Ferry to Newfoundland

OP
Short Track
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
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1,008
Location
Too far east
WoW. I never imagined. I have a Suburban, with regular tires. Not all terrain tires. Not off road tires by any means... I was going to drive, because of all my hunting gear, and coolers. But it sounds like flying to Gander may be easier... and ship the meat home & trophy. $$$$$
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
78
As was stated earlier make sure you have Canadian dollars for the meat processor. The one we used charged the same number of dollars whether you paid with Canadian or US dollars.


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Speedbump

FNG
Joined
Mar 2, 2018
Messages
34
Location
NY
Be aware that there is NO hunting on Sunday, during September, in Newfoundland. This restriction goes away in October.
Reservations for cabins go very quickly, so you should consider grabbing one at your earliest convenience.
 
OP
Short Track
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Oct 3, 2017
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Too far east
My Suburban... is considered an "auto-long" for the ferry ?? That's what I did just in case. I booked a 2 bed room, hopefully I can rent out a bed, as I am only 1 person..
 

PA Hunter

WKR
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
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582
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Bethlehem Pennsylvania
My Suburban... is considered an "auto-long" for the ferry ?? That's what I did just in case. I booked a 2 bed room, hopefully I can rent out a bed, as I am only 1 person..
It’s a nice drive the ferry is great,nice bar a restaurant and huge lounge. I love Newfoundland great friendly people. Couple coolers and bring your own meat home no worries.
 

adamkolesar

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 9, 2019
Messages
232
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Adirondacks
If you're being dropped into a spike camp via air, make sure you understand what the plan is for extracting you and your moose in the event you tag out early. I was lucky to tag out the same time as a guy in another camp and we both got picked up within a day. The other guy in my cabin wasn't so lucky. He killed his moose ahead of a warm front (70 degrees during the day) and lost a fair amount of meat, and totally unusable cape. He waited 3 days for extraction.
 
OP
Short Track
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
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Too far east
Thanks for all the information. I decided to fly into Gander. 3 days of driving each way is ridiculous. Losing 6 days of work is too much. I can fly 1 day each way, get into Gander at 4pm... and then drive 3 hrs to camp.

Yes, I'm paying big money for the flight, and shipping meat. But I can't loose 4 extra days traveling... driving by myself would be the biggest problem....
 
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Messages
20
My preference is to take the "midnight" ferry from N Sydney Nova Scotia to Port au Basques NL. Highly recommend reserving a cabin as it buys you privacy, with a toilet & shower. Get your reservation as soon as their schedule permits.
The cabin is not a whole lot more expensive than the cheapest general lounge ticket.
It is a great idea to take the ferry a couple days early, even more so if you are on a fly in hunt. It is not the outfitters fault if you miss your fly out due to a cancelled ferry.
Pretty much the same schedule and advice for the return trip.
Rooms near the port were reasonable priced.
On the last hunt, we got rained in for an extra day, so lost our cabin reservation traveling in the general lounge using a recliner. While not horrible, it made for a poor nights rest.
Been there twice, and hope I have another left in me!
Good hunting!
wondering if I have one in me at 70YO. but have hunted PA and Colorado Elk for 20 years until two years ago. Thoughts?
 

Speedbump

FNG
Joined
Mar 2, 2018
Messages
34
Location
NY
wondering if I have one in me at 70YO. but have hunted PA and Colorado Elk for 20 years until two years ago. Thoughts?
rw, I have hunted with 80 yo fellows that took their moose. Two tricks I can think of is to be clear about your abilities & needs with the outfitter, before sending any money.
Secondly, Newfoundland is huge country and can require a lot of walking. If this is a potential problem, limit your search for an outfitter to those that provide argos in their camps. I would not hunt NL any other way.
My last personal quirk, I would only hunt out of "fly in" camps. Otherwise you run the real risk of spending your week riding around in a beater pickup road hunting. My 2 cents is that the extra cost of a fly in is money well spent.
Go for it! Good hunting!
 
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Messages
20
Speedbump,
Thanks for your comments, really appreciate them. After reading many of the posts here, I had decided to only do a fly in. I had a bad experience with two different outfitters is Colorado and will do anything I can to ensure the future hunting experience is what I expect. (I have done about 15 DIY elk hunts in Colorado since those bad experiences.

I had not thought of the argos as I do not CURRTENTLY have a problem walking. Did about 500 miles in 4 different outings on the Appalacian Trail a couple years back and still bike ride with my wife and can walk 3-5 miles a day down here in flat Florida and hunt deer and bear in PA. Might be good insurance although as a couple years will probably go by between reservation and actual hunting dates. GOOD ADVICE I have already reached out to MooseValley and cariboupond ( and reported my age) but will check their topography and access to argos (if I need assistance by hunt year).

Thanks again
 
OP
Short Track
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Messages
1,008
Location
Too far east
My last personal quirk, I would only hunt out of "fly in" camps. Otherwise you run the real risk of spending your week riding around in a beater pickup road hunting. My 2 cents is that the extra cost of a fly in is money well spent.

Exactly what I did. Spent a full week road hunting.. No need for rain gear. I saw 2 moose the entire week, 1000 yards away and spooked. Opening day, we ran across a local gutting his moose. Came across 100 locals also road hunting.
 

Wallace

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 3, 2018
Messages
180
Location
Boone, NC
I did a drive in hunt last week. I walked a lot of miles, through a lot of nasty stuff, and was rewarded with a good NF bull. No one in camp came across any locals while hunting, but we did pass some coming in. They were around 2-5 miles in on the road, we were around 15-20 in. I was the youngest in camp by far at 32. Everyone else was roughly 60 - 80 if I had to guess. The camp went 10 for 10 on moose.

I saw roughly 10 animals on my hunt (6 hunts spread through 3 days before I tagged out). I did a fly in hunt 2 years ago, hunted non stop for 6 days from sun up until sun down, walked around 30 - 40 miles, and saw one cow and calf on the first day. The drive in hunt was 10x better than my fly in experience.

Other tips ... definitely get a cabin on the ferry, it's worth it. I preferred driving, I did it solo. It took me 2.5 days to get there taking my time, on my way home I pushed it and drove 26 hours straight with only gas stops once I got off the ferry. I brought back every pound of meat and saw some country I've never been too before (Maine).
 

Trial153

WKR
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
8,187
Location
NY
You get what you pay for in Newfoundland. The first question you need to ask is how many moose tags the outfitter is allocated to his licence. That is the foundation for what to expect.
 

PA Hunter

WKR
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
582
Location
Bethlehem Pennsylvania
wondering if I have one in me at 70YO. but have hunted PA and Colorado Elk for 20 years until two years ago. Thoughts?
Of course you can do it but you may want to try and find an outfitter that has an easier hunt. Defiantly one with an Argo instead of walking all the time. It is possible but do some research.
 
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