"I am reposting this here, my rant from someone complaining that they didn't get to shoot two B&C caribou on a Quebec caribou hunt".

The common misconceptons on any northern hunt is that the place is teaming with game. This isn't true in Alaska, northern Quebec, NWT, Yukon, or Nunavut.

It is true that Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and most of the eastern half of the US. The problem with living in those states is that you think that everyone else has similar numbers of game. Alaska has something like a million caribou, half a million moose, and 50,000 dall sheep and it is 1/4 the size of the US. Well Texas is 2/5 the size of Alaska and and has something like 10,000,000 big game animals. These kinds of numbers screw your expectations.

Wyoming by all acounts (to most people who have never been there) is teaming with game. Wyoming is 80,000 square miles and has in the region of 1.5 million big game animals. Wyoming which is 1/6 the size of Alaska has a similar number of big game animals. And compared to your southern and eastern states Wyoming has nothing, but they do have variety, something that no one other than the Texans can claim.

If you are in the right area, at the right time you will kill a caribou, moose, sheep, wolf, muskox, or bear. If give up early, or are not in the right area at the right time you will not.

I get really tired of hearing from people who go on hunts north of the 60 and think that the place is teaming with game, and if they fail to take a "trophy" animal they were screwed over by the outfitter.

This is true. The atraction to Alaska is the variaty of game and although we have fewer big game animals we also have less competition for them.

there is and always has been and always will be these guys that think just because they read a magazine article, a book, or saw a video and then paid their money that they will and should have picture book hunts. la la la la la la la la

How true! I was very surprised this last Aug. on our sheep hunt into the Brooks. Saw more sheep than I've ever seen before - ewe's, lambs and rams. I fully expected to get a chance at a grizzly. No way. Saw 2 piles of bear poop & that was it. Even though we weren't caribou hunting, we also expected to see a lot of them. In fact, we saw a total of 7. The pilot said that they move into that area by the thousands in July & then they're gone. No, we didn't get a sheep but we're certainly going back next year. In fact, Alaska is quite sparse in its game distribution. I've forgotten the numbers but there really is a lot of land per animal up here. It would be nice if the cheechakos coming up here to hunt kept that in mind.
Bear in Fairbanks

Also keep in mind that those same cheechakos, successful or not...pump a lot of cash into your LOCAL economy. For the most part 99% of the hunters have done their homework and know what the expectation is, so don't allow the other 1% to sway you into thinking and speaking that we are all dummies. Your time and effort is better spent making sure the outfitters that are scamming get put out to pasture.

we only have about 175000 moose.

Hell, I KNOW where the elk are here in CO and sometimes I come home empty handed. As to deer, they are not near as plentifull as our neighboring plains states where they have deer limits like we have fish limits. Its a draw or leftover only situation. Now mountain lion and bear are in pretty good supply, and I'm hoping for a kitty this year now that I've taken the new required ID course.

I doubt non-res hunters pump much $ into the local economies. Their good for the air services, but I'd venture most $'s are going to out of state owned businesses, not locals.

quote:

Also keep in mind that those same cheechakos, successful or not...pump a lot of cash into your LOCAL economy.

don't think that is true Woodrow "entirely". The outfitters get there fees and so do the commuters but that is about all. Now the tourism traffic invests a tidy sum-might be what you're thinking.

I cannot think of ever thinking our out of state "guests" are dummies, some are outspoken but so am I

My time spent is going to be in locating new "sweet spots" and glassing for rookies and staying out there way-seems they leave a mess of things now and again. Leaving behind all but the head and the rack.

Just for the record though, I too get abit riled when I pay a sum of money and not get my due. Caveat emptor. Homework homework and more of it

175000 moose-thats it, where?

I have had men pawned off on me as GUIDES who could`nt find their ass with two hands and a flashlight.I also have had Guides who busted their ass for me and we still didn`t score a animal.I did not mind not getting an animal by the second type of guide.The first type pissed me off as they had lied about their credentials and had relatives and friends as references(Found that out in Court)Alaska and lots of other States need to do a better job on keeping tabs on who is given Outfitters and Guide Licences.

Alaska currently has around 150,000 moose total.

http://www.growmoremoose.org/factsbelieveit.asp

We all know where to find moose...behind the fence at Ft. Rich and the bears are in Kincaide Park.

Thats why I hated the cow moose hunt in unit 20 D.It was an area where you could see moosde evey time.I have seen up to 175 moose in 2 weeks.If you go to unit 13 or 11 your lucky to see a moose at all.After taking so many cows there wont be nearly as many moose.They need to change the 4 brow tine to a 3 brow tine 50" in our unit with no skikes or forked moose.The 4 brow tined moose is like a unicorn in our unit.Its hard to watch moose day after day without getting a bull.
Bears are kinda hard to find.The dump is usually the best place to see them.I have seen 110 grizzleys and only 8 or so black bears in 9 years where I live.The grizzleys eat the black bears.
The first year I came to Alaska in 1998 there were tons of caribou on the Denali hwy.The wonderful f&g decided to have a nice either sex hunt and took care of that problem.Now you hardly ever see them.
There are alot of sheep in our unit but getting a permit is the problem.There is no points system .Its funny alot of the same people that got picked who use to work for f&g always get picked.
Alaska is an awesome place but its alot harder to hunt and you dont have much time to hunt except caribou that does last a long time.Its hard to hunt two different animals much less three.Hunting and fishing is the last thing that f&g cares about.They do like to cater to guides and tour bus companies.Look for the Alaska road system to all be a park system in the next 10 years or so.