Caribou Gear

First Time Caribou Hunt

Blacktailbc

Blacktailbc

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Joined
Nov 22, 2006
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651
Location
Nor Cal
Looking to do my first Caribou Hunt This year. This would be my first time hunting Alaska. I have a few questions for you seasoned Alaskan Hunters out there. I am leaning toward an unguided drop hunt with Northern Air Trophy. I think this would be the Western Arctic herd. I heard the Mulchatna herd is way down. Does this sound like a good bet?? Any suggestions? Maybe a float hunt would be better?? Also, is there still units in Alaska where a non-resident can get two caribou tags?? Feel free to offer up suggestions/ideas.


Thanks
Buck
 
I'm not sure I would say the mulchatna herd has declined so much (although it has to a point) vs the big bulls just havent done the same migration route as in the past. they have stayed in the north alot longer than usual.

Anyways, hunting the NWAH is a good choice.Get ahold of Walt, he posts here, and ask him. Living out of Kotz, he probably knows the best of anybody here about the herd.
 
I'll be very interested in any info as well. I am planning on going after 'bou in 2010, but just not sure how I want to go about it. Drop camp? Float trip?

'Twas kinda concerned about the Western Arctic Herd after reading this on a booking agents website. Just some FYI...
Lately I've declined to book some hunters who wanted to hunt caribou out of Kotzebue until I could get some information about the herd. Until the past two years the hunts we have booked in the area for the past 20 years have been very productive, typically yielding bulls to 90 to 95% of all hunters, including unguided customers. The hunts have been less productive the past two years. Weather was rather warm during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and I wanted to know whether the herd had declined, as happened in western Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula, or if the reduced success could be blamed on another factor, such as the weather. Jim Dau, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, was kind enough to answer my questions. Here are some of his comments. "This herd is still very large," he said. "We photographed it last July, but we probably won't finish our count until spring or summer. In the past four to six years, the caribou have been migrating off the north slope two or three weeks late. There have been many long faces in the fall around here when hunters come back. Some of these caribou go all to Barrow. We've had caribou shot on the outskirts of Barrow in the past. They go all the way to Point Hope. Wainwright is probably the main extent of how far they go, and that's over 200 miles from Kotzebue. Some go all the way to the Yukon Delta. Weather might be a factor. I've tried to correlate weather, air temperature and snow cover with , and I haven't found any statistical relationship between hunter success and weather, air temperature and snow cover. But the last five and six years have been really warm, long summers and warm falls, and that's got to be the reason."
Click to expand...
 
Only advice I would give is don't go hunting for a bargain. Go with someone reputable and check references from the prior year. I'd do the drop camp --vs- float hunt for a first timer. If they drop you amongst the game it will be much easier than a float hunt. Those float hunts are a lot of work.

If you go looking for a cheapo bargain, you are much more likely to wind up on an expensive camping trip and come home pizzed off and empty handed.
 
I hunted the WACH last fall with 11 other hunters, we took about 10 bulls total. We did a 7 day float hunt and saw caribou every day and about a half dozen grizz, a few moose and lots of geese. When we got to our pickup location the biologist told us that for the first time in over 30 years the herd and moved further west which accounted for our lack of caribou. We should have been seeing hundreds daily but it didn't happen. I woud still go back and hunt that area, unit 26. In fact, some of us are going back in '09 to give it another try. I would say the herd is shrinking, I think their migration pattern changed and it just so happened to occur while we were there. You can fly out of Fairbanks with Wright Air Service to Bettles then from Bettles to whatever area you want to hunt. It ran us about $1800 each for the entire trip, air charter that is. My guess is with the rising cost of gas it will cost more than that in the coming years. Also keep in mind that for non-residents F&G changed the bag limit from 2 to 1.
 
Hunting out of Kotzebue

hump Hi Guys:

My name is Walt and I own Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals here in Kotzebue. I live here year round and have a wealth of personal knowledge of the area and take great pride in assisting you in arranging a great hunting or fishing trip into western Alaska. A have attached my standard “pitch” letter and it will answer a lot of questions and hopefully get you think about your next hunt into the best caribou hunting in Alaska. Please check out my web site and drop me a line if you have any questions about drop or float hunting in WACH of Alaska.

Walt
www.northwestalaska.com

Thanks for contacting me and allowing me to pitch my services:
I live in Kotzebue AK which is the jump off point for most hunts into the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) which is currently at 500,000 animals. Most hunting packages offer a drop camp for a fixed rate per hunter and most are in the $2,500-3,000 range (a head). What I do is work with the client to choose a good river to hunt depending you needs and the dates that you can hunt, assist in lining you up with a local flight service and rent any equipment that will be needed to make your hunt affordable and comfortable.

Flight Services:
I work with 3 local pilots who live in Kotz and know the region very well, are very safe and charge by the hour for the entire plane rather than by the head. This reduces the cost a bunch because you fill the plane up and split the cost with your hunting group and with my assistance we choose the river to hunt. I work with the local pilots including law enforcement on a daily basis where the game is moving. This allows me to direct your hunt into the most productive rivers thus increasing your chances to see large numbers of trophy animals. Most drop services will put you in 2-3 areas that are close to town and do produce animals but they are normally thick with other hunting camps.
The pilots are charging between $600 and $650 an hour right now and most of the areas that I send my clients are between 1.25 -2 hours out. I work very hard at getting you in the caribou and away from the heavily concentrated areas. We can also send you into the Squirrel of the Noatak Flats which are closer and less expensive to reach but see more hunting pressure every year.

Gear Rental:

I provide everything that you will need for your hunting camp ranging from total Float hunts, total camp rentals and kitchen packages so all you need to worry about is arriving ready to hunt. My rates are listed on my web site at www.northwestalaska.com Most of my clients choose float hunts because it increases you odds of seeing large groups of caribou but about 25% do rent camp packages for drop hunts and they also have good results.

Let’s look at some dates because the caribou are migrating and will be in various rivers ant different times and this is my most important job, putting you where the animals will be.

OK! Let’s start the planning process and get you fixed up for a great hunt!

Useful web sites that will assist your hunt planning.
Hunting tag info http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/
http://www.wc.adfg.state.ak.us/index.cfm?adfg=unit23.main

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Your best bet in rafts, canoes and camp rentals
Kotzebue, Alaska
www.northwestalaska.com
 
Hunting out of Kotzebue

Hi Guys:

My name is Walt and I own Northwest Alaska Back Countr5y Rentals here in Kotzebue. I live here year-round and have a wealth of personal knowledge of the area and take great pride in assisting you in arranging a great hunting or fishing trip into Western Alaska. A have attached my standard “pitch” letter and it will answer a lot of questions and hopefully get you think about your next hunt trip into the best caribou hunting in Alaska. Please check out my web site and drop me a line if you have any questions about drop or float hunting in WACH of Alaska.

Walt
www.northwestalaska.com

Thanks for contacting me and allowing me to pitch my services:
I live in Kotzebue AK which is the jump off point for most hunts into the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) which is currently at 500,000 animals. Most hunting packages offer a drop camp for a fixed rate per hunter and most are in the $2,500-3,000 range (a head). What I do is work with the client to choose a good river to hunt depending you needs and the dates that you can hunt, assist in lining you up with a local flight service and rent any equipment that will be needed to make your hunt affordable and comfortable.

Flight Services:
I work with 3 local pilots who live in Kotz and know the region very well, are very safe and charge by the hour for the entire plane rather than by the head. This reduces the cost a bunch because you fill the plane up and split the cost with your hunting group and with my assistance we choose the river to hunt. I work with the local pilots including law enforcement on a daily basis where the game is moving. This allows me to direct your hunt into the most productive rivers thus increasing your chances to see large numbers of trophy animals. Most drop services will put you in 2-3 areas that are close to town and do produce animals but they are normally thick with other hunting camps.
The pilots are charging between $600 and 650 an hour right now and most of the areas that I send my clients are between 1.25 -2 hours out. I work very hard at getting you in the caribou and away from the heavily concentrated areas. We can also send you into the Squirrel of the Noatak Flats which are closer and less expensive to reach but see more hunting pressure every year.

Gear Rental:

I provide everything that you will need for your hunting camp ranging from total Float hunts, total camp rentals and kitchen packages so all you need to worry about is arriving ready to hunt. My rates are listed on my web site at www.northwestalaska.com Most of my clients choose float hunts because it increases you odds of seeing large groups of caribou but about 25% do rent camp packages for drop hunts and they also have good results.

Let’s look at some dates because the caribou are migrating and will be in various rivers ant different times and this is my most important job, putting you where the animals will be.

OK! Let’s start the planning process and get you fixed up for a great hunt!

Useful web sites that will assist your hunt planning.
Hunting tag info http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/
http://www.wc.adfg.state.ak.us/index.cfm?adfg=unit23.main

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Your best bet in rafts, canoes and camp rentals
Kotzebue, Alaska
www.northwestalaska.com
 
Successful bou hunt

;) Ok I just made it back from my “Sunday” caribou hunting trip. Well I took a rookie teacher out with me thinking I would show him the country and the dos and don’t about travel on a snow machine. We headed down towards the “Arctic Circle” to find some bou. We saw well over 500 animals in groups ranging from 8-10 to upward to 150 or so. These critters were spooky and we could not get with in 500 yards before they would head for the Russia at warp speed. Not to be detoured I swung to the east hoping for better cover and more animals. About 8 miles from town I spotted a small bull hanging around a small lake and he was the one. 2 shots later he was down and we gutted him in record time as it was almost dark and at -28 you work fast just to stay alive!

We headed back only to get soo… stuck in a willow bottom that I had no business being in, 45 minutes of hard work and we were up and running again! My rookie must of thought I was nuts as we headed out a crossed the lakes and tundra. The poor kid proceeded to find new ways to get his new sno-go stuck. Some rookie trip! I guess the moral of the story is Walt will find you caribou but you will hate him in the morning with you sore back!

Meats on the gril!
Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Your best bet in rafts, canoes and camp rentals
Kotzebue, Alaska
www.northwestalaska.com
 
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