Part 2 - Aurora Caribou Camp - NWT
Darcy and Zendal with his second bull.
Camp.
Hunter: Zendal Carroll
Cameraman: Ralph Cianciarulo
It was the last day to hunt, Ralph had filled both tags and I had one left, and I wanted so badly to fill it with my Katera. Right at the start of the day, Darcy spotted two great bulls heading our way. We needed to get ahead of them and get hidden so they would feed directly to us. After a long stalk, we were nestled into a group of rocks, with the bulls several hundred yards up wind. We were pretty sure they would feed within 50 yards of us, giving me a decent chance to take one with a bow. I also had the TC .270 within reach just in case he was out of range for my Hoyt.
As they neared, coming just the way we wanted, we saw the one bull was a bit better than the other. I concentrated on the better bull. Finally, as they fed closer, the lesser bull fed to my left and came to within 10 to 15 yards, but I still held out for the best bull. As the bull to our left fed close and picked up our wind, the other bull continued to feed directly in front of us at about 75 yards. The bull hadn’t busted us bad enough to affect the bull we wanted. As he fed closer, he made his way to the right and I shifted position to get a shot opportunity.
When he fed past the rocks and my chance was coming, I hit the rangefinder, and he was at 50 yards. The other bull had worked completely around us and was standing as if to wait for the other bull. As our bull came up to him, I drew and held, Ralph whispered “take your time”, and as the pin settled behind his shoulder, I released. I watched the arrow as if in slow motion, the bull ducked and the arrow just clipped his back. Disappointment settled in, but only for a split second…
With my shot taken, Ralph said “get the gun”, but I was already reaching and had the TC in my grasp. As Ralph stayed on the bulls, which were moving directly away from us, I clambered up higher on the rocks so I could get a shot if the bulls turned to either side. As they reached about 200 yards, with Ralph still on them with the camera and me following with the rifle, they turned to their right and finally offered what we were waiting for. As soon as the crosshairs settled on the quartering away bull, I touched it off. At the report, the bull dropped and thrashed around. I knew by the reaction that he was mine.
What a hunt! The stalk, the wait, the miss, and finally—another chance. As we quartered and packed the bull, it capped off one of the best hunts I had ever been part of. What a great experience we had at Aurora Caribou Camps. I would recommend the hunt to anyone. A huge THANK YOU to Darcy and everyone else at Aurora Caribou Camps.
The wilderness trips have been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, and to spend one with Ralph is truly special time spent.