Caribou.... with a bow?

[Tonyostheimer]

Question for some of you bou bow hunters:
A few of us are flying up with Arctic Air this fall of 2020 (Aug 25 or so) and Im taking a bow. Is this a bad idea? Has anyone done it on a hunt with AA? Is the ground/terrain conducive to bow hunting or is it an exercise in futility and I should just bring a boom stick?

Thanks for all the help and posts!! Were very excited about this trip and the experience!

Side note: the other memebers of the party are taking rifles and Ill have a pistol for defense.

 

[AKBorn]

I like hunting bou with a rifle, but some guys get it done with a bow. You could always try with a bow, and possibly borrow one of your partners rifle if the terrain or the bou are not providing an opportunity for the bow...

 

[Dexter Grayson]

The Arctic will be tough with a bow but doable. Nick Muche would be the guy to ask though.

 

[mooster]

Our small sample size of 1: not possible where we were placed last year with AA.

I was fearful I’d regret not taking my bow, but was glad in the end I didn’t waste the energy. The bou didn’t travel where a bow made sense, there was no brush to hide. We took our animals at long range, and never had any bou close all week.

Bear and ptarmigan were also unseen all week.

 

[Trial153]

If your goal is kill one with a bow the only way to do it is to bowhunt. Take the bow and stick with it for whole hunt.

 

[Tonyostheimer]

I like hunting bou with a rifle, but some guys get it done with a bow. You could always try with a bow, and possibly borrow one of your partners rifle if the terrain or the bou are not providing an opportunity for the bow...

That was always the back up plan. If it isnt happening or doesnt seem possible them I could use another members rifle. Thanks!

 

[Tonyostheimer]

Our small sample size of 1: not possible where we were placed last year with AA.

I was fearful I’d regret not taking my bow, but was glad in the end I didn’t waste the energy. The bou didn’t travel where a bow made sense, there was no brush to hide. We took our animals at long range, and never had any bou close all week.

Bear and ptarmigan were also unseen all week.

Thank you for the input!

 

[Tonyostheimer]

Would love to hear from anyone that flew with AA about the experience as well as how the terrain was, pics would be helpful too!!

 

[Northwestalaska]

I have 1-2 bow hunters every year and I always tell them the same thing. "Our rifle hunters are between 85-90% successful every year where our bow hunters are less than 40% successful, until they bring out the .270"

Hunt your first 5 days with the bow but bring the .270 for the final days. Its hard to close the distance in the tundra.

Walt

 

[HuntHarder]

On my hunt last year, I brought by bow and a rifle. I ended up shooting mine with a rifle with 0 attempt with the bow. I regret doing that. I think I could have easily killed one with my bow, but of course, I left it in camp that day because we were going on a death hike and I did not want to pack the extra weight. While we were gutting my caribou, we had 50-60 come within bow range. If I did it over again, I would pack a 16-18" ultralite rifle and carry my bow. The caribou did not seem all the intelligent and I feel getting into a couple of hundred yards should be no problem, so no need for a longer range rifle.

 

[Blockcaver]

If you want one with a bow, bowhunt and don't give up.

Bowhunting a species eventually works for me...although a few species like Stone and Bighorn sheep and grizzly bear have taken 6-8 hunts and over 60 days in the field each. And so far Central Canada Barren Ground Caribou and Mt Caribou are being elusive but what is the worst thing that happens if you don't get one? You just have to go back and try again! A bowhunter learns to live with some hunts that end without the tag punched....that is just how it is. Good luck!

 

[Rich M]

Never been, so take it for what it is worth.

If you really want one with a bow, you'll make it happen. I think the long range thing is that we as folks set our ranges by our capabilities - if you can shoot 400 yards easily that's your yardstick.

If you want one at 30 yards, then you gotta do whatever it gets you there - figure out their line and run to get in front (yes tundra isn't easy on running from what I hear) - get near some kind of bush in front of them and wait... Have a buddy nudge em towards you. Whatever it takes.

Folks get pronghorns with bows, they live in flat areas and can see your eyes blink at over 100 yards and a finger curl at over 300. If we/they can crawl up or set up on a crossing for those, why not a caribou?

Sounds like a great trip - Best of luck to you.




I had an opportunity to hunt the Quebec herd back in the 90's before they closed the hunting down. The guides would take folks out in boats and set em up for water crossing bous. From what i heard, they'd help make sure you were in the right place. Then when you got your 2 caribou, the brook and lake trout fishing was outstanding and the ptarmigan were thick. Was a little pricey for me at the time. Of course it is much more now.

 

[hodgeman]

It's certainly possible and worth trying. The trick to hunting caribou is to set up where they're going to be and let them come to you, with a bow you 've got to be better at figuring that out.

If your buddies have rifles, take the bow and if it just isn't working...borrow one of theirs.

 

[chinook907]

Lots of folks do it. Although who knows what it's like where you'll be landing.

Be sure to let the flight service know that you need to be in an area that's conducive.

A couple years ago in the early winter, big bull that had shed his antlers.

 

[Tonyostheimer]

Never been, so take it for what it is worth.

If you really want one with a bow, you'll make it happen. I think the long range thing is that we as folks set our ranges by our capabilities - if you can shoot 400 yards easily that's your yardstick.

If you want one at 30 yards, then you gotta do whatever it gets you there - figure out their line and run to get in front (yes tundra isn't easy on running from what I hear) - get near some kind of bush in front of them and wait... Have a buddy nudge em towards you. Whatever it takes.

Folks get pronghorns with bows, they live in flat areas and can see your eyes blink at over 100 yards and a finger curl at over 300. If we/they can crawl up or set up on a crossing for those, why not a caribou?

Sounds like a great trip - Best of luck to you.




I had an opportunity to hunt the Quebec herd back in the 90's before they closed the hunting down. The guides would take folks out in boats and set em up for water crossing bous. From what i heard, they'd help make sure you were in the right place. Then when you got your 2 caribou, the brook and lake trout fishing was outstanding and the ptarmigan were thick. Was a little pricey for me at the time. Of course it is much more now.

Thans for the input. i live in wyoming and hunt pronghorn annually with a bow so I have some practice in this, I am glad to hear from some guys who have done this before however to make sure im not going on a fools errand.

 

[Trial153]

I have caribou hunted 5 times always with a bow. It can be done. The biggest hindrance to sucess is a rifle.

 

[Voyageur]

I will add my 2 cents....
I totally agree with what others have said about sticking with the bow throughout the hunt IF you are set on arrowing one. On my most recent caribou hunt this past fall I hunted hard with the bow for 6 days and could not close the deal. I had decided months before the trip that I definitely wanted to harvest a caribou on this trip. The overwhelming desire to do so was because I wanted to fill my freezer. I also have always enjoyed field butchering and taking care of/packing meat back to the landing strip. On the sixth day I noticed caribou movement was really slowing, so with only a couple days left I pulled out the rifle and shot a caribou the next morning. Spent the rest of the day getting the meat back to camp and the day after rotating bags to keep them cooling while waiting for the pilot. I can honestly say I had ZERO regrets over using the rifle, and I attribute that to setting my expectations before I ever set foot in the bush. To sum up my opinion: Don't head into the field in limbo over what weapon to use. Make your plan beforehand. JMHO

 

[Nick Muche]

The best way to take a caribou with a bow is to not have a rifle around and commit to the bow. Good luck, it's pretty fun too! Just get in front of them and hope they come by. If there is good cover, they are pretty easy to stalk.

 

[bowuntr]

It's pretty rare when someone takes one with a bow.. . when their backup plan is to use a rifle. Ed F

 

[Kevin Dill]

It's pretty simple. What are your priorities? If killing a caribou is the absolute top priority you should go equipped to accomplish that.

If your priority centers around killing one with your bow, go into it with a bow and plenty of determination.

If you don't bring a gun there's a 100% chance that any caribou you kill will be by using a bow.

If you bring both weapons, my personal estimate is you've probably got an 80% chance your kill will be while using the gun.

I'm biased toward using a bow for my own hunting. I've never been the guy who just HAD to kill an animal to call it a great hunt. I've never had the pull to kill a big game animal with a long range weapon such as scoped bolt rifle. Every big game hunt I've ever done, I rolled the dice willingly by going into it with only a bow. The times I didn't score probably only served to make me more determined to get better and hunt harder with a bow. Some of us are just hardcore bow people. That might not be a great thing for success rates, but how I hunt it has always been more important than if I kill it.

The bottom line is to know yourself and what makes you happy. Don't let my choices and values affect your choices and values. I don't really care what the other guy does....it's his hunt.