Alaska Caribou

[Idahoeyes]

Looking for opinions on the best zone for bow hunting Caribou in Alaska next year.  I am setting up a hunt for a friend who has a degeneritive disease and it may be his last chance.

Thanks in advance.

[John/Alaska]

You have to narrow your question down as Alaska is fairly sizable. If you haven't been there already go to the Alaska F&G site.
 http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/

Explore & research the info on the various herds. Just doing that might help you zero in on a general geographic area and then you can pick your units by seasons & guides & harvest reports.

The Western Alaska herd is currently the "popular" one as its fairly good size. My herds or the ones around me are the Nilchina, 40 Mile & Macomb herds.

Good luck and be sure to post again when you get closer and more specific.

[AkDan]

A float trip on the slope might be just the ticket.   Or really anywhere else.   I'd do this more then a bush camp style depending on his condition and conditioning.

Slope would be centeral arctic with some of the porcipine and western arctic spilling over.  

Western arctic is really sounding like a sweet hunt however it aint cheap by any stretch of the imagination....or...maybe I am?  Either way I havent done it yet for that reason mainly and two having no real good hunting partner to do it with.

[alaskabowhunter]

anyone interested in a Dalton Highway hunt?.... gas will be up around $5 (or more) per gallon at Coldfoot and Deadhorse so I am looking for someone to help split the expense....

[Idahoeyes]

Western Arctic, from what I hear, is getting hit pretty hard by gun hunters.  Also, it seems the toughest, from a cover point of view, for bow hunting.

[knife river]

I liked the Squirrel River area out of Kotzebue.  Big variety of terrain -- scree slopes, marshes, wide river bottoms, timbered hillsides -- everything  you could ask for.  A guy needs to be in decent shape, though.  Not very forgiving country.  Good luck to your friend.  You're a good man for wanting to do this with him.

[AkDan]

well western arctic (including the squirrell river), is HUUUUGE and the herd numbers are still quite high.  

There is trees, if you have the old TBM's there is a good article in there on a hunt in this region, dont remember the name of it off hand but it's a wooded picture with a dude and a very nice dead caribou, believe the bow was a bruin, maybe.....  jist of it was he was miffed the people didnt realize moose season was in and he missed an opportunity at a very good moose on the trip also!

We have 26 different herds of caribou, just a lil trivia.

I may be up for a haul road hunt, possibly.  but I sure as heck dont buy fuel up there, I bring two 55 gallon polys and a super syphon.   Havent done it in the new truck yet though.  New one has a topper where our old pickmup didnt made things easy.  Either way it works well and saves quite a bit of money!

[Idahoeyes]

I've heard a lot of good things about the WAC herd.  What about the Porcupine or 40 mile herd?  The 40 mile gets hunted hard I hear.  I do like the idea of a hunt near the brooks range.  Anyone done any hunts for the Porcupine herd other than from the Haul road?

[alaskabowhunter]

Dan, pm sent.

[Idahoeyes]

Anyone have any pros/cons on float hunting for caribou?

[Bill Sant]

Dan,
   One pro for a float is that if you want to hunt early in the fall, say August the caribou hang out around water as they get relief from the bugs by holing up on little islands.  The air temp is a little cooler and the bugs don't like it quite as much.  We rarely have to hunt far from the river and most stalks are very close to the water.  I've got a gimpy hip and it is the best option for still being able to hunt.  Believe me tundra is not nice to do a lot of foot trucking in.  Good luck and maybe we'll see you up there.  Bill

[Idahoeyes]

Bill,
Thanks for the tip.  The thing I worry about on float hunts is floating past the migration.
Sean

[Idahoeyes]

Any other feedback on float hunting vs. drop camp for Caribou.  Particularly in the Arctic?

[AkDan]

another thing to consider.

Float hunting means more gear, which may mean another charter flight depending on your bush plane of choice.  Plus rentals if you have to rent.

I love floating, have my own 16' Cat.....  If it were me I'd float.  

Caribou being nomadic as they are, they are here one day gone the next...floating will allow you to find those smaller herds that are still around.  

There is also more up and down time in the mornings and evenings.    Meaning you have to set up at nite, and tear down in the mornings.   Once you find your place you'll stay for awhile, if youstill have time.  Shorter trips are better then long trips with a short amount of time for obvious reasons.

[Idahoeyes]

Dan,Thanks for the reply.  I'm leaning towards floating as it may be easier on someone who might have some trouble with walkig on the tundra do to his illness.  I just could see how it'd be easy to leave a place before the migration got there, not knowing there were coming soon.  Whereas on a drop camp, you could be there until they showed up (with enough time, of course.)

[Idahoeyes]

ttt

[Don Thomas]

The areasIi know best and hunted all the time -- the upper Alaska Peninsula and Mulchatna -- are out. The caribou are just plain gone, and it's amazing. Each of the lsat two years, i spent days flying out of King Salmon on other business and saw ZERO caribou where there used to be thousands. The Kotzebue area now seems to be the place to go although I can't offer specifics. "Missing the migration" is not quite the same worry it is in Quebec. Most AK caribou move around randomly within a give area. Exception: the Porcupine herd, most of which is in Canada by hunting season. The best plan is just to float through a good area... you will find animals. There may or may not be thousands, but you only need one. And as exciting as those big bunches are, I've always done better on small bachelor groups of bulls, with fewer eyes and noses.I can't recommend floating enough. It is a bit more work, but you will see a lot of country, catch some fish, and generally have a ball with or without caribou. Don

[Chad Lewis]

Don,

Any theories on why they're gone? Overhunting? Predation?

[Steve H.]

CL,

Severe population surge, over population, over grazing on portions of the range, hoof rot, diease, death, population plummeted population.  We're in the long time period that ensues prior to population and regrowth.  The range has to recover fist and that almost always has a long lag time.