Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Caribou rifle

Is a creedmore with 143 bullets big enough 4 caribou at 300,400
or 500 yards, or should I use a bigger gun, what ya think?

I don't know. I never got to hunt them. I always thought I'd love to take a 7mm Magnum after them. That's how my late FIL did it and he killed one at around 500 yards with the Big 7.

Yes, you'll be fine... I'd feel compfy shooting caribou with a 22-250 or any of the 6mm's..

I dunno..if you are taking 143 bullets...that oughta be enough!

Big barren ground caribou bulls are only about the size of average cow elk. They're easy to kill.

I am assuming by 143 bullets, you're referring to an ELDX right?
Your choice is just fine.

My son loves the 25-06 with 80gr TTSX.

What is the bag limit? regardless, 143 ought to be enough.

Never personally hunted them.

My dad did though, frequently in Quebec.

He said he never saw anything like it. If you put a bullet in them,
they just stopped, or lay down. You could walk right up and finish them.

Question is......is he gonna take the rest of the cartridge???

'Course, it would be 150 bullets if they are Noslers and JeffO is opening the box....

A few things to consider:

1. The distance between longitudinal lines shrinks as you head north, so things are significantly closer together than they are further south.
2. Things are so screwed up you can shoot today and kill an animal yesterday or tomorrow.
3. Putting a wrap of blue tape on your rifle barrel enhances accuracy and increases its effective range.
4. With 143 bullets, most rifles could do the job - even a .17HMR.

What distance is the 4th caribou at?

Anie,

I was going to make a funny comment but huntsman beat me to it so I'll give you a straight forward answer.
A 6.5 Creedmoor shooting a 143 grain ELDX will kill them just fine if you do your part and put it in the heart/lung area. I used the same round to drop a small bull elk that had been wounded in the hind leg, 395 yard shot. Caribou are no bigger.
In several trips to Alaska and Quebec I have taken 6 caribou. Their reaction to being hit is to stop in their tracks then start staggering backwards, spin a circle then drop. They aren't real tough.
Don't think about 400 yards or longer. Long range shooting seems to have infected a lot of people's brains. I killed all my caribou from 20 yards to 150 yards, and I have been close enough during a migration to touch them as they walked past me. You can easily get inside 200 yards and should make the effort to do so.
With population levels down across several herds and no season now in Quebec, may I ask where you are hunting?

I've only ever been hunting for them once. 3 of us killed a total of 5 caribou on that trip. 2 with 7Mag/160 Partitions, 3 w/270Win and 140gn TSX. Closest was ~100yds, furthest was 385yds. There wasn't really a lick of difference in how they died between the 7 and the 270. I shot the closest and the furthest with a 270/140TSX combo.

In my vast experience of once , I wouldn't hesitate to use a 243Win, 6 or 6.5 Creed, 250-3000 Savage, or any of about 3 dozen other chamberings for caribou.

Thanks for the info and insults lol woody heading to nunavut, usually take a 300 win mag that redneck made me, can shoot along way off of sand eskers up there.
been playing around with a sauer 100 6.5 this summer have not used it on game yet 1/2 moa rifle for $700 kinda ugly like a tikka but if it shoots what ya do

Is it 4 caribou total or 4 at each given distance?

Well, if it is 4 caribou each, at 4 given distances, that makes a total of 16 caribou. With 143 bullets, divided amonst 16 'bou, anie can average 8.9375 bullets per caribou.


Mathman

If that's the case, I'd leave the .17HMR at home.

I lived in Barrow, Alaska for 4 years and the most popular round for Caribou was 22-250, followed by 243. There were a lot of wounded caribou left behind. Doesn't take much for them to know a snow machine headed their way means trouble. In that country it's tough to judge distances by sight, and the majority didn't have range finders. I tended to use a 30-06 because that's what I had (my small rifle). Caribou can be at long ranges and it's a whole different thing there as far as distances, Caribou season begins July 1, and ends June 30th. This is above the brooks range. That's because they are constantly moving and subsistence hunters need to have a season when the Caribou come through or there is no meat. They can also shoot 5 caribou a day. There is a real urgency when the time comes so people get their meat so there are also a lot of bullets in the air. Understand it's hard to put the sneak on them. Most I've shot in a day is 3, but I have to have a pretty good sense that I'm going to get a good hit when I shoot. Shooting 400-500 yards isn't that difficult if you spend some time shooting, but most people don't. Most people are lucky to hit at 300 yards. Don't worry about the minimum, worry about getting a good shot in. I'd prefer to see people use 25-06 or more and get clean kills.