Caribou hunting is a unique adventure that is done in unique places. For many, it is the adventure of a lifetime. Unfortunately, many hunters blow their hunt due to lack of preparation, both physically and with their gear.Â
So if you go, you want to be sure you have the right gear. There’s no room for error here. Seldom will you find second chances on a hunt of this caliber.Â
To help you get there, we’ve put together a list of some of the tools to keep in mind as you prepare. Aside from your bow or gun, here’s a look at the essential gear for hunting caribou.Â
Optics
Whether you hunt caribou on the tundra, in the low forests or in the mountains, the common thread that ties all caribou habitats is they are vast. Caribou live in big, open country. To find them you need good optics. To pick out the trophy you want you need good optics.
A variable-power spotting scope, with maximum magnification in the 50-power range, is a good tool for picking apart vast landscapes, like the flat area flanking a river through the tundra, or the side of a mountain.Â
I’d consider a spotting scope to be a good piece of gear to bring if you have room for it. Because caribou live in such remote places, hunts for them often require rides in small planes, where weight restrictions are tight.
While I’d consider the spotting scope to be somewhat expendable, binoculars aren’t. You need them on a caribou hunt. They can help you find caribou in those vast expanses, but more importantly, they’re needed to pick apart the herd.Â
You need them to identify your target animal. And then you need them to keep track of that animal as it moves among other caribou in the herd.
I wouldn’t choose binoculars with anything less than 10x magnification. Obviously, when you go higher than 10x, you really start getting into heavy binoculars, which you might not want to haul around your neck for eight hours a day, and which can cut into your overall gear weight.Â
Fortunately, because caribou live in open spaces, you don’t need big objective lenses. There’s plenty of light in caribou country. Binoculars with 40mm lenses are sufficient here.
Another indispensable tool bowhunters need for caribou is a rangefinder. Distance in open country is incredibly deceiving, especially if you’re not used to hunting in it.Â
A caribou standing 100 yards away on the open tundra can easily look like it’s 50 yards. Bring a rangefinder.
Read more on caribou hunting in North America HERE
Bug Gear
Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it – the wind nearly always blows in caribou country. That wind keeps the bugs out of your face. Of course, that can also make for tricky bow hunting.
But when the wind stops, flying insects will swarm. Sometimes it’s mosquitoes, but I think the gnats are worse. They go straight for your face.
And while spray-on insect repellent works on mosquitoes, I haven’t found one that keeps the gnats away. For them, you need a headnet.
You can take one of those full-body, mesh bug suits to keep everything off you. At the very least, have a hat with a headnet that folds down from it to keep the bugs away from your face.
If you’re one of those people that biting insects love to feast on, be sure you’ve got gloves to cover your hands, too. Thermacells are nice, but I don’t think they work too well if there’s even a slight breeze, and carrying the butane cartridges that power them onto commercial airplanes is not allowed.
Boots
Footwear is tricky for caribou hunting. As mentioned, you’re dealing with weight restrictions on most fly-in hunts. And the best scenario for caribou hunting is to have two kinds of boots.Â
Caribou love the water. In much of the country where they live, the ground is wet and/or you’ll need to cross streams. On wet ground, rubber boots are the best.
However, rubber boots aren’t necessarily the most comfortable for hiking – especially for long distances. For distance hikes, you’ll want some kind of hiking boot. Such boots usually aren’t as waterproof as rubber boots, nor or they knee high.
So you’ve got three choices. You can bring a pair of rubber boots and a pair of hiking boots to cover you for different terrains. Or you can find the tallest pair of waterproof hiking boots you can find. Or you can suffer with rubber boots on long hikes.
If you can only take one pair, for mountain caribou, I’d go with hiking boots. For tundra hunts, I’d go with rubber boots.
Rain Gear / Clothing
It rains/snows a lot in caribou country during the late summer and fall. Rare is the caribou hunt that doesn’t include at least one wet day. So be sure you’ve got your rain gear.
As for the rest of your hunting clothing, be prepared for cold to warm weather. The normal temperature range is probably 40-60 degrees. Rarely do temperatures go above 70 degrees on caribou hunts.Â
Less rare – but still not common – are temperatures below freezing. Check the weather before you travel to get an idea of what you’ll be dealing with on your hunt.
Other Essentials
This is a hunt in remote country, where vehicle use is either non-existent or very limited. So think about what you’d need to get a 400-pound animal out of the field – knives, frame pack, game bags, etc.Â
Of course, if you’re hunting with an outfitter – which you must do in Canada – a lot of that gear might be provided by the outfitting service.
Likewise, if you’re camping, you’ll need all your camp gear. And if you are on your own, consider a GPS unit and a satellite phone for emergencies. There is no cell service in caribou country.
Besides all that gear, a good backpack is critical for hauling a day’s worth of clothing, food, camera, etc. around on your hunt. Consider adding a bow sling so you can haul your bow and have both hands free, or simply transfer that load to your shoulders to give your arms a break.
The key to gearing up for a caribou hunt is to think about what you need to be comfortable and effective as a bowhunter. Take what you need. Leave behind what you don’t. Do that and your caribou adventure should be the experience of a lifetime.
Read more on How to Bowhunt Caribou HERE
