Ok guys, if I was to move to Ak, How hard will it be to hunt bear, moose, caribou? How expensive will it be.

In a word VERY!

Hunting isn't as easy as you would think up here. YOu generally need quite a bit of time off work to do a good hunt, at least a week. Figure you are going carabou hunting. If you live in anchorage it takes about 2 days to drive up to the haul road, then another day to take the boats to where your going to hunt from, then figure in at least 600-1000 more for gas. Airboat runs premium at 11gal an hour on average.

To fly out your looking at 700-1000 dallors for any of the animals you asked aboutk. If you drive somewhere expect hunting pressure to be very stiff. Say you drive 2 hours and then take 4 wheelers back 10-20 miles off the road and hunt back there, you still need at least 3-5 days to do any decent hunting. There are a few places that you can bait bears within 2 hours of anchorage but not a whole lot, and if you can drive there so will everyone else.

But if you have a good job with lots of time off, and a boat, 4 wheeler/argo, or plane then you can probably do some great hunting.

The fishing is quite good though, and readily accessable.

well you get out only what you are willing to put in. Unguided requires homework and the means to fulfill you're tag. No gaurantees--nice country though, it will definately teach you the respect you will require of this country. Guided or a drop hunt still requires money. Use to be able to be dropped off an almost choose you're animal but anymore it is definatetly "tougher".

It is doable --bottom line.

Actually I think its more expensive for a resident. First you will start out (usually) doing hike-ins, then you will talk yourself into an ATV, then the boats will come next. If you have real deep pockets, then the airplane will come.

Good thing you cant take money with you when you kick..<grins>

Actually it is very expensive.


You could probably take your cost to hunt Alaska from OK and subtract $1200 from it and that would be the cost to hunt as a resident.

Non-res extra costs are tag fees and airfair to alaska. Which are a small price to pay to not put up with this @@%^&*! WINTER.

OK guys how about the area 100 Miles s/e of Fairbanks. Is there is a lot hunting pressure in that area?

I have lived here for twenty years and have shot 5 moose (all small bulls), 2 sheep, 1 black bear, 2 caribou and 20 deer. This would be fairly easy to duplicate.

Deer hunt $800 plus minimun 6 days

Caribou starting $300 minimum 4 days (I hunt the haul road with a bow). (15 hour drive from Wasilla).

All the moose I have got have been fork horns around town. Every few years I will get lucky. I have never seen a 50"+ moose during hunting season.

If you have a boat or 4wheeler and 8+ days you should have a good chance at moose if you find a good area.

Brown bears (I don't know)

Black bears can be hunted on weekends if you do a little searching.

Sheep 8+ days fly in or 4 wheeler or hike in even. Your best investment for a sheep hunt is conditioning.

Luis, Are you talking around delta junction area?

Luis,
The info that has been posted is certainly true if you live in the "Metro" portions of Alaska. If you were to live in rural Alaska, aka The Bush", the high expense of hunting certainly wouldn't be the case.
In south west Alaska, moose and bear hunting is a short weekend trip away. A hunter that used a 4 stroke outboard could figure on burning 20-30 gallons of gas, (at $4.61 per gallon,) be gone for two or three days at a time, and could expect to at least have a fighting chance at a better than 50" moose and a 24" or better brown bear.
To be sure, a feller could take as much time and money as he wants, and this last year I spent $3k on a moose hunt air taxi. That was a choice, not a neccesity. Economical yet quality hunting is available off the road system.
On the other hand, the cost of living in The Bush is horrendous, but thats another subject!

If there were only enough jobs in the bush to keep us all busy I'm sure we all would like to live there. But the sad reality is that most of us live in anchorage or the matsu valley, and things are pretty crowded around here.

finances aside scott, stop rubbing it in. I hate anchorage. You guys have a safe holiday season.

SE is a different story ... some towns you can hunt Black Bear, Blacktail, Mt Goat (draw tag), Wolf right from town.

Some you can hunt Brown Bear, Moose, Blacktail right from town.

You can get allot of hunting in by using a 16 foot skiff with a 25 HP from most SE towns.

Ok, nuts, sorry Joel.
Best wishes to all of you too!

Alaska is the hunters conundrum. If you're not independantly wealthy, you either live where there are jobs, and spend alot to go hunting in your limited time off. Or live where the hunting is great, and live dirt poor to be there. And even living dirt poor takes $$$ for land and building materials, etc.

Despite not spending nearly the time I would like to hunt AK, and honestly doing very little hunting in the 10 years I've been here, it is by far the best place I've lived, and I ain't movin.

Just get a darn good job, cuz it's spendy up here!

Thats not entirely true Paul. Many people that live out in The Bush in fact live quite well. To be sure, the house that I own outright is one of the,........uh,......more modest ones,.....but I do have a reasonable amount of disposable income that gives me the ability to do fair amount of traveling that includes a trip to Zimbabwe this next fall.
I am not an anomaly. In Dillingham, Mcgrath, King Salmon, Kodiak and other larger Bush communities there are lots of nice homes by anybodies standard, lots of good jobs, (normally about 70 available in Dillingham by the States count,)new cars, snowmachines, and all the other material signs of fiancial success. Yes, Dillingham and other Bush towns do have a thriving HUD complex, yes there are poor people here. No, not all of us are.
I think the real problem with living in the Bush is the small town isolated atmosphere. No Walmart, no fast food, no shopping mall. The disconnect between Bush Alaska and what we refer to as the outside or real world is severe. For many people not born into this lifestyle, the distance between The Bush and the convieniences most Americans take for granted is more than they can bear. The economy in Bush Alaska is fine, maybe the social atmosphere can be what is lacking.

Scott,

I hope my post didn't come across as disrespectful to bush Alaska. That said, folks coming up from outside and trying to get jobs and fit in the bush is typically a very difficult match. I'd also venture to say that outsiders coming in and taking what few jobs there are may find some animosity from the locals.

The main point to get across is that folks that come up from the lower 48 tend to have the impression they'll be able to come up and hunt all the time out their back door. Very, very few people have that opportunity, and those that do are either very lucky, or make some sacrifices to achieve that life style.

I have to agree with Scott. There are definitely very good jobs in the bush (+100k on up), you just have to find them AND be willing to put up with what are really amount to minor inconveniences. Its that last part that is the show stopper for most (especially families)who can't imagine living without a mall or starbucks or 50000 other people nearby. In Nome I hunted brown bear after work and generally looked over a few dozen per season. Moose and caribou are definitely doable during the work week too. All you really need is an atv, many folks don't even own cars. Now I've traded my 800 square foot POS apartment (snow would pile up INSIDE the front door despite my best efforts and you couldn't keep a candle lit in a storm due to drafts) for a 4000ft house and 250k neighbors in Los Anchorage. Hands down, the quality of life was better there even without the hunting thrown in. I loved the fact that it was quite easy to get 10 miles from another human being and glass animals even when not in season, or just enjoy the peace and quiet. It's Alaska. Yes, its more expensive, but it depends what's valuable to YOU. My 2 cents.

Joel/Ak Yes I'm talking about the delta junction area.

I would generally agree with your last post Paul, with the exception being your comment about "..few jobs..". Again, The State of Alaska's web site usually posts better than 70 jobs available in south west Alaska. To be sure, some offer entry level or minimum wage, but many do not.
I suppose I should only speak for Dillingham, but I think opportunity abounds for employment and outdoor activities here. Your absolutely right, The Bush can be a difficult match for a lot of folks, and it's generally accepted that most will only stay for a period of time. It's just a question of wether their stay will be months or years.

If I could talk my wife into it I would move out to the bush for a few years. I always like mcgrath quite a bit. Dillingham was ok but I don't remember that many jobs in either of them. Not to say that theya re poor, just when you drive a semi for a living you kind of need roads. That and road construction is all I know, and there is precious little to be found there. Cordova is another really pretty town.

The reality is though that people who move up here generally wind up in anchorage/matsu or fairbanks and there aren't many places in between that off much work. If they end up down here in anchorage/matsu it simply won't be what they expected once they get here....hunting is hard to do, and expensive.

It is kind of ironic. So many of my friends came to Alaska for the hunting and fishing. And now very few of them do either any more. Always complaining about working and other nasty crap. We need more of the men back in this state and the wussies can move back to the cities!

OK, guys here is the deal, I took a job offer at Ft. Greely delta junction area. I know for a fact that I will be working at least 60 hrs a week. I just want to know how is the hunting in this area. How far I have to travel to do some decent hunting and fishing. Thanks for the great information. By the way, anyone from this area.

I stopped around there a couple times while traveling ... there is good fishing in the Clearwater. I would think that would be a good float hunt also.

Pretty good area for moose. Fishing is so so. All the best fishing is in the salt or the rivers closer to the salt.
Lots of black and grizzly bears around Ft Greely. But remember, you have to live here for 12 months before you can buy a resident hunting license.
Hook up with a few locals and do some baiting for spring black bears/

I enjoyed the Grayling in the Clearwater ....

and the Bar at the end of the road ....

Cool snowwolfe, yes I know about the 12 month waiting period. Heck I won't mind paying non resident prices. What about varmints hunting around this area?

Luis, plenty of varmints around. Just to the east of delta, I know there are a fair number of wolves. plenty of bear, and hook up with the right person (to show you the area) areplenty of good moose areas. You can head to north of fairbanks or up around chicken for caribou.

Dont think you will regret the move one bit, although it does get a little chilly and windy in that part of the state.

A LITTLE chilly and windy..........That is the only place in the north America that I have been,, where the whole forest leans hard to the north.......Enough to give a person vertigo......40 below c or f its the same with winds to 100 knots .... Kivalina might have tougher weather , but I,m not sure........Luis ,, I have some friends there and I,ve had a 338 at a friends house for years , so we could go hunting I haven,t been within a hundred miles of the place for 3 years ... Hunting season tends to be a real busy for us in the natural resource based professions.. Delta Junction is really cool tho ,,, just watching videao of 20 moose out in a barley field is great....You ought to really take to killin predators...Wolves ,cyotes , wolverine and lots of bears.............DJ is perfact 338 RUM country!!!!!!!3 1/2 - 10 x leupold on the ground and in the pack!!!go to Big Rays and get your gear.......Have fun , don,t aim no missels at us !!!!!!!!!

I know Alaska ain't exactly the homesteaders frontier it used to be, but I figure with prices being what they are up there, the meat collected is an important thing. But what do you guys do with a moose? Even if you only took the best 365 lb of meat off a moose, that's a years worth of meat and that would sure get monotonous quick. I'd think 2 or 3 deer spaced out would be more practical.

Is it common for Alaskans to work out some kind of barter/split thing, i.e. you do moose this year and I'll do it next, and we'll split the meat every year?

Couch, you will find alot of hunters up here will share meat with friends , family, elderly, etc.

You would be surprised how fast that moose meat dissapears. We generally will only shoot a few moose for the group of us that hunt together. Of the three or four guys along with some given away we can make a moose go away faster than you would imagine, its rare that a moose will last us all winter long.

CouchTater,

Mind you the moose that I shoot are dinks (forkhorns) but they still provide 400 pounds of meat.

The last two I killed were Aug 10 and Aug 14 (different years) they were both gone before the new year.

When I shot my last moose my kids were 4,3 and 1. They loooove moose. The kids are now 7,6,4,and 1 and they ate a caribou in about eight weeks.

I,ve put up 4 deer so far this winter .. I trim alot and hang for a long time........but the meat is perfact ...I grind my own meat and make sausage my self...........I can,t process 1 deer per day , but my freezer is the best trophy case you can imagine.........I hope to get 2 more this month....Mayby give some away but will shoot more for that ......weve still got plenty of tags....6 deer ,50lbbs of halibut and salmon and we ,just my wife and I will be out of meat by Sept...mayby sooner....Processing meat is almost as much fun as hunting ,, and usually warmer and dryer.....

Luis, You must be filling my wifes position (inspector). Everything you need to know about hunting you can get from Willy at the fire station. He's got hunting up here dialed in pretty tight. Just make sure you tell A/C Seward that I instructed you to get with Willy before you do. The hunting is okay in that area, I just moved back to Fairbanks from there after 3 years at Greely and living in Delta.The hunting to me is much better north of Fairbanks than it is in Delta but you'll have to get out and give it a shot. You are in for a treat as far as weather goes, -30 temps are comfortably tolerable in the interior but mixed in with the Delta winds winter can be quite the treat! The guys at the station can point you in the right direction. Tell them the Cuban told you to get with Willy.

I've hunted the Delta Junction area many times over the last 14 years and i have some buddies with a hard camp in one of the drainages out that way. I am headed up there for moose in September if I can't draw a goat tag. We've taken moose from spike/fork to 60"s, 1 40" ram, a few dink caribou, and several grizzlies. Most people don't know how to hunt the area and usually leave after about 3-4 days. There's some awesome hunting out that way and if I lived closer I would hunt there on a regular basis.

M70NUT, So you have to get drawn for the goat? Are there any goat in that area? How hard it to get to the goat area? How far out did you had to go to get the 60" moose? I should be in that area around the end of FEB. I hope I get to do some hunting this year, of course I will have to pay the non resident prices.

Luis, theres no goats in the Delta area, they are down by the coast. Also you wont be able to hunt goats, sheep or griz as non-res without hiring a guide (big $$$$). 4wheelers and track rigs is the most common way to get into the backcountry down there in Delta. Delta itself is all draw for moose, but as you head east and south you leave the Delta Controlled Use area and there you can hunt moose. Its spike fork, or 50" or 4 brow tine bull hunting only. The bull must fit the criteria of one of the 3 I just mentioned. Theres griz all over the mountains surrounding Delta but they can be harder to find than one would think. I have seen butt loads of them on black bear baits of mine and buds during the spring, the black bear are around but the large number of griz in the area greatly outnumber the blacks. Riverboats and 4 wheelers are the tools of the trade down there with snowmachines being used from October through spring griz (late april/early may). Theres some pretty good fur hunting in the area if your dedicated to it and can withstand the weather during winter, also you need to get well off the beaten path to get away from edumacated yotes, wolf and fox. Seriously though, many of your questions will be easily answered by the guys at the station that have been there for a while your getting ready to go work in a department unlike any other, more of a feeling of family and less of a work environment. But living in Delta can be damn tough at times. Or I'd still be there!

LUIS, i took the 60" bull straight across from my camp, by 4 wheeler it was probably 3-4 mile round trip. We do a majority of our spotting from camp in the morning while having our coffee. If we don't see any shottable bulls then we usually spread out and get on top of the hills and glass, glass, glass! From where we park the trucks it's roughly a 13 mile ride in to camp by 4 wheeler.

One point to remember is the whole Golden Heart area has a fair amount of people liveing in a true rural setting .....so if your on a road remember there may be someones house around the corner or just thru the woods......Plenty of livestock also... So its real good to have someone show you around ....If you have acsess to a walk in freezer you might practice up for Delta Junction be spending a few hours a day in it ,,,But they may not be cold enough !!!!! And please when you go to Fairbanks ,, don,t drive too fast thru Salcha ,Thank you ...