Caribou outfitter

[joshennis84]

I'm looking for a really good and affordable caribou hunt outfitter. Does anybody have any suggestions? P.S. we can rough it, and semi-guided is fine as long we are pointed in a general direction. Meals would be a plus, but not a must. Would rather drive up to Canada as well because we have several possibly going.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Define affordable? I did it 10 years ago for about $2900 as a drop camp / semi-guided hunt in northern Quebec. Drove to Montreal, flew to Schefferville, flew to camp. Provided all our own food and did our own cooking. There was a camp jack in camp who basically cut some firewood and manned the radio. We hunted on our own for a week and then returned. I killed two nice bulls on the trip. Tags and all flights were included in the fee. That being said, the price has more than doubled now primarily due to fuel costs.

Be extremely careful. A caribou hunt is about the easiest hunt to get totally screwed on by an outfitter.

Dirty Steve

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

What's your timeline you're looking to go?

If you can wait until after the first of the year, you'd owe it to yourself to come up to Indy and go go the Boat, Sport, & Travel show and talk to about a dozen different outfitters.

-J-

 

[irishhunter]

Dirty Steve , can you elaborate , this hunt is on my bucket list

 

[teddy12b]

I've looked into this kind of hunt in the past. I'd love to drive get up there in the tundra and check out all there is to see. The only thing keeping me from it is that you'd be lucky to find the dirt cheapest guide/hunt for $3000. That first $3,000 basically gets you there and back. Heaven forbid you actually shot something and had to transport that meat back as well. I'm such a lousy hunter I don't have to worry about actually shooting something, but you may need to worry about that.

Basically, you'd be lucky to get a guy for $3,000 and if you do you just got the benchwarmer who doesn't have the client base to charge as much as everyone else who's been at it for a while (good) can. That much money isn't the time to get the dirt cheapest guy you can find. I learned that lesson the hard way on a bear hunt in Maine. Long story short, had we spent a few hundred more we'd have been at a reputable guide and probably actually seen some bears.

Keep in mind that if you choose to get any taxidermy work to get done you're probably going to be in the $1K range pretty quick. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but affordable and caribou hunting usually don't go in the same sentence. Having said that, I'd love to be proven wrong on this. I'd love to go myself and I see pictures of your hunt when you got back. Please keep us up to date on this.

 

[amboy49]

cariou

I've looked into this kind of hunt in the past. I'd love to drive get up there in the tundra and check out all there is to see. The only thing keeping me from it is that you'd be lucky to find the dirt cheapest guide/hunt for $3000. That first $3,000 basically gets you there and back. Heaven forbid you actually shot something and had to transport that meat back as well. I'm such a lousy hunter I don't have to worry about actually shooting something, but you may need to worry about that.

Basically, you'd be lucky to get a guy for $3,000 and if you do you just got the benchwarmer who doesn't have the client base to charge as much as everyone else who's been at it for a while (good) can. That much money isn't the time to get the dirt cheapest guy you can find. I learned that lesson the hard way on a bear hunt in Maine. Long story short, had we spent a few hundred more we'd have been at a reputable guide and probably actually seen some bears.

Keep in mind that if you choose to get any taxidermy work to get done you're probably going to be in the $1K range pretty quick. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but affordable and caribou hunting usually don't go in the same sentence. Having said that, I'd love to be proven wrong on this. I'd love to go myself and I see pictures of your hunt when you got back. Please keep us up to date on this.

I did a caribou hunt in 2001 ( came back across the US/Canadian border on 9/12/01). Ten people were in camp in northern Quebec. We drove from Indiana to Radisson, Quebec, got on a plane and flew to Kujjarapik and then a smaller plane to fly into camp. We could have driven to Quebec city and then flow to Radisson but we chose to drive as we wanted to see the country and we felt at the time it was cheaper. I don't recall what the cost of a gallon of gas was back then.

Ours was a non-guided hunt although the camp guy did boat us to the end of the lake we were on each morning and then retrieved us in the evening. The caribou migration was fair - not like the vast herds you sometimes see on the hunting shows - but sufficient enough for us all to kill bulls. If I could figure out how to post a pic I'd show you my Boone and Crockett bull. Scored 380 on Pope and Young as well.

Much has changed since my trip - the herd population has been significantly reduced and the cost has gone up considerably. Also, in one year a number of hunters sent in a significant deposit and then lost all of it due to unscrupulous outfitters. A good source for you to go to is the Bowsite.com website. They are all about bowhunters, but there is a lot of good info in the hunting threads that are species specific.

If you want to shoot me a p.m. I'd be happy to provide more information re: the details of our hunt and what you might expect. As a disclaimer my info relates to the Quebec Labrado caribou. As I'm sure you're aware, there are other species. i.e. Newfoundland, mountain , etc. so you can hunt them from Alaska to Newfoundland based on your budget and preference.

Good Luck

 

[Dirty Steve]

Cheapest hunt is probably a north slopes Alaskan drop camp hunt, but you'll spend more getting there. A semi-guided hunt in Quebec like described above is over $6K now. I did it for half that, but it was at least 10 years ago...closer to 12 probably. Fuel cost has driven everything up and the herds are not like they once were. I can basically echo everything that Amboy just said. The only drive-to option I am aware of in Quebec (plane to camp is still required) is about $4200. This will still be a semi-guided drop camp style hunt. As I said, be VERY careful on booking a caribou hunt. There are a lot of logistics involved on the outfitters end and a bad one will screw you hard. I personally know 3 groups this has happened to. Getting dropped in an area with no 'bou is no fun.

It IS a great hunt though if you can make it happen. I killed two outstanding bulls and had a grand adventure.

Dirty Steve

 

[teddy12b]

If I were to get all excited about a caribou adventure again I think I'd try to find a place where you can easily view the great migration. I don't think I'd even care if I shot one of them. Just to be able to witness a wild herd like that in their environment would be an amazing sight. I'd take a camera with me and start popping them with Canon camera instead of a cannon of a rifle. Maybe even through in a speed reload by switching out digital memory cards just for kicks. For me it's not worth the $$ and hassle of transporting one back when I could probably spend a fraction of the $$ and view more animals with just my camera.

 

[spaniel]

Beware the outfitters run/owned by Native American tribes in Canada. If they are out to screw you, as an American you have little/no legal recourse against them. This is how a lot of hunters lost money a few years back. I have not heard if the Canadians have done anything to change the situation, but I do remember that it was specifically the tribe-affiliated outfitters.

 

[gvsugod]

I did a caribou hunt in 2001 ( came back across the US/Canadian border on 9/12/01). Ten people were in camp in northern Quebec. We drove from Indiana to Radisson, Quebec, got on a plane and flew to Kujjarapik and then a smaller plane to fly into camp. We could have driven to Quebec city and then flow to Radisson but we chose to drive as we wanted to see the country and we felt at the time it was cheaper. I don't recall what the cost of a gallon of gas was back then.

Ours was a non-guided hunt although the camp guy did boat us to the end of the lake we were on each morning and then retrieved us in the evening. The caribou migration was fair - not like the vast herds you sometimes see on the hunting shows - but sufficient enough for us all to kill bulls. If I could figure out how to post a pic I'd show you my Boone and Crockett bull. Scored 380 on Pope and Young as well.

Much has changed since my trip - the herd population has been significantly reduced and the cost has gone up considerably. Also, in one year a number of hunters sent in a significant deposit and then lost all of it due to unscrupulous outfitters. A good source for you to go to is the Bowsite.com website. They are all about bowhunters, but there is a lot of good info in the hunting threads that are species specific.

If you want to shoot me a p.m. I'd be happy to provide more information re: the details of our hunt and what you might expect. As a disclaimer my info relates to the Quebec Labrado caribou. As I'm sure you're aware, there are other species. i.e. Newfoundland, mountain , etc. so you can hunt them from Alaska to Newfoundland based on your budget and preference.

Good Luck

This sounds exactly like my dads story. Except he was coming across on 9/11 and they had no idea what had happened.

Anyway, I'll ask what outfitter he used. They had the best time of their lives, "semi" guided hunt, they shot their caribou, tossed them in an enclosed trailer and drove them back to MI. We had a pile of 6 whole caribou, field dressed of course, in our unfinished basement.

 

[joshennis84]

I was hoping to find something around the 3k mark. I guess I should have done this about 5 years ago because everybody I talk to that had a great hunt did it then or later for that kind of money. Everything I've seen lately is 6-7 in the 3 days that I got extremely serious about it. A few friends and myself have kind of decided to go another route this time and go to Newfoundland on a moose hunt. They aren't the size in the Yukon, but way cheaper of a hunt. We found a reputable outfitter for $3700 and I'm going to see how much more it would cost me to try and harvest a woodland caribou while we are there. I talked to a family friend that went 5 years ago and they did the trip (semi-guided) in quebec for caribou for $1800. He told me the outfitter and a contact whom I can't get a hold of. After doing much digging I found out the outfitter folded. Imagine that lol. Anyhow, thanks to everyone who has responded and keep them coming because I want to do a hunt like this every couple years whether it be for caribou, moose, elk, etc...

 

[amboy49]

caribou

I was hoping to find something around the 3k mark. I guess I should have done this about 5 years ago because everybody I talk to that had a great hunt did it then or later for that kind of money. Everything I've seen lately is 6-7 in the 3 days that I got extremely serious about it. A few friends and myself have kind of decided to go another route this time and go to Newfoundland on a moose hunt. They aren't the size in the Yukon, but way cheaper of a hunt. We found a reputable outfitter for $3700 and I'm going to see how much more it would cost me to try and harvest a woodland caribou while we are there. I talked to a family friend that went 5 years ago and they did the trip (semi-guided) in quebec for caribou for $1800. He told me the outfitter and a contact whom I can't get a hold of. After doing much digging I found out the outfitter folded. Imagine that lol. Anyhow, thanks to everyone who has responded and keep them coming because I want to do a hunt like this every couple years whether it be for caribou, moose, elk, etc...

You'll find the Newfoundland hunt an adequate adventure. Since it's an island the ability to "find" caribou increases because they don't migrate hundreds/thousands of miles. With that being said, be prepared to walk your a$$ off. You will still have to go out in the bush and walk them down. Antler size is also smaller compared to the other subspecies of caribou, but more than adequate for a trophy wall mount to impress your friends. Since you can drive to Newfoundland rather than fly that might save you some bucks - but the larger benerfit of driving is that you would not have to worry about the airlines losing your hunting gear, luggage, firearm or archery equipment.

There are a number of reputable outfitters who have been in business for years. There is much less of a chance of getting burned than trusting in the certainty of not getting screwed by the native Inuit tribes or other outfitters in Quebec. If you haven't checked it out I would again recommend Bowsite.com to gain more information and perhaps establish a dialogue with other hunters that have been to Newfoundland. Just keep in mind almost everyone that visits the site are archery hunters.

Good luck in your search. Part of the fun and experience is the research and planning. Building the dream is a large part of the fun.

 

[Yeah]

What is your idea of roughing it and what sort of terrain have you 'roughed it' in previously? How many is 'a few'?

I know all the primo bou ground in southern AK, and if a flight to one of the cities is an option could work up options from there.