Hi folks,
I am planning a drop-camp caribou hunt for the Mulchatna herd in 2006. Like most people, I am not a rich man by any means and this hunt may very well be once-in-a-lifetime. I want to do as much research as I can before putting my money down in an effort to have the very best chance for success. I have researched the old posts on this site ( and others) and have found a wealth of information. Still, I have a few questions that I hope you guys can answer or at least, point me in the right direction.

1. Since it appears the Mulchatna has started to change its' migration patterns from historical tendancies (maybe a little farther west and north?), I am wondering which town may be better to fly from? Since certain air services from each outlying town have been given geat reviews on this site, I thought that trying to find where the largest concentration of animals have been lately during late August and early September might lead me to choose a given town first, then choose the operator in an effort to cut down on bush flight time. Would going from Dillingham, Bethel or Aniak be better than from Iliamna, Port Alsworth or Soldotna?

2. Does anyone have a list of prudent questions to ask an outfitter / air service? I have started one, but not sure if I have captured everything.

3. How fast does a small plane travel and how far can one expect an air service to take you out from town? In other words, since flight time equals dollars and each service must have a dollar figure in mind when quoting a drop-camp package, how much air time could one expect a service to put in to find good animals?

Any and all help would be appreciated. Thanks.
John

Everyday I wake up, it is one day closer to my hunt. I have wanted to hunt Alaska for over 25 years, and now it is almost time. I am sure it will be a hunt of a life time. I hope it will not be my last.

rwj, thanks for the posts. I will keep everyone informed of our hunt.

I am going on a self guided drop hunt for Caribou in August & September this year. I will be going with my friend and a guy that has been there 15 times. So we do not have a guide fee. But our Air fair to Fairbanks Alaska from Delaware is $620.00 round trip per person. And from Fairbanks to Bettles is $250.00 each way per person. Our biggest cost for travel is from Bettles to the drop off point about 150 miles away is $1295.00 per person. But with the savings of not having to pay a guide well makes up for that. I am glad the guy we are going with has been there 15 times.

I'll be hunting the Malchatna herd in Sept for the first time. It will be an outfitted drop hunt (outfitter provides tent/food/gear, everything except sleeping bag). Here's a rundown of my total cost:

Hunt cost: $1400
Air to Ancourage: Frequent Flyer miles
Air to Illiamna: $388 R/T
Bush plane to outfitter's camp: $500 R/T
Liscense/Tags: $410
2 nights at Illiamna Lake Lodge: $200

Total cost: $2898

If you figure $500 for R/T air from the lower 48 to Ancourage, it ups it to about $3400.

All I have to do is show up with a gun, backpack, clothes, and sleeping bag, and get my meat/trophy home, if I want to.

John

I have hunted out of Dillingham. I used a guide, however we flew with FRESH WATER ADVENTURES, INC. I suggest you contact them as they have several places thay can "put you down". They can also rent you boats and other gear. Their

phone numbers are summer: 907-842-5060 winter: 541-998-3284.

Their web site is www.fresh-h2o.com

John: Since I like talking about this stuff and I have experience in the subject matter, I will stick my nose in here. First, everything that people have outlined here is pretty good. Redhawk's break down on general costs is pretty good, no matter where you plan to hunt in Alaska. Anything under $1800 for air taxi service is a deal in my book. So you have to brace yourself for the sticker shock of hunting in Alaska (and we all have it). Chances are you will need a bush plane to get you to the best hunting grounds and bush planes are expensive. Here is a summary response to your questions.



1) It sounds like you have done some homework. Generally if you want to get to the best hunting grounds you are going to have to go farther way from heavily populated areas. Some folks think that the Mulchatna caribou herd is moving north and west as you state. I think that areas nearest Ted Stevens International Airport, in Anchorage, receive the heaviest hunting pressure and these areas (Illiamna, and flights from Soldotna to the Illiamna area) are served directly from Anchorage, more or less. The next most diffecult place to get to (say Bethel) just happens to have more caribou of better quality to hunt. I think hunting out of Bethel is better because Bethel is more diffecult to get to and costs more money and the logistics require careful planning.



2) There are several good sources on what to look for in an airtaxi service. I recommend going to the State of Alaska webpage under Dept of Fish and Game and look for advice on this subject matter. There are some books to read too: Hunting in Alaska, A Comprehensive Guide, by Christopher Batin, is one. You must know that even if the outfitter rents you equipment and flies you to the field, you have to remember that these air taxi services are just that and any agreement you have with them is pretty simple: you will rent xx tents and pots and pans and stoves for xx days at a cost of xx dollars per day. And the pilot will drop you off on xx date and pick you up on xx date. If you want other stuff, like to have a midhunt meat haul, you have to agree to that up front or bring a satellite phone and ask for it when you need it. Both of these issues (gear and transportation) are very simple and are very similar to renting anything (a video tape or equipment at a rental store) and buying an airplane ticket. If you know exactly were you want to go, you will have to tell the pilot and company that information. If you do not know where you want to go exactly, then somebody will make that choice for you (the air taxi service). If it works your way you will be happy but if the caribou are not there and you are unhappy, that is not the air taxi services fault. You have to remember that the air taxi is selling plane rides, not hunts. So questions to them are pretty simple: Can you take me to xx on a certain date? and How much will that cost?



3) Speed, distance (or time) travelled, and cost depends on the plane used and how much stuff you want to fly around, including humans. I frequently hire Cessna 206s and DeHavilland Beavers to fly me to hunting areas. These are two common planes that you will encounter for transportation to remote parts of Alaska. The Beavers usually are watercraft and the 206s, a smaller plane, land on water, tundra, and ice. Normally the taxi service has a set fee for a certain service and you will split that fee amoung your partners: he will fly you and your gear to a place of your choice within his area or he will take you to a place of his choosing. If you just want to fly around for an hour or two to look at the mountians, he will charge you an hourly rate. I am certain they all charge an hourly rate but how those hours are calculated is not always clear. As far as cost goes, you have to keep in mind that a lot of things cost a lot because the market will bear it. Being concerned about distance and cost is over analyzing money and not focusing on the problem you are solving: you want to shoot a big caribou. If you want to hunt big caribou you are going to have to pay what it cost to get to where they are at. It is expensive so you are going to have to get over that part. Most air taxis fly lots of people doing lots of different things in the area you may want to hunt and they generally know where herds are located because they make their living flying over them. But that is not what you are paying them for. You are paying them for an airplane ride, not for the location of caribou. Anything less than $1800 dollars per/person for a bush plane is a good price and most prices are around $1400-$1300 p/p. My partner and I are going to hunt caribou and brown bear this September about 80 miles out of Bethel and, for the use of a Beaver for transportation, it costs about $1450 p/p for the two of us. While there may be a relationship between distance and cost, I long ago gave up thinking about that relationship.



You will absolutely love your trip. Hunting caribou is exciting and they are big animals that live in some of the most remotes places on earth.



One thing not mentioned in your outline and not brought up by the others that made comments to your post is the cost associated with handling meat and antlers. If you plan on taking home meat you need to get specifics on how you will do that and what it will cost. And the same goes for antlers. Meat and antlers need special treatment to get them home. It is not too diffecult but it does require planning and it will cost some money. Antlers need to be boxed so that they are not damaged when transported home. If you contact your taxidermist or a taxidermists in Alaska they will help you.



Alaska Airlines also gives good advice and service on getting your antlers and meat safely home. It does not cost too much money: a couple of hundred dollars (or so) will get a full (unsplit) set of antlers home and frozen meat properly packaged can be shipped as perishable cargo for about 30 or 40 cents a pound, which is cheap if you like caribou meat.



I am sure you will have a good hunt.

rwj, very informative post. We are going for the Western Arctic heard. This is from the guy that is showing use the ropes said. Also we were going to rent a satellite phone, but the people renting the phone asked if we were going north of Fairbanks, we told them we were going way north of Fairbanks and they told us to get an iridium phone. It will pick up anywhere in the world. It cost us the same price as a satellite phone would cost. Our meat is going to be donated to the locals in Bettles, my taxidermists is going one the hunt with me so we will be able to take care of the hides and Antlers. He has a connection in Fairbanks with another taxidermists if we need help with the hides and Antlers.

Redhawk1,

If you will be in Fairbanks around the first week of September look me up. I will be in the area from Aug 29-Sept10

Doug

Redhawk1: It sounds like you are squared away. Your hunt is coming up here shortly. You will love it up there. We stay at the Super8 in Fairbanks when we drive up from Anchorage headed towards the Bettles pickup point on the Dalton. They are normally cheap ($115 more or less) and will let several guys split the cost of one room...even when you are very stinky after 10 days in caribou camp! Hunting season will be here shortly. Redhawk1 I hope you shoot a big bull take lots of photos of your hunt to post here.

COngrats, Redhawk!

My fist caribou hunt starts on Aug 10, and goes for about as long as it takes. I have 2 weeks (26 days) to spend after fish, ptarmigan and caribou. I get to Achorage on August 7. your right, every day is a day closer....

Redhawk1 you have email

Doug

Redhawk
If you guys don't smoke make sure you get a non smoking
room at Super 8.They have smoking rooms and they reek.
Good luck on your hunt.

Sheep in 42 days for me!

John,

I have lived in Dillingham for 22 years and have flown out for caribou many times. You can fly from here with a couple of very reputable operators for about $800-$1200 per person. That covers flying only. You will need to bring your own gear. Both outfits can send you complete info. on how the thing works and what you need to bring. Contact me by e-mail if you need contact info. etc.

Regards,

Mark

Thanks for the info, folks.

Mark - I sent you an e-mail asking for more information.