Planning for ak 2012

[mconway951]

I am begining to plan a hunt for myself and my hunting buddy for fall of 2012. Neither of us have ever been to AK so we have lots to learn. We are extremly poor so no guides will be used at all. I have some friends that live in Anchorage was wondering if it iw possible to just rent a vehicle and drive to national forests and camp and hunt there or if you really do need to hire a fly in type service. We are considering moose and caribou and any other targets of opp like wolf and black bears.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[the nikster]

I can piont you in the right direction, Send me a pm and I'll put you in touch with hundreds of good resources.

 

[Bambistew]

Maybe you'd be better at this than me, but I've looked at just about every optoin there is off the road system. Cheap and sucessful aren't really in the same catagory unless you know an area awell. You can go on a cheap hunt, but dont' expect to kill anything. I know there are guys that get it done, but they've also spent a lot of time reserching/scouting to find the right spots.

My advice would be to first, pick the animal you most want to hunt, then plan your hunt around that. Between state and Federal land there are endless places to hunt, there are also miles and miles of country with very little game in it.

What do you consider reasonable driving distance?

Renting a car up here isn't cheap... plan $100 a day or more, and there are roads that most rental places won't let you take their cars on (i.e. the Haul Road)

Places where you could have an op at moose and caribou off the road system is slim to none especially, a fly in hunt isn't much better. They tend to live in diffrent areas. Black bears are fairly abundant, but the farther you get away from water/coast/north the fewer you'll see.

There are a few areas that offer 'any' moose, but the odds off the road system is slim/none due to there not being many roads to speak of.

An archery hunt or a pack in hunt off the Haul road north of Faribainks would be an adventure I think. Inside 5 miles either side of the road is archery only, outside of that you can hunt with a rifle. I've not done this hunt yet, but have talked with a lot of guys that have. Success rates vary, due to experience... I think on average it runs about 15-20% with archery and a bit better with a rifle. Its a about a 16 hour hour drive from Anchorage. Renting a car and driving up from here won't be bad. I'd fly into Fairbanks and save yourself half the driving time since you're flying up anyway.

Black bear hunting is another option. There is all sorts of opportunity around Anchorage with in 2-3 hour drive. You can hunt moose as well, but there is lots of competition off the road.

Personally if you're going to spend the money to come up here, save a little more and do a fly in. Start with air taxi services before you look at 'non-guided' fly in hunts. The air taxi will charge you by the hour to fly. A drop hunt with 1 hour fly in and 1 hour out will run you $400-700 per hour depending on plane type/capacity and you could potentially split that.

Going to an area 'cold' and expecting to kill something will be challenging. I've been up here nearly 2 years and am still learning new areas. The one thing that all areas have in common... is the really good looking places are very difficult to get to off the road. Either a river is in the way, its thick azz bush, or a bit farther than I can hike and return with an animal.

Another 'easy' type hunt would be a sitka deer hunt in Kodiak off the road system. It gets pounded by other hunters, but its a 'cheap' hunt. Fly to Kodiak and rent a car...

Good luck on your planning. Spend some time poking around on the Alaska Outdoor Forum. Lots of info there.

 

[BuzzH]

Bambis reply should be a thread killer...couldnt agree more with what he said.

 

[lilbiggun]

If your after moose and caribou as the main critter, I wouldnt mess with Anchorage, just fly to Fairbanks and rent a car. You can do the haul road or if you feel really brave head up the Taylor for the eastern side of the 40 mile caribou herd. Got to be quick on the taylor nowadays, they usually close it within a couple of days of opening (thanks to the state and the firefighters)

Blackbears are all over, and it would be a nice easy hunt out of anchorage. Deer is another good choice for a cost effective hunt.

A decent fly-in starts around 1200 (round trip), unless you decide to go tach time. then it varies on aircraft. You used to be able to do a fly-in for $500. those were the days.

If money is an issue, you have to think about getting the critter home. shipping home 700lbs of moose meat can cost as much as a fly-in.

If it were me in your shoes, I would wait another year and save for a fly-in. Better odds for moose and caribou.

Its possible to get a moose from the anchorage area, but remember south central is where most folks live and alot of hunters hit the roads come moose season.

 

[Calvin]

What's the budget?

 

[nmtaxi]

If I was you and your buddy, I'd push the hunt to 2013 and hire an air taxi. It's all part of the adventure of being in Alaska.
The last time I went to AK (2007), I came home with a moose and caribou. Total cost - $5,000. I think the air taxi was half of that cost. You'll end up spending $2500 to $3000 just to do what you're talking about now. Might as well save a little more and make it worth your while.
Rondtrip flight - $600
Hunting Licsence - $80
Moose tag - $400
Caribou tag - $325
Wolf tag - $30 (always buy a wolf tag j.i.c.)
Rental car - $500 (if you go cheap)
Shipping antlers, capes and meat back - $400 (if you donate most of the meat, higher if you take it all home)

There's $2,335, and you haven't paid for gas, groceries, and all the gear you will need for the Alaskan Wilderness.

 

[Calvin]

Agreed on the bush flights.. But know what you are getting yourself into, cost wise.

For my 2011 moose trip, I'm looking at $740 an hour for a Beaver on floats. That comes to 1700ish per trip into the lake we will be hunting. It'll take a flight to get a moose out too.

So for two guys, who score a moose each, it'll come to about $3500 each just in bush flights.