Day four ended with a few distant spottings, but no more stalks...
Day five (the last day of the hunt) began after a quick throw-down of Mountain House Breakfast Skillet...a quick glass behind camp revealed a couple small herds of Caribou as close as 1/2 mile from camp... the Caribou seemed to be separated into larger herds (30-75)composed of cows, calves, and small bulls...the larger bulls were in small groups of 3-7, and not a lot of those groups, when compared to the herds of cows...
I went out after the first herd, and spent the whole morning stalking after them, always getting within 70 yards without much difficulty, but from there it became much more difficult, as the lack of cover made it tough to close in on so many eyes watching from so many perspectives...a couple of times, when I would get near 40 yards, my adrenaline would start to hum, only to spot a cow I hadn't noticed, but she had my number; on speed dial...that's when I began sticking willow branches in my hat...I chuckled a little as I was putting them on my hat, remembering that Fred Bear always stuck a piece of foliage in his hat...I believe his was more Talisman than camouflage...but definitely both...
At one point, I was on a herd that was moving toward the Noatak, and looked like they were going to cross... I had always heard that if you can find a river crossing, your chances of getting a shot improve dramatically...I tried to guess where they were headed, and literally ran a wide circle, paying attention to the wind, to get to a downwind spot before they did...I went around a long boggy swamp, & lost sight of them on my way...I guessed about where they might be coming through (in a stand of willows that stretched along the river for several hundred yards) and headed straight for that spot...when I was closing in on the place I thought they might be, I was startled to see several Caribou just to my right, coming through the willows right at me...they saw me at the same time I saw them, and there were Caribou parts flying everywhere as they all turned inside-out to head back to the Tundra, and get them some gone...one part of the herd just stopped, and milled around, wondering what the big deal was...I just watched to see what would happen next, and a few cows committed toward the river, and the rest began to follow....I ducked into the willows and made my way toward them as fast as I could, without making a bunch of noise...as I came around, I spotted a line of Caribou moving my way, right to left...as I moved into position for a shot, they were filing by me at 25 yards...I picked out the first good shot, and sent a Kaiser Kustom Doug Fir Surewood to the rescue...the Caribou was quartering away, and as the arrow hit right behind the left shoulder, it must have hit a rib square, because the arrow was showing quite a bit as it flailed up and down as the animal was fleeing...seeing that it was a good hit, immediately got excited (even more excited), until I saw it following the others toward the river...
At this point I ran as fast as I could, in an effort to cut off it's path to the river, knowing that if it made it to the river & crossed, I would have no way to retrieve it...I succeeded in getting close enough to spook some of the other animals in front, which made them head farther downriver...this change in direction sent the wounded one up onto the bank of the river, stumbling as if it would collapse...I slowed down and stumbled a little myself, as I got another arrow from my quiver...at this point, the Caribou got a second wind and dashed toward the river to be with the others...each crimson splash it made as it went out into the current was highlighted by the sun behind it, and with each lunge my heart sank a little more as I realized that I had just lethally wounded a magnificent creature, that I would not be able to recover...the feelings of disappointment I felt were only magnified as I backtracked the bloodtrail as I slowly walked back in disbelief...there was alot of blood...lung blood...I suspected that due to the low penetration I witnessed, the arrow must have only gotten through one lung... after a couple hours of what-ifs, and druthers, pondering how I could possibly get the quarters back across if I swam the river???...How long would Hypothermia take in that water??? The current was so swift, I just didn't see a way to continue... I found some respite in the fact that I had done everything I could to recover the animal, and also in the fact that it would not be "wasted"...there were enough Wolves and Bears in the area, and I knew it would be found within hours...yet still, it is not a great feeling, by any means...
After a change of underwear, and a refreshing baby-wipe "shower," I came to the conclusion that there was nothing more I could do, except go out and give it my best shot for the last couple of hours left...
Topic: 2014 Alaskan Caribou Bowhunt (Read 1762 times)
