For those of you who dream of hunting Alaska, save your money and do something else. It is nothing like you imagine. It is crowded, our Fish and Game folks do a horrible job of managing our game, and it is expensive. Want to hunt moose or Caribou..go to Canada. Game is more plentiful and it is cheaper. Believe me I live here and have never killed a moose. "Slot" limits were institued some time ago. You can shoot a spike or a 50 incher plus. This was suppose to increase breeding stock. Did not work. The wolves have eaten the moose that hunter can not kill. If you want to come anyway, do your homework.

I will agree that it can be expensive to hunt alaska if you don't live here and depending where you hunt even if you do. The beauty of hunting here is the fact that acces is limited, depending on how you look at it i suppose. My brothers and i have taken no less than 2 moose per year and at least that many pesky bears for the past 20 years.All it takes is a little more effort than the next guy. If one chooses to hunt the roads it can be crowded,(heres a secret),you only have to be off the road by 3/4 to 1 mile and you can find all the moose you can stand. By the way EVERY year with the exception of this one all our moose exceed the 50" mark. This years moose were a fork and an 46" with 3 brow tines. Good luck!

Gregp,

I agree with you, if a person really does his/her homework you can be successful, moose or most anything else hunting in Alaska. The truth is, someone could fly into Fairbanks, rent a car and be hunting within 30 mins (not legally because of same day flight law). I make this point to illustrate the fact that because of all the land available to hunt it is very possible to do so. Moose can be had from road hunting but would require a LOT of driving because of all the other road hunters. Time would be better spent walking that mile into the woods. Black bears can be had and in most cases much easier than moose as in the spring if you find the berries odds are with patience and persistence you will find bears. Again, most of this info can be found by doing your research, Fish and game, Locals, this forum etc.

Doug

Scheduled airline flight you can hunt the same day airborne. Just can't do it from a chartered or non-scheduled flight.

alan c;

your points are well taken. there is a lot of room for improvement in many aspects. another is common courtesy, between competing outfitters in tha same area and even between hunters.

cold zero

Crowded?! Where are you hunting? I have a feeling that AlanC did a drop-off hunt out of Anchorage with one of the big air taxis. They have a terrible, if profitable, habit of picking a big lake and dumping party after party into it. Possibly he's hunting off the road system around Anc or the valley.

Where I hunt, if I even see another hunter I leave, and I mean if I see them from any distance.

Travel in bush country is very expensive, so most people tend to go the shortest possible distance to save money. Well, you ain't the only guy who wants to save money. If you want solitude and lots of game you pay for the trip.

ADF&G does a fine job, the wolf problem is from the damn voters listening to lower 48 greenies on TV. It wasn't Fish and Game's idea to get rid of aerial wolf shooting.

Lastly, this state is over twice the size of Texas, to say it's "crowded" everywhere and lacking in game in all parts of the state is silly. There are still areas with plentiful large moose (do your own homework) there are more brown bears than ever, we have caribou herds that number in the 200,000-350,000 range, etc.

Alaska has beyond a dough the best hunting in the WORLD. Tell me in what outer state can a resident pay $25 for a hunting license and get free over the counter tags for, Mountain Goat, Dall Sheep, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Caribou, Black tail Deer, Moose ( Grizzly Bear cost $25.) Fly out trips to remote locations are expensive and well worth the price, if you want a quality hunting trip.

Fortunately your hunting success in Alaska is influenced by the amount of effort you put in it!

I would also have to disagree. Alaska has the best hunting in ALL of N. America hands down. As for crowded..No way, maybe if you road hunt or venture in areas frequented by ATV's. Statistics show there are 8% less moose hunters that 10 years ago. Fish and Game do a fine job here...Sure they have problems every now and then, but they also have to manage the LARGEST geographic area of critters known to man. Secondly, they are a board of people in every aspects of every science praticly known to man. They have always been courtious, respectful and helpful.

If you can truely tell other people to venture in Canada or other locations for critters, I honestly believe that you have been mislead or you haven't ventured out of your backyard. Big bulls aren't big by being stupid. Do your homework and bag a moose.

Ben

Well...I only hunt moose, and do so each year with at least one hunting partner. My initial expenses were high, because I bought an ATV, my hunting rifle (Ruger .338), a Leupold scope, ammo, etc. But once all was paid for, the cost has been low.

We take lots of food with us, half of which is dehydrated, or reusable. The foods I don't consume I bring back home. This year I killed a moose on the 4th. day, so I brought home most of the food, and so has been the case in at least 50% of my hunts.

On fuel I spend about $80.00, and maybe $40.00 to $100.00 on food. The expense is very little, specially when I have managed to bring moose meat home each year since I started hunting. Last year I didn't get a moose, but I still had a great time.

I don't want to hunt anywhere else, since I have never found a better place than Alaska. This is paradise to me. Some years a see a few hunters out there, while other years I don't see any.

[ 10-23-2003, 06:50: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

if you go to the popular places for weekend hunters, i.e. BOULDER, where I got my moose, yea its crowded, or chicken, but you go places like denali and you dont see a soul

I would love to hunt Alaska one day, from what I have seen on TV it's the most spectacular place on earth.

PC,

Don't sell Oz and New Zealand short...You guys have some of the best hunting in the world.

Regards,

Pete

Pete grass is always greener on the other side of the fence isn't it