2022 Haul road hunt

pjlutz

FNG
Joined
Apr 5, 2022
Messages
9
try ting to plan a trip to bow hunt Caribou on the Haul road for this year. Was wondering if we are to late to try and get a rental vehicle? Also wondering if anyone who has done this before if it is cheaper to buy equipment up there for try and pack it on the plane with us? Flying from Denver to Fairbanks late august fort part of September.
Any information would be greatly appreciate
 

AK Shane

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 14, 2012
Messages
277
Location
Alaska
Could be spam. The buying gear question throws me off. Ill play though.

You should still be able to find a rental. Make sure the rental company allows you to take the rental up the Dalton Hwy. A Uhaul pickup or van is also an option.

You're driving to the end of the earth. Make sure you have all your gear 100% dialed in and bring it with you. The only thing you should buy when you land in fairbanks is stove fuel, food, and lots of bug spray. Maybe a spare 5 gal. fuel can.
 
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pjlutz

FNG
Joined
Apr 5, 2022
Messages
9
Not Spam, just not very good at writing!
We are going to call a couple places today was just wondering if anybody had some good advice for rookies go up to Alaska. This will be a first and not sure where to start besides airline tickets and rental vehicle. Was reading some forums last night and they were talking about how the rentals get rented out quickly so didn’t know if anybody had ideas. Thank you
 
Joined
Jun 3, 2020
Messages
616
Location
Eagle River, AK
Thats right about at the end of the real terrorist oops i meant tourist season. I would check out alaska 4x4 rentals. I would be bringing all of my own gear for sure. I wouldn't trust brand new stuff that i am not comfortable with on any type of hunt. Also with the supply crap going on i wouldnt want to risk not bringing something up and then hoping to find it in town. I think there was a thread a little while back called haul road logistics that had some good info in it.
 
Joined
Oct 29, 2021
Messages
36
Location
Minnesota/Alaska
I am a lower-48'er who makes 3-6 trips a year to Alaska. Over the last couple of years, there have been a few random items each trip that I've tried to buy in Alaska that have been inexplicably sold out. Do the proper planning and get all your gear together before the trip. As mentioned above, not only do you need to have the gear in hand, but you'll want to test it to make sure everything works as it should.

If you're totally committed to the trip and cannot find a vehicle for rent in Fairbanks, you *could* fly into Anchorage and rent a vehicle there. That will add to your drive-time but you may find more rental options available.

If checking bags with gear is too expensive, get an Alaska Airlines credit card and fly with them (2 free checked bags for card holders).
 
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pjlutz

FNG
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Apr 5, 2022
Messages
9
I am a lower-48'er who makes 3-6 trips a year to Alaska. Over the last couple of years, there have been a few random items each trip that I've tried to buy in Alaska that have been inexplicably sold out. Do the proper planning and get all your gear together before the trip. As mentioned above, not only do you need to have the gear in hand, but you'll want to test it to make sure everything works as it should.

If you're totally committed to the trip and cannot find a vehicle for rent in Fairbanks, you *could* fly into Anchorage and rent a vehicle there. That will add to your drive-time but you may find more rental options available.

If checking bags with gear is too expensive, get an Alaska Airlines credit card and fly with them (2 free checked bags for card holders).
Thank you for the help.
We will be bow hunting and plan on taking our own equipment now😁
Doing the haul road hunt besides the normal hunting stuff what is something that we should definitely take with us that you have learned going up there?
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2017
Messages
440
Location
WV
Did the Haul Road in 2020, peak Covid lol. Was an incredible trip! Have your archery gear DIALED with potential for longer shots. You can get close but it takes some effort and luck. I killed mine at 83 and my buddy killed his at 98 yards.
e9ac497f49c1a0bc478799bdd60c7864.jpg



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Joined
Mar 21, 2012
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4,007
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Alaska
Out of the couple dozen caribou I've arrowed up there, the vast majority of them have been 30 yards or less. If you get in front of them, you'll get a close shot. If you try to stalk them in the wide open you will often times be left with a very tempting long shot.
 
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Apr 9, 2018
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449
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Alaska
Is a RUG (rules of use guidelines) permit something that is pertinent to obtain or doesn’t really matter as it won’t get you any special treatment?
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
64
Location
Gothenburg, NE
I was just in Alaska in May on an spring bear hunt. Our vehicle we had lined up broke down so we were scrambling to find a replacement. Rental for a week was very high. We went with Turo. It is like AirBnB for vehicles. Van was dropped off at the airport for us and we used it all week then just returned to airport. It worked really good and was underr half the cost of renting one through a rental company. Unlimited miles just had to replace fuel. I am not sure if some owners would have haul road restrictions or not but worth a shot.
 
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pjlutz

FNG
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Apr 5, 2022
Messages
9
Did the Haul Road in 2020, peak Covid lol. Was an incredible trip! Have your archery gear DIALED with potential for longer shots. You can get close but it takes some effort and luck. I killed mine at 83 and my buddy killed his at 98 yards.
e9ac497f49c1a0bc478799bdd60c7864.jpg



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That is a really nice Caribou, congratulations!!
Yes we have been shooting out to 100 yards, thank you for the info
 

drra

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Joined
Aug 7, 2022
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95
If you fly first class on Delta the first two bags are "free" and they can weigh up to 70 pounds instead of 50. For me it was cheaper to pay for first class than it was to pay the overweight bag fees.
 
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