I would like to know what you guys use for Caribou hunting in Canada, makes and calibers?

Would you consider the 270Win suitable ? If so, what bullets ?

regards

270's are fine for caribou. Use whatever bullet you would consider right for large bodied deer (that means 300 pounds or better). In mine, I use the 130 gr Barnes X flatbase. Tiny little groups, but it's the only rifle I own that really does well with the X. Your mileage may vary. - Dan

After 25 years guiding for caribou, I always tell the client, "anything over .25 caliber, but primarily whatever you shoot best"! The majority bring .270's, .30's, and 7mm's. ~Arctic~

I PROBABLY don't count because I believe in "use more then enough gun".

I take my .340Wby for 'boo because when I go the lakes are frozen and that is where they are walking.
Somethimes the shooting can be 50 feet. Sometimes they are a mile away.
The .340 gives me shot options regarding the range and the wind that other lighter calibers simply do not. My last day last year I got my 2nd boo with a 400yd shot in a stiff Xwind. A .270 or 30-06 or even 7mm mag would be hard pressed because of the wind. The .340 isn't.

This year I am also taking my Marlin 45/70...just because I can, and, if I see something I like close I will use it. Might be a little more then needed for a game animal that goes feet up faster then a Southern Belle on prom night but that is what variety is all about.

I don't know why you would think you wouldn't count Lawcop, we're just saying what we believe the low end of acceptable is. Shoot whatever makes you happy, as long as it will get the job done. - Dan

I have a brother in law who lives in Yellowknife.Other then him,I have never actually met a Canadian who has hunted Caribou.Kind of an American thing to do.Probably get more hits outside of a Canadian forum.

We're Arctic Safaris and operate out of Yellowknife. ~Arctic~

I have used the 270win for taking many caribou.I feel it is an acceptable round within 150m.I had good results with sivertips,and ballistic silvertips,both in 130gr.

Caribou in my experience are fairly easy to stock,I got one a few years ago with a 416 taylor and a 400gr hornady,more than needed but worked fine.I would say anything from the 25/06 up is fine for tundra caribou,and from 270win up on MTN caribou.

i used my 9.3x74r for all game from whitetail up to bear always one shot one kill

To answer your original question, I am canadian,I use a .270 win for my caribou hunting and I think it is a perfect match. (I have also stayed @ a holiday inn ) It has resulted in mostly one shot kills from 15 yards to 419 yrds.

If you have a .270 that shoots well you have a gun that will work very well for caribou hunting. Load it up with 130's or 150's,shoot a caribou thru the boiler room and you will have caribou heart for supper guaranteed.

Brand doesn't matter and they don't have to be premiums to kill a caribou but if you are on a big hunt a long ways from home, I would lean towards partitions/accubonds/swifts/tsx's in whichever weight shoots best in your gun.

the biggest thing is to be prepared to shoot @ a distance- practice out to whatever distance you can reliably hit a paper plate. If you can't hit that plate @ whatever distance under range conditions you shouldn't be shooting under field conditions @ twice that distance (whatever it is). Most places I have hunted caribou you can see them a looong ways off and it is very tempting to shoot outside of ones ability.


Caribou are very soft compared to deer IMHO they just take the shot and stand around waiting to die in most cases, not takeoff for the next county and run till their last breath like a deer does.

I've used my .264 WM with 140-gr. bullets for three one-shot kills on three subspecies of caribou.

The .270 shooting a factory-loaded 130 gr. bullet has about the same ballistics with just a slight drop in energy. Handloads should do better, so a well-placed shot with it should kill a 'bou just fine.

Wife and I get caribou each year. We use 243 Husquavarna.

Also 7mm Mag Husquavarna..

Watson Lake.

I've never shot a caribou in Canada so maybe my opinion dos'nt count but I sure have shot a lot of them here.

I have actully found the botton end where it's just unreasonable to consider it a good choice.

I've taken a couple with my .243. At close range no problem but I did shoot a big bull at several hundred yards and that turned into an ugly kill that I will not repete.

Otherwise I've shot caribou with quite an array of differant guns from a 30-30 hand gun and .357 Herrett contender up to several with a .375. They all worked fine and the two handgun kills were each one shot. The .357 Herrett was 154 yards.

I've also guided for maybe hundreds of clients on caribou with rifles typicly starting at .270 but I've had at least one .243 going all the way up to one guy that shot a reall nice bull (actully in the 440 point range) with a .460 Weatherby.

They all worked well except a good frind of mine who decided to try his mini 14 on a small cow. That was an ugly seen as well.

A 270 or the like is surely acceptable for probably 80% of all shots on Caribou.
This is going a few yrs back, but I've guided in the YK & BC for several yrs (many Caribou hunts), while I've seen my share of "smaller" cartridge/calibers, I personally recommend something with a little more wind bucking & "extended" range capabilities.

IMO when you are spending the money involved with any guided hunt, your better off stacking all odds in your favor. Cartridge selection is very important in doing this. I dont want my investment left up to taking a longish/poor angled shot with a 270 or the like, when I know my odds are way better with that shot using something larger.

That being said, when I hunted in NWT 2 yrs ago, I used my 300 Win Mag shooting 160 Accubonds going pretty quick. If my 7mmSTW was a little lighter I would have used it. On the same hunt my buddy used a 7mmSTW pushing 140 TTSX. As it turned out on that hunt one of my shots was @ a lasered 408 yrds, one of my buddies shots was IIRC about 280 yrds in a very, very strong X-wind....both shots would have been pushing the capabilities of a 270

If you can handle it, I would go BIGGER
just my .02