I won’t bore you all with the details of the long ride home.  A brief rundown however includes being weathered in at camp an extra day and a half, and then missing the last ferry off island.  I ended up pulling into the yard back home a full two days later than planned, and in deep trouble at work!  That’s the way it goes some times!

On the plus side, I got to spend some quality time at Conne River with Gerard (manager of the operation) discussing changes for the future.  Gerard has asked me to be the exclusive booking agent for the camp from now on, and to handle more of the communication with clients.  This I will gladly do.  We also agreed to restructure the hunts somewhat to improve things in the future.

The caribou hunting here is simply spectacular, and must remain the primary focus of our hunts.  We will only take sixteen hunters per season (as in the past) and from now on we will do this in a four week period.  That means only four clients per week, for four consecutive weeks, with the final dates being determined by actual bookings.  We are doing this to eliminate wasted air transport (to keep the costs down) and, at the same time, assuring the guides that they’ll only be “in country” for four weeks.  This will keep everyone happy!

Next, with regard to moose, we are going to try to spread the moose clients out more.  From now on we’ll make a concerted effort to only book only moose hunter per week.  Given that the primary objective for each client will be caribou; these moose hunters will be booked on Caribou/moose combo hunts.  There are only six moose tags available for the camp each year, and two are already reserved for the ’06 season.

As a result of the great success we had on bears at the “berry grounds” we will book a maximum of two caribou/bear combo hunts each season.  They will not be booked for the same week.  Gerard is bringing another boat to the camp that will be stationed on the long pond to the north of Dollands, to provide easy access to the berry grounds.  By providing this access, and minimizing the pressure on these bears, we should be able to maintain 100% success on stalking black bears on the ground for limited numbers of clients for the foreseeable future.  The goal is to maintain the quality of the animals and very high success rates at this “bowhunting only” operation.  The limited openings will book up fast, but we will hold places for future years with a small deposit so those that want to get on the list can, without robbing a bank.

Now that the dust has settled I had an opportunity to put a tape on the antlers, and have some very exciting news.  While the scores will not be official until re-measured after the mandatory sixty day drying period, these should be very close:

My caribou (first taken on the trip) green scores 276 7/8 easily exceeding the minimums for entry in the Boone & Crockett three year records.

Larry’s first stag green scored 281 4/8 also exceeding the B&C three year minimums.

Ron’s second stag green scored 241+ putting it solidly above the P&Y minimums.

Kevin’s stag just missed P&Y minimums due to deductions, but is a fine trophy none the less.

Saving the very best for last, Larry’s second stag green scores a whopping 346 7/8”!  For those of you that don’t have a record book handy, if this score holds after the drying period, this stag will be the potential new Pope & Young World Record!!!!  The old record was set in 1966, making it one of the longest standing bowhunting records.  The reason I qualify the statement with terms like “Potential”, is because a trophy can not be considered the new world record until it is panel measured for a Pope & Young Bi-Annual convention.  Therefore the next step is to officially score the rack after the sixty day drying period to confirm an official score.  There is no doubt but that this rack will be invited to the next panel measuring.  If the score holds there the rack will be announced at the Bi-Annual Awards Banquet in ’07.  Not until that happens will it become the new “official” world record.  I am an official measurer, and I was conservative on the green score measurements, so I’m optimistic, and excited for Larry.

After the sixty day drying period I’ll post a follow up report with the official scores for those that are interested.  By then I’ll have my bear skull back and can report on the official score on that as well.  Until then, good hunting.