Kids and caribou

Bambistew

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Joined
Dec 10, 2002
Messages
7,626
Location
Chugiak, AK
Wyodeerhunter (banned) and I took our kids up north to look for caribou, fill a tag if we could find one, and harass some birds. We succeeded on all fronts. We also saw a couple bears, but they were about farther than I wanted to walk to shoot a stinking bear.

We covered some ground, and ate a lot of doughnuts and KitKats... around 2pm, we spotted a large herd on the move about 2 miles off. We drove up the road to a point where we thought I could hike out and cut them off, and off into the bush I went, leaving the kids and Wyo at the truck. I ended up meeting up with them in the trees at pretty close range. I had cows less than 20 yards, and the bull I shot was at about 125-150. It took a while to sort out a bull from the crowd, as shooting lanes were pretty small. Finally about the 5th "good enough" bull stopped for a bite, and I fed him some lead. I radioed the support crew and they hiked down to the kill site.

While I was waiting for them the rest of the herd (maybe 200-250?) walked all around me. I took a short video of part of the herd as they went by. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. I'm not a youtuber so hopefully the link works. The biggest bull came in downwind, but spooked at about 100 yards. He wasn't a giant antler wise, but his body was immense. One of the biggest bulls I've ever seen. Like a raghorn elk size. We killed one that size a number of years ago, and he was about 20% bigger than the average mature bull.

Anyway the season is closed until the 21st and we are out of tags. I think we have rounded up a couple guys with tags, so I'm hopeful we can get out one more time before the snow flies. Caribou hunting is about as much fun as it gets. The antelope of the north.

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Very cool. Love the antelope analogy. Even though antelope don’t carry the mystique of elk and caribou don’t carry the mystique of moose or sheep, sometimes you gotta just hunt for the fun factor.
 
That's very cool! I bet the kids loved that!! and Wyodeerhunter (banned)
 
Very cool! Some of those bulls looked like they had really nice tops. Would of had a hard time just choosing one. Very Jealous of your season so far.
 
Great video, and I bet the kids had a blast! Did you guys get into ptarmigan, or spruce grouse?
 
What an awesome way to spend time with the kids and friends. That bull should help top off the freezer!
 
Really enjoyed the video ! Reminded me of my experiences hunting caribou in Northern Quebec, before the season was closed permanently.
 

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