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Caribou Hunt Exerience
As an avid hunter of big game, I have always wanted to do a caribou hunt on the tundra. The tundra has always seemed to me to be the last frontier of untouched land and a place on earth I've always wanted to see. In August of 2007 I finally got my chance. I booked a caribou hunt with my brother-in-law and nephew for a 7 day unguided hunt in northern Quebec. This is a brief story of my hunt and some tips you may be interested in. First let me state that we did an unguided hunt. An unguided hunt leaves you responsible for the scouting of game, field dressing and transport of your kill , your own food and food preparation, etc. A guided hunt is much less involved as your guide will scout for you, prepare and transport your kill, and most guided camps will also have a cook and the food in camp. We did our hunt with Club Chambeau, a Quebec outfitter. We chose this outfitter for its size, years in business and for the fact that if you didn't have caribou within range of your camp, they would move you to a different camp as caribou are a migrating animal, constantly on the move. This outfitter ended up being a very good choice. It was a 12-13 hour drive to get from my home in Pennsylvania to Montreal where we spent our first night and met our outfitter in the morning. The next morning we met our outfitter and made a 2-3 hour flight with approximately 50 other hunters to a remote village called Schefferville. Here we boarded float planes that held 3 passengers and our gear, to our hunting camp a few hundred miles into the tundra. We arrived at the hunting camp late in the afternoon. We stowed our gear, prepared our tents and got a briefing from our camp manager as what to expect along with some advise. We then had a quick supper and headed to bed for some much need rest. The next morning we arose before dawn and prepared for our fist day of hunting. There were 11 hunters in this particular camp which is about the norm. Everyone met and planned who would hunt where as to avoid getting into each others way. Even with 11 hunters there is no lack of space to hunt as the next nearest camp was probably 30 miles away. Most hunters went in groups of 2 or 3 and took motor boats up to 5 miles away to hunt. The tundra seems to be 50% water so this is the best way to get out away from the base camp. Day 1 in the tundra proved to be fruitless, as no one even saw a caribou. The weather(which was the same every day we were there) was rainy, cold and windy. Very miserable to hunt in. Day 2 and 3 were essentially the same as day 1. Finally at the end of day 4, my nephew and I spotted two bulls crossing a ridge and we were able to both make the first kills of the hunt. We were the only hunters to see caribou that day. Needless to say, the others were getting a bit edgy as they were not even seeing animals. Just as promised though, our outfitter was informed by the camp manager of our problem and they flew in on day five. We were split up and moved to some different camps. For myself, my brother-in-law and nephew this was a great thing. We were moved to a full service camp that had a cook, bathrooms with showers and food! We thought we were in heaven. We had just spent 5 days without baths and hot water. We were living on instant noodles. To top it off we ended up killing 4 more nice bulls, filling our tags for the hunt. What a fantastic experience!! If I were to advise anyone about taking on such an adventure, it would be to set down and really consider what your idea of a remote hunt would be. If you decide to do an unguided hunt, be sure that you are reasonably fit and able to do some strenuous activity. The tundra is a very rough place. It is extremely rocky and wet. Moss seems to cover most everything making it a very difficult terrain to navigate, even with a guide. Caribou are fairly big animals and can take quite a bit of work to get them back to camp. Also if you do an unguided hunt, you are limited to 100 lbs. of gear including your food, rifle and clothing. Needless to say you must pack light and it doesn't take much before you hit the weight limit. Having experienced both types of hunt at one time, I would probably choose the guided hunt, at a full service base camp if I were to do it again. The cost difference is minimal compared to the amount of work you will have to do, and the food was amazing. The ability to bath is another huge benefit as the cold wet days will definitely take a toll on the body. Whatever your choice, this is for sure a once in a lifetime hunt. For the avid hunter looking for a great adventure this hunt is hard to beat. The tundra of Canada is a beautiful, breathtaking place. The silence is deafening and it is the ultimate place to find yourself and contemplate. Time has no meaning here and you quickly loose track of it. I'm glad I did it and look forward to sharing the experience with my young son someday.
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My second bull, taken at camp #2.
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This intel was contributed by Jake
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May, 2012
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