Well, next week I'm off on my first caribou hunt. Very excited. I'll be using my .300 Win Mag with 180 gr Nosler Partitions. I've practised and feel reasonably comfortable up to 100 yards (longest on our range) shooting offhand. My hands are just about steady enough for that. Remarkable what age does to those things!

Hopefully at least two will come within that distance!

Are shooting sticks of any use?

Where will you be hunting?

My big brother (22 years older) is going in early October with Safari Nordik, for hard horns.

If I were you i'd dial your rifle in at around 300 yds and practice at that yardage. What if a Caribou doesn't come within 100yds?

Stepchild

quote:

What if a Caribou doesn't come within 100yds?

Sneak closer

I would check with your guide about shooting sticks. I would not go without them. He may already have them. Since you can not magically manufacture a 300 yard range as some would indicate, I would sight the rifle in for 2.5" high at 100 and that will probably give you a 250 yard zero. That's what I do with my rifles and I can just hold dead on out to 300.

Good luck and don't forget the pictures!

+ 1 larrys

geez after a bunch of caribou hunts i've never had need for sticks, most shots are 50 yds or less if the migration is on, if not good luck. if the migration is on there are thousands of bou around you, if not you'll look hard. in any case pay close attention to their weight limits as i remember them they were around 35#'s, which means packing as light as you can

Oxon,

I've shot over 30 caribou and I think you'll find them in open country were you can shoot from prone or sitting. I don't think you'll need sticks. I also think you'll need to know where you rifle is shooting at 200-300 yards as sometimes you just can't get closer. Your rifle and load are perfect. the 180 Np will do the job on a caribou from any angle.

Good luck!

Mark

Our family has been shooting 8-10 caribou/year since the kids started hunting. Caribou is what we eat; what is most easily available as we live along a migration.

You're going to see quite a few, spend a couple days and be selective for a good double shovel.

You don't need anything special. We use noslers in 270 & 7mag. Last couple years we have been using AR's. I like getting up high and watching the big bulls far off laying in the sun, scratching themselves as much as shooting them. Usually have caribou walk up in a line to with in 20 yards of me as I watch big bulls 1200 yards away.

You're going to see hundreds, maybe thousands of bou, don't shoot he first nice bull that you see. I have seen 8000 of them stretched out for miles across a valley; 5 foot apart as far as eye can see. Good luck.

I hope you enjoy hunting caribou as much as I did.I spent hours and hours driving on frozen roads,hunting this fascinating animal.IMO,it is the best hunt in the world and awkwardly one of the lowest priced.May the spirit of the BOU be with YOU!

Thanks for the helpful responses. I am pretty confident in placing my rounds 2-inches or so high at 100 yards if I have a rest. That is the best I can do, I do not have access to a 300-yard range.

I am going to Ungava Bay in N Quebec with Ungava Adventures. I'll be taking a 20-ga SxS for ptarmigan, again something I've never shot before.

Lots of firsts on this trip (hopefully)!

Good luck.....and post some pics on return.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Oxon,

I've shot over 30 caribou and I think you'll find them in open country were you can shoot from prone or sitting. I don't think you'll need sticks. I also think you'll need to know where you rifle is shooting at 200-300 yards as sometimes you just can't get closer. Your rifle and load are perfect. the 180 Np will do the job on a caribou from any angle.

Good luck!

Mark

I have only shot 13, but would agree with Mark - at least set up a target at 200 and 300 when you get there and see where your rifle is shooting.

I used to zero for 300 yards, but experience has taught me 200 is far better. A 300 yard zero often puts your bullet too high. If you have to zero at 100, put it 2 inches high, but check at longer ranges when you verify your zero in camp.

Definitely try to check your zero at longer range when you get to the hunt camp. I had practiced extensively at 300 yards (the maximum available to me at home), and after verifying my rifle's zero at the hunt camp, my guide suggested that I try a few shots at targets that he had set up at 400 and 450 yards. This allowed me to confirm that the ballistic plex reticle in my scope was dead on at those ranges. Three days later I dropped a beautiful caribou at 427 lasered yards. I would NEVER have dreamed of trying that shot without knowing where my gun shot at that range.

Several other hunters in our camp also took animals at fairly long range. It can't hurt to be prepared for a longer shot.

John

He is probably home by now and done with the hunt.

Ooops...asleep at the switch here. I didn't notice the date. My bad.

If you're back, Oxon, how about a hunt report? I hope that things went well for you.

John

Well, I'm back from my first caribou hunt and I have a bunch of thanks to all whose suggestions were offered so freely.

We went with Ungava Adventures and I must say it's a top-drawer outfit. Sammy's people were superb. We got to camp and a steady 30-knot wind was blowing rain/sleet. The herd was migrating thru the area and in the first two days must have seen 2000 caribou. We couldn't get close to them for some reason. Tried sneaking up on them and they nonchalantly kept their distance. I took both of mine at about 250 yards. I had practised a lot at home but I only had a 100 yard range. I shot .300 win mag nosler partitions I loaded myself (also the first time I used my loads on game since I'm new to reloading) The bullets behaved perfectly from a flight trajectory standpoint but the partitions did not expand enough and the exit wound was the same as the entrance - the danm bullets went right thru the animals. My hunting buddy used a 7mm magnum with a ballistic tip and that behaved much better. If I do this again I will not use Nosler Partitions. My shots were all well-placed but not heart shots so the animals bled out internally.

We both took our 2 caribou in the first 3 days of the hunt and then the herd disappeared and for the rest of the time we only saw them on the ridgeline, and then only occasionally.

We were well above the treeline but there were lots of boulders to use as rests.

Walking in that tundra was tough on me - but I held up. I attribute that to my boots which were Le Chameaus.

The rest of the time was spent shooting ptarmigan. Damn birds didn't want to flush so we took turns throwing rocks at them and yelling. I took along a Pedro Gorosabel 20 ga SxS that I had restocked myself and that was more than enough gun for those stupid birds that don't even taste good.

Anybody have cooking suggestions? I tried one and it tasted like crap.

But the guides and the camp were top-notch. Ungava Adventures runs a great hunt. We were in their North Camp and there were three of us (one cabin) two other hunters and two fishermen. These guys took some monster lake trout. 28-pounders. Lots of char.

At the airport on the way back we ran into two groups from other outfitters. One group was very pleased they ad taken the "trophy hunt" package that "alloed" them to shoot two caribou. Freakin ripoff

The other group's camp didn't have any ptarmigan licenses (small game) and they said the Gov't didn't issue them any. A flat-out lie and without licenses they just hung around camp for three days after shooting their caribou.

Sammy and his daughter run a good show. As smooth as possible for an operation in hostile climate; excellent people and a genuine effort to help and be helpful.

Altogether, a good hunt.

Thank you. I will post some pix ASAP.

quote:

Originally posted by jwm:
Definitely try to check your zero at longer range when you get to the hunt camp. I had practiced extensively at 300 yards (the maximum available to me at home), and after verifying my rifle's zero at the hunt camp, my guide suggested that I try a few shots at targets that he had set up at 400 and 450 yards. This allowed me to confirm that the ballistic plex reticle in my scope was dead on at those ranges. Three days later I dropped a beautiful caribou at 427 lasered yards. I would NEVER have dreamed of trying that shot without knowing where my gun shot at that range.

Several other hunters in our camp also took animals at fairly long range. It can't hurt to be prepared for a longer shot.

John

If you don't mind me asking. Which scope and cartridge/load were you using?

I used a Heym SR30 .300 Win Mag fitted with a Nikon Buckmaster 40mm 3-9X scope with a BDC reticle.

The rounds were 180 gr Nosler Partition with 69gr H4831 powder and CII magnum primers.

The ptarmigan (lower pix) were taken with a Gorosabel 20 ga SxS and #7 shot.

Pix added

Oxon:

Nice pic; I have two 'bou mounted in my trophy room - they make a spectacular trophy. congrats.

Did you take a shotgun with you or borrow one for the Ptarmigan .

Way to go. Nice bull.

quote:

Originally posted by Oxon:
The bullets behaved perfectly from a flight trajectory standpoint but the partitions did not expand enough and the exit wound was the same as the entrance - the danm bullets went right thru the animals. My hunting buddy used a 7mm magnum with a ballistic tip and that behaved much better. If I do this again I will not use Nosler Partitions.

Interesting. I've seen this before too, and have heard 3 outfitters complain about partitions being "too good a bullet."

So, in essence, your experience with the partitions mirrors what many state the TSX and TTSX do...small hole in, small hole out.

I would have no problem using a btip on a caribou.

Congratulations on your hunt!

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
Did you take a shotgun with you or borrow one for the Ptarmigan .

I took a 20 ga SxS and a couple boxes shells. I shot 23 birds and left the rest of the shells behind.