Who has hunted Alaskan Caribou?

[razorsharptokill]

Outfitted or DIY? Thoughts?

[Bjorn]

I'd say the team from Dryad would have some suggestions.

[mellonhead]

I have been thinking about the samething.  I have just started researching a DIY Alaskan caribou hunt.  

Toby

[Kevin Dill]

Plenty of air transporters to get the diy hunter into caribou country. If you have basic woodsmanship skills you can handle diy caribou in Alaska. TG even has a transporter who is a sponsor in Bushwacker Air / Jeff Kruse. There is absolutely no way I'd pay an outfitter or guide to hunt caribou in Alaska. I actually think it cheapens the value of the adventure and reduces one's overall satisfaction when looking back at it.

[frassettor]

Originally posted by Kevin Dill:
. There is absolutely no way I'd pay an outfitter or guide to hunt caribou in Alaska. I actually think it cheapens the value of the adventure and reduces one's overall satisfaction when looking back at it.

I like your thoughts on this kevin

[joe ashton]

I did a DIY a 8 years ago... but I had a friend in Ak so that made a big difference...
I given it lots of thought and I think it is do able.
Fly to Fairbanks...
Rent a truck...
go to the Super Walmart for food, gas cans (lots of gas cans), tarps, coolers, ice, h2o,
foam pads
you know... stuff you need but did not want to fly with....
Then drive up the Dalton High way, past Coldfoot, Wiseman and over Adican (sp) pass to the bow only area.
 We saw literally thousands of Caribou in 5 days.
We also saw Brown bears, moose, wolves, and even a group of muskox.
It would take some careful planning as once you leave Fairbanks there are NO STORES, only a couple of gas stations, no repair shop.... lonely.

[GrayRhino]

I grew up in Fairbanks and hunted the Dalton Hwy twice for caribou and hiked into the Brooks Range near Atigun Pass for sheep with my dad.

There is a lot of hunting pressure within the archery only area (5 miles corridor on both sides of the road).
 
I think the road is paved all the way to Coldfoot now and have been told that there is a huge increase in traffic, tours, and hunting pressure since I was there.

It is doable, and I'd love to do it again.  We saw caribou every time, but not heaps of them.  Sometimes they are there by the thousand, and sometimes there aren't any as far as you can see, and farther.  The terrain is very flat and mostly featureless making stalking very difficult.

Beautiful country.  Nothing tastes quite as good as a burger and fries in Coldfoot heading home after a hunt up north.

[Kevin Dill]

If you've got the money to go outfitted, I would hire an air transporter to get you away from other hunters and into the backcountry. It will cost you in excess of 2G to hire a pilot and Super Cub. You won't need to rent a truck...drive hundreds of miles...hike miles...see a hundred other guys...haul extra fuel, etc. Plus, you'll get to see Alaska from inside a bush plane which is almost worth the cost by itself.

To me, it's more about how to craft an amazing Alaska adventure, vs simply a hunt for caribou. I guess it really depends on you and what you want from your hunt.

[Jeff Kruse]

Hi Jim,
We transport caribou hunters up to the brooks Range. Porcupine and central arctic herds, if that helps any.
thanks
Jeff

[Zbone]

Joe Ashton - Where exactly does the bow only area begin and end headed north up the Haul Road? ... Thanx

[razorsharptokill]

Bow only areas also require a bow hunters education cert. I'm pretty much set on a air transporter to get away from the crowds. Thanks for the input guys. Please add any comments that you can think of that will help.

[Bowhunter4life]

When we lived in AK I hunted the Haul Road for a week one year.  Well, me and a friend from Montana did...  He didn't have the proper Bowhunter Education so he was using a rifle which made us get 5 miles off the road so he could actually hunt.  The problem is getting 5 miles off that road!  You need to walk about 10 - 15 miles to get 5 off the road...  Always running into impassable water, at least in Sept.  I suppose if you go later it would have been easier.

But, if you have the proper Bowhunter Education it is a lot of fun!  I pretty much hunted from the time I got out of the truck, while he just walked.  Ground hogs, Silver Fox, Ptarmigan, Spruce grouse, Musk Ox, Bears (Black and Griz), and or course Caribou.  Get yourself a good set of glass if you go into that area... Very flat, and they will be worth their weight in gold!

We ended up with two Caribou, young/middle aged Bulls that I shot... We were actually outside of the the 5 mile corridor, but my friend set up and let me put a stalk on them bedded.  Shot the first when he was still bedded, and the second when he got up and started feeding...  Definitely not like your woodlot Whitetail!

But, I would really recommend not dropping two Caribou over 5 miles across the tundra from your ride!  Bought killed us getting them out of there!

[joe ashton]

oh it has been to long to remember.  But I think it is from the top of Atigun pass.  but honestly I don't know.

[Bowhunter4life]

Oh, and if you go into my profile you can see a pic of those two Caribou.  Also you can see how flat the area is...  That little knoll to my right in the pic is the highest point for miles and miles around.  I spotted their horns from about a mile and a half away just on the other side of it...  Wind was crossing and we were able to simply walk most of it in the wide open as they were bedded there.  I made my final approach kneeling while I walked and belly crawled the last 150 yards or so to that knoll.  They were bedded just on the other side of it... Simply raised up on one knee and like I said, shot the one in his bed... never got up... and the other just got up and started feeding... nocked another arrow and shot him too... he went about 35 yards...  My friend watched the whole thing through the scope of his rifle from 150 yards away.  I can remember it like it was yesterday!

[razorsharptokill]

I just read Wingnuts posts about his 2010 Moose hunt. He used 40 mile air. Heard nothing but good things about them. I don't think there are any bow only areas that they service.

[John Havard]

Jim,

Mike might come back here and comment or he may not.  I've been using 40MA since the mid-70's.  As a resident I used them primarily for Dall sheep, but since becoming a non-resident I've used them exclusively for moose.  Their Super Cub caribou hunts and their Super Cub moose hunts are as good as it gets.  Logistically a bit difficult since you have to get to Tok.  But once there you will have an excellent experience as long as you are well prepared.  We had a wonderful moose hunt with them again last year.

Having hunted caribou on the North Slope, the South Slope (of the Brooks Range), in the Alaska Range, in the Wrangells, and down on the Peninsula I'd always give the nod to a mountain hunt versus a low-land hunt where you have to live in waders.

[razorsharptokill]

Excellent info John, thanks! I PM'd Mike also.

[Geezer]

I agree with John Havard's post about hunting mountains.  Four went on a hunt (rifle) this last fall (somewhere between Tok and Fairbanks...shhhh!) and we had a blast.  The toughest part may be finding a transporter who isn't already booked out two-three years...but that'll mean more time to plan.  We did a DIY hunt, researched our equipment quite a bit, tested it, asked a lot of questions, asked more questions and saved our $$.  One thing about the mountain hunt is that we needed excellent wind resistant gear...and we were happy not to have to hunt in waders.  Temps late August/early Sept. ranged from 25 to 50's...bulky clothes weren't needed but good merino underwear was.  Everyone we met along the way - transporter, AK G&F, meat processor, TSA (Denver and Anchorage), Frontier Airlines employees...they all treated us great!

I wanted to go on this hunt since I was a kid.  At the end I came away with the sense that the experience was 10-times better than the anticipation.  Proper planning and realistic expectations made it all the better.

Good luck!

[razorsharptokill]

Thank you geezer! Yes, my chance of being able to book for 2015 may be limited.

[Jerry Russell]

I have had the opportunity to hunt caribou several times in Alaska. I would have to say that it was one of the worst/best addictions I have ever lived through. I simply could not stop going back time and time again.