I was blessed with the opportunity to hunt caribou this year. We hunted out of Kotzebue. The weather was poor, but the hunting was great. My big bull, pic #2, grossed 386. My father-in-laws big bull, pic #4, grossed 362. It was an awesome experience!
Alaska Caribou Success!!
- Thread starter Buschy
- Start date
Moosie
Grand poopa
BOING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kudos of those 'bou. NICE !!
Who did you fly out of there with ? Any info ?
Kudos of those 'bou. NICE !!
Who did you fly out of there with ? Any info ?
csutton7
Active member
awesome job--congrats--yea give us some details--chris
Moosie,
We hunted with Northern Air Trophy. We did the hunt on our own and only used their air taxi service. They also provide guided and semi-guided hunts in the area. They did a fine job for us. We were about 30 miles NE of Kotzebue. We saw about 200 caribou a day within two miles of camp. Five of us in camp took a total of nine bulls. We were schedule to hunt for six days, but had all of our caribou by day four and came out a day early. It rained on us every day, but it doesn't matter when your having that much fun!! I am surprised you did not hear my victory yell in Idaho when I put my big bull down. I was pretty pumped!!
Here is another pic of my bull from the front.
We hunted with Northern Air Trophy. We did the hunt on our own and only used their air taxi service. They also provide guided and semi-guided hunts in the area. They did a fine job for us. We were about 30 miles NE of Kotzebue. We saw about 200 caribou a day within two miles of camp. Five of us in camp took a total of nine bulls. We were schedule to hunt for six days, but had all of our caribou by day four and came out a day early. It rained on us every day, but it doesn't matter when your having that much fun!! I am surprised you did not hear my victory yell in Idaho when I put my big bull down. I was pretty pumped!!
Here is another pic of my bull from the front.
Attachments
T Bone
Well-known member
Very nice caribou. I went on a hunt once in Alaska........pretty cool place.
Elkhunter
New member
Nice going and thanks for the pics!!!!!!!
I guess that is what happens when one doesn't mosey.
I guess that is what happens when one doesn't mosey.
Wylee
New member
Dammit, now I'm sitting here at work with a big ol woody, congrats on the awesome bou.
justdada,
We were in the bush (that statement never fails to entertain my simple mind!) from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14. We hunted with my cousin who lives in Anchorage. During the last two years he has had 400-600 caribou per day coming past camp. I have seen the video and it is awesome. If you can beleive this, my cousin was somewhat disappointed in the numbers we saw and even tried to apologize. We had plenty of caribou to keep us busy. If I had been there one of the last two years I probably would have had a system overload. It was an extremly fun hunt and within financial reach of the average hunter. I certainly fall into the "average" category.
Hunting with my cousin cut down some costs and we used frequent flier miles to get to Anchorage from Bismarck, ND. I have a final breakdown of the total costs split between five of us if you are interested. My personal total, door to door including tags, shipping meat and antlers home, and tanning a cape, came to $3500 and change. It was well worth it!
Buschy
We were in the bush (that statement never fails to entertain my simple mind!) from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14. We hunted with my cousin who lives in Anchorage. During the last two years he has had 400-600 caribou per day coming past camp. I have seen the video and it is awesome. If you can beleive this, my cousin was somewhat disappointed in the numbers we saw and even tried to apologize. We had plenty of caribou to keep us busy. If I had been there one of the last two years I probably would have had a system overload. It was an extremly fun hunt and within financial reach of the average hunter. I certainly fall into the "average" category.
Hunting with my cousin cut down some costs and we used frequent flier miles to get to Anchorage from Bismarck, ND. I have a final breakdown of the total costs split between five of us if you are interested. My personal total, door to door including tags, shipping meat and antlers home, and tanning a cape, came to $3500 and change. It was well worth it!
Buschy
Moosie
Grand poopa
Come on now, Was they ?
Dam Straight !!!!! either post it or Email it to me, thanx !!
I have the trip expense sheet at home. I will get it posted soon. I am headed out to the deer blind right now there are a couple of good whitetails running around that have been making a fool of me. I am going to return the favor!
caribou
Buschy, I have paddled from the headwaters of the Noatak to Kotz. twice (that's three weeks in a canoe for those trying to do the math), each time being fortunate enough to see herds in the thousands on their summer range. Since then, I have been itching to return with a tag in my pocket, to chase some of those big bulls, and I'd like next year to be that year!
So, I'd be grateful for any info you are willing to pass along with regards to the charter and the cost/hassle of bringing home your meat and antlers.
Did the 5 of you all know eachother or did the drop-off set you down with another group of clients?
I would likely be going solo, which makes it a bit more pricey, unless Moosie is serious about a trip to the arctic? (this of course, means he'd have to keep his wife from dropping another mini-moosie next September... ....odds anyone?)
Buschy, I have paddled from the headwaters of the Noatak to Kotz. twice (that's three weeks in a canoe for those trying to do the math), each time being fortunate enough to see herds in the thousands on their summer range. Since then, I have been itching to return with a tag in my pocket, to chase some of those big bulls, and I'd like next year to be that year!
So, I'd be grateful for any info you are willing to pass along with regards to the charter and the cost/hassle of bringing home your meat and antlers.
Did the 5 of you all know eachother or did the drop-off set you down with another group of clients?
I would likely be going solo, which makes it a bit more pricey, unless Moosie is serious about a trip to the arctic? (this of course, means he'd have to keep his wife from dropping another mini-moosie next September... ....odds anyone?)
Moosie
Grand poopa
I'll be there.... With or without you
Tom
New member
Very good, Northern Air Tropy, isn't that the place with the web page full of giant caribou pictures? They did you good, but you did it! Congratulations to all of you!
Very nice!!! Actually, it looks great!!!!
Very nice!!! Actually, it looks great!!!!
Moosie and other interested parties,
I went on this hunt with my father, father-in-law, my cousin (who lives in Anchorage) and a friend from Louisville. We split the costs five ways once we all got to Anchorage. Here is the final breakdown for five of us:
$628.34 - Food
$399.27 - Misc. (Rope, medical supplies, duct tape, game bags, tarps, ect.)
$128.50 - Satellite phone rental
$6,846.00 - Air Taxi
$136.00 - Meat boxes
$355.54 - Air cargo from Anchorage to Kotzebue
$314.39 - Air cargo from Kotzebue to Anchorage
$150.00 - Motel room in Kotzebue (one night, one room)
$168.06 - Ice and vacuum bags
$9,123.40 - Group total
Divided by five, my share was $1824.68. In addition, I had individual costs as follows:
$000.00 - Airfare from Bismarck, ND to Anchorage (normally $600.00)
$350.00 - Airfare from Anchorage to Kotzebue (normally $550.00)
$765.00 - General license, caribou tags (2), and wolf tag (1)
$40.00 - Mailing clothes home through USPS
$55.00 - My share of shipping home two sets of split antlers
$40.00 - My share of flying home an extra box of meat
$160.00 - Fleshing and tanning a caribou cape in Anchorage
$150.00 - Souveniers for wife and kids, misc. meals
$1,560.00 - Individual total
My total cost for the hunt, door to door, was $3,384.68. As I stated earlier, hunting with my cousin cut down on some of the costs. We stayed at his house in Anchorage for three days before we flew to Kotzebue. During this time we shopped, went sightseeing, and packed gear. We also stayed at his house for three days when we returned from Kotzebue. We cleaned gear, washed clothes, and cut/packed/froze nine caribou.
My cousin also believes in eating and drinking well while hunting. He did all of the cooking and always had warm water and coffee on when we returned. We had eggs, bacon, sausage, omelets, and pancakes for breakfasts. We packed cold lunches during the day while hunting. For dinners we had enourmous amounts of king crab, ribeye steaks, halibut, salmon, and shrimp, as well as appetizers and desserts every night. He also brought everyones favorite scotch, whiskey, wine, beer, and pop. We ate like kings which made the wet weather more enjoyable. I usually enjoy pretty spartan meals, MRE's and Mountain House, when I hunt so this was great.
My dad, father-in-law, and I all used frequent flier miles for our airline tickets to Anchorage, which saved $600.00. We also got airline tickets to Kotzebue just about half off on special, which saved $200.00. I think budgeting $4,000.00 for this trip would be about right.
My cousin has lived in Alaska for twenty years and has been hunting big game up there for a long time. This was his third year hunting out of Kotzebue. The one thing he impressed on me was how nice it was hunting, without having to deal with swarms of bugs. He has not even put on a headnet in three years up there. The only bug I saw in six days was a caterpiller! It was wonderful and I am told I cannot truely appreciate it, until have dealt with the vicious swarms of bugs in other areas of Alaska
Finally, I am a more of a bowhunter than a rifle hunter. I choose to bring a rifle after visiting with my cousin. He told me early on, the area we were hunting was not condusive to bowhunting and he was right. Lots of wide open spaces. The only cover were the alders by the creeks and low lying areas. If you have any other questions, let me know.
justdada,
We hunted North of the Squirrel river. We were not as far out as the Noatak.
Tom,
We did hunt with Northern Air Trophy and yes their website is loaded with big caribou pictures. Northern Air had maybe 40 sets of caribou antlers from other hunters behind their tents at the Kotzebue airport when we returned. They seemed to be very successful at getting their hunters into caribou.
Greg Busch
I went on this hunt with my father, father-in-law, my cousin (who lives in Anchorage) and a friend from Louisville. We split the costs five ways once we all got to Anchorage. Here is the final breakdown for five of us:
$628.34 - Food
$399.27 - Misc. (Rope, medical supplies, duct tape, game bags, tarps, ect.)
$128.50 - Satellite phone rental
$6,846.00 - Air Taxi
$136.00 - Meat boxes
$355.54 - Air cargo from Anchorage to Kotzebue
$314.39 - Air cargo from Kotzebue to Anchorage
$150.00 - Motel room in Kotzebue (one night, one room)
$168.06 - Ice and vacuum bags
$9,123.40 - Group total
Divided by five, my share was $1824.68. In addition, I had individual costs as follows:
$000.00 - Airfare from Bismarck, ND to Anchorage (normally $600.00)
$350.00 - Airfare from Anchorage to Kotzebue (normally $550.00)
$765.00 - General license, caribou tags (2), and wolf tag (1)
$40.00 - Mailing clothes home through USPS
$55.00 - My share of shipping home two sets of split antlers
$40.00 - My share of flying home an extra box of meat
$160.00 - Fleshing and tanning a caribou cape in Anchorage
$150.00 - Souveniers for wife and kids, misc. meals
$1,560.00 - Individual total
My total cost for the hunt, door to door, was $3,384.68. As I stated earlier, hunting with my cousin cut down on some of the costs. We stayed at his house in Anchorage for three days before we flew to Kotzebue. During this time we shopped, went sightseeing, and packed gear. We also stayed at his house for three days when we returned from Kotzebue. We cleaned gear, washed clothes, and cut/packed/froze nine caribou.
My cousin also believes in eating and drinking well while hunting. He did all of the cooking and always had warm water and coffee on when we returned. We had eggs, bacon, sausage, omelets, and pancakes for breakfasts. We packed cold lunches during the day while hunting. For dinners we had enourmous amounts of king crab, ribeye steaks, halibut, salmon, and shrimp, as well as appetizers and desserts every night. He also brought everyones favorite scotch, whiskey, wine, beer, and pop. We ate like kings which made the wet weather more enjoyable. I usually enjoy pretty spartan meals, MRE's and Mountain House, when I hunt so this was great.
My dad, father-in-law, and I all used frequent flier miles for our airline tickets to Anchorage, which saved $600.00. We also got airline tickets to Kotzebue just about half off on special, which saved $200.00. I think budgeting $4,000.00 for this trip would be about right.
My cousin has lived in Alaska for twenty years and has been hunting big game up there for a long time. This was his third year hunting out of Kotzebue. The one thing he impressed on me was how nice it was hunting, without having to deal with swarms of bugs. He has not even put on a headnet in three years up there. The only bug I saw in six days was a caterpiller! It was wonderful and I am told I cannot truely appreciate it, until have dealt with the vicious swarms of bugs in other areas of Alaska
Finally, I am a more of a bowhunter than a rifle hunter. I choose to bring a rifle after visiting with my cousin. He told me early on, the area we were hunting was not condusive to bowhunting and he was right. Lots of wide open spaces. The only cover were the alders by the creeks and low lying areas. If you have any other questions, let me know.
justdada,
We hunted North of the Squirrel river. We were not as far out as the Noatak.
Tom,
We did hunt with Northern Air Trophy and yes their website is loaded with big caribou pictures. Northern Air had maybe 40 sets of caribou antlers from other hunters behind their tents at the Kotzebue airport when we returned. They seemed to be very successful at getting their hunters into caribou.
Greg Busch
Tom
New member
How does the $6,846 for air taxi work out? Did they do multiple trips with lots of gear or just one drop off and pick up for the group? I guess it was cold enough to store your meat till they got you? No satellite phone to call them in for a pick up, that's good.
It still totalled a lot, but you did great for sure!!! Thanks very much, great info.!!!!
It still totalled a lot, but you did great for sure!!! Thanks very much, great info.!!!!
Tom,
We arranged for a flat fee with Northern Air. It was $1350.00 per person for air taxi service only. There was no weight limit for our gear, no fee for extra animals, and they would move us if we felt it was necessary.
It was cold enough to keep the meat chilled(40's during the day and 30's at night)and Northern Air did stop once to pick up meat. I agree we could have cut some costs with the airtaxi, but it was nice have a few comfort items.
Buschy
We arranged for a flat fee with Northern Air. It was $1350.00 per person for air taxi service only. There was no weight limit for our gear, no fee for extra animals, and they would move us if we felt it was necessary.
It was cold enough to keep the meat chilled(40's during the day and 30's at night)and Northern Air did stop once to pick up meat. I agree we could have cut some costs with the airtaxi, but it was nice have a few comfort items.
Buschy
Tom,
I forgot to answer one of your questions. Northern Air took us and our gear to the bush with two planes in two flights over the course of three hours. On the way out, after all of our meat had been picked up, they took us out with three planes in one flight.
Buschy
I forgot to answer one of your questions. Northern Air took us and our gear to the bush with two planes in two flights over the course of three hours. On the way out, after all of our meat had been picked up, they took us out with three planes in one flight.
Buschy
