Caribou Hunting

       Caribou

    Quebec-Labrador caribou is one of the nicest trophies in North America. Adult bulls weight between 300 and 400 pounds and carry antlers 45 to 60 inches wide. There are now around 1,000,000 caribous in Northern  Quebec. The Boone and Crocket scoring system recognizes 4 species of caribou: Quebec-Labrador caribou, Mountain caribou , Woodland caribou and Barren Ground caribou. The Quebec-Labrador caribous carry the biggest racks of them all, with a record 474 6/8 B&C points (the closest contender, the Mountain caribou, has a record of 452 B&C points).

     Always in search of food, caribou herds follow a neverending migration. Large concentrations that were found years ago along the George River moved west and now roam new territories near the Caniapiscau River and further west. That is where we organize our hunts in mobile outposts between August 10th and the end of September. Many hunters ask us wich is best week, but there is no answer to this question. We have many outpost camps covering thousands of square miles and the migrating herds cannot be at all places at the same time. Each year, some camps have their best week at the beginning of the season, others have their best week in the middle of the season, and still others have their best week at the end of the season! Despite the fact that the quantity of caribous you will see depends on the weather and migratory conditions, 10 on the past 11 years, we maintained a success rate of between 91 and 100%.

    The hunt

    Hunts can be conducted by boat on lakes and rivers, with hunters posted near the caribou crossings. Hunts can also be conducted by foot in the hills: it depends where the caribous are. The shooting range can be anywhere from 30 to 200 yards. As every hunter is allowed to shoot 2 caribous, it is wise to shoot the fisrt animal as soon as possible and then take all the time it takes to enjoy the hunt and select a nice trophy. Our guides are there to give you good advice on what and when to shoot...

    Caribou Meat
    Caribou meat is one of the best wild meats found. Tender and tasty, caribou is far better than deer and elk and almost as good as moose. At CanadAventure, we understand and appreciate the value of caribou meat and we take good care of if; in our opinion, wasting caribou is a shame. At each camp, we have a screened meat house where the guides hang the caribou quarters after the kill. Rib cages, bigger bones and useless parts are removed, and each quarter is wrapped in cheesecloth. the evening before your return trip, your guide will carefully pack your meat in special sturdy, waxed cardboard boxes (3-70 pound boxes per hunter). Cold storage in refrigerated vans is available (in Caniapiscau airport and Montreal) for our hunters. Complete meat processing and freezing by professional butchers can also be performed in montreal in about 24 hours. Meat is cut according to your specifications, each package is labeled and wrapped with extra-thick cellophane and styrofoam plates. Ice and dry ice is available upon request on your return in Montreal.  

 
    Capes and Antlers       

    To bring back a huge caribou rack ranking high in Boone & Crocket or Pope & Young book is every hunter's dream. But even if your trophy does not have enough points or is not wide enought to make the book, our guides will take good care of it. Adult bulls usually lose their velvet around the 10th or 15th September but cows (who also carry antlers) keep their velvet till October. Formaldehyde and needles are available at each camp if you want to preserve the velvet on your trophy, or your guide will carefully peel it off if desired. The transportation of 2 sets of antlers (1 unsplit and 1 split), back to Montreal is inclued in your package. Our guides are also experts in caping caribou, and it is their duty to prepare and salt 1 cape per hunter.