Alaska DIY Caribou Hunt - Arctic Air

[Otty0914]

Few more pics I just got from my fiance from the trip.

 

[AKBorn]

Few more pics I just got from my fiance from the trip.

Congrats on an awesome trip! What type and caliber rifle is that we see?

 

[Otty0914]

Sako A7 in 300 win mag and she was shooting a Bergara B-14 in 6.5 Creedmoor

 

[Cubsscrubsjakes]

Sweet trip and great thread Otty.

 

[BTAC]

we had a really good experience with Arctic Air. we had a nuance bear at the camp site that kept us up for a few nights in a row. they where willing to move us but we where see a lot of animals so we decided to stay. We ended up tagging out with hundreds of caribou coming through camp while we where waiting on the plane out. Over all AA did a good job by us. By the way we stayed at Bibbers. I would highly recommend it.

 

[Fnbetx]

Hello all, I stumbled upon another thread and didn't want to highjack it but I'm just looking for some advice.

I have booked a trip with Arctic Air for their DIY Caribou hunt 8/29-9/5/2020. I have never been to Alaska or hunted Caribou but have hunted and trapped the Adirondack Mountains and Tug Hill Plateau in Northern NY for many years. I will be bringing my girlfriend who has limited experience hunting but it's a bucket list trip for the both of us. We have butchered whitetails together, we are training together by rucking with our packs, going to the range to practice and we are both extremely excited but also very nervous about what we may encounter out there. Travel interruption, weather, whatever the case may be but a lot of that is out of our control. #1 the bears, I have never hunted the same turf as a grizzly bear and I have read every piece of material on bear safety and Sheila has told me in there 30+yrs of operation they have never had a problem with bears. Any of you who have hunted with them have any experiences you'd like to share?

The other thing is what would you say is the most overlooked information, item, preparation etc... that a new to Alaska hunter might miss?

I guess any tip, advice or lessons learned from your hunts I would just love to hear them.

Alaska is definitely my bucket list, I always thought that nonresidents were required to do guided only hunts?

 

[mooster]

Alaska is definitely my bucket list, I always thought that nonresidents were required to do guided only hunts?

NR can hunt bou, moose, elk, deer, black bear without a guide. Brown bear, goat and sheep require a guide.

 

[Fnbetx]

NR can hunt bou, moose, elk, deer, black bear without a guide. Brown bear, goat and sheep require a guide.

Thanks

 

[Jboogg]

I just got back and very disappointed. Had a 9 day hunt that Sheila cut to 7 then pulled me from the field on day 5 because of bad weather coming. That was a lie. Its in the high 60-70 degrees. They also forgot to provide a stove and water container. Once back in Kotzebue I got my belongings and noticed my brand new Kuiu bag was missing. They made no offer to replace is. I was then dropped off at a airBnB and forced to pay $150 for a room and another $350 to fly out early. While eating a police officer approached me with small talk and asked how my hunt went. I told him about going with Arctic Air and he rolled his eyes. He explained Sheila once owed Ram and had numerous complaints and legal problems. Therefore she sold and started Arctic Air. I called Sheila today to explain my concerns. She took no responsibility, made numerous excuses, got upset and hung up on me. I hunted extremely hard and passed on several animals looking for a trophy. I settled on a meat animal once knowing they were coming to get me early. My hunt was a success due to my positive attitude. I do not recommend this company due to extremely poor customer service and the theft of my personal property.

Man, I’m sorry to hear about your trip. Your mental attitude definitely saved your trip. Thanks for sharing all this info with us. We really appreciate it.

 

[Blklab]

Yikes, sorry your hunt didn’t go well with them.