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Quebec 1 bull limit

Just curious if anyone else had heard Quebec is only allowing 1 mature bull tag this year and the option of buying a cow tag (15" of antler above its head). Love hunting up there so it doesnt bother me, but to some that 2 bull limit was the complete allure of hunting Quebec....

Yes I received an email from Amanda stating that it is now a one bull limit on the license. I am not thrilled about it but what can you do, I am already booked.

It's about management. In the unit north of Dillingham one year we were allowed one bull and five cows.

May make for better antlers over time as guys pass the good but not yet mature bulls in hopes of getting that monster.

My son lives in Montreal now. Anyone know if he can act as my guide???

I have no issues with good game mgmt...

I've personally always thought that a 2 bull, 6 day hunt was excessive. I did it once myself in the heyday of NWT caribou, and didn't feel all that great about it. That's me and I'm not suggesting anyone else should think this way. I'd rather hunt one bull and bring as much of it home as humanly possible.

Like Danny...good game management comes first.

You have to wonder why this wasn't done several years ago. After all the were then closing entire herds off from hunting yet leaving a two bull limit in other area. Seems like the writing was already on the wall showing a need however they seemed to drag their feet a bit. I also dont understand the idea of the cow tag in a declining population.

Caribou habitat gets degraded over time if the population is heavy. It takes a long time to come back. The cow tag may be a way to try and reduce some of the pressure and remove some of the older barren cows. Note the antler requirement.

Pat that was my exact question. Why would you shoot cows? Kinda need them to have calves.... And 15" of antler can easily be a young bull.

You do not identify a caribou as a cow based on antlers alone. Unless you like getting tickets, you look for the penile sheath. It's pretty easy to see on a bull and on cows you can also check for 2 openings in the back.

Antlers can fool you. On Adak a friend shot a modest bull. When they went to clean it, the other guy said "Hey Leo, someone stole the balls off your bull".

"Unless you like getting tickets, you look for the penile sheath. It's pretty easy to see on a bull and on cows you can also check for 2 openings in the back."

You forgot to mention ALWAYS PET THEM FIRST :-)

LKH, from the information I was given, the 2nd tag does not specify a cow only.15" of antler or less. So its a cow or "non trophy" bull tag.

I'm not a wildlife biologist but I don't understand the logic unless the intent is to REDUCE the herd.

Any chance you stayed at a holiday in express last night Midwest? Because you are spot on....

Fellow Hunters, We are writing to inform you of new regulations concerning sport hunting for caribou in Quebec, announced on January 19th by the Quebec Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks. For the 2016 and 2017 hunting seasons, the following changes have been implemented in an effort to conserve and maintain trophy quality, adult male caribou in the region: · Season dates are now Aug. 15th – Oct. 4th · Bag limits are now 1 caribou per license · Hunters will be issued a maximum of 2 licenses · The first license is for a trophy caribou of any size · The second license is for a caribou with antlers less than 15 inches Quebec’s Leaf River Herd of migrating caribou is the largest of its kind and one of the last great wildlife spectacles in North America. Its population was estimated at around 332,000 in the fall of 2015. Classification work performed by biologists indicates that the calf survival rate has increased to approximately 70%; the cow survival rate has been maintained at approximately 84%; and the male survival rate is marked at approximately 66%. As outfitters, we are conservationists, and we support our government’s decision to protect and maintain the quality of trophy caribou that is an emblematic symbol of our province; and is the reason why our clients give us the opportunity to bring them to our region. Going forward, we believe that this change will allow us to continue offering quality caribou hunts for years to come in a sustainable manner, while maintaining a 2-caribou bag limit for our clients. If you have questions or require clarification on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Richard & Amanda Hume Jack Hume Adventures Inc. Delay River Outfitters

So the intent is to improve trophy quality.

I think the rational is that the outfitters can still advertise a two Caribou limit for the hunts. I guess it's technically true however it now longer is an apples to apples comparison to other possible a caribou hunts when your weighting you options.

Honestly I knew possibility of the reduction when I booked the thunts so it's not like it's a surprise, as this been kicked around for a few years.

Also if I understand this correctly there are now two separate licenses, rather then two tags being issued on one license. I maybe misreading this. However if that is that case I would like to hunters the option of not incurring the cost of the second license, maybe a discount can be given if your only needing wanting the one "triophy" bull license. I for one have no interest in hunting or killing a caribo with less then 15" inches of antlers. It just has no appeal to me.

Trial, yes it is now 2 different license. At least thats how I read it as well. In my email from Amanda we were given 3 options. 1 bull tag, 1 non trophy tag and a free fishing license. option 2 was 1 bull tag a bear tag and a free fishing license. Option 3 was 1 bull tag, 2 nights stay paid for at the hotel in quebec. Normally most people (unless they drove up) stay 2 nights at the hotel and a free fishing license. All off which are roughly equal value of $300. That was for JHA, not sure if any other outfitter is doing anything different or at all...

Luke that's good to hear. Sounds like more then a fair deal from JHA. I am hoping that says in place for 2017, I am going up with two friends and we are booked with them also.

I've shot a bunch of cow caribou over the years. They eat just fine.

I am sure they do. However so do whitetail does or a cow elk .. Both of which I can kill without spending anywhere near the amount of money it takes to get me into caribou country. The lack of a second bull tag like it or not changes the value of the hunt and becomes a consideration. For me arrowing one good Bou was and always will be my primary focus, however that doesn't discount the value of a secondary possibity.

While hunting with JHA last year, during my week, I did see many cows and calves, some young bulls and few mature Bulls. We had a outstanding week and all in camp hunted hard for each animal.

The group before us had witnessed the full blown migration, hundreds if not thousands of caribou. Believe me when I tell you, Richard and Amanda want nothing more than every hunter to have a great hunt and to have the oppritunity for all to take a Caribou.

Their willingness to work with the changing regulations shows exactly what type of outfit you are dealing with.

Don't forget, if you get tired of fishing, after you take your Bou, go hunt some Phartmigan, those are a blast ( pack small game heads )

Great camp & great guys Rich......

I was going to stay out of this one but I could never figure out why a guy needed to shoot 2 big bulls. I have always taken a meat bull and then a big bull. Have even shot a cow a couple times. Of course, I have been up there 15 times so the antlers aren't such a big deal for me anymore. So much more to a caribou hunt with JHA than just killing caribou. We had such a good time last year around camp that I sometimes wondered if we were going to get out hunting that day!!! A hunt is what you make it and 1 bull or 2 just doesn't matter to me. Plus you guys that are worried about the cost of flying your antlers back can save a few bucks. See you on the tundra. Rory

Pat nice Bou. I agree 100 percent. For many guys this is once in life trip from them. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for wanting to kill two bulls if they were aforded the opportunity.

Wow Pat! Super bulls!

Nice bull Pat. Just finished SCI and there was very little concern with going to one. Actually, was surprised at how many already thought it had been put to one so I think the outfitters have all done a good job in warning hunters it was coming. My interpretation of the new reg. is that it will be tough to find anything with less than 14" other than a cow with no antlers thus basically making the second license a cow lic. and I think that is the intention. According to the study number I see, our mature bull to cow & calf ratio is way out of whack, but of the hunters I spoke to, none are interested in taking a second animal if it is not a mature bull so the ratio problem will continue to exist and I have absolutely no idea as to a solution to this problem.

If they are still asking full price for the second bull I don't see many non-residents doing so.

My son lives in Montreal now and if we were to go up we would probably get the second tag for him, but not for me.

Going to Anticosti Island with him in Nov.

Pat you are a show off! I hunted Quebec last year for two weeks and could count on one hand the number of cows that I saw that did not have a calf. I wonder what the intent of this is. It looked like the herd was definitely on the uptick. This one bull restriction should definitely improve the trophy quality though. Over the course of two weeks, I shared camp with 12 rifle hunters. Over those 2 weeks there were maybe 2 bulls that would have cleared the P&Y minimum and all of the rifle hunters killed 2 bulls each I believe.

Agree Rory........

Tom thats not true! John never shot a 2nd bull. And in fact his 1st was not much more than the new 15" rule. Man he was happy though.

Lowering the bull limit to 1 will certainly be a factor when booking hunts! Yes there is more to this hunt than shooting 2 bulls, but that aspect has a major appeal to many guys.

From a population standpoint, shooting cows makes little sense if the population is down. However, from what I am seeing maybe they are stating the herd isn't as bad as what they thought? The ratio is horribly lopsided and needs to be brought into check??

From a marketing standpoint I can understand why they allowed 1 bull and 1 cow. You still get two caribou, just one bull.

If anybody thinks the vast majority of those cow tags won't be filled on this hunt they are fooling themselves!! Most hunters who spend that much time and money to go on a hunt will indeed fill all their tags when an opportunity presents itself. I'm sure their will be a few who opt to not shoot cows. If and when I go back I will certainly fill all tags afforded to me and I wont feel guilty about it. The caribou meat I got is delicious and I wouldn't dare waste a cow tag if they are handing them out!

Going to one Caribou will now make guys think twice about going up there or going Alaska.

Some of the 30,000 from the Leaf River herd that came through our camp in a 24 hour period. This crossing went on for a day and a half. The wide one swimming back to the bunch was the one I'd just shot 30 seconds before, and was about to go underwater.

On each of my trips I've only killed one bull because that was all I needed to kill, and was all the meat I wanted to manage as checked baggage on multiple plane flights back to Denver. No matter what, it's an awesome hunt. Had as much fun fly fishing for Atlantic salmon and giant brookies as anything.

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