The PCMB's main responsibility is to ensure there will be plenty of Porcupine Caribou around to hunt for future generations. The Board is concerned about the herd's declining population. The highest recorded population was in 1989, with 178,000 caribou. Today, the herd is estimated to be as low as 110,000.
Now is the time to try to slow or even reverse the herd's decline. The sooner we act, and the more decisively we act, the better the outcome will be for the herd and, ultimately, the harvesters. There might come a time when harvesting has to be reduced. But we hope that by hunting better, hunters might not have to hunt less.
No one is sure what is causing of the herd's decline. But we can be sure that times have changed and we can't use the herd the way we used to. To show respect for the herd, we have to take extra care.
The PCMB wishes all harvesters a safe and successful hunt
It might seem counterintuitive to want hunters to be successful.
After all, if a hunter misses his prey, that's good news for the caribou, right? Not necessarily. After all, if a hunter wounds a caribou that runs away and then dies a few days later, that hunter still needs meat and will keep trying to kill a caribou.
Or a hunter might shoots into a group of caribou, and the bullet can pass through and kills one animal. Then that same bullet might wound another caribou, and that second caribou might run a way and die some time later.
Responsible hunting, then, can save the hunters long chases and expensive bullets. And responsible hunting can save the herd unnecessary deaths.
With responsible hunting, fewer animals die to put the same amount of meat on people's tables.
Here's some of the easiest ways to show respect for the herd, and to protect its ability to grow:
- Spare the cow – if a hunter chooses one bull instead of a cow each year for 10 years, there will be 23 more caribou in the herd. This isn't enough of a change to reverse the population's downward trend. The PCMB is asking all hunters to select only young bulls, all the time. Selecting young bulls, or avoiding hunting from October 18 to November 21, will ensure you don't get "stink meat" in the fall.
- Take only what you need, and use all that you take.
- Shoot to kill – wounded caribou usually die in the bush hours or days after being shot.
Cows and bulls can both have antlers! Here's how to select bulls:
- Bulls will have a penis sheath; cows will have a vulva patch.
- Both cows and young bulls will be smaller than mature bulls. Select the small bulls between mid-October and early November to avoid "stink meat".
- In late fall, mature rutting bulls will have thicker necks than young bulls and cows.
- In late fall, mature rutting bulls will appear more agitated and aggressive.
Rifles such as a .25-06, .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, .30-06 Springfield, .303 British and similar cartridges shooting bullets 120 to 180 grains will kill a well-hit caribou a lot further away than a .30-30 Winchester. Choose one of the lighter-weight bullets in your caliber choice, i.e. 150 grain in .30-06.
To ensure accurate shots, sight in your rifle before you hunt, each and every time you hunt, and always sight in with the same kind of ammunition you will use to hunt.
The PCMB and the territorial governments have targets available free of charge for hunters to sight in their guns.
A bullet always travels in a big arc, some almost like a rainbow. No bullet shoots flat, but some shoot flatter than others. A .30-30 Winchester, .32 Special, .300 Savage or .45-70 shoot in a much bigger arc than a .243, .270, .30-06, 7mm Remington Magnum or any .300 Magnum. These last named cartridges start off faster with pointed bullets so they shoot flatter.
The flat nosed, slower moving .30-30 Winchester has to be aimed much higher to hit the target at 150 yards.
It is not easy to correctly estimate your target's distance in the wide-open space of the tundra. It's a good idea to choose a flat-shooting rifle and using good bullets that retain their speed and energy for longer distances.
It's the speed of the bullet that gives it the energy – and the energy is its killing power. If the bullet is slower to start with and loses speed rapidly then it also loses energy to the point where it will not kill the animal when it hits.
With your sighted-in rifle, you need to know what to aim for on the caribou's body. The bullet should be placed into the heart/lung area to kill the animal quickly without it suffering.
Steady yourself before you take aim. Sit down or kneel using your knees as a rest or rest against the snow machine; do not shoot from the standing position.
Bullets easily pass through even big animals, so wounding a second animal can easily happen. Don't shoot at a group of animals. Instead, pick one that is separate from the group, and shoot that animal.
A wounded animal should be immediately shot again to kill it. This prevents the animal from wandering off and dying elsewhere, where it is wasted.
Shooting a wounded animal also minimizes its suffering. Very important is the fact that meat flavor can be tainted by the animal going into shock after being wounded. A quick death means better meat.
If you use a snow machine, be sure to avoid harassing the caribou. Chasing them fills their muscles with chemical compounds such as lactic acid, which makes the meat taste bad. And if the chase isn't successful, you will have scattered the group of caribou, which means you'll have to go farther to try again.
Before you shoot an animal, check the time. After the animal is killed, you will have to retrieve it and field dress it. It's important to make sure you have time to do that before you lose daylight.
Another factor affecting meat quality is the rutting season. Hormones released by bull caribou during that time can make the meat stinky and foul tasting, and most people can't tolerate eating that meat.
To avoid disappointment in your first caribou dinner, it's best to avoid hunting Porcupine Caribou between October 18 and November 21.
We have also requested that all hunters voluntarily avoid hunting female caribou so that the herd's declining population has the best chance to recover.
Rather than shooting a bull or a female caribou during the rut, the PCMB would advise hunting at a different time. Very skilled hunters can select immature bulls during that time. While immature bulls will not have meat tainted by hormones, it can be very tricky to identify them.
- Once an animal has been shot, the animal should be kept cool, clean and dry.
- Gut the animal promptly to avoid spoilage, especially if it was shot in the belly.
- Gut the animal carefully to avoid contamination by spilling contents of the bladder, stomach or bowels on meat.
- The skimmer or truck box should be clean of gas, oil, garbage or saw dust – use a tarp.
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