Self-guided caribou hunts. Where do I start?

[Karl Blanchard]

I'm planning a hunt to do with my dad and brothers.  We want to do something different so we settled on caribou because the tundra country isn't to physically demanding ( dad has bad knee's and bad back ).  I'm a Pepsi delivery driver so money is definitely a factor in this.  We decided we wanted to do a self guided or semi guided hunt under $3,000 dollars.  We are planning it for 3 years out so we have time to save up.  Has anyone done a hunt like this that could provide me any info like a good outfit to book with and such. There are quite a few operations out there it is a little overwhelming and first hand info is the best.  Thank you in advance!

[huntnphool]

You might send archery288 a PM and see if he has some ideas, he just went on one.

[EastWaViking]

I would look into hunting Iliamna, AK.  That's where the biggest herds are and I know a few people who have hunted there before.  Just look online for drop camps and air taxis.  Good luck!

[buckhorn2]

Look up northern air trophy they hunt out of kotzebue. I hunted with than and had a great hunt and saw lots of caribou and the hunt was easy to do not being physical at all.

[BLKBEARKLR]

BLR, first if your dad has a bad knee, then the tundra is a bad idea. Trust me I hunted in it for 6 years, he steps on one tussock the wrong way and that knee is gone!!!

If you are thinking of Canada then I have no info for you.

If hunting Alaska then I have tons. PM me and I will point you in some of the directions that I took over there years.

Joe

[actionshooter]

I've done it and will post more later, but I think your gonna be hard pressed to keep it under 3K, even for self guided. the air travel is a killer. It can be an awesome trip though.

[cohoho]

Depends upon what your looking for, I know of a couple self guided trip in AK where it is going to cost you gas and time only. Why fly, when you don't have to if you got time.  Figure it is 45 plus hours to AK then another 10 to Happy hunting lands straight through driving.  Adding stops etc, could be four days each way on top of the hunting trip, so it is doable for sure.... Plus you can bring all the meat back along with the racks too and see some of the best country anywhere...

I lived there for 10 years and hunted Caribou each year for a couple tanks of gas each year.  Are you archery?  I wouldn't recommend rifle in the area I am thinking due to the hike of five miles out to legally utilize rifle, especially if your Dad has knee problems as Blkbearklr stated the Tundra will tear those knees up for sure.  It is like walking on a half filled water bed with bowling bowls and softballs thrown in to keep you guessing what under neath.... There are a couple Airboat transporters that work up there during Aug which can provide a ride out 15-20 miles and will p/u on scheduled later date for about $500 each person, but you still got to get there first....   Most float plane flights are going to be about $1,200-1,500 per person after you get to Anchorage or Fairbanks.... Even from Coldfoot on  a bush plane the trip is close to $800 per person.... and that is 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle.... If you got ATV's could suggest another couple areas, but they are really timing hunts and gets closed off so quickly, you'd probably waste your time attempting. A float trip is a great way to see some great areas, but again it involves a transport at each end to get you into the better areas....  Yes you are right there are so many different outfits providing service to hunters, some really bad mind you and some really good, do your homework and get as many references as possible, cause if they drop you off away from the herd you won't get a Caribou.... If you are interested in flying out, I would recommend to get ahold of Pristine Adventures.com (Larry Bartlett) and let him map out a hunt, expensive, but for a first timer, a good value for sure..... 

[actionshooter]

well, Cohoho beat me to it,  I agree driving up there would keep the hunt under the 3k limit, but for me the extra 7-8 days that would be used for driving isn't cost effective (for me) because of added days off (no paid vacations here), gas and hotel rooms, ect.
 $1200-$1500 out of lake Hood is pretty good if those are the current rates, I paid $1600 10 years ago. The problem here is the range, they can only fly so far and the last I heard the Mulchatna herd hasn't rebounded yet.
 Kotzebue is the ticket for good bulls right now (so I have heard). I've been giving some serious thought to doing this again, or a float trip for moose.

[BLKBEARKLR]

well, Cohoho beat me to it,  I agree driving up there would keep the hunt under the 3k limit, but for me the extra 7-8 days that would be used for driving isn't cost effective (for me) because of added days off (no paid vacations here), gas and hotel rooms, ect.
 $1200-$1500 out of lake Hood is pretty good if those are the current rates, I paid $1600 10 years ago. The problem here is the range, they can only fly so far and the last I heard the Mulchatna herd hasn't rebounded yet.
 Kotzebue is the ticket for good bulls right now (so I have heard). I've been giving some serious thought to doing this again, or a float trip for moose.

I have a couple of Eskimo friends that live in Kotz, they do a lot of hunting, the caribou herds have not been doing to good up there the last year or two.

[Karl Blanchard]

thanks for all the info so far.  I would love to drive to where I am headed but where I work we are only allowed one week off at a time so I would only have 9 days total for the whole trip.  We talked about the trip last night and we are gonna go the season of 2013 so I got plenty of time.  Not dead set on Canada either I would actually prefer Alaska.  I would love to chase mountain caribou but my old man would die I'm pretty sure.

[Joe_Hunter]

BLR Man:
I'm also planning a caribou hunt and thus far the best deal I've found is $1995 for the air taxi alone. If you want to go on the cheap as you probably have already found you have to stay away from outfitters and caribou is the one animal that I would hunt without the aid if an outfitter. Look into Rusts fly in service
They are a fly in taxi service that will take you right to the herds of migrating caribou. they boat a 90% success rate on their caribou hunts and I doubt you'll find a taxi service cheaper. You will be picked up and dropped off at Anchorage AK. o how you get there is up to you.

Remember that if you go with an outfitter that the better places are usually reserved for the higher paying guided hunters and therefore have a lower success rate. whereas the taxi services don't care about outfitter services and only getting their clients on a good number of animals.

Good Luck

[actionshooter]

well, Cohoho beat me to it,  I agree driving up there would keep the hunt under the 3k limit, but for me the extra 7-8 days that would be used for driving isn't cost effective (for me) because of added days off (no paid vacations here), gas and hotel rooms, ect.
 $1200-$1500 out of lake Hood is pretty good if those are the current rates, I paid $1600 10 years ago. The problem here is the range, they can only fly so far and the last I heard the Mulchatna herd hasn't rebounded yet.
 Kotzebue is the ticket for good bulls right now (so I have heard). I've been giving some serious thought to doing this again, or a float trip for moose.

I have a couple of Eskimo friends that live in Kotz, they do a lot of hunting, the caribou herds have not been doing to good up there the last year or two.

Could be, got my info from a couple of guys who went last year. Also talked to a buddy in Sitka who claimed Kotz is the ticket right now.

[actionshooter]

BLR Man:
I'm also planning a caribou hunt and thus far the best deal I've found is $1995 for the air taxi alone. If you want to go on the cheap as you probably have already found you have to stay away from outfitters and caribou is the one animal that I would hunt without the aid if an outfitter. Look into Rusts fly in service
They are a fly in taxi service that will take you right to the herds of migrating caribou. they boat a 90% success rate on their caribou hunts and I doubt you'll find a taxi service cheaper. You will be picked up and dropped off at Anchorage AK. o how you get there is up to you.

 This is what I was reffering to in my post, Rusts has a good reputation and I believe they would do exactly what you hire them to do. BUT the herds around Anchorage (lake hood) haven't been doing well for many years and the float planes have a limited range. They can't get to the larger/better herds. A couple of the air charters have closed thier doors partly b/c of this. I have heard story after story of hunters seeing few to no animals in a week and shooting small bulls just to fill a tag.

[Karl Blanchard]

Thanks Joe I will look into Rusts fly in service.  How many pounds of gear can you take?  Its not the very cheapest I've found but it looks like the most bang for my buck but that is just face value I haven't done any background homework on them.  The name of the outfit is CanadAdventures their website is www.caribouhunters.com.  Self guided hunt but they put you up in a cabin with a stove and kitchen for $2,500 bucks.

[Joe_Hunter]

BLRman
 That sound pretty good and it looks like your doing your homework which is the key to an enjoyable hunt without and snags so cu dos to you.
I think Rusts will allow 120 lbs but check their site to be sure. The problem that i had was that I wanted to fly  to Anchorage then with the taxi service. The problem with that is that I'll have to pay to have the meat flown from AK to WA VERY EXPENSIVE.....
So what I will be looking into would be to have the moose turned into summer sausage and have it shipped OR just bite the bullet and drive to Anchorage.

Thanks

[buckmaster_wa]

BLRman You and your dad are road warriors I say when we go that we drive and the two of you do all the driving.    And I will just sit back and sleep all the way there.   

[boneaddict]

I drove precisely to be able to bring my moose back.  I f you fly up it will either cost you a stinking fortune to get your meat back or you can usually donate your meat to the locals.  I hit Smithers on day one, somewhere in the Yukon on day two, and the Penninsula on day 3.   Day three was one long as drive....  The other 17-19 hour days weren't that bad.  Scenery the whole way.  There is always construction on the Alcan.  I am thinking seriously about pulling off a Dalton hunt.  I'd rather do a combo moose and caribou hunt and might try to pull it off.  Not sure yet. 

[buckmaster_wa]

Boneaddict instead of getting weeks of vacation you must get months of vacation uh.

[Joe_Hunter]

BLRman:
 I checked out that link this weekend and noticed that the hunt quote was from Montreal ?
Sorry I thought that you wanted yo hunt AK

Let me know if I can help any further

[Karl Blanchard]

We are by no means set on Canada that outfit was just one that caught my eye.  Like I said before this trip is gonna be for fall of 2013 so I am just in research and penny pinch mode right now.  I would prefer Alaska over Canada just because I used to Salmon fish out of Kodiak and have seen just about every inch of Alaska's shoreline just never made it any farther than the beach so I would love to check out some more of what Alaska has to offer besides fish nets and rough waters.

[klickman]

To get started on an AK hunt I would recommend getting onto alaska outdoor directory website.  It is by far the best AK hunting and fishing website.  Any bou hunt out of Anchorage is not gonna be what you are looking for.  Most of the area the Mulchatna herd is located is closed to nonresidents last I heard.  Besides the numbers are horrible compared to 10 years ago.  You will want to go north Kotzebue would be my first recommendation.  You could also look at 40 mile air.  The 40 mile herd gives you decent options at an affordable rate.  Hope this helps.

KLICKMAN

[lokidog]

I hunted in 1993 with Willow Air.  They are an air taxi that will put you where they know there are caribou.  www.willowair.com.

Have to agree with cohoho, driving is the best bet.  Two of us drove up in four very leisurely days and came back in two with over 400 pounds of meat and fish.  We boned it and froze it there, built coolers out of foam insualation and u-haul boxes, and still had to wait a couple of days for it to thaw enough to process.  If you don't have enough time to drive, maybe your dad and friend can drive, you fly.

It was a fun hunt and would love to do it again sometime.

[GUscottie]

A good resource I've used and found helpful: http://onyourownadventures.com/

[klickman]

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=68566  Try this link it should at least get you started. 

KLICKMAN

[Karl Blanchard]

thanks for all the links guys. I haven't had a chance to look at any of them yet I have been kinda busy this week!!!

[actionshooter]

Congrats! Your not going hunting for a while.

[Intruder]

Start with researching outfitters/pilots... ask for references and call em.  I would suggest not planning on hunting out of Anchorage.  Make arrangements to fly to another location and fly out of there for your hunt.  The stuff w/in a Beaver's range of Anchorage gets hammered.