Alaska Caribou Hunt Tips

[T-Milli]

Hi all
I planned a trip with my Hunting partner for 2020 to do a DIY Caribou hunt. Neither of us have ever been to Alaska or hunted caribou. Anyone have any tips and tricks to help us out?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Hi all
I planned a trip with my Hunting partner for 2020 to do a DIY Caribou hunt. Neither of us have ever been to Alaska or hunted caribou. Anyone have any tips and tricks to help us out?

Get the Alaska Airlines credit card. You can get an entire boned out Cow caribou in your backpack in the overhead bin.

 

[mdhunter61]

Might help if you provided a few preliminary details -

- Where are you hunting (what part of the state)
- When is your hunt scheduled - what dates
- Are you flying in, floating, or hunting the Haul Road
- What type of weapon (rifle/bow/muzzleloader)
- Have you or your partner done remote hunts and camps before
- Are you aware of Alaska's detailed game regulations on harvesting meat

That would be a good start to know...

 

[Gary]

Get the Alaska Airlines credit card. You can get an entire boned out Cow caribou in your backpack in the overhead bin.

I had a duffle loaded with a boned out antelope and a dozen pheasants a few years ago. I lugged it to the loading gate, as a carry-on and guess what? The boarding agent told me it was too big. I filled out a baggage tag and they stored it in the hold at no charge. I had already checked 2 bags and the agent at the check-in gate had wanted over $200 to check it in (over weight and sized and above the allowed check-in number). Anything they take from you at the boarding gate gets shipped for free.

 

[Schaaf]

Save your money. $100 bills seem to make problems disappear much quicker in Alaska.

 

[vanish]

If you're thinking of flying into the backcountry, you might already be too late to book for 2020. Transporters book fast.

 

[T-Milli]

wllm1313 oh thats a good call thanks

 

[T-Milli]

mdhunter61
we are hunting sep 1-10
flying in not sure where arctic air is flying us to the best place they think is for us
7mm
my hunting partner has never done a remote hunt
and yes we are aware of the game regulations

 

[T-Milli]

vanish already booked it

 

[T-Milli]

Schaaf ahaha thanks good call

 

[Frenchy]

If you get dropped in the right area, you will have plenty of opportunities to fill your tag. So then you just need to have a plan to care for the meat. If you notch a tag or two early in the hunt you could have a week or so of tending to meat.

 

[T-Milli]

Frenchy any tips on how to care for the meat if i tag out early?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

We packed citric acid and laid the meat out and made tarp tents... we didn't have to deal with predators, but we didn't have trees. Where you are I might use the citric acid and then hang the meat in a tree above or near a stream, and make sure that you can glass the area so you don't walk in to a bear that has claimed your meat.

 

[Bambistew]

Some general tips:
- You could be stranded for days due to weather/fog. That country is notorious for it. Once the pilots get backed up, it takes a while to catch up.
- The bears tend to be thicker on the western end of the brooks, especially near the rivers. A number of those rivers have salmon runs, which are mostly over by September, but they are still looking for food. I don't think you can hunt the river corridors as a NR, but not sure. Either way, there is probably more bears per square mile in the Noatak than most places in Alaska.
- Temps will probably be near freezing in the mornings, bugs should be gone by then (pray they are, haha)
- Your cell phone may not work in Kotz, its been a few years since I was there, but its Verison/GCI cell network I believe, ATT didn't work last time I was there. Make sure you have arrangements to pickup and hotel transportation lined up if needed.
- Spot communicators are iffy up there, sat phones and I presume InReach should work fine.


As far as caribou hunting... They're not hard to hunt, are not terribly spooky, but if on the move, its hard to catch up to them. Contrary to what many say, they are not constantly on the move... They stop and feed, bed etc. They tend to follow trails vs going where ever.
If you want a 'nice' bull, look at lots and lots of pictures. Caribou are one of the hardest animals to judge unless you've looked over a pile of them. The "big" one may be a medium sized bull, in a herd of dinks. Ground shrink is common. The bulls in the NW herd have a lot of reindeer blood in them, and tend to be smaller bodied, and thinner horned, but still some big bulls to be had.
Research tussocks... learn what they look like from a distance and avoid them at all costs. haha

Good luck!

 

[T-Milli]

Bambistew thanks so much for all that info def will come in handy

 

[T-Milli]

wllm1313 thank you never would of known to do that

 

[Frenchy]

Citric acid is good if it is buggy where you are at. But keeping it cool and dry is pretty key. The last fly out hunt we did we were able to find some drift wood, and make a little elevated bench in a gully next to the lake. That allowed for good air flow underneath and we tented a tarp over the top. I like to keep things on the bone just easier to handle, and less waste to trim later.

Also, if you are able to let your air transporter know when you have something down. If they are in the area dropping other hunters, they may be able to stop and pick up your meat on the way back to base. Ours popped in on us and grabbed the meat and left us a case of beer to boot.

 

[T-Milli]

Frenchy thanks so much good idea

 

[Poke 'Em]

Research tussocks... learn what they look like from a distance and avoid them at all costs. haha

If you don't know what tussocks are, imagine the image below, spaced 4 inches apart, sitting on a soaking wet memory foam mattress. Have fun!

 

[Schaaf]

Tussocks are a regular feature in my nightmares.