By Prof. Harold C. Lyon
My son, Gregg, and I had stalked in the afternoon mist in beautiful wilderness back-country with our guide, Brendon, this first day of our Newfoundland wilderness hunt, and had seen two small bulls. But we were trying for a rare "grand slam" of a moose, the rare Woodland Caribou, and a black bear. After a gourmet dinner of salmon and fresh veggies at Tuckamore Lodge, we had stimulating exchanges of hunting stories with our fellow guests, went to bed early, and were up at 4:30 AM for a hearty breakfast and off for our first full day of wilderness hunting with our skilled guide, Brendon Fitzpatrick.
As we stepped out of the thicket, we spotted the paddle of antlers as they shone in the rising sun 600 meters to our front on the other side of a fresh water lake. This was a big moose and we knew this bull was the one we sought. We stalked around the lake in the small amount of cover available until we had closed the distance to 100 meters. But the bull disappeared into the Tuckamore thicket. Slowly we stalked into the wood line and as we cleared it, There he was 50 meters away, standing and looking at us. Instinctively Gregg threw my 30.06 German Mouser - my 16th birthday present -- to his shoulder, drew a bead just behind the shoulder and squeezed off the shot: Ka-Booom! The creature stumbled mortally, disappearing into the thicket to our left. We heard brush breaking - for the next long minute, saw movement of antlers in the brush?and then quiet.
After two tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, thank God, my son Gregg, a proud US Marine, is safely back and on a stabilized tour of duty in London. We have hunted together every chance we have, often with his brother, which, with Gregg's highest priority service to his Country, has not been often enough in the past decade. I wanted to arrange a very special big game wilderness hunt for the two of us to share - a father-son bonding experience. My vision was to arrange this with a good outfitter, something neither of us have ever done before, but always dreamed about. I always thought of these experiences for those fortunate enough to be able to afford flying off to Alaska or some exotic mountainous wilderness, not readily available to me or my family. And I wanted it to be in wild country, not like the carefully structured German hunts we had shared but always enjoyed. We wanted wilderness.
As a young boy, I eagerly devoured the leading US and German hunting magazines from cover to cover, always savoring the adventure stories about exciting wilderness hunting experiences organized by outfitters.
How I longed to go on one of these adventures! This past summer I had the inspiration that, at age 73, it was not too late to do this with one of my sons!
My 60 years of hunting experience in the US has always been more local hunting on our own where ever we lived. My Army father passed on to me his passion for the outdoors in New Hampshire and in the various military posts he was assigned. My good fortune was that we spent my last three years of high school 1950-1953 in Germany where my father was stationed, learning the wonderful German old-world hunting traditions. In 1952, Americans in Germany were required for the first time since the occupation, to take the challenging hunting license exam, an incredibly difficult exam which still has a high failure rate. As German hunters know, it includes all aspects of the game, sportsmanship, conservation, and even the wonderful old world customs. That was the first year the exam was offered to Americans and I studied harder for it than I did my high school algebra class in Heidelberg. And I passed!
I still hold a current German hunting license which has served me well to this day, living in Germany several months a year over the past 18 years as a guest professor in Germany, where much of my hunting now takes place. As exciting as the German winter drive hunts (Druckjagd) for wild boar and Red deer are, they are, by necessity, pains-takenly organized and very formal affairs from rules to dress. For example, on a particular hunt the leader will announce to the assembled hunters all lined up militarily in their loden attire, Today, you may shoot between the hours of 9AM when the hunt begins until 1 PM when the bugles announce the end of the hunt. Shoot only young wild boar (Überlöffer) less than 1.5 years old and red deer calves or "spieser" stags with spikes 29 cm or less. As rich in tradition and exciting as these formal hunts may be, they are hardly wilderness hunts. And 29 cm is hell to judge on a running animal! When I shot a red stag spike, 28 cm long, Peter Busch, the Jaegermeister, over-generously stated to the assembled hunters, Prof. Lyon has incredible long range measurement to have made this judgment! If it had been 30 cm, I would have been in for a big fine. I learned then, when in doubt, do not shoot.
Many of my German hunting friends and I long for the true wilderness hunting adventure, now so rare to find. Alaska certainly offers this, but the travel and outfitter costs are incredibly high, one has to hunt with a resident, and it can take years to organize. What are the other genuine wilderness hunting options available for the average German hunter?
While giving a presentation to an outdoor hunting exposition last year, I found an answer. During the expo Ed Best of the Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism division gave a multi-media presentation to the New England Outdoor Writers Association on the incredible wilderness hunting and fishing opportunities available only a day's flight away in Newfoundland, compared to Alaska or Russia, where one's life or pocketbook can be in peril not just from the big game but from possible human terrorism as well. I was struck by the beauty of the wild country of Newfoundland in this presentation.
I learned that Newfoundland has the highest density of moose of any where in the world ? 7 moose per square km! And some of the largest trophy moose and black bear live in Labrador. Also Newfoundland/Labrador remains the only place in the world where a non-resident can still hunt Woodland Caribou. These beautiful and huge Woodland Caribou do not migrate but live in the pristine wilds of Newfoundland along with record numbers and sized black bears, many over 400 pounds. The hunting success rate in this unparalleled wilderness land is about 90% for each of these big game species and you can hunt them like you would my favorite quarry, the wily White-tail deer. Now this looked like real hunting adventure where a hunter can experience a wilderness stalk like in Alaska instead of sitting in a permanent game preserve-type of stand and be told which animal to shoot. But what about outfitters who could make all the arrangements?
I asked several fellow sportsmen who had hunted in Labrador and the name of Tuckamore Lodge kept coming up. The owner, Barb Genge, was one of the best in Newfoundland,? I was told. Not only did she have great wilderness hunts with excellent guides, but her comfortable Scandinavian-style lodge in a wilderness setting in the northern tip of Newfoundland, had the best accommodations and gourmet food of any in the province. The package prices from the outfitter include license fees, local pick up and return, accommodations, all meals, guide, and preparation of game to take home including the caping, trophy preparation, and meat boxing. (Custom cutting and wrapping, and vacuum packing is extra). [See insert box on Tuckamore Lodge]. For someone like me, who never had experienced hunting with an outfitter, this sounded too good to be true but also like the perfect gamble to take. Here was a trophy outfitter wilderness hunt in an area of exceptional natural beauty within a day?s air travel from Europe. And this hunt were we covered 8-10 kms/day in wild country was the opposite of a big game preserve or formal European hunting experience. Boone & Crocket sized big game could be hunted here by real outdoorsmen.
The moose season opened on September 12 this year and goes until early December. The rut comes in about the last week of September. If you are physically fit, you stand a 95% chance of getting your moose in Newfoundland. There were 11 hunters at Tuckamore Lodge during our week and 10 out of 11 shot a moose; 2 bow hunted and both were successful. But be ready to trek 5-10 miles per day in rugged bogs. During our 7-day hunt we had 3 days of pelting rain plus 4 days of high wind ? the biggest deterrent to moose hunting success. So bring camo rain gear and dress in layers for cold evenings. Temperatures ranged from 40s-60s.
Our guide had led us on an early morning trek to an area which he knew harbored several huge bulls and if Gregg?s aim had placed the 180 grain round where he thought it had, this trophy was ours. We headed quietly through the thicket, rifle at the ready, pussy-footing our way toward where we heard the last brush-breaking. My eye caught movement to our right and there, not 20 yards away was the huge bull standing facing us, head down ears back and hair up on his neck! I reached out and touched Gregg?s shoulder. ?On patrol in Afghanistan? again, he froze, looked to the right and immediately raised his rifle. The huge moose dropped to his knees and then fell over with a big crash without another shot being fired. Gregg kept the rifle up waiting to insure we were not charged by this huge creature. But he was down for good. Now began the work ? getting him out of the wilderness which is where our guide took over, thankfully! Getting your animal out of the wilderness is always a major consideration when big game hunting in north America. You need not worry about this at Tuckamore as they have an ?Argo? -- an 8-wheel ATV capable if going anywhere and bringing out your game all of which is part of the package price. (See picture of my moose and Gregg?s caribou in one Argo.)
Though Gregg?s was not a huge trophy, at 1000 pounds he was a respectable trophy and ?round one? toward Gregg?s three round ?Grand Slam.?
That same evening just before dark, sitting in a tree stand for bear where our guide had placed us, we were surprised when suddenly a bear snuck in behind us and was sniffing us 20 meters away. Tuckamore Lodge maintains 30-40 baited bear sites all with good tree stands, which they check and refresh daily changing stands every few months. Though it may be easy to shoot a small bear from a baited stand, the larger bears are smarter, know where the tree stands are and cautiously check them out to insure they are not occupied by hunters before hitting the baits. No movement or sound is essential in order to fool a trophy bear.
Realizing we were being watched at close range, Gregg whirled around and made a snap shot without time to steady himself, but his aim proved true. Bears are tough to kill and this one took off like a rocket and disappeared into a thicket. We found a blood trail as darkness settled and as we fought our way into the tangles, we could hear some thrashing around and growling up ahead of us. Gregg was eager to move on toward the bear but I cautioned him that it would not be wise for us to venture into the dark thickets after a wounded bear and that we should get our guide to help. Reluctantly, Gregg agreed and we made our way out to where Brendon was to meet us. We three returned with flash-lights and rifle-at-the-ready, but Brendon advised us that it was a dangerous situation and that we should go back the next morning to track the bear. Though it rained that night, washing out the blood trail, we were very excited to find the bear down for good with a lung shot only a 100 meters from where we had ventured the night before. This gave us number two toward Gregg?s idealistic goal of a rare ?Grand Slam?.
We were advised that the rare Woodland Caribou would be, perhaps, the biggest challenge as they were tough to find. Studies of this species show that they suffer from local predation by coyotes, bears, and lynx. To help reduce predation, two black bears can now be taken on each bear tag in Newfoundland and, accordingly, the cost of a non-resident license for bear is now only $100.
The Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) is unique and a different sub-species from the Barren-ground migrating Caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). This is the only remaining region where they may be hunted and only in limited numbers, so we considered ourselves fortunate that our outfitter had gotten us a tag for this beautiful species. We planned to hunt for caribou toward the end of our hunt as I still had the challenge of filling my moose permit which was now our quarry.
That third day of our hunt, while we were hunting for my moose, we had stalked 8 kms in tundra bogs, Gregg had become stuck in a bog and had to be extracted by our guide, and though we had seen over 20 moose, none were the trophy-size we sought. And we were tired as we trekked our way back toward Brendon?s truck in the evening. Suddenly and luckily, (as this was not prime caribou habitat), we had come upon a herd of seven Woodland Caribou in the mossy bogs grazing on lichen, their food of choice! A Caribou stag was all Gregg needed to complete the rare ?Grand Slam?. I quickly passed to him my rifle, as he had come from Europe without his.
My old .30-06 is a custom made Mauser my father had made for me in 1952 as my 17th birthday present for $99 by a German gun-smith, K. Jaeger, in Wiesbaden when we lived in Germany. The barrel was honed from a Swedish steel chrome-lapped German machine gun barrel, which will last forever. It has been my only big game rifle since then and I?ve shot over 50 deer, many wild boar and red stags?and now Gregg?s moose and a bear with it. I need no other rifle! I was a proud father to experience Gregg?s hunting success. Whenever my father took me hunting, it seemed he put me in the best spots where I shot game. This tradition was being passed down from father to sons.
After a 200-meter stalk, Gregg carefully took aim and dropped the largest bull in the herd at 175 yards, a beautiful representation of Woodland Caribou complete with both upper main antlers and lower shovels -- tines the animal uses to shovel away snow when feeding in winter! Gregg had achieved the Grand Slam in three days of hunting! We were thrilled! [See photos of each of Gregg?s ?Grand Slam? trophies.]
My moose was not as easy a story. We were tired, returning a long 6-km trek from Gregg?s Caribou, fighting our way through Tuckamore thickets. What?s this so-called ?Tuckamore? It?s a wild tangle of fir trees, impenetrable to man ?but not for moose? and we were learning about it first-hand! As we approached one of many small, clear spring-fed lakes (all full of trout, by the way), we sat on a rock to rest.
Suddenly Brendon motioned to me as a big bull appeared 200 meters across a lake stepping out of the Tuckamore. I flicked the safety off on my old .30-06 and I glassed his antlers with my Zeiss variable scope. This was a good high racked bull! The moose turned sideways presenting an ideal walking shot though a long one. I put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed off the shot: KA-BOOM! He went down immediately. I could still see antler movement, but the big bull was down? and he stayed down for the several minutes it took us, to hurry around the pond. But as we approached him, he stood again and trotted back toward the woods! I fired again?but he kept going on another 50 meters and then collapsed in some Tuckamore. Thinking he was down for keeps, we hurried to the spot, while I reloaded the only remaining round I had in my pocket. Shooting his caribou, Gregg had used two shots and now that it was my turn for the moose, I had failed to reload --the problem of two hunters using one rifle. We approached about 10 meters from the bull when suddenly he jumped up and faced us. ?Shoot now!? cried Brendon. I put the rifle up. But the scope was on 7-power. Too much magnification! All I could see was hair! I quickly turned it down to 3X but then he charged at full speed! He covered the short 10 meters in seconds and was nearly on me! I dropped to one knee and looked up through the scope at this huge angry bull. All I could see were red eyes and the antlers of a 500 kg raging bull moose, charging, about to crush me. I carefully squeezed off my only round at 5 paces directly into his neck and dove to my left, barely avoiding his deadly antlers and hooves!
As he crashed passed me, the earth shook and then he barely missed trampling Brendon and Gregg, who had scampered right and left at great speed. My concern was that he might turn on us again and charge, but thanks to the lethal bullet I had fired into his neck, he did not turn. The wounded moose ran out into the lake, where he swam for some minutes until he drowned. And then all we could see then was a tip of his antlers above the water. We realized we must retrieve him now or he?d sink, never to be recovered! But how? Without considering how cold the water was or how far he?d have to swim, Gregg stripped down and swam right out into the frigid water 200 meters to the moose, grabbed him by the antlers and wrestled to drag the 600 kg bull to shore. We were amazed! My son, a US Marine scout swimmer, climbed out of the water on the verge of hypothermia but he had successfully completed his mission!
Only afterwards did I realize what we had experienced in this incredible adventure. I had felt responsible for us all in making that last shot count since I was the one who had wounded the charging moose. But Gregg?s role in getting him back was nothing short of heroic! What better, if not safer, father-son bonding experience could there be!
Newfoundland is one of the best-kept hunting secrets for European hunters. The costs with airfares are about half the price of the only other real wilderness hunting venue, Alaska. Newfoundland has incredible attractions including their beautiful Gros Morne National Park with beautiful fjords and waterfalls. And there?s no better outfitter for your wilderness trophy hunt than Barb Genge?s Tuckamore lodge which offers options of roughing it in out-lying cabins or the luxury experience of fine 4-star accommodations with sauna, Jacuzzi, and full service staff not to mention the delicious local gourmet cuisine, and excellent guides. Many of the locals ?road hunt? for their moose meat. Though one might luck onto a trophy moose doing that, trekking back in to the wilderness bogs with a guide is the way to find a trophy moose.
Fjords, tundra, bogs, primeval forests, and rare plants are prevalent here like the carnivorous ?Pitcher Plant? or Sarracenia which we saw throughout the bogs [See photo of Sarracenia.] And a wide variety of wildlife including seals, and Polar Bears following the seals on the ice flows in spring, are all a part of this unique land of incredible scenic nature . Atlantic Salmon migrate into a river which disappears into a hole and swim underground a kilometer to another huge deep hole where the river reemerges ? which reminded me of Blaubeuren (?) in Ulm. I?ll go back to this outdoor paradise, to fly fish for them next summer.
We ate delicious fresh scallops caught by one of the guides, shrimp, crab, moose, codfish and salmon [see photo of gourmet salmon from the Tuckamore kitchen] from the local waters. Barb serves fresh partridge berry pie, blueberries, and deliciously prepared wild foods from the local area. Peggy, Barb?s chief chef has printed a cook book of all the mouth-watering dishes she prepares for the guests.
Newfoundland is the kind of wilderness hunting adventure you will not find in Germany or Europe. And, if you wish, take your spouse with you as Tuckamore Lodge can combine the wilderness hunt with 4-star accommodations and gourmet food, if you want that.
The Tuckamore package price includes licenses, accommodations, food, guide, getting your game out of the woods and back to camp, preparing it for the butcher and taxidermist, packing your meat in styrofoam boxes for shipping home, and great fellowship with other sportsmen and guides who share your Tuckamore adventure. The local butcher will prepare your meat overnight at a modest additional cost and vacuum wrap it which is quite convenient. Barb claims she can ship your meat and trophy to most European airports. We each carried a 20 kg box of ours home on the plane and shipped the rest. My meat remained frozen in vacuum packs for 5 days before I picked it up.
Barb has her guides mingle with the guests for meals and fellowship, a convivial practice many less democratic outfitters avoid. The atmosphere in the lodge is very homelike and the warm camaraderie between the hunters/guides was a memorable part of this experience. The outfitter prepares all the complex paperwork for licenses and shipping your trophy and meat back home. No worries for the hunter about the many complex details! And it?s an easy one-day flight from Germany.
Barbara?s team picks you up in St. Anthony or Deer Lake and drives you to the hunting experience of a life time! Hunt well and enjoy it as our world has almost run out of such affordable but wild wilderness adventures!
TUCKAMORE LODGE 4-STAR OUTFITTER: trophy moose, bear, woodland caribou, salmon/trout fishing, nature photography, and special ?Women Outdoors? adventures PO box 100, Main Brook, NL Canada, A0K 3N0 Barb Genge (Owner-Hostess) Web sites: HYPERLINK "http://www.tuckamorelodge.com" www.tuckamorelodge.com www.hunting-newfoundland.com Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:barb@tuckamorelodge.com" barb@tuckamorelodge.com Phone: (709) 865-6361 FAX: (709) 865-2112 Package includes: licenses, pick up and return to St. Anthony or Deer Lake, guide, accommodations, gourmet meals, prep of game to take home including caping, trophy prep and meat boxing and amenities: including sauna, boot and gear drying room, hot tub, laundry, gift shop, Internet
About the author: Dr. Harold Lyon is the author of 7 books, numerous articles, and multi-media productions. He is a graduate of the US Military Academy, George Washington University, the University of Massachusetts and a former Army Ranger. He has taught at Georgetown University, Dartmouth College, Notra Dame College and the University of Munich where he is currently Guest Professor of Medical Education. His book, Angling in the Smile of the Great Spirit, was named in 2008 as the ?Best Book of the Year? by the New England Outdoor Writers Association. He lives half of the year on an island in New Hampshire and half in Munich, Germany. He has two sons and three grand children with whom he loves to hunt and fish. This article was translated into German by his loving fiancée?, Karin Rieger. They will return to Tuckamore Lodge in 2009 for their honeymoon.
Other pages "Hunting Newfoundland":
Trophy Moose Hunt |
Black Bear Hunt |
Moose Hunt |
Black Bear Pictures |
Woodland Caribou Hunt
