Canada’s northern territories are among North America’s greatest big-game destinations.
Photo above by GaryKramer.net
The roar of the Super Cub’s engine filled the big valley as the little plane blew by us, climbed slowly above the buckbrush, and headed down the vast drainage, gradually disappearing from sight. My hunting partner and I stood silently for a few minutes, soaking in the breathtaking beauty of our surroundings. We had arrived at our remote hunting destination at that magical but very brief period when the North Country is transformed by the fall colors of the willows, mountain alder, and dwarf birch.
I will never forget that moment, even though it took place more than forty years ago. It was not only the start of a fantastic week of hunting that resulted in my taking a magnificent mountain caribou, it was also the beginning of a lifelong infatuation with Canada’s North Country. This is the vast wilderness comprised of the Yukon, Northwest Territories (NWT), and Nunavut, an area that lies north of the 60th parallel and encompasses close to 1.5 million square miles.
People are few and far between north of 60, with a total population of approximately 130,000 people for all three territories combined. That is barely enough people to populate a midsize suburb, or to put it in perspective, it’s about 0.087 people per square mile. But the true picture doesn’t come into focus until you consider that about half of those people live in the three territorial capitals of Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit.
The big-game hunting in Canada’s north is as diverse as the topography. From the spectacular, glacier-covered St. Elias Mountains in the southwest Yukon to the vast barren lands west of Hudson Bay, to the stark islands of the High Arctic, there are unique and exciting big-game hunting opportunities for many of North Americas most iconic big-game species.
Sheep and Goats
The Yukon and NWT offer excellent opportunities for sheep hunters. Dall sheep are the primary focus of nonresident hunters and are found in most of the mountain ranges of the Yukon from its western border with Alaska east to its border with the NWT and the Mackenzie Mountains. The NWT offers excellent Dall sheep hunting in the Mackenzie Mountains west of the Mackenzie River.
What some hunters do not realize, however, is that the Yukon offers excellent Stone sheep hunting as well. When Stone sheep are mentioned, most hunters automatically think of British Columbia, not realizing that the range of these sheep extends north of the 60thparallel into the southern part of the Yukon.
The range of the Fannin sheep, a hybrid between Stone and Dall sheep, extends even farther into central Yukon.
Limited mountain goat hunting is also found in the Yukon and the NWT. Mountain goats are found in the southernmost part of the Yukon in suitable habitat from the Klondike region in the southwest corner adjacent to Alaska and BC to the southeast corner boundary with the NWT, and in the southern half of the Mackenzie Mountains in the NWT.
Alaska-Yukon Moose
The Yukon and the NWT offer excellent hunting for big Alaska-Yukon moose and are one of the primary reasons nonresident hunters head north. Moose outfitters are spread over most of the Yukon, but the nonresident moose hunting in the NWT is restricted to west of the Mackenzie River in the Mackenzie Mountains.
Depending on the terrain, moose hunts may be conducted by boat, ATV, or on horseback. In some cases, there are backpack hunts. When I see backpack hunts for Alaska-Yukon moose advertised these days, it reminds me of years gone by when I’d be guiding a backpack sheep or caribou hunt and the hunter would exercise his option to shoot a bull moose. That was in the bad old days when the guide was all things on whatever hunt was assigned. Besides guiding the hunter and taking care of the game he shot, you were also the wrangler, farrier, cook, dishwasher, nurse, skinner, tracker, and packer. A big bull moose on the ground meant a lot of hours packing the meat, cape, and antlers out to a place where the outfitter could get to it with his plane, in addition to the original target of a sheep or caribou.
These days, backpack hunts usually include a strong young man as a packer, and many horseback hunts also include a wrangler to round up the ponies in the morning and saddle them. If the hunts are operating out of a semi-permanent camp with wall tents or cabins, a cook is generally doing what cooks do, which further lightens the load for the guide. Things have changed, and in a good way.
Caribou
There are four different types of caribou to hunt north of 60: mountain caribou, barren-ground caribou, Central Canada barren-ground caribou, and Peary caribou. Boundaries can vary a bit, depending on the record book, so I am going to just give a general description as to where the different types are available. A hunter needs to do their own due diligence for the actual specifics of the boundaries.
Mountain caribou are found in the Yukon east from the border with Alaska and south of the Yukon River, to the NWT border, and in the NWT west of the Mackenzie River. Mountain caribou hunting is a fantastic hunt and is usually by horse or backpack. On the early season hunts especially, you will quickly learn how they get their name, as you will be in sheep country.
Barren-ground caribou are hunted in the Yukon north of the Yukon River and west of the Mackenzie River, while Central Canada barren ground caribou are east of the Mackenzie River in the NWT and all the mainland in Nunavut, as well as Baffin Island. The Peary or Arctic Islands caribou are found on the islands of the High Arctic.
Most Central Canada barren ground caribou hunts are conducted by boat on the numerous big lakes in the barrens. Hunters will beach the boat periodically to climb onto a ridge and glass. This is a very enjoyable hunt, but the weather can be extremely variable and rough boat rides are unavoidable at times. As most hunters are aware, these caribou have experienced a big drop in numbers and the NWT closed the season over a decade ago, but there are still opportunities to hunt them in Nunavut.
Hunting the Peary caribou is something I have always wanted to do, as they are a unique, small variety of caribou. Unfortunately, there are very limited opportunities to hunt these little caribou due to the extremely remote area they inhabit, and permits are few.
Wood Bison
It is surprising how many hunters do not know about the exceptional hunting available for wild wood bison in the north. There are wood bison herds in both the southwest Yukon and the southwest area of the NWT near Great Slave Lake. These are big animals, and a mature bull can be several hundred pounds heavier than a mature plains bison bull.
There is one outfitter in the Yukon that offers hunts to nonresidents. The NWT herd suffered a big di- off about a decade ago due to anthrax, which resulted in the season being closed. The herd has been increasing, however, and a few permits have been issued in the last couple of years to resident hunters, so hopefully in the not-too-distant future, outfitted hunts will resume. I took my wood bison bull in the NWT prior to the anthrax problem occurring, and when you get one of those huge bulls on the ground, it brings new meaning to the saying, “When you pull the trigger, the fun stops and the work begins.”
Muskox
Muskox hunting is available in the NWT and Nunavut, both on the mainland and the Arctic islands. The mainland muskox is larger than those on the Arctic islands. I have only hunted muskox on the Arctic islands and hope to hunt the mainland bulls when time and money permit. Muskox are prehistoric-looking beasts, and the meat is very good.
Muskox hunting is made available to non-residents via the local Inuit Hunters and Trappers Associations in the various communities. It is a fun hunt, and usually hunters have the option of a fall hunt during August/September or a spring hunt in March/April. Fall hunts are great for those who do not like the cold, but if you want a true Arctic experience, the spring hunts will certainly give you a taste of what winter is like in the Arctic.
Toothy Creatures
Grizzly bears are found throughout the Yukon, the mainland of the NWT, and Nunavut, as well as some of the Arctic islands. The grizzlies in the Yukon and the Mackenzie Mountains of the NWT are the regular interior or mountain grizzlies most everyone is familiar with, while the grizzlies that inhabit the barren grounds or tundra of the NWT and Nunavut are referred to as barren-ground grizzlies.
Outfitters currently offer both spring and fall hunts for grizzlies in the Yukon. In the NWT there is no nonresident grizzly hunting permitted in the Mackenzie Mountains, but a limited number of nonresident hunts are offered for barren- ground grizzlies in the barren lands of mainland NWT and Nunavut. These hunts are through the local Hunter and Trappers Associations of the First Nations and Inuit communities that are assigned an annual quota. It is worth noting that north of 60, in the “territories,” is currently the only place left in Canada that you can legally hunt grizzly bears.
I have had a fair amount of experience with the barren-ground grizzlies while guiding Central Canada barren-ground caribou hunts, and they are incredibly beautiful bears with wonderful coats that tend to be lighter colored. They also usually have bad attitudes and act much more like their white brothers. These bears are also continuing to expand their range, with bears being seen farther north in the Arctic islands, while others are being seen farther south in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and northern Ontario around James Bay.
Contrary to what the anti-hunters would have you believe, polar bears are doing just fine. The big white bears are present in the extreme north of the Yukon near the Arctic Ocean, and in the coastal regions of the NWT and Nunavut, as well as the Arctic islands. Inuit communities are issued annual polar bear quotas, and the communities offer some of their quota to be used for guiding nonresident hunters by local Inuit guides.
Polar bear hunts are typically conducted in the spring during March and April when the long daylight hours provide increased hunting time. This is a true Arctic adventure with highly experienced Inuit hunters using a sled and dog team.
Black bears are abundant in the Yukon and the NWT south of the treeline, but very few outfitters offer standalone black bear hunts, choosing instead to offer them as an incidental trophy while pursuing other big game.
Both wolverines and wolves are found throughout the Yukon, the NWT, and Nunavut. Generally, they are hunted as creatures of opportunity, and outfitters encourage hunters to buy the tags in case opportunity knocks while they are on a big-game hunt for moose, caribou, muskox, or what have you. I have always encouraged hunters I was guiding to purchase these tags as well, as they are relatively inexpensive. I have seen a lot of wolves and wolverines over the years, generally when I was guiding someone who didn’t buy the appropriate tags and quickly came to regret it. While I do not know any outfitters that offer a hunt specifically for wolverines, many offer winter or early spring wolf hunts.
Why head north of 60? To be sure, there are still large chunks of huntable land in the northern parts of the four western Canadian provinces, but it’s not like it used to be. Resource extraction from logging, mines, and oil and gas exploration have created access to a lot of country that was once extremely difficult to get into. There has also been a big increase in the human population over the last few decades, especially in British Columbia and Alberta, which naturally means there are a lot more people using the backcountry.
When I first started guiding in British Columbia in the late 1970s, you could pack into the backcountry with a client for a two-week hunt and never see another person the whole time you were gone. The only signs of civilization you would see was the occasional jet flying overhead. We didn’t realize how good we had it, and assumed those areas would be the same for many years to come. Now, you will meet resident hunters hiking down the horse trails, and every lake that is big enough for a small float plane to use will have a group of people camped on it.
Canada’s northern territories, on the other hand, encompass an incredible amount of land but still have very small populations. Roads are few and far between, and the long, cold winters discourage all but the hardiest souls from moving there. I have been fortunate enough to have spent many months of my life hunting north of the 60th parallel, both as a hunter and while guiding other hunters, and I just never get enough of it. If you, too, want to experience exceptional big-game hunting in truly remote country that meets the true definition of wilderness, look north of 60.
