My hunting buddy and I are thinking about doing a caribou hunt in Canada.
Been doing some research on various outfitters/guides and have found some possible hunts.
Was wondering if anyone has gone on a caribou hunt in this region and also any recommendations to a guide/outfitter w/a website.
Thanks!!

I was in Quebec caribou hunting over Thanksgiving. We were hunting the leaf river heard east of Radisson in zone 22a. I would recomend Mirage as an outfitter, and I highly recommend Kiskimastakin. I'd stay away from Northern Caribou Adventures, (Donat Asselin) if I were you.
BD

Thanks for the info!

BD, as a non-resident, you were hunting zone 22B.

22A is reserved only for residents on a draw basis.

cmr, it is buyer beware- if something doesn't smell good, it probably isn't. Talk to them and check references, ask questions about additional fees, accomodations, etc.

The key, if possible, is having the flexibility to time the trip to when the Caribou are there. Second, is deciding if you want antlers or not. If you want antlers and the caribou are there, you're best bet is Nov. 15 to Dec. 1st max. After that you run the serious risk of most bigger bulls having shed their antlers.

BTW, Labrador is not part of Quebec and there are also 2-3 good outfitters there.

I booked a hunt for 1st week Sept '06 through Explo-Sylva - http://www.explo-sylva.com - with a group of six. I have heard good reports about this outfit. A group of hunters from our sportsmans club just returned from the same hunt this Sept. - 13 hunters took 23 'bou. It will be my first caribou hunt so I am looking forward to it and hoping we are as successful.

Lefty, you're right, it was 22b, we drove through 22a to get there. Apparently there's quite a difference between the winter hunts and the fall hunts. IMHO most years the "guide service" is really just accomodations for the winter hunts, at least thats what we experienced in 22b. BD

BD, you're right- there is no guide service unless you pay an additional fee for it when hunting 22B They generally provide a bed, warm food and tags...

Yes, fall and winter hunts are night and day in many respects. They are also more expensive- generally between $2000 and $7500 USD vs. the $700 to $1500 for the winter hunts.

cmr- my comments above were in regards to "late fall-winter hunts". If you are open to hunting in the late summer and fall periods (typically more expensive) then your options open up.

If you want velvet antlers, hunt before sept 7th just to be sure. If you want hard antlers, hunt after Sept. 10th just to be sure. Very late Sept. to mid-October offers some of the better pre-rut/rut trophy hunts. The earlier you go, the greater chances for lots of bugs. The later you go, the better your chances for snow.

cmr,if you want the best in caribou hunting,try nouchimi camp outfitters

shootaway, that sounds like a strong recommendation coming from someone who has admitted to have never used the services of a guide before

cmr, with Caribou, so much depends on timing of the migration and reputation of the outfitter. The quality of guide, accomodations/number of satellite camps, overall services offered are a part of the big picture, but not the whole part... While I have nothing personally against Nouchimi (for winter hunts), please do your homework first.

shootaway. Nouchimi did seem like a decent outfit. We bought diesel there on the way in. However If memory serves thier main base is in 22a. They do have satelite "camps" in 22b, and towards the end of my stay I started seeing some of them occupied. However I did not meet any of thier clients in the woods.

One of the things which really turned me off to Northern Caribou Adventures was that they consistently lied to thier clients who had called in advance asking if the caribou were down yet. When we arrived they told us that the caribou would be there any day and sold us the tags on the spot. They told us the same fairy tale every day. Rene at Kiskamastkin was telling his clients the truth, and if they decided to make the drive up anyway, he told them not to buy thier tags until someone started seeing the caribou. He had the satelite maps on the counter along with a real map of the area. As it turns out the caribou were still 150 miles north when we arrived, and it took seven days for them to get within reach.

Kiskimastakin also gives you four nights lodging and good food for the same money that buys you only three nights without food at NCA. And you don't have to go outside to use the bathroom or shower. Kiskamastakin also had snowmobiles for rent. Rene is a decent normal sort of guy like you might meet hunting anywhere. Donat Asselin is a slimeball of the sort usually encountered in the process of buying a cheap used car.

The fourth choice was Mirage. For the same money you get four nights and food, and they have a nice dinning room and bar on the water as well as a gift shop, hot tub and snowmobile rentals on the premises if that stuff is important to you, (or if your wife is coming along). Mirage is booked a few years in advance and has sort of an "attitude" about it. When the caribou had not shown up by the third hunt they leased helicopters and flew clients in to the herd to hunt for about 1,500 a head. From third hand info gleaned from Mirage clients who did the fly in hunt, Mirage was not very straight forward with thier other clients as to where the caribou were, and how soon they might be near the road.

My bottom line is: If you're paying an outfitter, they at the very least owe you the truth about where the animals are. And I feel they they should as least make an effort to find out what the situation is. Kiskamastakin was the only outfitter I found up there who met these minimum standards this year. Nouchimi may had done so as well, and just been a day or two behind us finding the herd.
BD

My brother and I hunted with Twin River Lodge out of Schefferville in Sept, 2004. Everyone filled out. Send me a PM if you want further information.

CanadianLefty,time to entire the draw for 22a.I would love to win and hunt in 22a,away from all that pressure.I wouldn't mind saving the money too.

Yup, we have until the end of th month.

Cheers,
CL

Hey Canadian lefty,going caribou hunting this year?