Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game I Love Caribou

Moose season opens for me the Saturday after next. So I took the day to do a little scouting. Didn't see too many moose, but got to enjoy watching a herd of about 60 Woodland Caribou grazing on the barrens about 10km from my house. Absolutely massive stags were sprinkled throughout the group. Some even had some velvet!

Sat on a rock, enjoying my lunch, just watching these majestic animals & kicking myself for forgetting the digicam!

While they're purty' to look at, they aren't exactly the rocket scientists of the deer world. Curious by nature, I managed to get a few to trot over to me by waving the white plastic shopping bag I'd packed my lunch in. Got them to walk up to within 20 feet or so. Pretty Cool! This herd, along with about 1000-1500 other animals were the offspring of a pilot project launched about 15-20 years ago to transplant Caribou onto the Bay de Verde peninsula of Newfoundland, from the more central Avalon Herd. From less than 2 dozen animals we now have many small satellite herds of 50-200 Caribou. Great to see some things prospering!

It wasn't that hard to attract the caribou to me. I had an advantage, since these Caribou have never been hunted...at least legally (damn poachers) by humans and had no fear. Wind being in my face also helped I guess. Add in their natural curiosity and you get one experience of a lifetime!

The whole experience really got the old juices flowing for Saturday after next! Hunting, the absolute BEST passion in the world!

Welcome to the Campfire. You will find a bunch of really nice folks here with similar passions. Your close encounter with the caribou does sound exciting. I decided to take a break from big game hunting yesterday. I had been after elk with my bow and then also helped a buddy get a black bear Saturday evening. I took my Vizsla out to see if we could get a Grouse. We succeeded in that endeavor and my wife and I are eating on that tasting treat as I write. In addition to bagging a grouse I got to watch a big 6x6 bull elk with several cows and calves. He was bugling off and on and pestering a couple of the cows. It was a nice relaxing treat to watch and listen to that cycle of life. Take care and good hunting to you, Rufous.

Hi Rufous,

Thanks for the warm welcome! Glad to be here! Our waterfowl season opened last Saturday. Took my two year old Chocolate Lab in for his first full season of duck and geese hunting. Managed to pick up my limit of Black Ducks and Green Wing Teal. Bruiser performed above expectations after just a few hunts last year. Even managed a triple retrieve for me! Hoping to get a little partridge hunting in with him next week. Love the Vizsla! Almost bought one, but our bird populations are at the bottom of their ten year cycle so it didn't make sense right now. Beautiful dogs though!

M19:

Welcome friend.

I hunted caribou last year in Newfoundand, 25 minute chopper flight out of Peter Strides village on the caribou trail. My hunt lasted 30 minutes. I had mine at 9:30 AM Monday morning, first day. By noon 5 of 7 hunters in our camp were back with theirs. By Wednesday 3rd day 7 hunters had 9 caribou. Some took two - some didn't want the second but could have shot a second.

My shot was 204 meters running, with a .338 Winchester magnum.

Those caribou are really comical. I also had them walk up to me more than once. Some kept walking down a trail into camp. The hunters watched them out the cabin window on tuesday, it was raining, just went out with a rifle and shot one 500 yards from the cabin.

BTW my guide last year told me a yellow flag really gets the caribous attention.

Our cook made a typical "newfie" meal baked caribou ribs, potatoes and dumplings - everyone enjoyed the meal.

I'll be on the road in one week, September 27th, driving to Newfoundland for a moose hunt way up North. I'll visit the Viking village L'Anse Aux Meadows. I booked a bed & breakfast up there with a terrific ocean view, and I'll be having a meal at the Norse restaurant, caribou steaks and lobster. Then I'll swing back down and hook up with my outfitter. We have a two hour drive, from his town, then a 38 kilometer ride in an ATV track machine, through bogs and wilderness, then a boat ride across a lake to the cabin. Only 3 hunters in camp. It's a limited *( lightly hunted ) hunt area for trophy moose. The outfitter controls the hunting to ensure big animals.

Bill Tibbe

M19
Newfies are some of the best people I've met in my travels.
And the country and hunting are tops.

BUT....The caribou taste like cat pee.The moose are tasty but
those bou in the rut just ain't fit to eat.

Been thinking I should get back again,and your post and Bill's
reminded me how good it is.

Good to have you here!

Jeff

Jeff:

I'll second that. Newfies are just GREAT people. Friendly, worthy, accommodating, unbelievably strong, agile and resilient.

The Caribou undergo a physiological change when in the rut. The blood becomes thick and it smells. If you dip your hand in it and it streams in globules it is no good. You can give the Caribou a smell test. Fry a piece of tongue or liver and if it stinks you out of th cabin it is no good. Don't take it home.

Fortunately we were early in the rut and our meat was OK. It's very dry and lean. I found that the best recipe was a stew with lots of vegetables, Good.

Bill Tibbe

With Caribou, you either gotta' get your animal early or wait until November. The mistake a lot of newbies make is to look for a herd and then pick the biggest one.

The biggest bulls, or as we call 'em stags, are usually the loners or they're buddied up with a couple of other bachelors. Antler size can be deceptive, when you've got a stag mixed in with a bunch of cows or "does" they can look bigger than they really are.

Of course, most Newfoundlanders are pure meat hunters, rather than trophy or head hunters. There's probably 4-5 dozen moose racks and Caribou racks nailed to sheds and barns within a 10 minute drive of my place that could easily make the Boone & Crockett book. They'd think you're "foolish" to consider paying to get that rack measured and scored for record, let alone pay an entry fee!

Wetibbe, if you're heading up the Northern Peninsula you'd better pack warm clothes. Goretex is okay, but a week of cold October rain can defeat even that! We'll be getting lots of Nor'West winds, which are basically coming directly from the Arctic. That means rain and cold!

Pack lots of 100% wool clothing, pants, sweaters, etc...throw in a standard run of the mill rain slicker as well. Most importantly, pack along at least one pair of insulated rubber boots with felt liners that you can remove. Two pairs are better, 'cause one pr can be drying while you're wearing the other. Since you're driving, space/weight isn't an issue. The taller the boot the better. Forget about the 6" or 8" Goretex waterproof hunting boots popular down in the States. Bring them an you're going to be wet all the time.

What area are you hunting Area 2 -Portland Creek, 1 - St. Anthony, 40 - Conche, 39 - Cloud River or Area 3 - Harbour Deep? Portland Creek is one of my favorites. Got a really nice Caribou and a 600lb Black Bear out there last Fall. My buddy picked up a nice Moose calf and a smaller bear, maybe 450lbs. Managed to snag a couple of Coyotes too. Just about our first for those varmints, as we just got a regular hunting season for them last year.

Me too.

Moose, in my hunting area being generally smarter than me, are beginning to pizz me off. Nothing like vengeance hunting!

I really like none-too-bright critters. Even so, it took me 3 days to figure out what I think was maybe the lone bull caribou on the mountain and get my son a shot at him a month ago. Big bull, pre rut- in fact, pre velvet shedding- excellent eating.

Newfies sound like my kind of people.

10-4 on big bulls in the rut, moose or caribou. My limited experience with 2 and 3 year old caribou during rut is that they are skinny and tough, but edible. Better to shoot a cow for meat between October 1 and 20, in Alaska, at least. Less filling, more tasty!

One prominent moose researcher (Vic Van Ballenburge) has documented that bull moose generally only last a couple days as herd bull before being displaced due to sheer physical stress and wear and tear. I'd guess this is also true of caribou. An aquaintence shot upper 50-inch moose bulls in the same area a half mile from each other, within two days of each other in successive years. One was excellent eating, the other the dogs wouldn't touch, literally. I had half of both, so I know, first hand. The difference was that the first hadn't been fighting, the second was bruises and infected puncture wounds from stem to stern.

If you are adverse to wasting meat from a magnificent animal, caribou or moose, how can you tell the difference between tasty and inedible animals before you shoot during rut?

You can't.

M19

Thanks for the heads up on weather and clothing. I have the absolute top of the line parka and "coveralls" all weather, gear and lots of other "duds ( clothing ). And I'm taking the high, calf length, rubber boots as well as the LL Bean boots, rubber bottoms, leather tops. I also haved top quality Merino ( non itch ) Australian wool socks. Two BIG dufflebags of 'stuff". I already tested it out last year. The weather was sun, clouds, rain, fog, freezing, thawing. The camp water line would freeze at night and thaw in the daytime. Our party lucked out on weather. The hunters the week before us sat in the cabin for four days while it rained. We had good weather Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Only one bad day, Tuesday and even that day one fella shot his stag just outside the cabin, in the rain. THAT was so comical, it was a Chinese fire drill - everyone running outside half dressed, boots unlaced, rifle flailing, loading on the run, shooting, running, blazing away. I think they scared the stag to death. There were 6 hunters, 6 guides and the cook watching the massacre. At least they didn't have far to pack the animal to the meathouse. It was practically in the cabins back yard.

I got an introduction also to the horrendous walking conditions. Worse than bad. Boulders, scrub spruce and other vegetation, rough, tough going, deep holes that could snap your leg off hidden under the ground cover. Puddles, ponds and lakes everywhere. Brush and cover so thick you could not push through it. The only way to make time was to stay on the caribon trails.

My outfitter is Aster Caines, Portland Creek Hunting and Fishing. He has three camps and a big concession. I will be at Owl Pond camp. That's near the Moose Management area boundaries of Conche 40 and Ten Mile Lake 45. We should be due west of Main Brook by 50 kilometers or so. That should put us due East of Pigeon Cove and St Barbe.We'll access off of route 432 just past the Roddickton turnoff then go by ATV on a trail for 38 kilometers North West. I think we will be crossing the Salmon River.

Here is Asters website:

www.canadiantrophyhunting.com

Aster has an uncle who is also an outfitter with several camps. His cousin Wilfred Caines was our cook last year. Wilfred was a guide but his legs bothered him so he had to quit guiding. He went up to your new Province Nunavit, on contract, and trained some local outfitters native guides. Wilfred said they were not too well versed in modern guiding, skinning and game preparation. They did it the old native way.

My guide last year was Max Payne from Portland Creek.

Bill Tibbe