Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Manitoba Caribou and Moose hunt too good to be true - Part 1

I had a job for 35 years that kept me from taking time off in September through November. When I decided to retire the first thing I promised myself was to hunt in September. I did what all good hunters should do and that was to research and talk to as many people as possible to sort out the numerous outfitters. Once I had narrowed the list down I made sure that I met and talked in person with each of the outfitters at one of their shows. I meet the Webber's Lodge staff at the Chicago show in January on a snowy windy day. Once I had met them, I was sold and booked a combination fly-in Manitoba Caribou and Moose hunt. Once I sent in my deposit and made that commitment I hoped I was right. Well, I was and here is the story.

Day three was my day. We walked to a great outcropping of rocks and sat down. The caribou had to come right by us to get around the lake so we settled in and began glassing. At 8:15 I shot my first caribou ever at 50 yards. If I had waited any longer it would have walked right over me. After pictures, Yvan my guide carried the meat, but I wanted to carry the cape and trophy antlers. We hung the meat and went right back out for the afternoon. At 3:45 four bulls and eight cows came out of the trees about 2 miles away and were making a beeline straight for us. When there was no doubt they were coming we run to a small rise and got ready. The caribou covered the 2 miles in less than 15 minutes and were directly in front of us and had no intention of stopping. Finally I had to shoot or again get walked on. One shot and it went down like a ton of bricks. The other caribou stopped and turned allowing us to see one of the other four bulls and it was a huge one. The rest of the trip I spent my time fishing for Northern Pike and Lake Trout. It was also nice to spend the days just relaxing and enjoying the beauty of the surrounding tundra.