Future DIY Alaska moose hunting plans. Target is every 2-3 years

[hoytxl2009]

To start off I've noticed elk tags becoming harder to get. I hunt in most all states that you can for elk and once MT, and WY general tags point creep some more I'd like to have Alaska as my off year plan. With that being said I've always wanted to hunt Alaska moose, but am yet to go and looking for some advice and stories of your experience.  Or possibly a group that has a open spot or someone in a similar situation.  Going one time was going to be good enough until I started researching and planning. After I started I realized I can go for much cheaper then I originally was told, and antispated. I've been to Alaska many times, but only ever for fishing.

In my research I realized I want to do a fly in hunt. I've researched guided, outfitted, float hunts, and fly in. First two seem very expensive and not sustainable.  Most pilots I found wanted to outfit you with a total package which was in the neighborhood of 6-10k. This isn't sustainable every other year for myself. Knowing a few people from Alaska I got pointed in the direction of finding a pilot that charged hourly, and would take me to places I've scouted. Now I've found 3 pilots that will do this that are nearby Anchorage and one in Dillingham.  My math could be a little off but I've got the price down to $3500 a person with 2 people going if no moose is shot and 4-5k each if one or two moose is shot depending on when the moose is killed during trip and if pilot can land a beaver where we are at.

I've talked to 4 different biologists and a handful of contacts including the pilots that say I'm not wasting my time in the areas I've scouted, but I am going about it in a way that most people don't. I'm not trying to give a resume in my experience in the woods but I will say I've spent alot of time in wilderness in various states and have a good amount of experience in grizzley country.  I've got most the appropriate gear, and have been reading gear list and acquiring specific things just for this hunt. 

To summarize hit me up if you would like to chat or share some stories about this subject.  Feel free to shoot me a pm as well. The more people I talk to the more things I can learn and hopefully have a successful hunt.

[boneaddict]

Random Things that crossed my mind when doing my hunt.....

•  I love moose meat and I wanted to get it home.  (cost and practicality on that)  I chose to drive.  It was with my father and one of the best things I could have done.(wouldnt be the same solo or with just any person)  It was strenous  as I did all the driving and it was roughly three 20 hour days in a row(x2) and was obviously the most expensive part of the trip. Plus had to deal with Canada.    Also eats a minimum of 6 vacation days.

• Taking a partner.  Its difficult to transport two moose out once one is shot.   Even on a float trip, plans have to be made ahead of time and moving and preserving that much meat and being a roving bait station needs to be though of.  You invest in a trip and your partner shoots a dink....  Everything in Alaska is epic.   From the black clouds of bugs to the terrain.  Not a place for a greenhorn.   

•Wet.  You say you've been to Alaska for fishing, woods wet for days on end requires specific gear and mentality.   

[MountainWalk]

If you plan on doing this every couple years, I’d pick a unit with some road access and lots of lakes. Tons of good hunting within three hours of anchor town, with plenty of damned danger to get all you need from an Alaskan hunt. Easier to move moose. A dead Yukon moose is a helluva thing.  I’d drive your rig and a good canoe or flat bottom. No need to fly in.

[MountainWalk]

Bone is 100 percent right about having a partner. Even the locals will glass me up and we’ll meet and they wonder why I don’t have a machine and why I’m all alone with no help.  This place ain’t jokin. With all due respect to inter mountain lower 48 grizz, they aren’t the same as a coastal brown or as curious as an Alaskan mountain grizz nor near as thick. There lots of places that don’t hold moose year round or moose at all.

[hiway_99]

I would look into alaska trophy expaditors for shipping your meat home. 

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[Karl Blanchard]

That price tag seems low for a Beaver? How far are you planning to fly one way?

[hoytxl2009]

Random Things that crossed my mind when doing my hunt.....

•  I love moose meat and I wanted to get it home.  (cost and practicality on that)  I chose to drive.  It was with my father and one of the best things I could have done.(wouldnt be the same solo or with just any person)  It was strenous  as I did all the driving and it was roughly three 20 hour days in a row(x2) and was obviously the most expensive part of the trip. Plus had to deal with Canada.    Also eats a minimum of 6 vacation days.

• Taking a partner.  Its difficult to transport two moose out once one is shot.   Even on a float trip, plans have to be made ahead of time and moving and preserving that much meat and being a roving bait station needs to be though of.  You invest in a trip and your partner shoots a dink....  Everything in Alaska is epic.   From the black clouds of bugs to the terrain.  Not a place for a greenhorn.   

•Wet.  You say you've been to Alaska for fishing, woods wet for days on end requires specific gear and mentality.

Thanks for the words of advice!!  I've looked at the refer trucks that ship the meat through Canada for you and air cargo planes. They are honestly not that expensive and a few people have told me it's a easy process with lots of outfits offering this as long as you plan ahead. One pilot we talked to has a hookup on one and said he sends meat there often and has never heard a issue.

I'll definitely be flying. I've flown up there alot and unfortunately 4 times with 5+ checked bags and I can honestly hunt on less gear than I can fish I swear sometimes lol hopefully we can keep gear with two guys down to 125lbs a piece which I see very achievable even with some luxury items.

I've definitely experienced the Alaska wet, but have always had a cozy cabin to retreat to at the end of a day. I do have a tipi and wood stove and plan to carry either a battery chain saw or Sawzall to help with cutting wood. 

I would love to do that drive through Canada someday though and the Skeena has been calling my name for years.

[hoytxl2009]

Bone is 100 percent right about having a partner. Even the locals will glass me up and we’ll meet and they wonder why I don’t have a machine and why I’m all alone with no help.  This place ain’t jokin. With all due respect to inter mountain lower 48 grizz, they aren’t the same as a coastal brown or as curious as an Alaskan mountain grizz nor near as thick. There lots of places that don’t hold moose year round or moose at all.

Appreciate the advice as well buddy! I do have 2 units in particular picked out and each one I have about 4 lakes or river landings ready that I have already confirmed with the pilots its doable. Some lakes I can only land a 206 or similar and some can land a beaver on.

[hoytxl2009]

I would look into alaska trophy expaditors for shipping your meat home. 

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

I'll look into them! Thank you.  Seems like alot of good outfits out there.

[hoytxl2009]

That price tag seems low for a Beaver? How far are you planning to fly one way?

Depends on which spot we go to. I can get a beaver out of Dillingham for $850 a hour and 206 for $500 a hour. Flight times from motor on to motor off is 80 minutes to 2 hour 20 minutes depending on which location we go to.

Tha places out of Anchorage are over the Alaska range so not sure flight times but 3 of the spots I have picked out the pilot quoted me $2600-2900 for beaver and $1700-1900 for a 206 depending on location. If we can land a beaver and only have one moose he can get us out in one trip with one moose. This is where it gets spendy and up into the 5k each range is if he has to fly in with the 206 and pic up one moose before the hunt is over and come back in again and get us with a beaver and one more moose.

Again my antispated total price could very easily be low. But when I priced it out I rounded everything up to the nearest $50. This includes commercial flight, shipping meat home, tags, checked bags, etc.

[actionshooter]

I have hunted up there half a dozen times + and truly the best deal I have found on getting meat home was check baggage on Ak Airlines... process it up there, ship it home in overweight baggage 100# at a whack, use an Ak Airlines visa and get a discount also.
I have also driven up there and brought the meat back... this is an OK option if you have the time, but with the price of gas lately, it's not great either.

 You're estimates per hr flying time in the beaver is right on what I have found and you have a better deal on the 206 than I have found lately... everything jumped this year.

just got home and was skunked this year... but thats ok, cause I was hunting in AK 

[hoytxl2009]

I have hunted up there half a dozen times + and truly the best deal I have found on getting meat home was check baggage on Ak Airlines... process it up there, ship it home in overweight baggage 100# at a whack, use an Ak Airlines visa and get a discount also.
I have also driven up there and brought the meat back... this is an OK option if you have the time, but with the price of gas lately, it's not great either.

 You're estimates per hr flying time in the beaver is right on what I have found and you have a better deal on the 206 than I have found lately... everything jumped this year.

just got home and was skunked this year... but thats ok, cause I was hunting in AK 

Hey actionshooter like I said I could be a little off. Most these numbers are based off when I was talking to them last December.  Definitely concern being my first time is how to get meat home. Seems like lots of good options out there.

I could out It in the thread as well that I'm looking into Regal Air and Trail Ridge Air out of Anchorage.  Bay Air and Mark Romo out of Dillingham and branch river out of king salmon. For me probably best to stay out of Anchorage for the first trip until I get my feet wet. If anybody has worked with these guys and has some input let me know!

[sburreson]

I hunted moose out of Dillingham this fall. I am very familiar with the research you are doing and I can probably answer some questions you may have. It sounds like you are interested in going the Air Taxi route. What I found when talking to Air Taxi's is they aren't allowed to handle the meat, only a Transporter can do that for you. If your plan is to keep the meat then you need to come out of the field with it and get it in cold storage. Then you can choose to get flown back out in to the field which adds another paid leg on to your trip total. I chose to go the transporter route because I considered the trip a once a decade thing and days in the field were the highest priority. I didn't like the idea of coming back to town and messing with meat and potentially having my return trip get delayed. I was successful in a (meat on bone) unit. My transporter brought my bull back to town. He delivered it to a meat cutter who broke it down, vacuum sealed it and delivered it to Air cargo who flew it to Anchorage. There it was packed in to 7 insulated fish boxes and shipped Alaska Air cargo down to Seattle where I picked it up at the airport. Total cost of getting meat from the field to my freezer was $1800 and I ended up with 425 lbs. of meat. I know it can be done for less. I was willing to pay a bit extra for peace of mind. I didn't want my time in AK to be spent worrying about logistics. I did meet a group at the hotel who has hunted up there numerous times. They provided all of their own gear and have numerous local connections. They were able to do it all for a lot less than we did. I would we happy to chat more about my experience if you PM me we can set something up. You can see photos of my trip at https://www.instagram.com/northwestskyler

[Pathfinder101]

Just lurking and taking notes...

[hoytxl2009]

Just lurking and taking notes...

No worries pathfinder!! Did I read your story on roklide the other day of your moose hunt?? If so it sounds like you guys had a rough go.