My Quest for Caribou

[buffybr]

I shot my first caribou back in 1980 when I went with some friends on a DIY hunt out of King Salmon, AK. We hired a float plane pilot to drop us off on a small lake somewhere west of King Salmon. We each shot a bull, and this was mine that I shot with a 180 grain Nosler Partition from the .30 Gibbs rifle that I built...

It wasn't until almost 20 years later when a friend who I had known in Bozeman had moved to British Columbia and bought an Outfitting business, called me and told me of another outfitter that had a Dall sheep hunt cancelation opening. The hunt was a backpack hunt with Bill Mackenzie of Gana River Outfitters in the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories. After a phone call to Bill, I booked the Dall sheep hunt, and I was also able to buy tags for Mountain caribou, Wolf, and Wolverine. I was very lucky to get this great ram on the first day of my sheep hunt,

and while my guide and I packed our camp and my ram back to the Super Cub pick-up point, we crossed paths with a Wolverine and I filled that tag.

After a night in base camp, the Super Cub flew us to another area for Mountain Caribou. Most of the caribou had moved out of this area, and while we were eating breakfast on the third morning, a bull that I had passed on a couple of days earlier and a couple of miles from our camp, walked by our camp and I decided to take him. He was still in velvet and hadn't started to rub, and my taxidermist was able to preserve the velvet on my mount. I used my .257 Ackley shooting 117 grain Sierra GameKing bullets on this hunt.

Ten years later I learned of an Outfitter out of Inuvik, Northwest Territories that offered a combination fall hunt for Musk ox and Central Canadian Barren Ground Caribou. This hunt sounded much better than the extreme below zero Musk ox hunts that are offered in the late winter and spring. Caribou season was open before Musk ox, and we were allowed two caribou each. The other three hunters in camp and I all got our two caribou before the Musk ox season opened. Each of us got bulls that qualified for the Boone & Crockett record book, as did my Musk ox. This was my best caribou...

And this was my Musk ox and the rifle that I used on this hunt, a 7 mm Rem mag shooting my 160 grain Nosler Accubond handloads...

It was another 18 years before I went to Quebec for my next Caribou hunt...

 

[mdeerjunkie]

That’s great. Congrats!

 

[elkrchr]

Great animals and thanks for sharing!

 

[ashersdad]

Wow!! Those are some great adventures!

 

[Jape]

Very cool. Even more impressive is the stache. To you sir, I tip my hat.

 

[Big Fin]

Likely the most understated guy I know, both here on Hunt Talk and out at our local range. Great stuff, K.

 

[buffybr]

Over the years several of my friends had hunted Caribou in Quebec, and had told me of the great numbers of caribou that they had seen on their hunts. I had long wanted to hunt caribou in Quebec, but it wasn't until 2016 that I heard that Quebec was going to close their caribou hunting, so at the Sportsman's Expo in Denver in January of 2017 I met Louis Tardif of Leaf River Lodge, and I booked a hunt for that fall.

Leaf River had two well equipped fly-in camps with 2-person cabins for the hunters and staff, along with a shower/bathroom/laundry cabin and a cook cabin.

One night we enjoyed a display of Northern Lights...

The camp was built between two lakes and they had boats on each lake. The camp was short one guide, so they put 3 hunters with each of the guides that they had. Crossing one of the lakes the first morning one of the hunters that I was with asked the question of who would get the first shot. The other hunter suggested that we should let the oldest one of us to shoot first. At 71 I was the oldest person in camp, so I agreed.
That first morning we saw small groups of caribou totaling probably 100 animals moving through, but I didn't see a bull that I wanted to shoot. After lunch we were glassing from the top on a hill and spotted a group of 4 or 5 bulls with one that I really liked. After a quarter mile stalk I shot the bull that I liked, and one of the other hunters also shot a bull out of that group.

The rifle that I used on this hunt was again my 7 mm Rem mag shooting my 160 grain Nosler Accubond handloads.

https://imgur.com/UOGUl4Dl

There were 12 hunters in camp, including 2 bow hunters, and all of us got bulls. The camp had a rack by the dock where they put all of the caribou antlers, and when we first arrived I admired the antlers from the bulls that the hunters before us had shot, and I hoped that I could find a bull like some of the ones in the rack.

The antlers on the bull that I shot on this hunt were larger than any of he other caribou that I had shot, so I was pretty sure that this one would meet the minimum requirements for the B&C records, so I didn't want to split the skull and I paid the extra airfare to fly them home with me. I had flown out of Denver, and when I drove from Denver to my home in Montana, the antlers would not fit inside my car so I tied them on top. I got quite a few strange looks and even some thumbs up on my drive home.

A couple of months after I got home, our local Boone & Crockett measurer had a table at our December gun show, so I had him officially measure my Quebec Caribou antlers. Then a week or so later I got a phone call from the B&C Headquarters in Missoula, MT inviting my caribou to the 30th B&C Awards Ceremony in August, 2019 and to be displayed in the B&C wing of the Bass Pro Shop Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield, MO.

Bass Pro Shop offered to ship any of the trophies invited to this ceremony, free of charge to and back from any Bass Pro or Cabela's store. I asked my Taxidermist if he would finish my caribou mount in time for this ceremony, which he did, and I built a cherry wood pedestal for it, along with a shipping crate, and took it to the Billings Cabela's store.

My Sister and Girlfriend went with me to the Awards Ceremony in Springfield where we had a wonderful time, and my Sister, who is not a big fan of hunting, learned of the work that the B&C club does for the benefit of all wildlife, and she came home with a more positive attitude toward hunters and hunting. Us in front of my caribou where it was displayed in the B&C wing of the Wonders of Wildlife Museum.

Yesterday I got a notification of a "Like" that shines@times made on a post I had previously made on the MT Unlimited thread. I didn't remember what I had posted, so I looked at it and saw another comment that EYJONAS! had made on that same thread, asking if he had seen my pictures in a Sheep book. My pictures were not the ones he had seen in a book, and at that time the only pictures of mine that were posted anywhere were the ones that I have posted on this and a couple of other Forums.

However, one of the perks of having an animal invited to a B&C Award Ceremony was that I received a copy of the new B&C 30th Awards Record book and I am now published with several pictures and the story of my hunt.

 

[Big Fin]

Very rare for any hunter to shoot a Top 200 animal in their life, let alone three of them, with two coming on a single hunt.

Those young guys who let you have first shot deserved a tip.

 

[AggieHunter]

I sure hope to make it out and hunt caribou one day even more after seeing those giants

 

[buffybr]

Very rare for any hunter to shoot a Top 200 animal in their life, let alone three of them, with two coming on a single hunt.

Those young guys who let you have first shot deserved a tip.

Thanks Randy. The three of us that hunted together didn't know each other before that hunt. I don't think the guy (Gary) that suggested that the oldest one of us could have the first shot knew who was oldest. We were all over 60. The day after I shot my caribou, I left my rifle in camp and went back out with Gary and our guide. I took pictures and when Gary shot his caribou I helped them cut and pack the meat back to the boat. Gary also shot a great caribou that had double shovels, double bez on one side, and qualified for the B&C record book. I've kept in contact with him since that hunt, and last year he completed the Super Slam of all 29 North American Big Game animals.

Craig Boddington was the MC at that B&C Awards Ceremony. Each of us that received an award had submitted the story of our hunt, and when Craig announced us he told a little of each of our stories. When he announced me mentioned the oldest gets first shot part and said he wished he could have been that boat. I talked to him after the ceremony and he was surprised when he found out that I was 5 years older than him.

 

[Kiwi]

Wow!

 

[Valley1320]

Awesome story!!!!! Wow

 

[1_pointer]

Well done!! Quite a laundry list of accomplishments.

 

[CRAZYCARL]

A couple amazing animals. Very envious of the Quebec-Labrador Caribou.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Amazing story. For what it’s worth the rarest big game animal around King Salmon anymore are the caribou. It appears, casual observation, they are coming back.
Again, amazing story thanks.

 

[duck wrangler]

Great stories and beautiful animals!
Thanks for sharing them

 

[fulldraw]

Great story and great pics . Congrats on some fantastic animals !

 

[undercover]

Congrats especially on the leaf river! I was blessed to do similar East of radison northern Quebec 2005, Semi guided. Never new what they meant when they said they are either there or they are not. Hit the heard head on saw more than 1000 animals in two days. Best meat ever!

 

[elkrchr]

Geez, you definitely saved the best for last! Congratulations!

 

[Blockcaver]

Buffy...some great 'bous and a dandy ox too. You should go on one more hunt to Newfoundland for a Woodland and have your "Grand Slam" of 5 species as recognized by B&C. You have 4 nice now! And I like your methodology of getting the first crack if you are the oldest!