Alaska caribou for me and the wife

[ddavis_1313]

Been doing a ton of research and trying to learn as much as I can about doing an Alaska caribou hunt. As of now I have called a few transporters and asked each questions about their service and success rates. Been pretty pleased with everything I’ve heard but still have several questions that I’m finding hard to get answers to. Maybe someone here can help. The areas I’m interested in are the brooks range and 40 mile area. Trying to get the pros and cons between bunting these two areas and what to expect as far as size of caribou both body and antlers.

I’m also trying to determine the pros and cons between the southern brooks range and the northern brooks range and the differences between those herds as far as trophy quality.

We are from Texas and this isn’t a hunt that we can book year in and year out so we are trying to make this a memorable trip and bring home two trophies that we can hang on the wall. I’m not expecting to kill a record bull by any means, but, I’d like to kill an above average bull with solid tops, shovels, and bez.

Hoping to have something booked for 2020 soon so please offer any advice you have and I will certainly have some gear questions as well but not many as I back pack hunt Colorado and have everything I need for back country camping for several weeks and all of my gear is ultra lite Bc ultimately I’d like to do a drop camp diy.

So far I’ve spoke with Tok Air, arrowhead, and silvertip aviation. Silvertip operates in the brooks range area and told me they don’t have as many caribou where they operate and they aren’t big by any means. Tok Air has great reviews and I’d have no reservation with him other than he’s 5500 bucks for 2020. Arrowhead was great on the phone and answered all my questions but I’ve read great reviews and horrible reviews. So seems like a flip of a coin with them.

Feel free to pm me as well if you have info you don’t want shared. Thanks for any input helping me get my wife on a great caribou and having an amazing time.


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[Redmtnhunter]

I'm sure others will be more help on numbers and such but have hunted the North slope a number of times. The tundra up there is tough. If you are more in the mtns the hiking is much easier. The caribou numbers are not as they used to be and the hunting can be real hit or miss. I have seen over 1,000 caribou 1 day and 0 the next. I've never hunted the 40 mile herd so can't help much there. Others may feel different but my personal opinion, if I were paying for a fly out, I wouldn't go north of the Brooks range. The scenery adds to the adventure and north of the Brooks range it is flat enough to watch your dog run away for 3 days before it gets out of sight.

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[ddavis_1313]

I'm sure others will be more help on numbers and such but have hunted the North slope a number of times. The tundra up there is tough. If you are more in the mtns the hiking is much easier. The caribou numbers are not as they used to be and the hunting can be real hit or miss. I have seen over 1,000 caribou 1 day and 0 the next. I've never hunted the 40 mile herd so can't help much there. Others may feel different but my personal opinion, if I were paying for a fly out, I wouldn't go north of the Brooks range. The scenery adds to the adventure and north of the Brooks range it is flat enough to watch your dog run away for 3 days before it gets out of sight.

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Thanks for your input.


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[AKBorn]

Wright Air out of Fairbanks used to fly caribou hunters into the Southern Brooks Range, might want to give them a call. 70 North Aviation used to fly people into the Brooks from somewhere off the Haul Road (Dalton Highway north of Fairbanks), but I heard of a few overbook situations a couple of years back when they were flying hunters and some non-hunting groups at the same time.

As for the ultralight gear – a word of caution for using in Alaska. Back in 2012 in the 40 Mile country (Unit 20), the area had a big storm come through with sustained winds of 60-70 mph, with microbursts up to 100 mph. A couple of hunters had their Kifaru 16-man tipi split wide open by a 100-mph microburst in the middle of the night during a driving rainstorm. Another pair of hunters were blown partway down the ridge, while still in their tent! Winds were so bad that their air taxi could not land and help the Kifaru guys – instead, they flew over and dropped another tent from the airplane. Ultralight gear is great for backpacking trips, but you want a tent that can sustain serious weather, and that has plenty of stakes and tiedowns, in case you experience some extreme weather as can happen in Alaska.

Can’t help you on the trophy quality, I’ve never had an animal mount done and I typically give away the antlers of animals that I harvest.

 

[VernAK]

Wright Air out of Fairbanks used to fly caribou hunters into the Southern Brooks Range, might want to give them a call. 70 North Aviation used to fly people into the Brooks from somewhere off the Haul Road (Dalton Highway north of Fairbanks), but I heard of a few overbook situations a couple of years back when they were flying hunters and some non-hunting groups at the same time.

As for the ultralight gear – a word of caution for using in Alaska. Back in 2012 in the 40 Mile country (Unit 20), the area had a big storm come through with sustained winds of 60-70 mph, with microbursts up to 100 mph. A couple of hunters had their Kifaru 16-man tipi split wide open by a 100-mph microburst in the middle of the night during a driving rainstorm. Another pair of hunters were blown partway down the ridge, while still in their tent! Winds were so bad that their air taxi could not land and help the Kifaru guys – instead, they flew over and dropped another tent from the airplane. Ultralight gear is great for backpacking trips, but you want a tent that can sustain serious weather, and that has plenty of stakes and tiedowns, in case you experience some extreme weather as can happen in Alaska.

Can’t help you on the trophy quality, I’ve never had an animal mount done and I typically give away the antlers of animals that I harvest.

I was within spotting scope range of John's camp when his tent got flattened in that storm. My buddies were in my 12 man Tipi and it weathered the blow while I and a friend collapsed my Sawtooth and rolled up in it. Thankfully it wasn't cold. The storm of 9/11/92 was much worse as it snowed two feet and went to -20F.

Don't get cheap on tents and sleeping bags. If I were going in a party of two, I'd take my Hilleberg for sleeping and a tarp for a kitchen/lounge. My Tipi is primarily a community center for cooking and BS.

When we did get off that 40 Mile ridge the Supercubs couldn't fight the wind to Tok so we got dropped on the Alcan Highway.

 

[Kevin Dill]

August weather in the Fortymile area isn't something to take for granted.

And I well recall the storm described by AKBorn and Vern. It was brutally windy. I was moose hunting in a valley camp when it struck. My biggest recollection is that the air....actually the skies....were completely full of drifting yellow birch and aspen leaves sucked thousands of feet up by the winds. It rained leaves for an entire day after the wind settled.

 

[AKBorn]

"I was within spotting scope range of John's camp when his tent got flattened in that storm. My buddies were in my 12 man Tipi and it weathered the blow while I and a friend collapsed my Sawtooth and rolled up in it. Thankfully it wasn't cold. The storm of 9/11/92 was much worse as it snowed two feet and went to -20F. "

Vern - I was in Anchorage visiting family with my girlfriend in 2012 when the storm went through, I was thinking about you guys as signs were getting blown down all over Anchorage. I bumped into John and his hunt partner in 2014 when we were waiting to be flown to our moose hunt location, and asked him about that adventure - he was kind enough to share a few details.

A bring a Cabela's Extreme Weather 4-season 4-man tent for my hunt partner and I to sleep in, and bring a Go-Lite Shangri-La 5-man tipi tent to serve as cook tent, gear tent, and backup in case something happens to my XWT.

I heard about the storm of 1992, hope we never see another one like that while we're out hunting in remote camp...

 

[VernAK]

That storm in 2012 blew a few houses off the foundations in Tanacross. The storm was centered in PWS and the high winds were reaching hundreds of miles inland. As the wind abated a bit, I was out glassing for moose when I noticed a very large, strange bird circling. Having fished in Baja a lot, I always watch for circling birds as they indicate bait or fish. This bird looked familiar and I thought I must be mistaken so I called my buddy from PWS out to have a look and he too thought it was a black albatross. That's a long ways from the salt water.

The storm of 92 found us in moose camp just below Hayes Glacier. As it snowed quite a lot, we thought it would be simple to walk to lower altitudes to find a bare sand bar for our pilot to land. Little did we know that Delta Jct had two feet of snow and it stayed until the next May. The birch by Harding Lake are still bent over from the snow load. Our pilot eventually came in on skis. The hunters that had gone up rivers with Jet boats had to leave them until spring.

 

[ilikeshootin]

I would definitely say no go with Arrowhead!

Get a bombproof tent. We had one nearly flattened by the wind.
North slope is flat and there is a lot of water, it will be in your tent.
If you do go N. I would say you are going to need some sort of lightweight packable cot to keep you off the floor.

 

[ddavis_1313]

Tha is for all the replies. Keep em coming


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[todd h]

I have hunted with tok air, great outfit , more pricey than some others but if you can't book a spot it doesn't matter. If you plan on going just once, pay the higher price for a really good experience. we saw lots of caribou , had our pick of bulls. every caribou camp was tagged out early. Zack has a really good handle on where the caribou are at all times. will gladly help with any questions.
Todd

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Have you looked into Brooks range aviation? I've hunted with both BRA and Tok air (with my wife). Both provide a great service with tok being a little more prompt on communication, but BRA allows a much more comfortable camp.

 

[RTSJ]

Tag! Just the info I’ve been looking for!


Thanks Roy

 

[Labdad]

Another vote for Wright Air. Good transporter.

 

[wanderin39]

I am from Texas also, been researching the same thing. Think I have decided to go with Arctic Air. Will rent the camp gear from them also. Now trying to find correct rain gear and boots. And deciding if a spotting scope is worth the extra weight.

 

[AKBorn]

I am from Texas also, been researching the same thing. Think I have decided to go with Arctic Air. Will rent the camp gear from them also. Now trying to find correct rain gear and boots. And deciding if a spotting scope is worth the extra weight.

If you do rent the gear from your transporter - please take a moment to put it all up before you leave town. I have seen a few camps where mismatched tents and poles went into the field, and guys tied logs together to stand their tent up. Also good to know how the tent goes up beforehand in case bad weather comes in right after you get dropped off.

 

[wanderin39]

If you do rent the gear from your transporter - please take a moment to put it all up before you leave town. I have seen a few camps where mismatched tents and poles went into the field, and guys tied logs together to stand their tent up. Also good to know how the tent goes up beforehand in case bad weather comes in right after you get dropped off.

Thank you for good advice. The service wants us there the day before, they will go over setting the tent and other things. They tell that before some people were unable to set a tent and did not realize that with packaged meals all you do is add water. They offer guided hunts and one of their guides will give us a couple of hours prep and pep talk.

 

[Chugaglug]

we've used brooks range aviation twice, they dropped us in the north brooks. they were fantastic. we shipped the vast majority of our food and gear up to them (yea amazon prime goes to bettles!) BRA usually fills up their schedule a year ahead of time though so they might be booked up a bit for 2020 already. we've had below freezing temps the 3rd week of august there, which was great because no bugs! we were super happy with seek outside 6 man tipi setup. Had a bug nest but didn't need it. I slept on a silnylon tarp and thermarest and was just fine. My husband had a cot which made him happy. Also brought ultralight camp chairs and felt like we had a pretty comfy camp. We had a gear fly for cooking/meat area. Brought two bear fences, one for meat, one for tents. Didn't need them but brought lots of piece of mind. We found that a spotting scope wasn't necessary. Had 15x binos on a tripod which we've come to love for all species. My husband wore muck books with sewed on chaps which were money. I wore my well greased kenetreks with gaiters and that was fine too. trip of a lifetime.

 

[wanderin39]

we've used brooks range aviation twice, they dropped us in the north brooks. they were fantastic. we shipped the vast majority of our food and gear up to them (yea amazon prime goes to bettles!) BRA usually fills up their schedule a year ahead of time though so they might be booked up a bit for 2020 already. we've had below freezing temps the 3rd week of august there, which was great because no bugs! we were super happy with seek outside 6 man tipi setup. Had a bug nest but didn't need it. I slept on a silnylon tarp and thermarest and was just fine. My husband had a cot which made him happy. Also brought ultralight camp chairs and felt like we had a pretty comfy camp. We had a gear fly for cooking/meat area. Brought two bear fences, one for meat, one for tents. Didn't need them but brought lots of piece of mind. We found that a spotting scope wasn't necessary. Had 15x binos on a tripod which we've come to love for all species. My husband wore muck books with sewed on chaps which were money. I wore my well greased kenetreks with gaiters and that was fine too. trip of a lifetime.

If I am ask, how hard was it to get the meat and antlers to lower 48?

 

[Chugaglug]

no biggie, we've brought back fish, bears, moose and caribou. we've become "known transporters" with Alaska airlines and delta. This means we can use the freight desk and they guarantee the meat will be kept in freezer facilities in the terminal. And of course reasonable shipping rates and no size/weight limits (within reason I guess). Brooks range aviation has a hanger you can cut meat in, a meat cooler, and freezers. We ship up tape, knives, cutting sheets, fish boxes and freezer paper and plan to have a day to get it all cut and frozen. We've also rented a VRBO at the end of a trip so we knew we'd have a place to get meat processed before going home. We've used coolers before too but fish boxes are easier to deal with. We brought a 60" moose skull back whole, just wrapped it up good. Alaska airlines is pretty used to dealing with this. It just went in regular baggage. The caribou we split the skull plates in half (mine was very close to making B&C so we checked before splitting as this can cause trouble later if you want to get it scored for the book). Then we packed them all together in one big ball, covered antler tips with rubber hose chunks, wrapped it all in bubble wrap, went in regular baggage.