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Caribou Hunting in Quebec with Tuttulik Outfitters - "Trip of a Lifetime" by Capt. Chuck Baughn

As the boat cut across Lac Minto, we scanned the shore line looking for caribou and it wasn’t long before one of the hunters spotted a few highlighted along the ridge line of a large island about a mile or two away. Lou, the camp manager and expert caribou guide, turned the boat and as we closed the distance I remember thinking that the wind on the island must be really bad because it would appear that the bushes and small trees were moving. A short time later I realized that this was not the case at and what I was actually seeing was a massive herd of caribou that at a distance made the landscape appear to move. What we were about to encounter was the awe inspiring dream that every caribou hunter has; we had come across a migrating herd of at least 7,000 to 8,000 caribou.

Lou skillfully navigated the boat through the rocks and shallows while dropping the other hunters off along the shore line. After beaching the boat and we crept a few hundred yards onto the shore and hid behind a bush and watched thousands of caribou and hundreds of bulls any trophy hunter would be proud of walk by oblivious to our presence. I was hunting with a recurve and although I could shoot up to 45 yards I did not want to take a shot over 30 to 35 yards. Unfortunately I couldn’t get close enough to, but several Pope and Young class bulls had come well with in range for a compound bow or rifle. Lou suggested dropping me and one other traditional bow hunter on an small island chain about ¼ mine from the area we were hunting. The caribou were swimming from island to island and quite often the herds were so big that it appeared you cold walk across the swimming caribou from land mass to land mass. The islands also make a great “funnel” of sorts which would also increase our odds of getting close enough for an ethical shot.

Shortly after Lou dropped “Dallas” (A nick name for a fellow traditional archer from Dallas, Texas) and I off a herd of 50 to 75 caribou swam ashore. There were two good bulls in this herd and Dallas and I had the island covered as best we could. Although we were well hidden and the wind was perfect the caribou seemed to cense our presence and stayed just out of my range the middle of the island where there was little to no cover for to conceal our movements. At one point I realized that the only way I was going to get a shot was to low crawl 20 yards out to a small rock and attempt to hide behind it. After a 15 minute crawl I made it to the massive 20 inch rock and a few minutes later the herd began to come my way. The smaller of the two good bulls was about to pass with in 20 yards when the lead cow spotted me and stopped. The bull was at 30 yards when he stopped and as he began to turn and began and walk away, I drew my 57@28 Chaparral Alpine, picked a spot, and released. Eight months of long range practice eventually boiled down to these few critical seconds. An overflow of emotion swelled over me as I watched the arrow hit just behind the last rib angled towards the back of the front leg. I had just fulfilled a life long dream and killed a trophy caribou with my bow. Later that same afternoon I could have easily taken a slightly bigger caribou but decided to pass. It was only the second day and I didn’t want to end my hunt yet. I was just having too much fun.

As the week progressed I had several stalks on descent bulls, but just couldn’t get the one I wanted with in 30 yards. My plan had always been to break out my fathers old Marlin Model 336 30-30 if I had not filled my last tag by the afternoon of the next to last day. I wanted to have at least one afternoon to be picky and with the amount of quality bulls we had been seeing there was no doubt in my mind that I could get with in 150 yards of a nice bull.

Lou once again dropped me off along the shore line and returned to Camp Ours to finish butchering caribou that the other hunters had taken. I was the lone hold out who had not tagged out yet and earlier that afternoon I had watched a herd with several good bulls in it bed down about a mile from the shore. On the way there I ran into another hunter who had been fishing, but offered to come along while I attempted to fill my last tag. After chatting for a bit, another friend, who was also tagged out, had taken a walk to enjoy the mystical scenery that can only be found in the tundra joined us. The caribou herd we were stalking had moved to another ridge line about a mile away, but the wind was in our favor and we had plenty of daylight left so I was sure we could get with in range. Just then one of the other hunters spotted a super bull about half a mile away. We quietly slipped through the marsh and bush until we were with in 100 yards. Everything was going as planned, but the wind in the tundra tends unexpectedly to shift and almost on command as soon as we were close enough I felt it hit the back of my neck. Luckily for us caribou aren’t as skittish as the whitetail deer I’m used to hunting in North Carolina and instead of running they slowly began to walk away. As the bull entered the tree line one of my companions let out a loud grunt. The bull stopped and turned just long enough for me to take a 117 yard shot which found its mark and dropped him in his tracks. Camp Ours (aka: Bear Camp) was officially tagged out.

The food was outstanding and plentiful, the scenery was breath taking, the hunting was incredible, but best of all was friendships created by sharing a camp with great hunters from across the United States. Lou and Jacque went out of their way to put us on the caribou and made every effort to make our trip everything we expected. Some day I hope to hunt with Lou again and I’m proud to call him my friend. This was the trip of a lifetime and I would enthusiastically recommend hunting with Tuttulik again.

***Thank you, Capt. Baughn and our other brave military men and women, for your courageous defense of our country.  Your dedication, commitment to serve and protect, regardless of the personal cost, is sincerely appreciated and will never be forgotten.  Our prayers are with you all for a swift victory and safe return home.***