What I learned my first caribou hunt

mcseal2

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Like I did after the moose hunt I wanted to put up a post about what I learned on my first caribou hunt. I got a lot of help from people here in preparing for both hunts and want to do my part to pass on what I learn. I do a review after each out of state hunt like this for myself anyway, to hopefully increase my skill level and decrease my packing list as I gain experience. I may as well share it with all of you.

I think being a first timer giving advice can be a double edged sword. On one side I probably think to mention things an experienced caribou hunter might take for granted. On the other side I have only been on one hunt and have only that experience to go off of. What I’m saying is take my advice for what it’s worth, a lot of hunters with a lot more experience are available to help you on this site. They were very willing to help me and I am very thankful for that.

To start I’ll give a little background on our hunt. We flew out of Kotzebue on 9-16 and back to Kotzebue on 9-24. We were lucky to get out a day early. Weather ranged from the upper 40’s for highs to single digit lows. Three of us hunted from one camp unguided but flown in by a transporter. They used a pair of 206’s and landed on a gravel bar.

Our hunt was done from a base camp with weight split between 3 people. Our gear excluding clothes we wore in and our binos/harnesses was 250lbs. Our food we would consume in the field was not counted against our weight limit but rifles were. We went with a more comfortable and heavier camp than we would have on a float hunt. We had a 10x10 tarp to cook under, camp chairs, Thermarest cots, and a Cabelas Instinct Alaskan Guide 6 man tent.

We each carried a Rite in the Rain notebook on our hunt and kept a journal for ourselves. We each also had a section in the back for tips, gear ratings, and anything else we wanted to share after the hunt. This is compiled from our conversations, experiences, and notes. I may be writing an article on the story of the hunt, so I’m going wait to share that part for now. This post will be on tips and gear.

HUNTING:

We all got caribou, no giants but we tagged out. I shot a nice bull that fit the description of what I realistically expected from researching this hunt. We did not see any really big frame bulls with great fronts and tops. We saw bulls with great fronts, big frames, and few or no points on their tops that we passed early. I think that’s just the luck of the draw hunting migrating caribou, others hunting with the same transporter at the same time shot some really large bulls that had everything I could want. You have to hunt what is there and be prepared not to fill your tag if you hold out to long. No matter your skill level or ability to cover country, luck is going to be involved when hunting anything migratory from a fixed location. It’s just part of hunting. This may play into your decision between a drop camp or float hunt.

Hunting caribou is about much more than the harvest of the animal and if too much focus is put on that I think it can really take away from the experience. I was fortunate enough to harvest my bull on the third day we could shoot. Having that out of the way really let me relax and take in the whole experience. There is a beauty to that remote country and its inhabitants that it’s worth taking time to appreciate even if it means slowing down to do so. You won’t regret taking time to take in the whole experience later.

Take way more pictures than you think you need to. Describing a hunt in a place like this to family and friends is hard with pictures, it’s even harder without. None of the three of us wish we had taken less pictures.

Tundra is every bit as hard to travel in as you hear or read. I’ve heard a mile in the tundra described as equivalent to anywhere from 5 to 7 miles in the mountains. I think that is pretty accurate. We found travel best along the river and near the edge of other large sharp drop offs. The flat ridge tops had the worst tussocks with the biggest gaps between them. Walking on the worst of it is like trying to do a stair-master as someone drags it bouncing down a rough road. Stepping on the top of the tussock made it fall to one side or the other. Stepping between tussocks meant sending your foot into a hole of unknown depth, likely between 1.5 and 3ft. It’s tough traveling, but not so tough I don’t already want to go back. Just be prepared for some type 2 fun. Trekking poles make a big difference.

Water comes out of hills where and in what quantity it wants to. Sometimes streams near hilltops are to wide and deep for knee boots. You can’t always get across without going far out of your way upstream. Going down may or may not show you a place they get wide enough to cross. Often it’s best just to put on waders and cross at the best place near you rather than spend a lot of time looking.

Caribou seemed fairly easy to get within 250 yards of. We took longer shots on our bulls, but that was more due to terrain and the herd’s direction and speed of travel than them being scared of us. Nothing paid much attention to seeing us until we were within that distance, sometimes much closer. Wind is a different story, once they smelled a human they were leaving. I’m sure we did not smell very good after a few days in the field, humans may have had the same reaction.

Our caribou were taken at 500, 300, and 330 yards. The first was shot prone at 500, two shots but the first would have done the job with a little more patience. My bull was shot standing over my tripod at 300 yards, and the last was shot sitting over trekking poles at 330 yards. Due to terrain only the one bull could be shot from prone. I’d recommend having yourself and your equipment prepared to shoot from at least kneeling height. Two of us had 300 win mags with 180gr Nosler E tips and one had a 7mm Rem Mag with 160gr Nosler Accubonds. All worked well. Rifles that big are not needed for caribou but that’s what our lightweight rifles are chambered in. I would not recommend going to light in rifle or caliber. Caliber due to bears, weight due to stability from less than ideal positions. All our guns will weigh between 8 and 9.5lbs fully loaded, with sling, and ready to hunt.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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GEAR:

Clothing:

We all used Wiggy’s waders and they held up fine for the 5-10 creek crossings we needed them for. The area we hunted had mostly nice round smooth rock on the bottom or a hard rock bottom. They are sure convenient and light. If I was rafting I’d look at full chest waders or at least Chota Tundra Hippies and a good wading boot. We talked to some hunters who rafted with knee boots and they would not do so again.

For footwear we had a variety of boots. I bought Crispi Hiland Pro boots for this hunt and thought they performed really well. They are expensive and ugly, but were perfect for this hunt. I wanted knee height waterproof capability with good ankle support and there isn’t much out there that provides what these boots do. The other guys mostly hunted in good leather boots with gaiters. I was able to save a lot of steps going through water they looked for a route around. That’s a big deal in the tundra where walking is as difficult as it is. One hunter had some Lacrosse knee boots for camp shoes and wore them a couple days hunting. They were alright but he injured a foot a little due to the lack of stability. He also said if he had worn them another day blisters would have started. The other hunter had 2 pairs of older leather hunting boots that had served him well, but had some age on them. Despite being well treated before the hunt, both were failing due to being constant wet by the end of the hunt. If you are in doubt about your boots they probably need replaced.

-SEE MY THREAD ON THE CRISPI BOOTS!

We all used and liked Darn Tough socks. Only thing I’d change is to have 3 pair for hunting and 1 really warm pair for camp and sleep. The hunter whose boots gave him problems had a pair of Gore Tex socks that saved his feet. He wore them over the Darn Tough inside the leaking boot. He highly recommended people taking a pair on every Alaska hunt after seeing how they saved his hunt.

For camp shoes I took a pair of Tingley ultralight rubber boots I’d had for a few years that were pretty worn. They had some leaks in the top from barb wire and thorns so I cut them off just above my ankle bones. They worked perfect. We also left them in front of the tent door at night for whoever had to answer the call of nature to use. They weigh a pound cut down and wore down as they are. They are ideal camp shoes for a hunt like this.

We all had Kuiu Yukon pants and either Yukon or First Lite SEAK rain jackets. They all performed very well. We all agreed we would not take any non-rain pant on an Alaska hunt again unless we knew there was a reason to. We wore our Yukon pants the majority of the hunt. My second pair of pants were Kuiu Chugach bought a size big to fit over my puffy pants. With the stretch they have they worked well to walk in even being oversize. I wore them on the drier days instead of the Yukons and liked them a lot. They fit inside the Crispi boots where the thicker Yukons I had to put over the boot gaiter. I’d never buy rain pants for a hunt like this that did not have hip vents. The other guys had softshell pants for their second pair and never used them.

All base layers and long underwear we had were merino or Aerowool merino blend. I think the other guys had some warmer ones, mine were 150 weight. They all worked well.

We all had puffy pants and jackets. One guy had a Superdown Pro jacket and Ultra pants. He liked them and had them under his Yukon’s at camp and on longer glassing sessions. No issues with moisture on the down. The Jacket was his pillow at night and he slept in the pants. Another guy had the Kifaru Lost Park puffy pants and jacket, plus the discontinued Kuiu Kenai zip off pants. He took the Kenai pants during the day and used the LPP pants at camp. That set-up worked well. I took the First Lite Uncompaghre puffy pants and would not do so again. They worked ok and were comfortable, but were not noticeably warmer than my old Kenai zip off pants. I’d take those to conveniently go on and off under rain gear if I was going again, plus a warmer Superdown Pro or LPP pant. I used a Kifaru LPP jacket and it worked well.

For mid layer shirts two of us had Kuiu Peloton 240 hoodys, one had a FL Kiln. We all liked what we had. I also had a Kuiu Hybrid 3DeFX jacket I used a lot both hunting and sleeping. Other guys had vests or merino pull overs that filled a similar role. On my moose hunt during long sits calling I wished for one more layer several times. This fits that role perfect. Over or under the 240, under the rain coat or rain coat and LPP. Going again I might take my Superdown Pro set plus the Kuiu Kenai pants and Kutana Hybrid jacket. It’s some synthetic back-up to the down and added warmth, while only adding about 1.5lbs. I might just take an LPP jacket and pants instead of the Superdown Pro, any combo like that would work great.

That’s already to much time spent on clothing, but in Alaska it can be pretty important. There is no walking out to the truck if conditions go to hell. We all had gloves and beanies. Ours are older versions, but something like the Kuiu Axis beanie is about perfect for this hunt in our opinion. Merino liner gloves and a warmer over glove that’s at least water resistant is also nice. We all had Superdown Pro or similar glassing mittens or glommits. None of us used them, but none of us were sorry to have them for their weight. A really warm waterproof glove is probably a better idea.

Other Gear:

Quality shelter. We used a Cabelas Alaskan Guide 6 man tent. It worked great for us but is a heavy shelter that takes 20 minutes or so to set up with 2 guys by the time you tie all the guy-out strings. With 25 imitation MSR Cyclone stakes off Amazon it weighed 28.5lbs. The stakes it comes with are metal and really heavy. The vertical walls maximize usable space inside for cots and gear. It was also really nice on our last full day in camp to be able to bring our camp chairs inside. The Inreach showed the wind chill to be around 14 and the air was plenty damp. We were tagged out and done packing meat the day before. We stacked the cots and were able to sit on our chairs inside the tent to talk and finish off our whiskey. Our SeekOutside 8 man tipi would have worked just as well on our hunt, but we chose the tent due to wind and possible bugs. We ended up finding an excellent camp site with good wind protection and temps were cold enough bugs were never an issue. If we do a float hunt in the future we will likely go with the tipi or multiple smaller tents from Hilleburg or Kuiu.

We had synthetic sleeping bags between 0 and 20 degrees. I had an older 20 degree Kifaru Slickbag and was never cold, but I had a HPG Mountain Serape I threw over the top at times. Together they are heavier than a good 0 degree synthetic bag but not a lot more than a lot of warm bags. I find having both on a hunt like this versatile enough I haven’t spent the money on a new Slickbag. By layering right inside it I have never slept cold in that Slickbag over multiple years in several states down to 0 degrees. Dried a lot of wet layers wearing them inside it or throwing them in the footbox also, it’s been a great bag.

We used Thermarest or Helinox cots. They all worked well. We would not really have needed them because we set the tent up on nice level black sand. Our pads would have been fine without them. If I was to go on another hunt like this and skip the cot, I’d take a ¾ length or full length Therarest Z lite pad to put under my air pad in camp, and carry in my pack to sit on glassing. As it was we took a 4 section piece of a Thermarest for glassing and the cots.

Camptime Roll A Chairs are nice at camp, and for glassing from a ridge close to camp. We carried them some of the time. They are about 40oz each, but having something with a real back to lean against while sitting upright is nice. I like them better to glass or shoot out of than a Helinox type chair.

We had a few tools that were worth having and relatively lightweight:
-Gransfers Bruks Outdoor Axe (building meat rack, tent stakes)
-Russia military TI shovel (buried human waste, dug holes for meat rack poles)
-Bahco Laplander folding saw (bone saw and used on meat rack)
-Leatherman PSTII (lightweight multi-tool for fish and general use)

Take a glassing tarp. I used a little 5x7 poncho tarp I had for a glassing shelter one day, but mostly carried and used my Seek Outside DST tarp. It’s really versatile and quick to set up. We put our gear under it while processing two caribou in the rain, glassed under it on other occasions. That piece of gear will always be with me in Alaska.

We used my Seek Colorado tarp as a cook/lounge area outside camp. When visibility is terrible and rain is falling, it’s nice to still be able to be outside the tent in the camp chairs. We hunt hard, but during some conditions your chances of spooking animals and making your area less productive are greater than the chance of shooting one. We cooked our better meals during times like this while still being able to see animals around camp. We had one group of caribou cross the gravel bar right by camp while sitting under there. If there would have been a shooter bull we would have had the easiest pack-out ever.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Take an extra tarp for meat. We had an 8x10 but will likely go with at least a 10x10 next time for 3 hunters. Also something to put meat on to keep it clean while butchering. We had an 8x8 piece of Tyvek we used early, and then I used my Adventure Medical 60”x96” emergency blanket later. We stabbed our trekking poles in the corners to hold it down while stacking meat on it. In the future I think the multi-purpose blankets will replace Tyvek.

We had just enough brush around stout enough to build a good meat rack. We had plans to expand it for the third caribou, but when we got to camp with it just before dark in the sleet we decided to just fit it on with the other two. This didn’t work as well as hoped, the weight made the tree fork holding up the center of our meat rack pole split. After this experience I won’t go more than about 3ft with this type of wood without a support, we originally went 5. Each end of the meat rack had a tripod with the tripod legs buried in the sand with the shovel. Originally we had a 12ft center pole with a single support post buried in the center, we ended up with 2 more support posts along its length. It was cold enough we could hang the meat close together without worry about cooling so we put all 3 under the 8x10 tarp. Next time I’ll go with my 10x10 or 10x13 tarp for meat if it’s cool. And two 8x10 tarps if it’s warmer. The two 8x10’s would let me make two meat racks to spread the game bags out more while remaining protected from sun and rain.

I bought a MSR Windburner camp stove set with a skillet and 2.5L pot. I then bought the 4.5L pot that fits the same set. We took and used the skillet and 4.5L pot. It worked great for our group meals. We cooked caribou and grayling in the skillet with a little olive oil and seasoning. The larger pot was perfect for a Shore Lunch Chicken Noodle soup we did with chicken from a #10 can of Mountain House Chicken we had vacuum sealed into smaller portions. Caribou loin in mac & cheese was also made with this set as well as several other meals. The smaller MSR Windburner 1L cookset I carried in my pack fit all the same pots, so we could use the skillet on one and the 4.5L pot on the other. It really worked well and provided a back-up if one stove failed. We had freeze dried meals for lunch but did some simple cooking at camp. It was nice to have during the times weather kept us close to camp, and saved some money on expensive freeze dried meals.

Our river was crystal clear and tasted awesome. We used only a Steripen, but one guy had a Sawyer set-up also. I saw another hunter post that they did not have great water and he would have hated not having a filter. I’m not sure what the answer is there, maybe have both within your group. A filter would have needed to be handled carefully on our hunt due to the cold.

For fishing we used Bass Pro Microlight takedown rods. I had a 5’6” one that made fighting a decent grayling in current really fun. I also had a couple 6’6” versions the other guys used. Small spinning reels with 6 or 8lb line completed the tackle. We caught most on silver lures, small Rattle Traps, spoons, and rattling spoons. We had no luck on inline spinners in the current we fished. Our best fish came from a slack water triangle where a side channel hit the main river current and formed an eddy. Going back I’d take the 6’6” rods and reels like the Shimano 2000 or 2500 series. Some hunters flew to another area after tagging out and experienced great Arctic Char fishing. I’d prefer the little heavier tackle for that. Maybe have a spare spool of braided 20lb Spiderwire or similar line. For just grayling the lighter rod and reel were a lot of fun.

A lot of that is due to the Thermarest pad I run with a 5.7 R value. I think it’s absolutely worth having a warm pad on a hunt like this.

Carry a pocket knife. I like a ZT 452CF, but have something. With the hunting knives buried in packs mine got borrowed a lot for chores and meals around camp.

If you carry a larger blade, I recommend having a smaller knife for skinning out heads or caping game. I personally like a larger bladed knife of about 4.5” for skinning and meat work. I use and really like a Dozier Pro Guide knife for this. For skinning heads out for a euro mount or caping, I prefer a second smaller blade. For me it’s currently a Benchmade Altitude. That knife does a great job at any task the Dozier is big for, plus it’s a lightweight back-up to have along. The replaceable blade knives would fill this role well also, but I prefer a real knife.

Leukotape is well worth taking on a hunt like this. My Crispi boots rubbed on the top of my big toe just a little one day, so I put a couple wraps of Leukotape over my big toes that night. I finally got it off yesterday. It held up great and completely prevented the irritation from becoming an issue. Lotrimin is also worth taking to prevent any foot issues.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Travel:

Never use TSA approved locks on a gun case, and if possible have a way to check your scope adjustments after travel. I had TSA locks on my rifle case and someone unscrewed the cap over my elevation turret, dialed it to 475 yards, and put the cap back on. I always leave my turrets set to 200 yards and the cap on until I need to dial. My rifle got bumped right before we put them in the cases a day before leaving home. I shot 5 shots at 100 yards to check my gun right before putting it in the case and locking it for the trip. I am 100% certain the turret was not dialed all the way up to 475 by me, someone messed with it during my air travel. If I’d have been presented with a 200 yard shot instead of a 300 yard shot I would not have checked the turret and I’d have missed at best or wounded the caribou at worst. If I ran into bear trouble it could have been deadly. Not everyone likes hunters or respects firearms.

We received some bad advice and packed sleeping bags and other bulky gear in with our antlers and heads in the antler box we bought from the transporter. We figured this would protect the antlers without adding much weight. At the airport we found that TSA does not allow anything but antlers to be in those boxes which led to some hasty repacking. Thank goodness we put fish boxes of meat in our totes, rather than just meat in the totes. Several other hunters were also repacking frantically but we all made our flight.

I like having a spare box of ammo in a checked luggage bag. Just in case something happens, it’s nice to have ammo in 2 locations. The spare box stays in town in the bag I leave with the transporter if weight is an issue, or at camp if it’s not.

In my rural community cash still works everywhere, and it’s what I’ve always used traveling. I am old fashioned and still use a credit card I keep a $1k limit on to restrict what thieves can access if it’s stolen. I had my card stolen once and while the credit card company covered the loss, I hated the idea the thieves got way with all the Walmart gift cards they bought using my card. I’d made a few purchases on the card before the trip so the card didn’t have the full 1k available when I left home. I figured this was no big deal, I’d just pay it off at the end of the month like always. I planned to use all cash on my trip because cash works as well in rural villages as it does big cities. I was wrong. Between modern times and Covid 19, cash did not work everywhere like I expected it to. I could not pay baggage fees in cash, only by card. Several places we ate were not taking cash. I ended up with a lot of cash left over, but not much room on my card. One of the guys I was hunting with put my luggage expense coming home on their card and I handed them cash. It all worked fine but it was something I wasn’t expecting. I need to get a debit card or have the card company increase my limit before next trip. I never expected cash to not work everywhere. I hate the idea of a cash-less society and hope this change is not permanent.

Take a few things in a separate bag to leave in town with the transporter (ok this with the transporter first). Duck tape and garden or sprayer hose for packing trophies is worth having in there, as well as travel clothes for the trip home. Transporters will often have some packing tape, cardboard, and other material to protect antlers but this can make it easier. If you are hunting later in the season this material may be picked through or in short supply. It’s worth asking a transporter about this at minimum. Take only what you need into the field, plus valuables you don’t want to leave in town. What you don’t need in the field don’t take, it’s just more weight and hassle.

That’s about all I can think of for now (several pages later) ! I’ll add to this thread if I think of things later.
 
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Thank you for taking the time to write all of this out. It is really helpful. Seriously! If you get a chance to post pictures of your meat rack that would be great. Better way to put it...did you do lashings to do the end point tripods and was the split on the ridge pole going across?
 

AKBorn

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Great writeup McSeal2, lots of valuable info for other hunters. Glad you guys enjoyed the hunt.

Which was harder - packing moose due to the sheer amount of loads and weight involved, or packing caribou due to the terrain the packing occurred in? I've never had to pack moose more than 1/2 mile and it was in decent terrain; I have had 2 caribou packs that I considered tougher due to the total distance packed and the variations in terrain we had to navigate.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Thank you for taking the time to write all of this out. It is really helpful. Seriously! If you get a chance to post pictures of your meat rack that would be great. Better way to put it...did you do lashings to do the end point tripods and was the split on the ridge pole going across?

We lashed tripods on each end and put a center post in initially. We added 2 more posts under the center after the yoke broke on the single center pole. It was the stoutest wood we had to work with. This pic is the original version.
 

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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Great writeup McSeal2, lots of valuable info for other hunters. Glad you guys enjoyed the hunt.

Which was harder - packing moose due to the sheer amount of loads and weight involved, or packing caribou due to the terrain the packing occurred in? I've never had to pack moose more than 1/2 mile and it was in decent terrain; I have had 2 caribou packs that I considered tougher due to the total distance packed and the variations in terrain we had to navigate.

In my opinion absolutely the moose. Bone in quarters in the swamp was tough, even though distance was shorter. The stress on the legs standing on one while pulling the other out of sucking mud was substantial. My body felt worse the day after each moose pack-out than it ever did on the caribou hunt. Due to fighting plantar fasciitis I did not train with a heavy pack nearly as much for this hunt either.

Also although the distance was shorter each trip, each moose was 8 heavy loads split between 2 of us, 4 trips each. The butchering took 3.5x as long and was much more work also. With 3 guys each caribou was packed in one trip. Figuring that our caribou were less walking and lighter loads.

I only have one hunt for each to compare. I hope to change that in the future and pack more of both.
 
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Voyageur

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Thanks for taking the time to share this. Threads like this help pass the time until the next fall in AK rolls around.
 

Lukedog

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Great breakdown! We are considering a Caribou hunt in the near future and this has some awesome insight in it.

Luke
 

Fowler530

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Thank you for the excellent breakdowns, recommendations and reviews!! It’s post like these that make Rokslide the quality forum it is!! Thanks for sharing! (y)
 

wolfpup

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Thanks so much for sharing your experience. You've been a lot of help to me and others with your tips and gear evaluations. This fall was my first introduction to Alaska diy hunting for moose and caribou. Now that I've gotten a taste, I'll definitely go back-when the meat is all eaten.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Thanks, glad it helped. I try to provide a resource I would have liked to have before my trip. I got a ton of help from guys here I really appreciated, this is just putting it all in one place.

Alaska got in my blood and now its every 2 or 3 years. As soon as I save enough I go back. Helps me build points for other species when I’m saving for Alaska.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Thanks everyone. I'm going to write the article I'll provide details on when it comes out when I have them. As long as it's good enough to get published that is anyway.

I thought of another small thing I forgot to mention. In Alaska, or really anywhere a shot from camp is a real possibility I like to build a standing height tripod. If there is enough brush tall and sturdy enough to build it I'll do it as soon as camp is set up. I cut 3 poles and lash them together leaving 8-12" extend past where they are tied together. This trip I had to make sure I left the stoutest alders for the meat rack, but I used the next best to build it.

The primary reason for the tripod is to shoot from if a quick shot opportunity arises at camp. Both my Alaska trips I have had legal animals I could have shot from camp, but so far they have all been younger animals I passed. Still I feel that having the tripod already set up outside the tent is worth the minimal effort of building it.

Even if I don't shoot off the tripod it makes a great portable place to hang dry clothes when the sun and wind show up. Both my trips I have gone days between good conditions to dry clothes and the leaves remaining on live brush are usually damp. The tripod has no leaves and can be put where the sun and wind hit more directly and often earlier. Pretty handy item for minimal effort.
 
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Thanks everyone. I'm going to write the article I'll provide details on when it comes out when I have them. As long as it's good enough to get published that is anyway.

I thought of another small thing I forgot to mention. In Alaska, or really anywhere a shot from camp is a real possibility I like to build a standing height tripod. If there is enough brush tall and sturdy enough to build it I'll do it as soon as camp is set up. I cut 3 poles and lash them together leaving 8-12" extend past where they are tied together. This trip I had to make sure I left the stoutest alders for the meat rack, but I used the next best to build it.

The primary reason for the tripod is to shoot from if a quick shot opportunity arises at camp. Both my Alaska trips I have had legal animals I could have shot from camp, but so far they have all been younger animals I passed. Still I feel that having the tripod already set up outside the tent is worth the minimal effort of building it.

Even if I don't shoot off the tripod it makes a great portable place to hang dry clothes when the sun and wind show up. Both my trips I have gone days between good conditions to dry clothes and the leaves remaining on live brush are usually damp. The tripod has no leaves and can be put where the sun and wind hit more directly and often earlier. Pretty handy item for minimal effort.
Great tip McSeal2
 
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