I am trying to put together a hunt for either Caribou or Sitka Blacktail for 2004. I am open to options ranging from "do-it-yourself" to guided. My question is what outfitters, guides, air taxi services, lodges, or charter boat services have you used, and were you satisfied with the service rendered? What were you hunting, when, and where?

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,

I should be able to talk to Brian about the Kodiak hunt on Friday. I will give you more details then.

Caribou is an easy hunt for the do-it-yourself guy but it is a complete wilderness thing. A guide is going to help you get a better caribou and will care if you are in a good area. Often the transporters that do drop offs are only interested in a good place to land their plane.

I live in the middle of the Mulchatna herd and have hunted them extensively. I probably can help with anything you might want to know as far as AK caribou hunting goes.

Regards,

Mark

Dave,
I've used Talon Air for drop off a couple of times for bou. Excellant service, drop us where the bou were and definitly filled the freezer.

I also used Iliamna air guides for a drop off also. Excellant service again. I flew to Iliamna on a friday morning and Ili air guides called to tell us that the big bulls havent moved into the area yet and if we wanted to re-schedule, of course we were already in the air and I still popped a couple young bulls for the freezer.

Both services I would recommend in a heart beat.

I'm on Prince of Wales Island, and hunting for the Blacktail is also a do-it-yourself proposition here. There are several places which have cabins and will rent you a suburban, or you can drive up to Bellingham, WA, catch teh ferry to Ketchikan, catch the IFA ferry to Prince of Wales, then go camping. The Forest Service has a pretty good map of the island and you can get the USGS Quad maps for more detail. Those don't show all the logging roads, however. You can get a nice black bear if you show up after Sept. 1. The subsistence board is playing games, though and the seasons may get screwed up. Again..

-Kees-

Dave; Sorry I haven't gotten back to you about the .375 I have been humpin at tha office for ever. I will try to call you this thanksgiving weekend. I can take care of you Caribou needs.
Check out our web site. www.airguides.com
Check with me direct by E-Mail, if anybody is interested..Thanks Marc
If you call the # on the website mention Marc Davis. The owners name is Mark also.

[ 11-27-2003, 22:18: Message edited by: MADDOG ]

Kees-

I am moving to Bellingham in a month. Sent you a Private Message with a few questions if you don't mind.

I hunted the Mulchatna herd with an outfitter named Bob Adams of Adams Guiding Service. You can get ahold of him at kipchuk1@alaska.net. I highly recommend him.

The nice thing about a guided hunt is that he tries to position you where the caribou are migrating. He will pick you up and change locations after a day or two if necessary. The other nice thing is the part where the guide packs the 150 pounds of meat up and down a mountain to get to your camp. The guide will definitely help you find bigger horns.

Indy