I hunted the Mulchatna herd the first week of Sept. 1996. I saw plenty of bulls, could have shot 100 or more probably. I hunted away from camp everyday and killed mine about 2 miles away. I have a terrible case of wander lust and have to see what is over the next hill, so I never stay still. One of the guys with me had a bad knee and stayed right around camp and killed a bigger bull, go firgure. We hunted in the Jack Rabbit Hills off of Lucky 8 Lake. Great hunt, and I would go back. Saw two big grizzlies on the way in, weather was great. Flew in on Iliamna Air, self-guided. Hope that helps.

Doug

I'd make mid-September the end of the hunt rather than the beginning. If you take a nice bull after mid-september, there's a chance he'll be in rut. AK requires that you salvage all the edible meat, even though a bull in rut isn't edible, it is potentially so according to the state.

For yardage, I've taken a lot of them and not one has been over 150 yards, and some have been in the 30 yard range.

This year, Mulchatna bulls have been very few and far between. The herd's sex ratio is way skewed towards females.

Coloradoyaler,

I heard all of Rupert's considerations before and there must be some truth to it even though that has not been my experience or was it my experience this last Sept.

I lived among the Mulchatna caribou for 20+ years until last month. I shot quite a few caribou over that time and a couple really big ones.

The best time to look for a trophy bull is toward the end of Sept. Given enough time in the field in a good area you will score on a respectable bull. As for the shot it is tempting to take a long shot but in most cases you can get within 200 yards.

If you are looking to do a drop off hunt I would recommend Bay Air out of Dillingham. I have no financial connection to them but I promise Tom will take great care of you as he has me on several occasions.

If you have more questions just e-mail me.

Regards,

Mark