Mountain Caribou

[BuzzH]

Just relaxing in Whitehorse after being in the bush for the past 14 days. Mountain Caribou in Canada has been something I have been dreaming about for about as long as I can remember. I first read about them in an outdoor life magazine at my Grandfather's house what seems like a lifetime ago.

Got the opportunity last fall to realize a life long daydream thanks to a good friend of mine.

So, after getting to Whitehorse I hopped onto a 206 and flew into camp.

Flight in was amazing.

View from the main camp was pretty tough to take.

Had a chance to chat with the hunters flying out the next day as well as talk to the guides in camp. All of them were good guys but one guide/wrangler duo in particular I just seemed to have much more in common with. They talked a lot less about killing and more about the health of the wildlife, age structures, which animals were best to kill, and so on. We also talked about the experience and adventure being the reason to be there, if it all worked out, taking the right animal would be the icing.

At this point I was hoping I would get to hunt with Sam and Stephen. Fortunately for me that is exactly how it shook out.

So, Sam decided we would hunt an area about 14 miles from the main camp at another remote cabin. We loaded our stuff on 3 pack horses and Sam, Stephen and I took off. If you're looking for riding groomed government trails on horseback, this isn't a hunt for you. Its "willow whacking" often times 10 foot willows, on horseback. We climbed maybe 1500 feet in elevation and got above tree line. We saw some caribou on the ride in including a few younger bulls. The amount of country is staggering with relatively low density wildlife numbers. I expected that and was actually a bit surprised we ended up seeing more game than I anticipated.

Some more country.

A few hours before dark we reached the cabin and got settled in. Got the horse's unpacked, hobbled, fetched water, and settled in for the night.

 

[rmyoung1]

 

[BuzzH]

The next 5 days we spent riding 4-8 miles a day to various glassing spots. We were seeing 18-40ish caribou a day, including a few good bulls. The weather was actually a little too nice and the caribou were moving much better in the evening from about 6 pm to 10 pm or so. Typically we rolled into camp about 11 pm.

I had it mind to also take a grizzly if I saw a really good one. We ended up seeing 2 grizzlies, both of which I could have easily killed but they were both very average youngish bears, so I elected to pass them. As the hunt went on the weather started to cool down and more caribou started moving around.

After about the 3rd day of hunting, we sort of got into the rhythm of the hunt. Wake up, find the horse's, drink some coffee, get the horse's saddled, ride to a glassing spot and start looking. I probably asked about a thousand questions of Sam and Stephen regarding caribou, stone sheep, history of the country, vegetation, yada, yada.

I also pride myself as being very good behind a set of binoculars and it was tough for me to admit that Sam was better than I am. He just laughed when I told him that and said it was, "just home field advantage"...I said, "bullshit, I know when I've been bested". No doubt the best eye for game I've been around.

Some more random pics.

Anyone that's hunted with me will know I'm a bit superstitious and IMO/E if you dont have a Kit Kat in your pack, may as well not bother even going. You'll be skunked without a kit Kat. Luckily they had it covered.

 

[Caseknife]

We are patiently waiting, @BuzzH Looks like a dream hunt.

 

[Dave N]

I've been waiting for this after your text! Oh, no KitKat, a Hershey Special Dark is my go to.

 

[BuzzH]

The morning of day 5 we left out of camp and rode to a spot we usually glasses for a couple hours. We saw a few caribou cows and calves and on one of the rare occasions I saw a bull on a skyline about a mile or so away that Sam didn't see first. The bull was no doubt mature with a great frame, but just not everything. Soon Sam said there's a second bull and sure enough a better bull. We looked for maybe 5 minutes and Sam said, "let's go try to kill that one".

We had to cross a major drainage and ride horses up the other side, which luckily had a decent trail up it. We probably gained 1500-2000 vertical over the hour and half before finding a place to tie up the horse's and start the stalk. The last we saw the 2 bulls they were bedded in the edge of a large bowl just below the Ridgeline and a side drainage. We made our move and got to a peak where Sam peeked over and found the 2 bulls up and feeding. We slipped to our left about 50 yards and crawled to the top. There, below us at 330 yards were the 2 bulls feeding. Sam laid his pack down and said he's the one in the front. I crawled up, put a round in the chamber, and got him in the scope. No reason to rush as the wind was right in our face and the bulls hadn't a clue. I dialed .5 mils, put my binocular case under the stock as a rear bag and settled in. I watched as the bull fed along slightly quartering to me. I placed the dot on the point of his on side shoulder and decided when he pulled his off side shoulder forward I was going to shoot. A couple seconds later he took his last step. At the recoil of my 7-08 he dropped on the spot. He moved his head from left to right once and it was over. His traveling companion just continued to feed and never even looked up. Sam, Stephen and I didn't say much at first, just soaked it all in. After we confirmed the bull was down for good, we shook hands and then watched the other bull. Sam and Stephen both rolled a dart as we watched 2 other small herds of caribou, including 2 other good bulls filter into the bowl. After they smoked their darts and the caribou moved off Sam said, "well, should we go take a look?".

We gathered up our packs and strolled on down.

Didn't disappoint, as my bull laid.

Sam and Stephen with the bull.

Finally, me with a better bull than I deserve.

 

[Irrelevant]

Congrats Buzz. Glad you did it while you still can

 

[BuzzH]

The body size on these caribou is pretty amazing...large animals.

View from where I shot from and the caribou laying where he fell.

 

[BuzzH]

Tough to capture it all, but the things I feel most fortunate about are the country and getting the chance to hunt with Sam and Stephen. They both are good men, tough, smart, good hunters, good horsemen, good woodsmen and just damn fine people in general. I'm not often envious but very envious of the country they live and work in.

If I had it to do over again after seeing that country, the wildlife, and opportunities that still exist in the Yukon, I would do whatever it would take to move there. No debate, no question. It's a lot like what the U.S. used to be and will absolutely never be again. I hope they continue to cherish and preserve/conserve what they have and not squander it like the U.S. has.

 

[Caseknife]

Beautiful animal, Buzz, awesome country too, congrats!

 

[Oak]

Congrats on a great trip and a beautiful bull.

 

[D_Walt]

Congrats! Great bull and thanks for sharing. One of the hunts I dream of going on someday.

 

[deer_shooter]

Congratulations Buzz! Great bull and beautiful country

 

[WNC2500]

Congrats @BuzzH
Thanks for sharing the great pics and play by play. Beautiful scenery.

 

[El Jason]

Beautiful country. Beautiful bull. Congratulations!

 

[CPAjeff]

Congrats - gorgeous bull and country. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Hem]

Never thought much about caribou.
Amazing hunt , thanks for sharing the experience. Looks like an all around great hunt.

 

[brownbear932008]

Congrats on a beautiful bull! I'd love to chase those mountain caribou someday. They are huge compared to their tundra brothers.

 

[jabber]

Very Nice. Congrats!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[rogerthat]

Awesome hunt Buzz. Thanks for sharing