The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Alaska Hunting Forum "Massive Caribou Herds" of Past.Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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OK, those who lived when and with the massive caribou herds that were an ongoing problem, make those who can't imagine the endless herds of caribou cry with jealousy. Tell them about the years when the Alaska Highway crews used snowplows "YEAR AROUND" to blast the dead caribou off the highways 24 hours a day. Tell them about when the valleys were wall to wall packed with caribou, so many caribou you could not guide hunters to Moose, Grizzly, Black Bears When they would migrate for months by the thousands in your yard, scraping their antlers against the wilderness cabin as they passed, the endless "clicking" of the tendons of thousands of caribou keeping you awake all night. And the large Wolf packs that followed them. Tell them of when the official harvest quota was (5) but F&G and law enforcement made it clear there was no limit so long as you processed them for some use. TELL YOUR ACCOUNTS. ("Where & When" disclosure Optional) ALASKA is a "HARD COUNTRY for OLDMEN". (But if you live it wide'ass open, balls'to the wall, the pedal floored, full throttle, it is a delightful place, to finally just sit-back and savor those memories while sipping Tequila). | ||
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When did these massive herds exist? I first arrived in Alaska in 1977 and did a fair amount of hunting in the Brooks range as well as around Denali park and along the Denali highway and unit 13. They must of been gone long before the 70's because I didnt see them, lol. My biggest fear is when I die my wife will sell my guns for what I told her they cost. | |||
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maybe 35 years ago i was sitting against a rock glassing for griz when a herd of several hundred bou came up the valley, it was fall and right at breeding time, they came right me walking on both sides within 3 feet of me breeding as they walked quite the experience of a lifetime and yes i DiD shoot a bull that over 400 but at least i waited he jumped off a cow | |||
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About 20 years back the NW Arctic herd was sizeable. I flew over it for 30 miles once measuring on gps, and they looked like ants covering every hill side. And I think the limit may still be 5/day and even 15/day in some locations, the only problem being there aren't any there! There were at least a few 100k animals in that one herd, but that is exactly where they were, in that herd. Some years it didn't even come out of Canada, so when they are there it can seem like there are caribou as far as the eye can see, and for the next decade seem like zero just because they are somewhere else even without accounting for their boom or bust population cycles. DRSS "If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?" | |||
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My experience was 53+ years ago in the Noatak River Valley, actually much of the early 70's in the Noatak and Ambler River Country. Also, in the 70's I was proving-up on the homestead on the Upper Susitna River, near the confluence with Windy Creek. Also known as "Clearwater Country". In the 80's I was mostly guiding in units 17 & 19 "The Mulchatna herd". Living on Lake Clark. My original post was a collection of remembering's from the 70's 80's and early 90's ALASKA is a "HARD COUNTRY for OLDMEN". (But if you live it wide'ass open, balls'to the wall, the pedal floored, full throttle, it is a delightful place, to finally just sit-back and savor those memories while sipping Tequila). | |||
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I admire you for your experiences and am a bit more than jealous  Regards, Chuck "There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit" Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness" | |||
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A caribou is the only NA game animal I want to shoot. I could have gone back in the hay days of the Quebec herd pretty cheap. But I didn't. Same when Newfoundland have moose/caribou hunt priced reasonable. But I've killed a bunch of Colorado elk. It's all good. | |||
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During the 70's we would occasionally see herds of 100-200 caribou inside Denali Park. I think the largest herd I seen while hunting was in area 13, up along the Chistochina River where we used to moose hunt. This was in the early 1990's. A herd of roughly 50 started walking by me when I was on an overlook watching for moose. Waited a few minutes then shot the largest bull. My biggest fear is when I die my wife will sell my guns for what I told her they cost. | |||
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I hunted along the Squirrel River back in the mid to late 80s (north of Kiana). Amazing. Back then you got five caribou tags. Last one I killed was about 20 years ago along the Kobuk River. A few years ago I contacted the guy that used to drop me off; he said the migration had completely changed - they were one or two months late. | |||
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Must have been an amazing sight. Everywhere in the world hunting opportunities seem to be decreasing. | |||
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The opportunities for real hunters have never been greater. ALASKA is a "HARD COUNTRY for OLDMEN". (But if you live it wide'ass open, balls'to the wall, the pedal floored, full throttle, it is a delightful place, to finally just sit-back and savor those memories while sipping Tequila). | |||
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I am 73 years old. I grew up in So California. During my high school years- 1965/6/7- I worked my summers as a laborer for a contractor who built houses and cabins on Big Lake in the Matanuska Valley. At the time, the road from Anchorage around the Knik Arm literally ended at the general store at the east end of Big Lake. The only way to the job sites was by boat. Palmer was still pretty small and Wasilla was a wide spot in the road. Quite the experience for a 16 year old kid from the big city. Anyway, I always cut out some time at the end of my summers and did some caribou hunting. I don't recall the exact game management units all these years later, but I do remember that the general license allowed for 5 caribou in almost any unit. I also recall you could take 2 Black bear as well as both a bull and cow moose in some units. I'm probably wrong, but I think the caribou and Black bear tags were about $10 apiece. Sheep were $50, but that was a fortune for me at the time. Several of the streets in downtown Anchorage were still gravel, and you could see sheep on the Chugach Mtns from Fourth Ave. What a time it was for a high school kid with a borrowed pick up, surrounded by adults who were happy to see me grow and benefit from the experience. 114-R10David | |||
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Around 1990, I hunted caribou in the Fort Chimo region of northern Quebec. It was an unguided hunt from a drop camp and our party of 6 were the only hunters in camp. We were a bit early for the migration but all of us got our 2 caribou by day three. On day 4 the real migration cranked up and we had hundreds of animal wandering through camp as close as 10 yards away. I doubt most of them had ever seen a human and they certainly weren’t afraid of us. The fishing on the lake where the camp was set up was excellent for lake trout, too. IIRC, the total cost for the hunt was about $4000 including the 4 hour jet flight from Montreal to Fort Chimo. What a deal. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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I remember guided caribou at $2,500 when I lived in Dillingham, AK and residents could take 5. I arrived there in '82 there were about 20,000 caribou in the Mulchatna herd. That grew to 200,000 plus in the 90's and plunged down to no hunting levels in the 2000's. The herd at one point was so close to Dillingham that the local radio station was telling people to go down to the Wood River to see thousands of caribou just on the other side. We saw them around the local hospital often as it was on the edge of town. The hunting was pretty easy, and we often took 3-5 on one outing. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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I remember in the 90’s herds of dead caribou along the glen bay where the tractor trailer drivers couldn’t hit their brakes so they would just blow thru the herd and kill a dozen or so at a time. The nelchina herd was all over the place. Thousands coming thru camp for days on end, listening to them Short and blow bugs from their noses beside the tent trying to sleep. This was just in the last two decades. | |||
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Not AK, but I went to Shefferville Quebec in 2000; cost was less than $2k, and the caribou would swim across the lake all day in groups of 2 to 20. Only the incompetent or asleep did not get two caribou, like my friends, which is why I got 5. The blueberries on the hill were huge and sweet too. Now I hear that they are gone, due to no lichen, which is all they ear, or something. | |||
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I hunted the Mulchatna herd in late 90' - early 2000's.. Area 17b if I remember correctly.. The herd was vast - over a million I think... It was something to watch them go by!! "At least once every human being should have to run for his life - to teach him that milk does not come from the supermarket, that safety does not come from policemen, and that news is not something that happens to other people." - Robert Heinlein | |||
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Not quite the same, but when I lived, hunted and guided in Montana in the early 70s a resident big game license would get you an elk, two deer, an antelope and a black bear tag for $25 Never had any trouble filling the tags either. I think the entire population of Montana west of the Divide then was less than 50,000 Regards, Chuck "There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit" Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness" | |||
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