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Bowsite.com's Leopard Bowhunt with Dries Visser Safaris

DAY 3

Join Pat Lefemine and Bill Gaunt as they bowhunt Quebec-Lab caribou with Jack Hume Adventures

day 1

day 2

day 3

day 4

day 5

day 6



Discuss this hunt

After yesterday afternoon's lack of activity we thought our best shot was to go back to the end of the lake and into the trees - like our first afternoon. So after Jimmy dropped us off and we setup an ambush spot, we were ready for action. By 10:30 AM it was obvious that the caribou had moved through. There were no caribou anywhere, not in the lake, on the ridges nor any of the trails near us. The caribou sightings had been decreasing since we flew here and so this came as no surprise to us.

When Jimmy checked up on us at 11, we asked him if he had seen caribou anywhere. He had not. Being concerned for the remainder of our hunt, he called Richard Hume and reported that caribou were all but gone. Richard told Jimmy to hold tight until 2:00 PM at which time he'd send Stephan with the Cessna 185 to find the herd and make an assessment.

Sitting around hoping for a long shot seemed pointless to me. Instead Bill and I opted to fish for lake trout and do some stump shooting and practicing. The fishing turned out to be slow but it was good to shoot the bows and jump in the lake for an "invigorating" (i.e.. cold as hell) bath.

The Cessna buzzed the tower (no he did not request a fly by) around 3 PM and at 4:30 Richard called Jimmy to let him know we were moving in the AM. The caribou were long gone with no herds approaching. This was a huge relief to us. Nobody had seen many caribou, only an occasional lost soul or limper.

That night we ate Rib Steaks and poured over the map of Dick's Lake - our AM destination. Jimmy was not familiar with this lake but the caribou were supposed to be there, and we could tell enough from the contour lines and narrows where to go. Our trip was now officially half over and both Bill and I were itching for action. The other guys too, so far only 2 bulls were tagged in our group. But if we hit it right, we could all be tagged out tomorrow.

The Importance of Mid-Week Moves

Every year I hear the same complaints about caribou outfitters here on our Caribou forum - "My outfitter promised to move me but didn't and we saw zip all week." Jack Hume Adventures lived up to their promise - they checked out the area, confirmed there was little chance of caribou hitting our lake, and they found a better camp for us to move to.

Now, there are no guarantees that the action will be hot after we move - but it's important to move even if there's little action anywhere else. If nothing else it gives you renewed optimism and that's important.

This is especially true for bowhunters. Said plainly, we need a lot more action in order to be successful. Seeing 10 caribou a day may be fine if you have the ability to shoot long range with a rifle, but with a bow, and its range limitation of under 30 yards - the success rate drops off dramatically.

 

Next - Day 4



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