A couple of buddies and I are thinking about a caribou hunt in 2006. Any tips on areas to hunt, reputible outfitting services, and any other "need to know" information would be greatly appreciated.

Gutshot,

I have hunted and lived in the middle of the Mulchatna herd for 23 years. We represent several outfitters that could help get you and your friends a caribou.

Send me an e-mail with what you had in mind and we can discuss it.

Regards,

Mark

I have hunted caribou several times. Their is a lot that goes into one of theese hunts. Try to find a oufitter with his own planes that has been in buisiness for a while. I only hunt under a Master guide. That is supposed to be the law but you can get led astray very quickly and waste a lot of money. BOB ADAMS gets my highest recommendation. I think their was a article by Larry Weishin in this months Safari club magazine about Bob's camp. If you do not get it PM me and I will mail you the article. If you need a agent try Ray. He's been around as long as he has for a reason.

Gutshot....I've done 5 unguided caribou drops in Alaska...If you are experienced in camping and butchering/caping/packing your own game it is a great way to go and is considerably cheaper than a guided hunt...

There are many good air taxis but two of them that I have used and would highly recommend are Lake Clark Air in Port Alsworth and Bay Air in Dillingham... If you want to chat feel free to email me clark280@aol.com...

Or you could make life real simple, check out the web page on my post and e-mail me direct..Maddog

Hunting caribou on your own is not diffecult if you do a little research and have the right gear. Most of it is just your basic camping gear and a large dose of common sense. You will want a good air taxi...someone who knows an area and the animals you are after. You do not need a licenced guide to hunt caribou in Alaska, unless you are a foreign national. Besides equipment issues, you will simply have to have confidence that you will be taken to an area that has caribou moving through it when you are there. Then of course you will have to actually shoot at and hit them so that they fall down and die. Hunting caribou on your own is really not that hard. The Northwest Arctic herd is massive and a good herd to hunt (mostly in GMU 23 and 26A). It is more diffecult and expensive to get to (you would access this region through Bettles or Kotzebue). Otherwise the SW part of the state has plently of caribou and air taxis to take you out there. You should go. You'll love. If you want a guide, there are plenty of folks that will provide that service for you..The Internet is packed with webpages adverstizing services that will help hunt caribou. Good luck,

I'd just listen to maddog and go with Ili air guides. I used them about 4 years ago and they are an outstanding flying service. They went above and beyond what was asked of them.

Don't mess around, go with airguides out of Iliamna. I'll persoanally vouch for them. E-mail me if you want particulars. alaskajim00@yahoo.com

The guy said he was looking for a outfitter. A self guided hunt is NOT for every one and it is not always the best idea for the first time traveler to AK. Outfitters cost more for a reason. You get what you pay for. Not knocking air guides or any self guided hunts but after you add up food, water and all the stuff you need to take plus excess air freight to get it their how much are you really saving ? It has never been a issue of money to me on a self guided hunt. It is just a different experience.

I was not trying to push Gutshot one way or another. I was only pointing out that: (1) caribou hunting is not that hard, as long as you have a partner and use common sense, (2) it will be only marginally more diffecult to do it yourself than it is to hire someone to help you...and (3) sometimes it is more exciting to organize and execute one of these hunts your self than to let someone esle have all the fun.

Guides or outfitters can (and do) take you out where the caribou arn't just as easy as you can on your own. If Gutshot, or anyone else, wants to stay dry and safe and have someone else gut their caribou, I think that there are plenty of folks that will help him do that. And if that is what he wants, then that is what he should do. I would recommend Osprey Mountian Lodge as an excellent outfitter and guide service. You can search for them on the Internet. You can arrive in Anchorage, be taken out to the lodge, shoot your caribou, walk around on the tundra and go home. But people should not be afraid of hunting in Alaska. Shipping camp equipment up here , or renting it from the air taxi service, is not that bad. But there is something to be said about experience, and so hiring someone to take you out the first time does have value..but if you have talked to anybody that has done it themselves...you will get a pretty uniform response: They have plenty of confidence for the next do-it-yourself trip.

Gutshot, I say no matter how you do it, you need to come up and shoot some caribou. I will help if I can.

I am not suggesting any one is pushing one way or the other. I was just reading the origional post. You never know about another guys experience or physical ability. He could be out of shape, elderly or a first time hunter. This is a fairly tuff hunt for some one with limited experience. It is a miserable hunt for those who are unprepared. The last time I was out in the third week of September my outfitter was telling me that he had to stop and try to help out a few guys that had been dumped by a air taxi. We had a 70 MPH wind storm with horizontal rain the night before. Their tent was shredded and they were in deep kim she. This was NOT the air taxi's fault. Theese guys were poorly prepared with the wrong equipment. It is not a place for fools or those with limited experience. I have seen the same thing EVERY time I have been. Their is always some honyack that shows up with a sleeping bag from 1972 or none at all. I have seen people show up with new unfired guns and sooo many other things it is just plain scary. I was very suprised by the elements the first time around. The weather can get severe in a flash. I was totally suprised by our water consumption.

I do not think the guide outfitters that have been around a while with good reputations make things quite as easy as you are suggesting. Not every place is a little hop and skip out of Anchorage where you hunt out of a lodge. Experienced Master guides and outfitters spend a LOT of time and money in the air to put you on good animals. I have heard far more horror stories about different air services than outfitters but for sure their are the bad apples in both camps. Anytime you travel you must do your home work.

I always suggest to guys going for the first time that you get a copy of the Alaskan Professional guides magazine. This has a listing of all the certified master guides and is a great place to start your research. It is easy to forget that anyone theese days can pop up a web site and paste a few photos that were scammed off other web sites.

No mater how Gutshot or any one else goes I hope they go. Alaska is the greatest place in the World from my view and Caribou hunting is something everyone should do at least once.

The aforementioned are outfitters. They can all provide a fully guided hunt if the client wishes for one, or can supply equipment for a self-guided drop hunt, or will fly you to the animals and drop you off using your own equipment. Give any of them a call, they'll be happy to help you out. You gotta do it! It is so dang much fun!

First of all, whether you get a guided hunt or drop hunt you will need the services of a registered guide, the only other alternative is a air transporter. The difference other than money is a transporter cannot give you any info on game other than I believe he picked up some other hunters who took X out of this area. Guides have this exclusive right.

Now since caribou aare migratory no one has exclusive rights as to a hunting area these animals cover great distances within a weeks time. Alot different if your after moose or bear since these animals live in a relatively small are during the course of their life.

If you are competent enough in yourselve and your partner ability to survive in the bush for a period of time and are of good enough physical condition to hike for miles carrying back the caribou and you have the courage and ability to deal with whatever nature has to throw at you then I would recomend a drop hunt. Keep in mind that the weather can be nasty in Alaska and if it is so bad you can take it anymore chances are the plane will not be able to get to you till all clears...its like the leaky roof it only needs fixing when it is raining, oncee the weather breaks it doesn't need fixing anymore. Remember a guide is trained to handle just about any situation that surfaces including bad weather and injury.

You need to get an idea of what area you want to hunt pick a time frame and book as early as possible to lock that date. Do your homework on who you will hire and check on references for their experience.



Try this site for more info http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/index.php

Not to be picky here, but there's a lot of difference between a guide and an outfitter in Alaska. An outfitter, or transporter, can provide transportation to and from the field. A registered guide and master guide are the ones who can provide a guided hunt.
Ken

My understanding of the law is that any guide in Alaska must be either a Master guide or working directly under one. If you hire a guide that is not both you and your guide are breaking the law. This is why I put so much stock in the Alaska professional guides Association. I have to little money and even less time to try to save a few bucks and hunt with some one who is not a master. Just my two cents worth.

ChuckWagon,

It's a slightly confusing issue, this 'who's a guide' business, but all the answers can be found on-line. As 'Alasken' stated, only a Master Guide, or a Registered Guide can book hunts for money. I'll 'cut and paste' the regs on what it takes for a Registered Guide to become a Master Guide, and you can decide just how much it means to you...

b) A master guide license authorizes a registered guide to use the title master guide, but is for all other purposes
under this chapter a registered guide license. A natural person is entitled to receive a renewable master guide license
if the person
(1) is, at the time of application for a master guide license, licensed as a registered guide under this section;
(2) has been licensed in this state as a registered guide or a guide-outfitter, under former AS 08.54.010 -
08.54.240, former AS 08.54.300 - 08.54.590, or this chapter, for at least 12 of the last 15 years, including the year
immediately preceding the year in which the person applies for a master guide license;
(3) submits a list to the department of at least 25 clients for whom the person has personally provided guiding
or outfitting services and the person receives a favorable evaluation from 10 of the clients selected from the list by
the department; and
(4) applies for a master guide license on a form provided by the department and pays the application fee, if
any.

The Class A Assistant guide is not allowed to book hunts. But, he is allowed to run a camp and guide a hunter on his own without the direct supervision of the Registered Guide. I believe the Registered Guide must be present in the camp at least once during the hunt, but that's all.

The plain ol'Assistant Guide may not book hunts and may not take charge of a camp, or hunt, unless supervised by a Registered Guide, or Class A Assistant Guide.

Clear as mud?

Here's the link...

Alaska Big Game Guide Regs

BW, clear as mudd I just want say that I am not trying to put any one down. I was just sharing the system I have used in the past that has worked well for me. I understand you guys have a lot of politics involved but as a non resident I try to stay as blissfully ignorant of all that as possible. The more I avoid politics the better my day is.

I haver never used an air transporter but I have used guides for their expertise in when and where to hunt on several occasions. I have used them for drop hunts only and my partner and I have been successful only because of hard work but if it wasn't for the homework that our guides have done we may have come home empty handed. I am more of a do it yourselfer, I enjoy it that way and so far have been successful, perhaps if I get older and still have the desire a guided hunt may better fit but that has not happened as of yet.

Gents,

I agree! Guides provide a very useful service when employeed. If coming home with meat, or a trophy, is a priority (rather than just the adventure) it makes sense to hire one. You wouldn't catch me going to Africa without a PH, or spending thousands of dollars to hunt in the lower-48 without hiring some sort of local expert.

Alaska is a huge place, for an out of stater your going to need the aide of a guide to point you in the right direction, without them what are you going to do hire a transporter and point to a lake on the map and tell him to drop you off and be back in two weeks. In reality how far can you venture from your drop off point? It sounds easy to pack out to another location but unless you done a hike in the tundra you have no idea what a 2 mile walk with 100 pounds of gear and meat is, I have short legs and I got wet, muddy and tripped by about anything and everything I encountered luckily I didn't get hurt but I sure did come back with some Alaska size blisters.

A trip from the lower 48 to Alaska is a big expense, the additional expense of a reputable guide is small compared to going home without seeing an animal and doing the trip again next year.

The Alaska wilderness is truly a special place, the mere thought of being dropped off 200 miles in the middle of nowhere, no roads or any sign of civilization, the trip really takes hold when you watch the plane take off...if you have the desire do it and I bet you'll never regret it.

Thanks to all of you for the responses. I guess I should clarify a bit. Our group is made up of experienced hunters who have all spent quite a bit of time in the back country (mainly Wyoming and the other Rocky Mountain states). We're probably leaning more toward a do it yourself hunt from a drop camp, but we thought it would be wise to weigh all our options and make sure we do plenty of research over the next few months. It might be a once in a lifetime hunt, so we want to make sure it's done right. I've talked to a few (not very many) people that have had bad experiences, both with outfitted and unguided hunts, and we definitely don't feel like joining that group. I really appreciate all the information so far, if any of you are looking at hunting in Wyoming, I'd be happy to return the favor.

raamw: The trick is to not shoot your caribou 2 miles from camp...but the points that you and one or two others have made are well taken. Some folks should seek help to go into the field. I think most people, or at least some people, are intimidated by Alaska. Alaska is big. It is dangerous. An otherwise normal situation can go down hill fast, starting with a minor setback. Bad equipment. The weather. Depending on other people (including your Master guide). When I go into to the field, I would not say I am paranoid, but inside I keep telling myself to be afraid. Be afraid of moving water. Animals you can't see. Holes that you can fall into or cliffs you can fall off of. Do I have my gun and bullets? Is my tent and sleeping bag and food adequate? But you have to have some confidence. I think there are lots of folks, regular guys and gals from all over the United States, that routinely travel to Alaska, hire an air taxi/outfitter, and successfully shoot caribou and black bear. Moose hunting is more diffecult simply because there are fewer moose than there are caribou. But there are plenty of folks that come up and hunt from river rafts they have rented and they both survive and get their game! I'll stop here but I will also say that Alaska provides a great opportunity to hunt world class animals on your own.

Gutshot, it sounds like you are experienced and level headed. There are lots of very experienced people on this forum so it is wise to listen to everyone's view of how best to do things. The only down side to hunting in Alaska is that it is expensive for everybody...the cost of a bushplane is $1000 to $2000. If you can get over that part and you have or can secure field equipment, then it becomes easy and most likey very successful. You are welcome to contact me at rwjobson@acsalaska.net. I will help if I can...the sooner you start planning the better .

HI,

I see talk about Mulchatna herd, where is that herd located, the part of alaska, Kev

That herd gets it name from the Mulchatna River and river basin area in south west/central Alaska, I did a hunt in 2003 on that herd and we flew out of Soldotna Alaska

HI,

Thanks for your help,Raamw, how did your hunt try out. Kev

Gutshot,

I was a suprised to not get a message from you since I work with The Trophy Connection right in Cody, have lots of personal experience with caribou hunting and can recommend several reputable guides or drop-off services here in SW Alaska.

The Mulchatna herd that now numbers over 200,000 animals lives most of the year within an hour's charter from my home. That is not to say that you can fly an hour and find 200,000 animals but parts of the herd can be accessed quite easily from Dillingham.

If I can help send me a message.

Regards,

Mark

I second Chuckwagon's recommendation of BOB ADAMS as an outfitter. I took two caribou with him in 2002. He really works for you. You can get ahold of him through Atcheson's.