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Caribou hike

Bambistew

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Joined
Dec 10, 2002
Messages
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Location
Chugiak, AK
Wyodeerhunter (banned) and I made a 3 day trip up north to fill a tag or two. Its been a pretty tough year finding caribou. We'd both been out a couple weekends with limited luck finding bulls. They just weren't in their normal spots.

Took my little guy up to look for moose and caribou one weekend, he had fun. Plan to take him again this winter.

We decided to make one last heroic effort to check out some new country and maybe pull off a multi-species hunt. Little did we know that an easy hunt would turn into the suckiest meat pack to date either of us had done. Some of us are slow learners I guess...

We finally found some caribou in a high basin, passed up a couple nice bulls to kill a really nice one. Long story short, the "easy" pack up and down to the river turned into camping out on the side of the mountain and getting back to camp with a whole caribou (bone in + ribs) about 24 hours after Wyo shot it... Packs were heafty, so much the rack was left on the mountain prior to camping out. Easy come easy go. I think it was about 8 miles the way we went, all to avoid a nasty, cliffy creek bottom. Looking back we should have went down the creek, the river bottom wasn't any better.

We saw 7 bears, and one that we should have shot. We just didn't have the energy to skin one out, and had our sights set on getting home. He watched us walk down the river bottom from a pearch about 300 yards above, and didn't run off... just watched. First for either of us on that kind of encounter, zero fear.

I still have a tag in my pocket, and will be making a run back up later this month to fill it. Caribou hunting is pretty fun. I think they are highly underrated game animals on many levels. Finding a "good" one isn't hard, finding an exceptional one takes patience and usually a lot of walking. I think its quite similar to hunting mule deer. Lots of glassing, waiting for a good one to show up.
 

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That is one cute kid, very nice caribou, and one large grizzly. That would be one big bear to skin and pack out. Thanks for posting the write-up and pictures. Good luck in the future getting a moose and the big ole bear.
 
You could have stayed another 24 hours, eat enough caribou between you to make up for the weight of the rack... :) Congrats on the hunt. My back hurts thinking about all that packing.
 
The colors of that Alaskan landscape are something else. Looks pretty awesome. Congrats to your friend, good luck in your caribou chasing, and thanks for sharing.
 
Beautiful country.

I was wondering if Wyodeerhunter (Banned) was still kicking around up there. He tended to give out some pretty good advice for the most part I thought.

Are there plans to attempt to go back and get the antlers?

Seems like it is a waste to hike all that way in there to have a chance at what looks to be a really nice bull and then not bring them back.

I would think there would be plenty of younger tastier animals that would have been a lot easier to get to.
 
Are there plans to attempt to go back and get the antlers?

I would think there would be plenty of younger tastier animals that would have been a lot easier to get to.

May run up this winter, but doubt he'll go get them. He doesn't care that much.

What makes you think that it was less tasty?
 
Man that's a nice caribou, I don't think I'd be able to leave the horns. I would have to go back for them.
 
May run up this winter, but doubt he'll go get them. He doesn't care that much.

What makes you think that it was less tasty?

Just an assumption. Maybe more tender would have been a better word choice.

I've always heard the Caribou bulls taste better in August than October. I'm hoping to be able to test the August part of that theory next year.

I would agree that age doesn't always correlate to that though. I've eaten some pretty good elk and deer steaks off of 5+ year old animals. Typically you get more meat as well.
 
Great photos! I'd love to hunt caribou some day.
 
Man, I love caribou hunting. Those pics have me excited thinking about your trip.
 
So....... how was the meat? As you know, on some forums you'd be excoriated for taking a big bull after September 20th. :)
 
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