August Caribou Hunt
Caribou
Hey guys, I am looking to do a caribou hunt in august of 2015. It will have to be somewhat early because I will have to be back to attend college towards the end of the month. I am thinking that I want to do a drop camp hunt. I would like to keep this as affordable as possible, but I realize that for a quality hunt you have to spend some money. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I would say hunt the Western Arctic herd in Alaska. Hire a transporter, but really research transporters, there are horror stories with some. I went out of Kotzebue with RAM. I would recommend shopping around. you can fly out of different towns too.
If you have the money Mountain Caribou would be great in August.
To be honest, I don't think I could swing a mountain caribou. I need to keep the cost as close to 5k as possible.
For the last 4-5 years the Haul Road has only been a shadow of what it used to be. I don't know why, but it's like they are avoiding the road area and when around it's only for a few days.
$5k is about what i spent from top to bottom with my mount included.
I looked into that ovis outfitters Alaska. I see that you fly out of happy valley. What is the best way to get there? Should i fly directly into there on a puddle jumper or should I land in a larger airport and drive the rest of the way?
If your coming from the lower 48, flying into Deadhorse is the easiest option. Most of the outfitters out of happy valley will drive up and get you for a small fee.
Renting a car from Fairbanks/Anchorage is expensive/difficult/and in most cases not possible due to the car rental outfits not allowing travel on the haul road.
"land in a larger airport and drive the rest of the way"...just for perspective doing this entails a 400 mile drive one way with 300 of it gravel.
Your cheapest option is probably the 40 mile herd, fly to anchorage, rent car, fly out of tok.
Fly to Deadhorse Prudhoe bay. about 60 miles on the haul road to happy valley they will pick you up at the airport in deadhorse. piper cub to camp.
I just checked flights from Salt Lake to Prudoe Bay. It looks to be about 1400-1500 round trip. It is actually better than I was expecting. Does anyone have any tips on getting the best prices? Also what are some I the reputable outfitters that fly out of happy valley?
Alright, it looks like 70 north and Deltana are the two best out of happy valley with 70 North being a little less expensive. Does anyone have any specific reviews for either if these outfits? Also I plan on doing a ridgetop drop versus a lake or river bottom because I feel like I would have a better ability to glass. What are the pros and cons to the different drop points?
Sign up ASAP for an Alaska Airline credit card and get a 25k mile bonus. If you book out far enough you can get a free flight anywhere in AK. If it costs more miles now, then sometimes buying miles is cheaper than the ticket. I just got two tickets to Kotzebue for 25k miles each from SLC. I've been to AK three times and never paid for a ticket.
You will also get 1 companion ticket for $99 (every year you have the card), If you don't have enough miles and are hunting with a friend you can get two tickets for almost half price!
If you could put college tuition, books, etc on the card you'll be making a few more trips to Alaska! For FREE
wild is right. if you fly out of SLC you can get a free flight or close to it. I did the same thing with the card. If I would have booked earlier I could have saved $1100. I used some of my points and upgraded to first class after coming out of the field. I felt like a king after being in the tundra for a week. lol
Re:"Also I plan on doing a ridgetop drop versus a lake or river bottom because I feel like I would have a better ability to glass. What are the pros and cons to the different drop points? "
In my opinion is more important that you are where the caribou...whether its a ridgetop or a lake or riverbottom. ridges give you a better view, but the river bottoms a little more cover for stalking. in my mind you make either work to your advantage. I would want to be in the best spot the transporter has available, not a specific type of spot.
70 north is good, don't know much about deltana. they might run super cubs, where as 70 north has a little bigger plane (can't remember what its called). so make sure to understand the differences in weight limits/hauling out meat.
Great threads here lately. looking to do Alaska in 2015 also.
Heard good things about 70 North.
I did a ridge top hunt in 2013 and we had an incredible time but be warned, the wind blew constantly (no bugs!). By the end of the week we were pretty tired of walking at 45 degrees, tents flaps making noise all night, rain blowing sideways into your face, no fires - otherwise we had one hell of a great time! Make sure your outerwear is wind and water proof.
Here is my hunt from last August. Haul Rd for a few days and then a fly out with Arrowhead (going with them again this coming August), can't say enough about them.
Did the Haul Road again this year (2014) and dismal would be giving it a compliment.
