beside a swamp and couldn't see behind through the tangle and milliflori rose.  I could hear something moving and it was humming - almost songlike.  I'm wondering if a gnome was going to pop out and instead a porcupine waddles out beside me and continues on his way.  Talking to himself all the while in a little sing-song hum.

[Bjorn]

Great story ! Glad you did not wait thanks for the story and pics.      

[rastaman]

Thanks for posting up the pictures and story!

[wooddamon1]

   

[Tsalt]

Thanks for posting the story and pics.  It seems to me that on  average, trad bow hunters have a perspective that allows them to enjoy every aspect of the hunt.... far more than the typical hunter (compound or rifle).  The experience is so much more than a kill.  Thanks for reinforcing that with your story!

[Duker]

Great story and pics with much good advice:::THANKS