Cost of Alaska diy hunt

[huntinelk]

Well guys who's been to Alaska on a DIY moose hunt and what did it cost. I'm planning a float trip and trying to set a budget for the trip. 

[Tbob]

Hey there man,
   I did one a few years back with some friends on a secret river up in the north Brooks Range. We were out for 2 weeks. Although they already had the two rafts we needed for the four of us. We flew out of kotzabue (sp)? It was an amazing trip! Between the 4 of us we got 3 moose, 8 caribou and a HUGE wolf. It cost us each right around 5,500.00. I had to pony up for the non-res lis and tags though. My friends are all residents of AK so a little cheaper for them. I'll try and post a few pix. The area I was in, non res moose had to have at least 3 brow tines or be 50 inches wide or better. This guy went 54. We saw at least 5k carabou. Be sure to be ready while floating too! My buddy shot his wolf from the boat while floating. We saw tons of carabou near the river while silently floating! Good luck ! Oh and it gets just a bit cold and wet up there so be ready for that too..

[huntinelk]

Thanks for the reply 5500 was close to our est. Who did you fly with we still are up in the air as to the area we want to hunt.

[boneaddict]

Must be like childbirth, I cant remember so I want to do it again.    We drove up as I wanted to bring the meat back.   GREAT experience.  largest cost was gas.  Everything else was low budget.   I might figure out a way to haul my own fuel next time.  Gas was 7 bucks a gallon or more in the interior when they were less than 3 a gallon down here.

[Tbob]

I'm sorry, but I was sworn t secrecy about the pilot service. As he is the only pilot liscensed to fly into my buddies "secret river" there's tons of good outfits up there. Just remember to budget a few xtra days on the back end of your trip. Sometimes the pilots can't get you out on pickup day due to weather. I also probably spent and xtra 800.00 for some added gear I'd need for the trip. Because we shot 3 moose it took an xtra round trip flight for just meat. So depending on how much you and your group shoot, could be slightly cheaper. And I was super lucky too! My buddy's sister works for fedex and so I got all my meat and euro mounts shipped to me in freezer box's over night for 180.00!!! Saved me an absolute ton! I'm getting planned up for a trip on 2016! Love it up there!! You're gonna have a blast! Oh and I'm sure you already know this, but easy thing to forget, make sure you have a sat-phone..

[huntinelk]

TBob I hear you there I have a few secret honey holes of my own thanks for the reply it's gives me a good idea of what to save for the trip.

[actionshooter]

Totally depends where you are trying to get too.
 The cheaper places generally have more people on the river and the more expensive there are usually less people. One year the bush flight alone cost us $4200 per person. This year my whole trip was under $4800 including getting the cut and wrap. If you can get a float done for $5500 your doing pretty damn good. The average cost of the bush pilots in AK is about $700 an hour (anything big enough to haul a float trip, not a super cub).

[CAMPMEAT]

My buddy drives up north of Fairbanks every year for moose. The total cost for fuel, food, motel, tags, beverages is around $1250 each person. No guide. It takes him 4 days up, 4 days back. He's got it figured out to a "T". He's be doing it for years.

[Bean Counter]

*tag* 

[actionshooter]

My buddy drives up north of Fairbanks every year for moose. The total cost for fuel, food, motel, tags, beverages is around $1250 each person. No guide. It takes him 4 days up, 4 days back. He's got it figured out to a "T". He's be doing it for years.

$1250 is unreal.
A tag and license and is well over $500 (moose only), Its 2300 miles through Canada to Fairbanks, I have paid over $7 a gallon for fuel and its $4.75+ average. Hotels are $150 a night for a mediocre room with only 1 bed and the food prices pretty much suck in AK.  Are they driving a Prius?

[Sitka_Blacktail]

It all depends. There are road system hunts that won't cost you much more than hunting at home (not including tags and license and travel to Alaska. But you go off the road system and costs multiply quickly. The farther off road system you go and the more remote you go, the more it will cost. It will also depend on your chosen method of travel, bush plane, boat, etc and how much gear you bring. The size of the plane, and where you fly out of. Most flight services charge you by the size of the plane and by the hour of flight time. Be prepared for extra flights returning to ferry your game animals. I won't even attempt to quote rates and it changes with costs and fuel is a biggy.

There are a couple hunt planners I know of in Anchorage who specialize in helping novices (to Alaska) plan their hunts and they even offer some gear for rent which saves you on the amount of gear you need to bring to Alaska and they also know the best quality gear and what gear you really need. Larry Bartlett at http://www.pristineventures.com/ is one and the other is Marc Taylor who owns the Wiggy's store in Anchorage. http://wiggys.com/category.cfm?category=27 Not sure Marc is still in the hunt planning business, but you could ask him.  They also help you plan the area where you will be hunting and offer invaluable advice about hunting in Alaska. Both Larry and Marc are ex military and are serious about hunting.

[KFhunter]

5k was the figure I landed on, but fuel prices have come down a bunch and now the US dollar is worth about 1.20 Canadian.

I figured a slip tank would save a bunch of cost too if you can get all the way through Canada w/o fueling.


split that 3-4 ways and the cost drops down around the 2k mark or less if you got it figured to a "T" 

[Carl]

Tag

[boneaddict]

I was thinking mine was about 4 KF so that is probably about right.   Worth every cent

[CAMPMEAT]

My buddy drives up north of Fairbanks every year for moose. The total cost for fuel, food, motel, tags, beverages is around $1250 each person. No guide. It takes him 4 days up, 4 days back. He's got it figured out to a "T". He's be doing it for years.

$1250 is unreal.
A tag and license and is well over $500 (moose only), Its 2300 miles through Canada to Fairbanks, I have paid over $7 a gallon for fuel and its $4.75+ average. Hotels are $150 a night for a mediocre room with only 1 bed and the food prices pretty much suck in AK.  Are they driving a Prius?

He takes everything with him. ATV's, all the fuel from here. He's built his car trailer, basically into a flatbed for everything. It's pretty cool how he's got it dialed in. He's even got a cold storage unit with generators etc on it. I should of taken a picture of it this year.  2012 (?) Dodge 3500 HD Quadcab 4wd shortbox is what he drives.