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Big Game Hunting => Out Of State Hunting => Topic started by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:46:55 PM


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Title: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:46:55 PM


As a kid growing up there are certain images etched in your memory that feed your passion for certain hunts, in certain places. Whether it was from magazine covers, hunting videos or even travel brochures. As far back as I can remember one of those images was caribou, the place, Alaska.

As with everything, life happens. School, work, family, kids etc…before you know it your life has consumed you; time is passing you by. But your passion is still hungry. The last few years life has shown me that it’s a short ride, so you need to start making the best of it. Get those boxes checked, feed your passions.

A year ago the decision was made to check one of those boxes. Alaska Caribou. The text went out to 3 buddies. After some back and forth, and a little uncertainty one guy decided he was all in. Unforntuanly the other two couldn’t guarantee the commitment, I get it, life happens.

The planning went full speed. Well, mostly me, my buddy is super busy, job, side business…I get it…and no worries, I had just retired, I got it handled.

Research was time consuming, but we settled on a transporter with a good track record. A few emails and phone calls and luckily ended up with dates that where perfect for us. Deposit made.

Over the next 9 months I obsessed over locations, migration routes, AFG rules, you tube videos, food, gear, more gear, and even more gear. Training also kicked up a notch. The horror stories of tundra made me focus on getting in the best shape possible, considering current injuries and ongoing issues.

(I’ll do a logistics, gear and food write up separate)
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:47:33 PM
As the time got closer flights where secured, hotels reserved, gear was purchased, it was getting real….really fast.

Day of departure came and found us north bound with duffle bags stuffed in large plastic totes, hunting packs cinched down to pass as carry-ons, and a gun case I hoped I would see again.

A quick overnight in Fairbanks and an early am jump flight put us in Bettles by mid-day. A middle of no where town with a handful of full-time residents that at times had the hustle and bustle of a large airport. A town where time is controlled by the weather. 
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:48:06 PM
Excited as a kid’s on Christmas day we organized our gear. A day early for our flight into the wilds but still hopeful we would be an early out. That hope was dashed as we quickly realized groups where in front of us that where a day late getting into the field. So we waited our turn. And, we waited. Two days passed, as weather controls all in Alaska. We quickly learned to watch the pilots, learned their expressions as they watched the weather to the west. Looking for that window of opportunity to drop the unsuspecting victim into the wilds for their reality check trip of a lifetime.

Day 3 arrives, and now we are top on the list, with groups backing up behind us. As the morning progresses, we get the call. Big league baby. Its our time to go. And when they say go its go time.

Down to the float plane pond, load the beaver and off we go.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:48:37 PM
 An hour and half flight with ever changing scenery. At first the conifers where thick with vibrant yellows mixed in with the alpine greens. Meandering rivers, numerous lakes and bog ponds dotted the landscape. As we traveled North through the mountains a fresh blanket of snow mixed with the black rockslides and swift current streams made we want to chase sheep, for just a brief moment.  Farther North and the mountains decreased in size and gave way to vast basins of meandering rivers, numerous lakes, and black rock mounds, all surrounded by soft seemingly harmless swaths of tundra. The fall colors just starting with a mix of yellows, reds and oranges. The Nigu River valley, endless scenery.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:49:02 PM
As the landscape became more familiar from all my research, we pass over lakes I had studied. Bummed we weren’t landing. See, when we arrived in Bettles and had to choose our location, the four lakes I had so intimately researched where occupied. We where given options of other lakes they have dropped people in the past so we picked one at random. A lake our pilot called the “blow Hole”…..um, yikes.

We travel father north and approach a lake that looks like the one we picked. We look outside the window of the beaver and see a Grizz wandering the tundra. At that very moment the pilot decreases throttle to land…great. Our lake, and a Grizz is in our neighborhood.  We land, unloaded gear doing the tundra float plane shuffle, its breezy, the pilot wants to go, points to where people have camped in the past and off he goes.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:49:42 PM
Well, standing in the tundra, a pile of gear, plane is gone, kind of feels like we got stood up for prom. It just got real. First order of business, load rifles…check.

We scout camp spots and shuttle our gear about 300 yds to a suitable spot, not flat, but not hilly either. Camp gets set, gear laid out, water filtered……now what. Lets look around.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:50:07 PM
The hill behind camp commanded an expansive view of the valley, 10 miles to the north, 10 to the south, 15 up a valley to the west and a mile to a mountain range that meandered down to the edge of our lake.  A large 10’ diameter rock ring occupied the high point, an obvious tepee ring, one could only assume its been a fixture of the landscape for decades.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:50:28 PM
We hike a short distance to another hill. Our first experience with tussocks. 400 yds separated the hills. Not bad, we can manage hiking in this. We arrive at the hill, basically mounds of broken rock and dirt covered in low growing blueberry bushes. The view was just as good from this location. We spot our first Caribou. A group of 6 with 4 bulls about 3 miles away, and across the river. Hmm….can we cross the river if needed. We brought necessary stuff for bogs, and streams but not rivers….

Not being able to hunt till the next day we decide not to stress about it so we went fishing. The lake was loaded with trout who were eagerly awaiting our next cast.  Not wanting to stink like fish to bad we played catch and release for a while and called it a day.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:50:52 PM
As we lay in our tents that night, dimly lit by the midnight twilight a familiar sound starts. Rain…It quickly turns to slush, and just as quickly turns to snow. Welcome to Alaska boys, mother natures says hi.. We awake early as the snow tapers off. As we exit our tents a fresh blanket of 4” of snow covers the landscape. Well, no going back now. Little did we know what the day had in store for us.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:51:38 PM
I do a quick hike to the glassing nob and can see the caribou across the river. Put the spotter on the best bull and he looks good. But how to get to him….impossible and not a smart play day one. I catch the glimpse of a bigger group down river from us but a long ways out. They disappear out of site.

As we continue to glass we see a hill about a mile north of our lake that looks like its hiding some good country and probably the herd I saw earlier. We make a move. After some mixed high/hard ground hiking, and some tussock slogging we get to the hill. We quickly locate the herd and glass up one possible bull out of a herd of 30. Good tops, good fronts, but short and narrow frame. As the herd moves our way we watch as they pass by us and decide to bed down on the mountain side above camp. Now we have their movement figured out, where they would cross the creek to the north, and what side of the lake they would traverse…or so we thought.

As we sat and glassed, I expand my search, swinging the spotter way to the north. To my amazement, nearly 15 miles away I see what I never imagined I would witness. Caribou…..after Caribou, after Caribou. A migration, a true Migration. I watched in aww as groups ranging in size from 30 to over a 100 traveled north across the snow-covered landscape. Some running down mountain sides coming from the north slope, the fresh snow feeding the urgency to move south…. And they were heading our way. Not truly having a grasp of how fast caribou walk or run, I could never have imagined how fast they could cover ground. Within no time it seemed the first group was upon us. As we watched the group of over 100 walk into our laps we figured we had them…yup, they turned at the creek where the other herd went. We did the tundra two step and rushed across 500 yds of bog to cut them off planning on taking cover in the thick willows surrounding the creek. We would have 200-300 yd shots …..wait, the caribou are what, doubling back and crossing behind us as my buddy and I exchange a couple words of frustration.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:52:12 PM
We double back and as fast as humanly possible and re trace our steps to our hill just in time for the caribou to move through a choke point. Dozens of shooter bulls in the herd, one monster that I loose track of. We get a range, 350 on average. Dial up the scopes. Take up shooting positions and play the which one are you on game for the next two minutes. We quickly realized seeing that many caribou was a blessing and a curse. Shooting lanes wouldn’t stay open and the bulls  wouldn’t stop walking. I finally got a clear lane on a good bull. Took a breath, got my walking lead set and slowly squeezed the trigger. As the gun recoiled I got smacked in the side of the face with a good ole Alaskan- random 30mph gust of wind. That’s guna be a miss I told myself as I knew I didn’t have nearly enough lead for the wind. I was right. After the shot the caribou got skittish and picked up the tempo. I was devastated as I thought I had just put in all that effort to miss a golden opportunity. As the herd moved off into the distance I took the walk of shame to check for possible blood. The snow helped to verify I had missed a great opportunity.


My buddy had stayed behind at the glassing hill, offset to my east, so I decided to look over another hill directly to my North. Little did I know my buddy was frantically waving trying to get my attention. As I made my way up and through the small crevices and rock formations of hill I came to a high point and found myself looking at caribou at 30yds. A group of cows was right in front of me. And behind them, a group of 5 shooter bulls was walking right at me. I hunkered down behind a pile of rocks, dumped my pack and readied for some close encounter action. I peeked over the rocks and ranged the bulls at 100 yds. I didn’t have time to look them over, and at that point I didn’t care. They all looked good.  I waited behind the rocks as the first bull came into view, I centered the cross hairs and let the Browning sing. The bull changed direction and went out of view. Good hit and I knew it. I peered over the top of the rocks and watch the bulls tops drop out of sight, bull down. Zero to hero, lows to highs….in minutes..
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:52:39 PM
The other bulls weren’t sure what was going on, they hurried their pace but weren’t spooked. I watch as my buddy got set on the other side of the tundra swath. The bulls moved past us and stayed grouped up tight, as if they knew there was protection in numbers. I prepped to video my buddies shot but it was not meant to be, the bulls stayed tight as I took a parting picture of them, as a memory of what could have been.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:53:01 PM
As all our focus had been on the bulls walking away I turned my attention back north and found myself looking at another herd of 20 heading our way. A quick scan with bino's verified shooter bulls in the group…seriously, was this going down…I franticly try and get my buddies attention as he’s still focused on what could have been.  Caribou are now moving closer and taking the exact same path the previous herd had. I finally get his attention and get him to glass me, I give him the pre arraigned caribou signal and point north. He figures out what’s going and hurries to a shooting position. As the caribou move closer I want to film the shot but don’t want to spook the herd and blow his opportunity. I get low behind my rock pile and a few seconds later I hear the report of his rifle. I peek around the rocks and see him stand up after a few seconds, obviously satisfied with the results of his shot. I then watch as the rest of the herd walks between us.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:53:24 PM
I look over the hill I’m on and reality sets in. I see my bull a couple hundred yards away; buddies bull is laying 100 yds from mine. Two dudes, two bulls, 30 minutes, 100yds apart….well who would of thought.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:53:48 PM
High fives and holy craps and we lay our hands on the bulls…..ya, definitely what I was looking for in an Alaskan bull. Those magazine covers and images etched into my memory. What an Alaskan Caribou should look like…that passion, that idea and dream that just became reality…..wow.  No words…..
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:54:15 PM
As we looked them over our bulls seemingly where genetically related. Similar tops, good bez, double shovels, beautiful animals. Exactly what we wanted….
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:54:35 PM
Reality check number two. Two bulls, two dudes, two miles from camp…..ummmm…ok, good problem to have. Spend some time taking pics, get them gutted and drug next to each other for more pics.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:55:00 PM
Then the work begins. Each man for themselves we decided. Capped, quartered and meat shuttled a few hundred yards to a high spot we could see from camp, but still a mile and half away. Then the work began. Over the next 8 hours we would pack. Luckily at midnight its still kind of light. Unforntuanly at midnight the wind and snow started up. We packed until 3 am in 40-50 mph winds and blizzard conditions. Two steps forward one step back. Neither of us wanted to leave meat or cape/ head in the field overnight, so we dug deep and got it done.

Back at camp meat got tarped and covered with rocks, heads where set inside my Luxe Tepee we were using as shelter/cook tent.  The wind howled all night. Reaching gusts of 60 easy.  I knew I should of dropped my Tepee but I didn’t, I was tired. Unfortunately, the next morning the wind had taken its toll and spilt a seem on the luxe. Ugh, oh well. Its Alaska you can’t argue with her. She’s always right. Our sleep tents held up fine, so no worries.

We spent the day building willow beds for the meat and trimming it, a coat of citric acid and lots of air flow and we had a good crust in two days. We also spent the day caping our heads and fleshing the capes. Again, off the ground, lots of air flow and we had the capes drying nicely.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:55:29 PM
The following day I sent the In reach message looking for early pick up. We will try was the response. Be ready at any time. After 5 when no one showed we re set up camp and went for a hike to find my brass. 6.5 PRC isn’t something you leave laying around, I couldn’t find it in the snow on the day of harvest.

After we hiked back to the kill site and collected my brass the wind and rain came up with a vengeance. The hike back to camp was miserable and pushed our rain gear just a little past its limits. I guess I would equate it standing in front a pressure washer for an hour. Lucky we where still 95 percent dry so no worries.

We did come to realize that there was a line of rocks near the north end of the lake. We passed by it a couple times and pondered its meaning. Very much like the tepee ring it was obvious it had been part of the landscape for decades. We decided amongst ourselves that that rock line had some influential spiritual power associated with crossing it. Every time we crossed it something good or really bad happened. One could wonder if we weren’t rewarded with Caribou harvest after crossing the line, but then at the same time punished for it. But I would have to suspect that mother nature, Alaska, and whatever other powers where at work where simply welcoming us. We had clean kills, well cleaned carcasses, well cared for meat, and felt honored and blessed at the opportunities we where provided. Ya, I think it was just a welcome to the club, remember who’s in charge type of thing.

For two days we broke camp, cared for meat and hides, and fished while waiting for a ride. Finally cooking some lake trout which was awesome.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:56:00 PM
On the evening of the day we were originally  scheduled to get out of the field the weather had calmed. Temps rose (got us anxious about the meat and hides) and we where treated to a rainbow over our lake. Another sign maybe.

As we hiked above camp to the tepee circle to sit and ponder I realized we where blessed. Everything on the trip happened for a reason. The delays, the weather, everything worked out for us. We hadn’t seen but a few caribou in the last couple days. The initial push south had stopped with the warmup. We couldn’t have timed it better.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 12:56:22 PM
You often wonder if you are living life to the fullest. As days turn to weeks, to months into years you realize it really is short. You realize you need to start living because we are all, in a way slowly dying. In that moment, far away from civilization, in a place that would happily end your life, I was at piece. My body was broke, but my soul was alive and my spirit was high. I didn’t want to be any place else, hot meal, hot shower, warm bed mattered not….I was happy sitting right there on the tundra…living a dream….

And with that…as my In reach went off “planes have left be ready for pick up”…..yep, rainbow was a sign.....we once again had to snap back to reality, break camp, haul meat and be ready for pick up. As the planes landed it was surreal, was it really over... Besides some flying, meat care in Bettles, travel logistics etc……Yes, My Alaska dream hunt was over…….Child hood dream, box checked……
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: WALLEYEGUY on September 03, 2021, 01:18:23 PM
 :tup: Thanks for sharing, awesome :tup:
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: ganghis on September 03, 2021, 01:26:23 PM
Awesome story and pics - thanks for the ride!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 01:36:38 PM
I'll add some pics as I come to em.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 01:39:26 PM
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Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on September 03, 2021, 01:42:52 PM
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Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: shootem on September 03, 2021, 01:52:57 PM
Great bulls, story, and pics! Congrats.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Fishmaker57 on September 03, 2021, 01:54:31 PM
Awesome writeup...thanks for sharing! Did something similar last year, a definite bucket list trip. There is just something about being that far north, and the feeling you get when the plane takes off and there is this silence that is deafening! I think about it almost every day......
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: full choke on September 03, 2021, 02:14:24 PM
Way Cool!  :tup:

Thanks for sharing the story!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: KNOPHISH on September 03, 2021, 02:35:11 PM
Great Alaskan adventure right there. Killer bulls!! Way to git r done.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Ridgerunner on September 03, 2021, 02:37:17 PM
That's an amazing hunt and story, Alaska caribou is a definite bucket list hunt for me.  Having seen them up there on the tundra it is definitely a cool experience. Great pics too!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: phildobaggins on September 03, 2021, 02:58:55 PM
Amazing story and great pictures. I was reading your story as if it was a memory of a trip I had been on. Maybe one day... congrats  :tup:
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: HikerHunter on September 03, 2021, 03:00:00 PM
Wow, what an awesome hunt! Thank you for sharing
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: go4steelhd on September 03, 2021, 03:18:24 PM
Very nice :tup: :tup:

Thanks for sharing, it looks like you had a great trip
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: MADMAX on September 03, 2021, 03:48:44 PM
Very cool
Nice bulls
Nice write up
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: teanawayslayer on September 03, 2021, 04:54:40 PM
Great write up! I enjoyed every minute of it. I’m glad you were able to fulfill a life long dream!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: jackelope on September 03, 2021, 05:49:38 PM
Wow.

Amazing story, pics, bulls, everything. Congrats on your success on more levels than just some notched tags.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Machias on September 03, 2021, 06:06:45 PM
AWESOME write up, love the photos!!  Congrats!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on September 03, 2021, 06:24:15 PM
Nicely done.👍
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Karl Blanchard on September 03, 2021, 06:59:38 PM
Killed it my man! Absolutely killed it!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: carpsniperg2 on September 03, 2021, 07:03:49 PM
Looks like amazing adventure!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: CJ1962 on September 03, 2021, 07:35:01 PM
Wow!  Great write up and congrats on a awesome hunt!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: lewy on September 03, 2021, 08:42:26 PM
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Brought some memories back for me of a brooks range trip so thanks for that to!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Duckhunter14 on September 09, 2021, 11:02:22 AM
Awesome write up! Thank you for taking us along. Sounds like such a great trip. My buddy and I are planning a trip up in 2023 and this fueled the desire!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: asmith on September 09, 2021, 11:17:13 AM
Man, that is awesome.  Great write up, great story and great Bulls.  This too, is a dream hunt of mine that one day I hope to fulfill.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: The100Road on September 09, 2021, 11:43:46 AM
Very cool!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: knighttime25 on September 09, 2021, 12:19:03 PM
Great hunt and write up! Definitely a bucket list hunt for the near future  :tup:
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on September 10, 2021, 07:24:34 PM
Congrats on an awesome trip and getting a check on your bucket list!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: fishngamereaper on December 27, 2021, 09:49:35 AM
The adventure is complete...
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Dan-o on December 27, 2021, 10:35:01 AM
That looks awesome.     :tup:
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: elkrack on December 27, 2021, 10:59:44 AM
How did I miss this thread!  Simply awesome! Congrats on checking a bucket list item. You guys did it justice :tup:

Mount looks great too
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: boneaddict on December 27, 2021, 11:21:41 AM
Love it!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: Stein on December 27, 2021, 11:27:10 AM
That's one of the very few hunts I would get on a plane for, hopefully some year.
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: dvolmer on December 27, 2021, 09:59:27 PM
Looks really really nice!!!!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: idaho guy on December 27, 2021, 10:22:11 PM
Great story and mount looks great also
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: bigmacc on December 27, 2021, 11:58:31 PM
The adventure is complete...
Beautiful :tup:
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: MADMAX on December 28, 2021, 05:31:09 AM
congrats, beautiful
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: TVHunts on December 28, 2021, 06:30:25 AM
Congratulations!  Far and away the best hunt story I’ve read on this forum. Thanks for sharing the trip!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: millerwheeler on January 18, 2022, 04:42:11 PM
What a great story start to finish  thank you for sharing
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on June 23, 2022, 07:45:57 AM
Not sure how I missed the update of the mount, bull looks beautiful, congrats again!
Title: Re: AK Caribou Hunt
Post by: jstone on June 23, 2022, 08:57:49 AM
That is so awesome.!!
The day of the kills looks amazing. Nothing better than fresh snow and sunshine on a hunting day.!!
Great Pictures
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