First off let me say thanks to everyone here who helped me out with this hunt. I got an invaluable amount of knowledge and it definitely made the planning easier. We drove out to Tok from Ga. It took us 5 days to make the drive, but it was well worth it. The scenary through British Columbia was amazing.
We made it into Tok the day before we were flying out. We met up in the hunter office and got the paperwork finalized and got our gear weighted in. We spent the night in there bunk house, got up early the next morning grabbed some breakfast and were flying out by 7:30am. We did a plane transfer about 60 miles out and flew in on the super cubs. Once in the field we set up camp and did some scouting. Saw quite a few caribou that afternoon and got a feel for the area. Being first time hunters in Alaska we were not sure what to expect but it was everything I had read about and more.
Storms rolled in Friday night and it rained all night long. Saturday was our first day to hunt. By 9am we had two bulls down. We spent the next few hours cutting and packing meat out. Had a quick lunch and went back out. The storms moved in again around 5 afternoon. That got the caribou moving and bull 3 was down. We got back to camp around 11pm that night with it. Tired, wet and hungry went ate dinner in the tent and slept through the storms. The rain broke around 9 Sunday morning. I didn't mind a little extra sleep.
Sunday morning started with spotting a group of bulls crossing the hill behind camp. I'm the last one to tag out so we head out to intercept them. They cover more ground faster than any animal I've ever seen. We did manage to get in front of them but they weren't the quality I was looking for. Made another stalk on a really nice bull, but he crossed over and got into a herd of 70-80 caribou. We stayed with him for a while but never could get a clean shot on him. Had a quick lunch and decided to go sit at a cutoff point on the side of a mountain. When the caribou crossed over 90% walked within 100 yds of a rock pit. It was a good call. Within an hour that afternoon a group of caribou came over the mountain with 3 nice bulls in the rear. They made there way to me, but the cows spooked and the bulls turned early to cross over. I had to make a quick position change and made the shot on him just befor he got to the top. We got him cut up and packed out by 9pm and like the previous nights it rained on us.
The hunt was more than I ever imagined it would be. Over two years of research, asking questions and many phone calls has paid off. This was my first hunt in Alaska and I sold it to my wife as a once in a lifetime hunt, that may have been a lie. I'm already researching for 2019! I'm thinking sheep or moose. I would not hesitate to fly with 40 Mile Air again. They were extremely professional and very nice people. Janoa and her husband went out of there way to make sure we were happy and I look forward to flying with them again.
Mason
We made it into Tok the day before we were flying out. We met up in the hunter office and got the paperwork finalized and got our gear weighted in. We spent the night in there bunk house, got up early the next morning grabbed some breakfast and were flying out by 7:30am. We did a plane transfer about 60 miles out and flew in on the super cubs. Once in the field we set up camp and did some scouting. Saw quite a few caribou that afternoon and got a feel for the area. Being first time hunters in Alaska we were not sure what to expect but it was everything I had read about and more.
Storms rolled in Friday night and it rained all night long. Saturday was our first day to hunt. By 9am we had two bulls down. We spent the next few hours cutting and packing meat out. Had a quick lunch and went back out. The storms moved in again around 5 afternoon. That got the caribou moving and bull 3 was down. We got back to camp around 11pm that night with it. Tired, wet and hungry went ate dinner in the tent and slept through the storms. The rain broke around 9 Sunday morning. I didn't mind a little extra sleep.
Sunday morning started with spotting a group of bulls crossing the hill behind camp. I'm the last one to tag out so we head out to intercept them. They cover more ground faster than any animal I've ever seen. We did manage to get in front of them but they weren't the quality I was looking for. Made another stalk on a really nice bull, but he crossed over and got into a herd of 70-80 caribou. We stayed with him for a while but never could get a clean shot on him. Had a quick lunch and decided to go sit at a cutoff point on the side of a mountain. When the caribou crossed over 90% walked within 100 yds of a rock pit. It was a good call. Within an hour that afternoon a group of caribou came over the mountain with 3 nice bulls in the rear. They made there way to me, but the cows spooked and the bulls turned early to cross over. I had to make a quick position change and made the shot on him just befor he got to the top. We got him cut up and packed out by 9pm and like the previous nights it rained on us.
The hunt was more than I ever imagined it would be. Over two years of research, asking questions and many phone calls has paid off. This was my first hunt in Alaska and I sold it to my wife as a once in a lifetime hunt, that may have been a lie. I'm already researching for 2019! I'm thinking sheep or moose. I would not hesitate to fly with 40 Mile Air again. They were extremely professional and very nice people. Janoa and her husband went out of there way to make sure we were happy and I look forward to flying with them again.
Mason
