Traditional Hunts for Carribou

[sspiwak]

#126670

Hello, I was informed a few months back that the Caribou area in northern Quebec (Nunavut area) is closing after the 2017 season.  I guess the government has issues and cannot resolve to allow hunting again.  I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on additional outfitters and other areas where a traditional bowhunt is good.  Don’t care about which subspecies. I think all of them are just amazing animals.  Just trying to expand to see where there are other good areas and the ability to stalk and have multiple opportunities for encounters.  Thanks in advance.

[Stephen Graf]

#126783

The only caribou hunting I have done is in Newfoundland.   The season was closed there for many years, but I think it has since re-opened.  That was the best guided hunting trip I ever had.  Those Newfi’s are great.

On an historical note…  Before the whiteman shot them out, Caribou used to migrate all the way down here to North Carolina.  The last confirmed migration was around1705 or so.  I still go out in the dead of winter and hope to see some running through the woods.  You never know…

The arctic herd has declined more than 40% in the last 20 years.  Maybe that’s why Quebec has closed the season.  The largest herd, The George River herd, has declined from close to a million animals to less than 15,000.

[rgrist]

#126787

I hunted the Mulchatna herd in Alaska several years ago. Into caribou every day.

Fly to Anchorage,  take ERA to Illiamna, then take a float plane to one of the lakes about an hour away. The pilots are not registered guides, therefore cannot recommend an area to hunt. But, they fly numerous times each day and deliver mail, supplies, etc, so they sure as heck know where the migrating herd is at any given time.

Might want to check on the current situation of that particular herd, as the conditions can change dramatically in short order.

I did have a bear take off with one of my Caribou and saw a wolf chasing another, which jumped off a cliff into the lake in order to get away from him. Not much has changed there in hundreds of years.

This was a DIY hunt and as I remember it wasn’t much over $2500 total.

[Charles Ek]

#126870

Nonresidents are currently banned from hunting the Mulchatna herd, after it crashed.

Alaska recently increased the fees for non-resident hunters substantially. They are currently:

Nonresident annual hunting $160.00

Nonresident caribou tag $650.00

There’s a good short summary of the AK caribou opportunities at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=caribouhunting.opportunities&performsearch=true

And now the warning:
HUNTING IN ALASKA REQUIRES THOROUGH READING AND COMPREHENSION OF THE AK REGS  TO STAY OUT OF JAIL, KEEP YOUR MEAT AND KEEP YOUR LICENSE BACK HOME. IGNORE THEM AT YOUR PERIL.

Here are the regs: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildliferegulations.hunting

You will note that the entire booklet runs to 144 pages … and there’s lots of fine print crammed in there.

 

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