MNHunter
Well-known member
These are the stories we all need right now! Cant wait for the rest
buffybr
Well-known member
My first response to that caribou is WOW!!! Welcome to the Boone & Crockett Record Book!
Beautiful Dall ram also.
I hunted the Mackenzie Mountains back in 1999 with Gana River Outfitters. Beautiful country like you show in your pictures.
Great report, thanks for posting...
Beautiful Dall ram also.
I hunted the Mackenzie Mountains back in 1999 with Gana River Outfitters. Beautiful country like you show in your pictures.
Great report, thanks for posting...
Jape
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2017
- Messages
- 1,734
Awesome stuff @mulecreek. Thanks for keeping our dreams alive!
Last edited:
elkrchr
Well-known member
Can't wait for the finale! That caribou is exceptional and the dall ram is a fine specimen. I'm reading ahead, but my guess is you also hammered a bull moose.
BuzzH
Well-known member
Its not often that I'm envious of a critter someone else shoots...but man, that mountain caribou is just a special animal.
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
What an amazing hunt, and that caribou is going to haunt my dreams.....
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
Moose hunt
I spent the morning kicking around camp. Stan showed up that morning as well. From this camp, Mountain Lake, he picked up a plane and flew into the Yukon to pick up another guide and a camp cook. They base most of their moose only hunts out of this camp. After the S/M/C hunters are done, around the 5th then he brings in the first group of moose only hunters.
Heard a report that Darlys was still hunting a ram but that they had not seen it in a couple of days and were considering moving on to moose. In the early afternoon, we started packing up to head out to spike camp for moose. Same routine as before, pack 5 days’ worth of stuff, except this time 5 days is all you really have. Ryan had hunted this spot last year and felt confident that we would see bulls in the general area and that we would not need to carry camp on our backs and move each day but we still packed like we would be mobile just in case.
Stan took us by helicopter to the drop spot. As I mentioned before this portion of his hunt area does not have as large a sheep population as others. Since Darlys was not seeing much where he was at, Stan wanted to check drainage on the way to see if it contained sheep since he was thinking of moving Darlys. We did spot sheep in that drainage but given the number of sheep we saw we assumed most were lambs and ewes. I did get a quick look at one that appeared to be a larger ram but could not be sure. Stan was encouraged and we moved on to the moose spot.
This spot was beautiful. Stereotypical moose country. A big open valley, with timber pockets and a river in the bottom. On the way in we saw a bull bedded fairly close to where we wanted to camp.
We set up camp in the same spot Ryan used the year prior, gathered some firewood and water and then set out to glass. At our first glassing spot we found 2 bulls and 6 cows. All were miles away so it was hard to say with certainty but both bulls looked like they might fill the bill. I was looking for a 60” bull with good fronts and wide palms. I assume that is what everyone is looking for.
We still had plenty of light so we moved to another glassing spot. This would be closer to where we had seen the bull on the flight in. We found a bull only a few hundred yards from this spot bedded in some scrub. We are fairly certain it is the bull we saw earlier. He looked to be a mid to high 50” bull. Where he was bedded, it made it tough to get a great look at him but from what I saw I was excited. As we watched him, we could he a bull grunting further off. Over about a 30 minute time span, the bull kept getting closer. Eventually he crossed over a small ridge that the first bull was bedded on. Neither bull appeared to be interested in a fight. They watched each other for a while then the grunting bull moved on, further up the valley and above our camp.
Both bulls are in this pic.
The second bull is noticeably bigger than the bedded bull. On this hunt I had more interest in moose than anything and this bull is exactly what I had pictured in my mind. I’m as amped as I get. We glassed some more from this spot and found a couple of the previous spots cows along with another cow. Near as we could tell, in a couple hours we had found 4 bulls and 7 cows. We headed back to camp to make some dinner and get ready for the opener tomorrow morning. From camp we glassed up a few of the moose we had seen earlier, a couple very nice caribou bulls, a lone ram across the valley and 2 grizzlies. This place was like hunting in Yellowstone. Everywhere you looked there was something new to see. The variety of animals along with the emptiness of the country is really something unlike anything I had ever experienced.
The next morning we head up the ridge towards the peak on the left side of the prior picture. This is where the larger bull was headed the evening before. On the way we jump a very nice caribou bull. He runs around us and even follows us for a while. Seemingly unconcerned about our presence. Shortly after, we see a bull moose working his way through the scrub. We think he is the bedded bull from the evening before.
This is the first bull spotted on opening day. You can see a caribou bull standing just above the moose. Our camp is further down the mountain almost in a straight line from the moose to the caribou.
I very badly want to take this bull. He looks good to me. Ryan thinks the grunting bull from yesterday is bigger and that at least one of the other bulls spotted yesterday is as well. I’m really set on taking this bull. Ryan mentions that this is about 1 hour into opening day, I’ve already been fortunate to take two animals and I have hunted a total of about 10 hours. Maybe I should gear down and see what else we can find. This is the best advice I have been given. He is completely right. We leave this bull and move further up the mountain.
A short time later we stop to glass and find a good bull over a mile away. In the spotter he looks good not great. He is wide, but doesn’t appear to have much for fronts and his palms are narrow. Not what I am looking for. We leave this spot after not finding anything else and keep working our way up the mountain, glassing the valley. Within an hour we spot a bull a few hundred yards away and below us working through the scrub and spruce lower down the valley. One look through the glass and we can tell he is the grunting bull from yesterday. There is no shot from our location due to vegetation but a little further down there is a small drop off that should give us better clearance of the scrub. We get to the spot but the bull has seen us and heard us. If I remember correctly, our wind may have been blowing right at him as well. It takes a little adjustment but I am able to get a solid rest off my pack. The bull has stopped at 257 yards and is just watching us. I need him to move a little to clear his chest. After a short wait he does and the first shot hits perfect behind the shoulder but once again a little higher than planned. He runs a few yards and stops. The second shot hits just below the first and the bull’s legs fold under him.
We set about to caping and quartering. As expected this takes a good amount of time. Ryan works on caping while I start skinning and quartering. We have a decent pack ahead of us but we have plenty of time. This is where the helicopter really provides a huge advantage. We don’t need to get the meat all the way back to camp but rather to a spot that Ryan feels the helicopter can safely land. The slope where he fell is not that spot but further down the valley bottom Ryan spies a relatively flat spot. After having the bull processed and meat cooling we check out the spot. He thinks it will work but it needs a lot of brush cleared. Ryan works on this while I start shuttling meat down the slope. We deboned everything but even at that the chunks are huge. It takes several hours just to cover the 400-500 yards with all the meat, but it’s all downhill. Relative to what it could have been it is not too bad. Ryan is very aware of bears and neither of us is allowed to travel without a gun. While we were cutting he would have us trade off watching while the other cut. The past couple of years they had a couple of run in with bears, one that ended horribly for a hunter. That was while he and the guide where cutting up a moose so Ryan is justifiably concerned.
On the last hindquarter, I wanted to see if I could carry it all in one piece. While I was able to get the pack off the ground, it only took a few steps to realize a broken leg was a likely outcome. That quarter ended up as two trips just like the first hind.
That evening we finished up and headed back to camp. Ryan carried the cape and I the antlers. We each took as much meat as we could reasonably carry. This marked the official end of our Mountain House diet. I think the cape is heavier, with the antlers being more awkward.
I spent the morning kicking around camp. Stan showed up that morning as well. From this camp, Mountain Lake, he picked up a plane and flew into the Yukon to pick up another guide and a camp cook. They base most of their moose only hunts out of this camp. After the S/M/C hunters are done, around the 5th then he brings in the first group of moose only hunters.
Heard a report that Darlys was still hunting a ram but that they had not seen it in a couple of days and were considering moving on to moose. In the early afternoon, we started packing up to head out to spike camp for moose. Same routine as before, pack 5 days’ worth of stuff, except this time 5 days is all you really have. Ryan had hunted this spot last year and felt confident that we would see bulls in the general area and that we would not need to carry camp on our backs and move each day but we still packed like we would be mobile just in case.
Stan took us by helicopter to the drop spot. As I mentioned before this portion of his hunt area does not have as large a sheep population as others. Since Darlys was not seeing much where he was at, Stan wanted to check drainage on the way to see if it contained sheep since he was thinking of moving Darlys. We did spot sheep in that drainage but given the number of sheep we saw we assumed most were lambs and ewes. I did get a quick look at one that appeared to be a larger ram but could not be sure. Stan was encouraged and we moved on to the moose spot.
This spot was beautiful. Stereotypical moose country. A big open valley, with timber pockets and a river in the bottom. On the way in we saw a bull bedded fairly close to where we wanted to camp.
We set up camp in the same spot Ryan used the year prior, gathered some firewood and water and then set out to glass. At our first glassing spot we found 2 bulls and 6 cows. All were miles away so it was hard to say with certainty but both bulls looked like they might fill the bill. I was looking for a 60” bull with good fronts and wide palms. I assume that is what everyone is looking for.
We still had plenty of light so we moved to another glassing spot. This would be closer to where we had seen the bull on the flight in. We found a bull only a few hundred yards from this spot bedded in some scrub. We are fairly certain it is the bull we saw earlier. He looked to be a mid to high 50” bull. Where he was bedded, it made it tough to get a great look at him but from what I saw I was excited. As we watched him, we could he a bull grunting further off. Over about a 30 minute time span, the bull kept getting closer. Eventually he crossed over a small ridge that the first bull was bedded on. Neither bull appeared to be interested in a fight. They watched each other for a while then the grunting bull moved on, further up the valley and above our camp.
Both bulls are in this pic.
The second bull is noticeably bigger than the bedded bull. On this hunt I had more interest in moose than anything and this bull is exactly what I had pictured in my mind. I’m as amped as I get. We glassed some more from this spot and found a couple of the previous spots cows along with another cow. Near as we could tell, in a couple hours we had found 4 bulls and 7 cows. We headed back to camp to make some dinner and get ready for the opener tomorrow morning. From camp we glassed up a few of the moose we had seen earlier, a couple very nice caribou bulls, a lone ram across the valley and 2 grizzlies. This place was like hunting in Yellowstone. Everywhere you looked there was something new to see. The variety of animals along with the emptiness of the country is really something unlike anything I had ever experienced.
The next morning we head up the ridge towards the peak on the left side of the prior picture. This is where the larger bull was headed the evening before. On the way we jump a very nice caribou bull. He runs around us and even follows us for a while. Seemingly unconcerned about our presence. Shortly after, we see a bull moose working his way through the scrub. We think he is the bedded bull from the evening before.
This is the first bull spotted on opening day. You can see a caribou bull standing just above the moose. Our camp is further down the mountain almost in a straight line from the moose to the caribou.
I very badly want to take this bull. He looks good to me. Ryan thinks the grunting bull from yesterday is bigger and that at least one of the other bulls spotted yesterday is as well. I’m really set on taking this bull. Ryan mentions that this is about 1 hour into opening day, I’ve already been fortunate to take two animals and I have hunted a total of about 10 hours. Maybe I should gear down and see what else we can find. This is the best advice I have been given. He is completely right. We leave this bull and move further up the mountain.
A short time later we stop to glass and find a good bull over a mile away. In the spotter he looks good not great. He is wide, but doesn’t appear to have much for fronts and his palms are narrow. Not what I am looking for. We leave this spot after not finding anything else and keep working our way up the mountain, glassing the valley. Within an hour we spot a bull a few hundred yards away and below us working through the scrub and spruce lower down the valley. One look through the glass and we can tell he is the grunting bull from yesterday. There is no shot from our location due to vegetation but a little further down there is a small drop off that should give us better clearance of the scrub. We get to the spot but the bull has seen us and heard us. If I remember correctly, our wind may have been blowing right at him as well. It takes a little adjustment but I am able to get a solid rest off my pack. The bull has stopped at 257 yards and is just watching us. I need him to move a little to clear his chest. After a short wait he does and the first shot hits perfect behind the shoulder but once again a little higher than planned. He runs a few yards and stops. The second shot hits just below the first and the bull’s legs fold under him.
We set about to caping and quartering. As expected this takes a good amount of time. Ryan works on caping while I start skinning and quartering. We have a decent pack ahead of us but we have plenty of time. This is where the helicopter really provides a huge advantage. We don’t need to get the meat all the way back to camp but rather to a spot that Ryan feels the helicopter can safely land. The slope where he fell is not that spot but further down the valley bottom Ryan spies a relatively flat spot. After having the bull processed and meat cooling we check out the spot. He thinks it will work but it needs a lot of brush cleared. Ryan works on this while I start shuttling meat down the slope. We deboned everything but even at that the chunks are huge. It takes several hours just to cover the 400-500 yards with all the meat, but it’s all downhill. Relative to what it could have been it is not too bad. Ryan is very aware of bears and neither of us is allowed to travel without a gun. While we were cutting he would have us trade off watching while the other cut. The past couple of years they had a couple of run in with bears, one that ended horribly for a hunter. That was while he and the guide where cutting up a moose so Ryan is justifiably concerned.
On the last hindquarter, I wanted to see if I could carry it all in one piece. While I was able to get the pack off the ground, it only took a few steps to realize a broken leg was a likely outcome. That quarter ended up as two trips just like the first hind.
That evening we finished up and headed back to camp. Ryan carried the cape and I the antlers. We each took as much meat as we could reasonably carry. This marked the official end of our Mountain House diet. I think the cape is heavier, with the antlers being more awkward.
Attachments
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
We spent the next day cleaning up the cape, horns and checking the meat.
I'm 6'2". At this point in the hunt my pants would no longer stay up. Next time bring suspenders.
We would spot multiple bears each day. Some were headed in the direction of the meat cache. Ryan felt that given enough time bears would find it. We hoped that the carcass would be the first thing to draw their attention and that with us going to it a time or two each day they might hold off until we could get picked up. As it turned out Stan would not be able to show up for several days. I did not mind at all. This was beautiful country. The weather was nice and I was having the time of my life.
On the 4th Stan made it in and shuttled me, our gear, antlers and the cape back to the Mountain Lake camp. He then went back to pick up Ryan and the meat. Bears had not touched the meat but what was believed to be a wolverine had gotten into a bag and taken some of it.
Darlys had made it back to camp that afternoon as well. Turns out Stan had moved him to the drainage we spotted the sheep in and after three days of tough work he was able to take a great ram. I neglected to get a picture of it but it was a 10 year old ram that taped out at 38”. After dinner we glassed up three cows and one bull moose about a mile from camp. Since Darlys had not taken a moose yet we thought this might be a great bull to try for. The bull was too far to make a stalk that evening but we would try the next day.
We made a play on this bull the next morning but the combination of too much celebration the prior night, a hell of a walk, a waiting grizzly bear and a flight out the next morning made for an unsuccessful moose hunt.
The next morning the float plan showed up and we headed back to Norman Wells.
Stan does request that most of the meat be left for the locals in Norman Wells. As he put it to me, they allow you to come to their land and hunt their animals; the least you could do is let them have some meat. I found it hard to argue with most of this. I had brought a cooler that I left at the hotel in Norman Wells and was able to bring back decent portions of all three animals. During the hunt we polished off a good deal of the caribou and the sheep. Folks were waiting at the dock in NW’s to take as much as we had. Everyone was very nice and I got the impression that they would make good use of all of it.
I spent the night in Norman Wells. I was finally able to speak with my wife and kids. Two weeks without any communication with her was more than she could deal with again so I now have an InReach of my own. Got meat, capes, horns and antlers taken care of and ready to fly to Edmonton. The next morning we got our sheep horns plugged and we all headed home.
This was without a doubt the most all around enjoyable hunt I have ever been on. The places, animals and people were more than I could have hoped for. I don’t know if I will ever do this hunt again but I know that I will never forget my time there.
Hope you all enjoyed.
I'm 6'2". At this point in the hunt my pants would no longer stay up. Next time bring suspenders.
We would spot multiple bears each day. Some were headed in the direction of the meat cache. Ryan felt that given enough time bears would find it. We hoped that the carcass would be the first thing to draw their attention and that with us going to it a time or two each day they might hold off until we could get picked up. As it turned out Stan would not be able to show up for several days. I did not mind at all. This was beautiful country. The weather was nice and I was having the time of my life.
On the 4th Stan made it in and shuttled me, our gear, antlers and the cape back to the Mountain Lake camp. He then went back to pick up Ryan and the meat. Bears had not touched the meat but what was believed to be a wolverine had gotten into a bag and taken some of it.
Darlys had made it back to camp that afternoon as well. Turns out Stan had moved him to the drainage we spotted the sheep in and after three days of tough work he was able to take a great ram. I neglected to get a picture of it but it was a 10 year old ram that taped out at 38”. After dinner we glassed up three cows and one bull moose about a mile from camp. Since Darlys had not taken a moose yet we thought this might be a great bull to try for. The bull was too far to make a stalk that evening but we would try the next day.
We made a play on this bull the next morning but the combination of too much celebration the prior night, a hell of a walk, a waiting grizzly bear and a flight out the next morning made for an unsuccessful moose hunt.
The next morning the float plan showed up and we headed back to Norman Wells.
Stan does request that most of the meat be left for the locals in Norman Wells. As he put it to me, they allow you to come to their land and hunt their animals; the least you could do is let them have some meat. I found it hard to argue with most of this. I had brought a cooler that I left at the hotel in Norman Wells and was able to bring back decent portions of all three animals. During the hunt we polished off a good deal of the caribou and the sheep. Folks were waiting at the dock in NW’s to take as much as we had. Everyone was very nice and I got the impression that they would make good use of all of it.
I spent the night in Norman Wells. I was finally able to speak with my wife and kids. Two weeks without any communication with her was more than she could deal with again so I now have an InReach of my own. Got meat, capes, horns and antlers taken care of and ready to fly to Edmonton. The next morning we got our sheep horns plugged and we all headed home.
This was without a doubt the most all around enjoyable hunt I have ever been on. The places, animals and people were more than I could have hoped for. I don’t know if I will ever do this hunt again but I know that I will never forget my time there.
Hope you all enjoyed.
D
Deleted member 18333
Guest
Thank you all for the kind words. This write-up was a fun distraction.
WHOCARES
Member
Great story! Thanks. And congrats on all the success!
elkrchr
Well-known member
What a hunt! You sure made the most of that trip. Do you have any photos of the finished taxidermy you could share?
Irrelevant
Well-known member
Great adventure. Thank you for sharing.
Hunting Wife
Well-known member
Great trip! That caribou has me all kinds of jealous. Thanks for giving all of us a much needed distraction 
huntinsonovagun
Active member
What a dream! I would be terrified of the whole guiding experience with that kind of money. I “guided” for one spring turkey season and didn’t want any more of that because of some of the stuff I saw from the outfitter and some of his “guides.”
slatebuilder
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2018
- Messages
- 621
Awesome trip. The desire to visit those landscapes is strong.
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