Hunt planner vs. Transporter vs. Air Taxi

[timekiller13]

Dad and I just got back from a blacktail hunting Raspberry and Afognak Island. Now we have the Alaska bug bad and Dad wants to go on a moose hunt before he is too old (his words). I have already put some research into this but now I am in high gear.

I know it's down right impossible to get in with the good transporters anytime soon. Earliest we would be going to hunt is 2021, but 2022 is more likely. I have already called a couple of the more well-known transporters and the conversations are pretty much the same "All booked up for a few years, put you on the waitlist." One transporter did have a slot in 2022, but I am struggling with the idea of paying nearly $10k/person for a DIY drop camp hunt.

Their are plenty of air taxis out there whom I could probably get a spot with, but with them I have to know EXACTLY where I want to go. I'm from North Carolina, so figuring out exactly where I want to be dropped for moose is damn near impossible task.

So, now I am looking at hunt planners. Never thought of using a hunt planner before, but the more I research, the more I am intrigued by the option. I know a couple planners frequent Rokslide, and their are many members on here who have used them or know some hunt planners real well. Thought I would try to pick some of y'alls brains. PM is fine if you don't want to share information publicly. I'm just looking for experiences or personal opinions on the matter. This is a serious endeavor to me. Dropping $7-8k on a hunt is not something I can take lightly, but I am willing to pay for the right service/experience.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Trying to get a handle on this: Are you considering using a hunt planner to help you select a hunting area?.....and then get there by use of an air taxi service?

I'm the farthest thing from knowledgeable about hunt planners. I suspect they offer varying levels of help, up to and including a connection with a transporter or taxi.

 

[timekiller13]

Trying to get a handle on this: Are you considering using a hunt planner to help you select a hunting area?.....and then get there by use of an air taxi service?

I'm the farthest thing from knowledgeable about hunt planners. I suspect they offer varying levels of help, up to and including a connection with a transporter or taxi.

Yes, I am considering using a hunt planner and from what I have read most of them have air taxis that they reccommend or book for you as part of their service.

The big thing I am trying to figure out is benefits of using a hunt planner vs going with a transporter.

 

[Kevin Dill]

The big thing I am trying to figure out is benefits of using a hunt planner vs going with a transporter.

Based on what I've seen over the years, think of a planner as a travel agent. You can hire either one to take advantage of their expertise, knowledge, and connections. You can do any of this stuff yourself, or you can hire it done. There might be a lot of benefits worth the added expense....I just don't know. There's obviously a huge knowledge gap for guys pondering their first diy hunts in Alaska....same with a vacation there. As I see it, you can dig in hard and fill this gap yourself from the ground up....or you can pay for the knowledge and contacts. Only you can say whether it's money worth spending.

One other thing I'd be asking before spending: Does the use of a hunt planner get you to a really good location sooner versus complete diy and booking your own transporter? I'm not certain, but I'd be very surprised if the guys with great reputations (and waiting lists) can get you in sooner than 2-3 years out.

 

[Wallace]

I'm a 'hunt planner' (booking agent) for hunting trips. I don't book anything domestic, so I can't personally help with Alaska, but I can give you a little bit of what I know. MOST booking agents operate off of a percentage that is built into the price of the trip, and the price of the trip is the exact same amount you would pay whether you work directly with the outfitter or if you work with the booking agent. The outfitter absorbs the booking agent's fee since he's planning that he will keep his calendar full and save him on other expenses (marketing, shows, expos, etc).

As long as you use a reputable booking agent, you should be fine. I'm relatively young (32), but I've been doing this for 10 years full time, I've seen a lot of new shops open up in that time frame. Go with a company that has good reviews and can provide references, and you should be fine. You shouldn't be paying anything more for the trip than you would if you booked on your own, but you do get the added value of the booking agents expertise (as long as you do your homework and don't get a useless one).

Hope that helps some.

 

[VernAK]

I find this "planner" concept interesting as I was viewing it as more than a "booking agent".

I was thinking of our Larry Bartlett as a Planner as he also arranges flights but he also supplies rafts and usually on trips that he has personally done. For my money, I'd want a Planner that has boots-on-the-ground in that area........walks his talk!

Undoubtedly there's a lot I don't know about the Planner concept.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Vern, I'm thinking of a good booking agent as more than someone who simply takes care of....well....booking a reservation. They would be part of the information gathering and planning process. Based on what level of assistance you need or request, they would be able to fill gaps and tie things together on a do-it-yourself hunt. But I'll also hazard that a big majority of booking agents are working with full-on outfitters and guided hunting entities....as opposed to helping a diy guy in his specific areas of need. I do know there are those who fill the niche which exists between guided hunts and true diy hunts. In this case I'm saying 'diy' is where the hunter does his homework, books his pilot, handles his logistics and relies on his own gear.

 

[Nick Muche]

If you are looking for a DIY Option that eliminates much of the pre-work/guess work, I'd opt for Troy Sessions with the 60 Inch Club or whatever he is calling it. That, or Billy Molls.

If you are looking for a great moose hunt, totally DIY, etc... I may be able to help you out but the days of getting in on reasonably priced DIY moose hunts with any level of expected success are about over. And before anyone says I am wrong, I am fully aware that there are exceptions to that rule.

 

[timekiller13]

Here is where I am at. From a complete DIY aspect, I could research, hire an air taxi and go hunting. Issue is, finding an area to hunt. I have talked to 2 pretty well known air taxi services and they told me I need to have a "very good idea" of the spot I want to be flown into. I can narrow down a GMU, I can narrow down a general area of a GMU, but thats still hundreds, even thousands of square miles. Being able to tell an air taxi, "Fly me to X drainage" seems damn near impossible for me to figure out from 4500 miles away.

The hunt planners I have researched are more like "booking agents." They have areas they have found, they set up your air taxi, they have camp equipment if you want it. Booking their service gives you access to the areas they have found, and gives you access to the info they have on the area, including GPS waypoints, map images and places where game has been seen/harvested. Takes a lot of the guess work out of it. The cost of hunt planners is significantly higher than air taxis, but cheaper (including bushflights) than many well known "transport outfits." For example, one planner I have talked to would to would run me about $7k/person for his service and bush flights. A well known transporter in the same GMU is charging $10k for their non-gudided services for 2021.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Not sure if you can get in with any of them, but there are still BGTs (big game transporters) who will fly you and your gear into their hunting areas for $2-3k with moose haul extra. These guys aren't guiding or providing gear. No waypoints or extra services. Basically you're paying for transportation to a backcountry airstrip (pilot's choice) in good moose country. The rest is up to you.

 

[william schmaltz]

Request Rejected

Program: Big Game Guides and Transporters
License Type: Transporter

Dust off the keyboard and google the business names and start calling. That’s how I found my first moose drop off and we had an awesome trip. He was a guy that advertised remote fishing drop offs and air charters; but he had the license so I asked and he agreed to drop us off to hunt.

As previously mentioned, unless you wanna bank on one of the socialists being elected and nuking the economy, the glory days of affordable moose DIY hunts are closing in fast.

 

[Nick Muche]

There is spoon fed gold in that last post.

 

[VernAK]

Nick & Kevin are sharing some real experience here........moose fly-ins are getting difficult as ATVs are reaching further off road. The well established BGTs started improving landing locations years ago. Some as far back as shortly after WWII. Be sure you aren't hiring another BGT and intend to have him land in another's location ruining the solitude of both parties.

 

[timekiller13]

You guys are awesome. I got a lot of phone calls to make and research to do. Thanks for everything!

 

[Kevin Dill]

Work hard....take your dad....kill some moose. Then you'll be awesome, too!

 

[VernAK]

Calling a bull in close enough for a long bow is a very memorable experience. Kevin and John are the real thing!
I called in the Outhouse Bull this year and my 80 YO buddy shot him with a handgun while two friends took bulls with compound bows at 20 and 30 yards. It's good to look at the videos now and then when the snow is deep and it's dark.

 

[Stid2677]

The first year I lived in Alaska my Army buddy hired Pristine Adventures hunt planner, which is owned by Larry Bartlett. He provided all the info and secured the transportation into the field. This was worth every cent, he has relationships with air taxis that he uses every year and often these slots are reserved for his clients, since he books every year, year after year. He provided maps and intel from previous clients, even pictures and video. We knew where to hunt and camp and what to expect as far as river hazards. I have not needed these type of services since, but for that first trip it worth worth the cost. By law Air Taxis are limited to what they can provide since they are not GUIDES, so if you know where you want to go, that is a cheaper way to skin the cat. I killed a nice Bull moose and Caribou on that trip.

 

[timekiller13]

It is quite amazing how much a booming economy affects prices of hunting. I have read through every single thread on the moose forum. Just 5 years ago, well known Unit 18 transporters were charging $4000/person. Now they are more than double that. One thread had an individual who stated he had a DIY moose budget of "$6500, all in" and many forum members told him "that's great budget, you will be just fine." Fast forward to 2019/2020 and $6500 probably won't even get you a transporter!! Dang you, Trump, why did you have to go fix the economy!!

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Unfortunately Hunt Planners are not licensed or registered through the BOG and are only required to have an AK business license to operate legally. So, you may only get what salt he or she is made of when it comes to planning the logistics for your hunt. I put people through literal pain and suffering, so my market is limited and has a three year waiting list. But they see their goals achieved. Other Hunt Planners demonstrate other values, so search for their unhappy groups to know what to expect.

Air Taxi cannot market to hunters directly, which makes Hunt planners an easy way for Taxi operators to fill schedules. Nor can they charge more for hunting flights than they do for summer fishing or rafting to the same spot.

Air Transporters can market to hunters and can charge more for flights or information.

As a hunt planner I have established long standing relationships with air charters and transporters, and they will only fly my groups into the remote spots we use on public land...so it works well to manage these small tributaries for decades this way. Other hunt planners stick hunters where they can, even on top of other groups in areas they know little about other than drop off and pick up coordinates.

 

[AKDoc]

Folks...what LB has generously contributed above is extremely valuable. He is very informed, experienced, and well respected. Think about what he is saying...

I am a 30+ year active Alaskan hunter and remote backcountry guy, but if I ever needed a hunt planner, LB would be my first call.