My Alaska Caribou Hunt

[mdhunter61]

Went on a DIY caribou hunt this September in Alaska, after soliciting potential hunt partners on another outdoor forum. The guy I ended up hunting with turned me on to this forum, so I thought I'd say hello and post my story. The guy I hunted with was the Nikster, and he posted the story of the monster he shot a couple weeks back here...

We met in Anchorage on August 29, and went out to Rabbit Creek Rifle Range to check our rifles – a good thing, as both scopes had been knocked way off zero during our flights to Alaska. After getting our sights back on target, we picked up groceries, propane canisters, and other gear items in Anchorage. On August 31 we were off to Tok, a scenic 325 mile drive through a beautiful part of the state.

After a night at Young’s Motel and dinner and breakfast at Fast Eddie’s, we were set to hit the field! But the weather wasn’t quite ready, so we hung around the hangar, talked with some other hunters, and took a couple of pics with the Cessna 206 that would take us about 100 miles from Tok.

 

[mdhunter61]

After approximately an hour’s flight in the 206, we landed in the field where Leif and Randy would come to take us the rest of the way in the cubs. The Piper Super Cub is an amazing machine, and a joy to fly in – and the guys at 40 Mile sure know how to fly them, makes for a safe but adventurous start to the hunt.

The guys took me in first with our gear load, then went back for Nick and his gear. We had to buzz some caribou off the ridgetop runway, and then we landed and unloaded. Then the planes were off, and I was alone on a mountaintop with a view for miles in every direction – what an awesome feeling! After taking in the scenery and enjoying being back in remote Alaska, I set out to find a good spot for the tents.

Leif brought Nick and his gear in about an hour later, and we started setting up the tents – albeit with plenty of distractions, as we had numerous visitors curious about our arrival.

 

[mdhunter61]

We found a level spot just below the ridgetop, somewhat sheltered from the wind and with room for our sleep tent and gear/food tent. Here's a pic of our little slice of heaven. That’s a good frost you see in the pic, we had a good one every night it wasn’t cloudy.

After enjoying ribeye steaks for dinner, we glassed a while and hit the hay a little after 10 pm. Our 6:00 wakeup call brought this view out the tent door – the first pic is a little fuzzy, but the second pic shows our pre-breakfast welcoming committee.

 

[mdhunter61]

After finding water, packing it back to camp and eating a sandwich, we set out to find a big bull for Nick. We circled the ridgetop and glassed the surrounding country, seeing some decent bulls and having some young ones approach really close. Caribou are curious animals, and the yearlings may not have come into contact with humans yet, so you can get some really neat pics.

 

[mdhunter61]

Nick shot his bull on the evening of the first hunting day - what a monster! The biggest bull I saw out of 40 Mile Air this year, and bigger than any I have shot!

After getting over a bug that kept me from sleeping, on Day 3 I was ready to find a good bull - I'm a meat guy, so my definition of good is a little more subjective. I circled the ridge in the morning, but didn't see anything - but when I got back to camp, Nick had seen a few below our camp, so we walked down to check it out.

A group of 8 cows and young ones was moving from left to right below us, about 500 yards out…when a nice bull popped over the ridge at the end of the bunch! When he went out of sight behind the ridge contour, I moved down the ridge to a point that would bring him into view about 200 yards out – if he followed the same path as the lead caribou had travelled.

He did follow the same path…but as soon as he came into view, he angled to the left, and all I saw for the next 100 yards or so was his ass! Finally at about 300 yards out he turned broadside, and I touched off with my .338. It felt like a good shot on the follow through and he acted like he was hit, but he didn’t look anchored yet – so I shot again, and was glad to see him go down! My largest caribou out of 5 total, and first caribou hunt since 2005.

 

[Big Fin]

Very cool. That is on the OYOA schedule for next year. Looks like a great time. Congrats.

 

[mdhunter61]

After handshakes and pictures, time to get to work…did I mention the part about always packing meat uphill to ridgetop camps?? Only about a .4 mile pack back to camp, but that seemed plenty long by the time I got the last meat load, antlers, and my cameras and extras (in trash bag) up the hill. Accidentally cracked the skull plate when I was sawing the antlers out, but I wasn’t doing a mount anyway – just made them look a lot wider than they really are on my pack.

 

[mdunc8]

Great bull. Sounds like a great hunt. A OYO caribou hunt is definitely on my to-do list.

 

[mdhunter61]

When I went down to get the last load, this fella was about 400 yards off, and ended up running up right by our camp:

Now for my only regret of this hunt – on the evening of day 4 after the rain stopped, we were policing our camp, burning trash, and getting ready for a possible flyout the next day. While burning trash about 25 yards from the tent, we saw a beautiful grizzly about 100 yards down the ridge! Both of our cameras were in the tent due to the wet weather, and by the time we got them the bear was gone! We walked around and tried to locate the bear, but it had left the premises – would have made an awesome picture.

 

[mdhunter61]

All in all a great hunt, our careful planning combined with mostly good weather and plentiful caribou to produce an adventure we’ll treasure for the rest of our lives. Now it’s time to start thinking about next year – caribou again, or moose? I almost forget how much work my 2006 moose was, so maybe it’s time to refresh my memory.

That's my 2010 adventure in a nutshell, please excuse my long-winded account, hope you enjoy the pics. It was great hunting with the Nikster, and it was great to meet Ernesto and his friend before they left for their moose hunt, and to meet Bowuntr and his friend and they headed back to CA with their trophies!

Michael

 

[Oak]

Heck of a nice bull. Thanks for sharing the photos and story.

 

[cadman59501]

Congrats!!! Im definately going to have to hunt them one of these years

 

[Ridge Runner]

Great pics and story of the hunt. What type of fence and why put one up? does it keep things out of your gear? Just asking.

 

[dexnrex]

Nice bull, nice photos. I did the same hunt in August. Can't wait to get back and do it again.

 

[nidahunter]

Great story, somthing I would love to do someday. Awesome tops on that bull!

 

[Bambistew]

Nice picts, congrats on the caribou.

An hour in a 206 and then another hop into the bush. Many you guys were off the grid a ways.

 

[mdhunter61]

Great pics and story of the hunt. What type of fence and why put one up? does it keep things out of your gear? Just asking.

It's a UDAP bear fence, can get one for about $190 online if you watch for sales. I hunted moose out of Tok in 2006 and 2008, and both years I talked to caribou hunters on their way in from the field who had bear trouble in camp, either at night or when they were out hunting.

This year when we were transferring to the cubs at the remote strip (second pic), we traded planes with a resident hunter who was heading back to Tok. He had a nice caribou, and also shot a grizzly that ran past him about 10 yards away while he was glassing for bou! Lotsa bears in this part of Alaska.

I've never had trouble sleeping in a remote camp, but didn't want to have camp ransacked while we were out hunting - gets a little expensive replacing gear! And, after we saw the grizz about 100 yards from camp the last evening while we were burning trash, it seemd like a good investment.

 

[ashersdad]

That's a great looking bull. Beautiful country as well. Congrats on a great trip.

 

[highmountian]

Great pictures n awesome bulls. Congrats.

 

[mdhunter61]

Early Call - 2011 Hunt Partner

Planning to go back to the 40 Mile country in 2011 for a moose or caribou hunt in September, and looking for a partner. Had a great hunt with the Nikster (his story and monster bou are posted on this Forum) in 2010! If you're interested and want to know more about the hunt or about me, send me a PM and we'll go from there.

Michael