I'm confused... You hunt all other states on "the line" but AK should be treated on a different level?
I'm confused
.
Really, not sure what you mean when you say, on "the line."
I've done 3 moose hunts that the total price hasn't topped $3500 combined. Course my "research" doesn't include retail prices as advertised on the net.
That does not surprise me, given the knowledge you have, how committed you are to getting into the good places, and you being a recent resident. How many of those three hunts were done while you lived in MT or on the east coast? I've done moose and brown bear for less than that cost, combined. But, my research was with the benefit of residents who hunt it every year, who met me there with lots of transportation gear. This hunt is not going to use that advantage, as I don't expect viewers to have the same local connections that save cost for you and me.
Some might be thinking that you just drive and take all the gear and ATVs, etc. you can load in a truck. Might work for those who have liberal vacation time and kitchen passes. For most guys, they don't have the vacation time from work and family to allocate to driving to Alaska. From my home in Bozeman to Fairbanks, we are talking a 5,000 mile round trip. And, I live closer to AK than most people on this site.
That means at least 3 days each way towing a trailer of gear, if you rotate drivers, drive hard, and don't have any major mechanical issues, or the standard course of three flat tires on the way. This is not 5,000 interstate miles and you have the headaches and hassles of the border crossings into Canada each way.
Most guys are not able to take one week of their vacation, just to get there. They are better off to fly, if they can, and use a transporter. Even though driving and hunting from your rig allows you to bring a lot more gear.
For those of you that have that benefit, driving up with a trailer full of gear and hunting as Bambi says, is probably a better option for saving costs. And, if you can go every few years, you will learn the areas better and your likelihood of success will increase. If we do this episode, we will not gear it toward those who have tons of vacation time, but for those who not only have limited financial budgets, but limited budgets with their time away from family and work.
Why does it have to be once in a lifetime? Spend half as much and go twice?
It doesn't. Agreed. If I can do it for half as much, I will. And if I can go more than once, I surely will, even if i can't get it to half the price.
I would love for guys to go every few years. Going more than once is probably the best thing, as with all trips to new places for new critters, the first trip is probably more education than anything. The followup trips are always more successful.
Hope we can show enough about this kind of a trip that people can have less of a learning curve on their first trip and hopefully higher likelihood of success.
The "Alaska experience" is a joke. There is no place in this state you can get away from other
hunters. Book a flight with an air taxi and you're hunting their area that's been scouted or hunted, at least with hunting off the road (aka Camtwell) its hunting on your own.
The "Alaska Experience" is not a joke to me. It is the most vast and wild place I have had the benefit of hunting. Yet, I have never flown, floated, or driven to a place in Alaska where I got away from everyone. Even seeing these other hunters, the experience itself was something special.
Each has their own definition of the "Alaska Experience." To me, seeing very few hunters, having millions of acres of roadless ground, being away from every modern convenience of electricity/phone/email, knowing there are animals I cannot hunt in the lower 48, and knowing what you brought with you is what you have to make due with, are the parts of the Alaska Experience that I look for. Hard for me to find that in even the most remote places of Montana.
My family that lives there thinks its crowded if we see three other boats float by moose camp over the ten or twelve days we are there. Me, I think it is crowded if I hike into the AB Wilderness and see three other guys that day. Back east, some may think it is crowded because when the sun comes up, they can see three other guys in tree stands less than a quarter mile away. The same goes with each persons different definition of the "Alaska Experience."
I was careful in my post to not say you would "Not see another hunter." You bring up a good point that I should have emphasized. Guys need to understand that you will most likely see other hunters, though far fewer than most other places you hunt. If you have your own plane and know a lot about where to go, you might get away from everyone. I have went through some rather complicated logistics in my Alaska hunts, and have yet to have a hunt where I did NOT see another hunter.
I have hunted the Cantwell area, and have flown and floated to more remote areas. The level of hunting traffic is very different. Not saying you can't have a great successful hunt in areas like Cantwell, I just think it is harder for the non-resident to do it; to come prepared with all the transportation equipment you see locals using there. And the pressure they would experience is probably higher than what they want if they go through all the logistics of a hunt like this.
Like the Alaska Experience, each has their own definition of "On Your Own" hunting. I booked a flight with an air taxi for bear hunts, and I think I did that scouting on my own - both from my desk, and once I got there. Transporters are not allowed to scout for you, unless they are also a licensed guide. They go out of their way to make it very clear that they are only transporting. If some feel that hiring a transporter is not "On Your Own" hunting, fine with me.
Agreed. Your comments here cause me think harder to make sure we do that and that we put ourselves in the shoes of the average viewer who dreams of this idea, but currently feels it is impossible for them. Trying to do that by showing guys there are a lot of other options for AK moose, besides buying Powerball tickets.
