First Time AK DIY Hunt Looking for some Advice

[AvidIndoorsman]

First off I know that there are a ton of posts on this forum that are "I don't want your honey hole, but honestly I want your honey hole" I absolutely don't want this to be one of those posts.

I'm 30 next year and my wife and I are thinking about starting a family, I fell in love with Alaska on a family when I was in high school and have been wanting to go back to hunt for years, I know that once you have kids your priorities change and it's easy to make excuses and put things off indefinitely.

I don't want to fall into that trap and want to figure out the logistics of Alaska now so I can do additional trips throughout my life.

For this first trip I don't really care what I hunt caribou, moose, black bear, ect. and I'm not worried about being successful I just want to get out there and make it happen. I think I can do 10 days, I want to do it totally DIY, most likely solo since I don't have anyone I feel comfortable taking with me on a trip like this. Preference to fly in drop off and then get picked up, although open to all recommendations. (I have considered floats but I have done a ton of river trips and I know that a solo trip on a river is way more likely to get western and requires more gear rental/logistics. Looking to keep it under 5K.

I have hunted MT, ID, CO, and WY in all kinds of crappy weather so I think my gear situation is pretty good. I also have a buddy in Anchorage that I can send stuff to and who can ship things back to me. I've done black bear, antelope, mule deer, and elk hunts completely Solo so I'm comfortable breaking down and packing out an animal by myself.

Looking for species recommendations, advice on time of year, logistics info eg. (fly into McGrath commercial because bush planes can get screwed if the weather turns), make sure you absolutely have xyz gear, sat phone a must? Why one region of Alaska is better than others.

Really appreciate any advice, trying to figure out what I don't know about this process.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long winded question.

 

[npaden]

Way over simplification coming, not trying to step on anyone's toes here, but to me a black bear hunt in Alaska is like a pronghorn hunt in Wyoming. A great easy starter hunt for someone just looking to get their feet wet.

I was shocked at how easy the logistics were and how relatively inexpensive it was. It does get you started on seeing some of the differences with Alaska with potential for wet weather and that the vegetation can be a different kind of thick in the temperate part of the state, etc.

You can make that hunt as remote as you want with something like Randy Newberg did on his first one getting dropped off at a forest service cabin on a float plane all the way to staying at a bed and breakfast or something like that on Prince of Wales Island. Lots of options.

I'm planning on a caribou or moose trip at some point in the future and that seems a lot more daunting, mainly from a logistical perspective. Working with a transporter and all that stuff and having to make the plans over a year in advance to get someone with a good reputation is hard for me to do. At some point I just need to make a decision and pull the trigger on it.

 

[Gary]

Number one - a lot of transporters (air taxis) will NOT drop off a solo hunter. Some will, but be sure to make sure before you commit a deposit (I'd want it in writing from the transporter, before sending any money). You'd be better off to find a partner, for safety reasons alone.
Are you figuring on spending $5K after you get here or does that include transport to AK too? You might consider adding Sitka blacktail (Kodiak) to your list, too. Caribou would be a "cheaper" hunt than would be moose and you MIGHT have a few bucks left after returning to the air taxi's office.
I consider a sat phone to be "must have" equipment for any trip involving a remote drop off - crap happens and waiting days for a plane to come pick you up can be a life or death experience.
You say you're comfortable breaking down and packing an animal out by yourself. Have you researched the size of our moose? A large bull can have hind quarters that weigh in excess of 170 lbs apiece. Add in the front quarters and another couple of pack loads of neck, brisket and back straps and you're looking at moving a LOT of meat. Add the rack (and possibly the cape) on the last loads and you've got a weeks worth of work ahead of you. I'm not saying it can't be done, just saying you have to plan things out and allow yourself enough time to do it. In many areas, you can't bone out meat to retrieve it - quarters and ribs have to be brought out on the bone. There is no way I'd recommend anyone do a moose hunt by themselves, without access to equipment (like a 4 wheeler).
I would recommend you concentrate on either a caribou hunt or Kodiak deer hunt. Both can be done inside your price range. Caribou - fly into Fairbanks and find an air taxi from there. Kodiak - fly to Anchorage, fly to Kodiak (under $300 r/t) and take air taxi from there. There are a number of transporters in The FBX area that can put you in caribou country (Golden Eagle and 40 Mile come to mind) but they tend to book early. On Kodiak two of the better known transporters are Andrew Air and Seahawk. I've flown with Andrew quite a few times and am very pleased with the service.
Hope this helps, good luck on your hunt.

 

[Bambistew]

Look for a couple books. "Hunt Alaska Now" and "Hunting in Alaska." Both are a bit dated as far as animal populations but have a wealth of information in them on ligistics, animals, areas, techniques, etc.

 

[deer_shooter]

Another option for Kodiak is a lodge hunt. You still hunt on you own, get your deer out, etc. I did it last year and had a fun hunt and was well within your budget. The lodge I stayed at had no issue with a solo hunter.

 

[cedahm]

I haven't hunted AK outside of throwing rocks @ ptarmigan (surprisingly effective), but I've been on 10 DIY float fish trips there - so have plenty of logistics experience:

- Fly commercial to the closest airport you can to your ultimate hunting destination. For me personally, this has been AKN (King Salmon) or BET (Bethel). You want a relatively short float plane trip (an hour or so is a good marker) so that, even in weather, you're still able to pretty quickly get in or out when it (eventually) breaks. A good number of the towns of any size in Alaska are served commercially by Alaska Air and their subsidiaries (PenAir, et al) from ANC (and to some degree from Fairbanks). As Gary notes, Usually you can fly RT from ANC for a few hundred bucks to just about anywhere in the state.

- We always planned an overnight in ANC on the way in (to deal with re-packing for the river, picking up odds and ends, etc) and a night in our 'base town' on the way back (for the same reasons, just in reverse). Usually had most of a day in ANC on the way out (most ANC->lower48 flights leave late at night). Anchorage has about everything you could need (and is a great city in it's own right), so it's nice to have a supply stop on the way in and good food/drinks/touch-of-civilization on the way out. The extra day or two also allows for some number of things to get sideways and still be able to deal with it.

- SatPhone became required equipment the year my wife was pregnant with our son and has been ever since. They are relatively inexpensive as long as you don't use it to chat all the time. We turn ours on at a specified time each evening and check messages/Voicemail, and then designate one or two nights mid-trip to call home at a set time. Also came in handy on our 2015 trip as some semi-local guys busted their jet boat trying to get up the (basically un-navigable) middle river, and were able to borrow our phone to get help (and now we have an open invitation to go fish with those guys). We have rented the phones from a local place in Anchorage since we usually have most of a full day on either side of the trip and pickup/dropoff is easy, but they will Fedex the phone to you or the outfitter if need be.

Thankfully, we've never had to use it for emergency, but on two separate occasions we were able to call the float planes in to the takeout early to beat some weather. That may have saved us a day or three.

- We ship some some stuff ahead of time to the float plane guys. Dry food, miscellaneous gear, but most of our stuff gets checked on the airline to ANC. Some people trust the airlines more than others (I fly >150K butt-in-seat miles per year on commercial airlines, so I am pretty trusting). While float fishing, we never had to deal with meat coming home (some fresh salmon a few times that was easily fit into checked bags). If you have meat on the way home, you can ship your gear and clothing back and use your baggage allowance on the commercial airlines for meat boxes/coolers.

 

[mixedbag]

Think twice before doing moose on a solo hunt,seriously.I would also NEVER go solo on any fly in hunt.If your set on solo do a Kodiak or POW bear or deer hunt.Blacktail meat is hard to beat.I've done 3 diy hunts in Alaska,deer,caribou and moose.Animal densities are NOT what most people think,esp.moose.A satellite phone is a necessity and I think most transporters require you to have them.You can't waste any meat and I mean ANY.I had game wardens fly down on me at my moose kill and they were ready to write me up a HUGE ticket for 2 fist size pieces of blood shot meat.Keep that in mind if your going alone.Breaking down a moose is one he'll of a job with 2 guys.They also love to die in knee to waist deep water if there's any close by.I couldn't imagine dealing with that alone.Caribou is a really fun hunt but your a 100 miles from help and in thick grizzly country.Alot of things can happen and I think your making a BIG error in judgement wanting to go solo

 

[mdhunter61]

If I were doing Alaska DIY for the first time I would do black bear off the road system if you're set on going alone, caribou if you are set on fly-in (as Gary already said, lots of reputable air taxis won't drop a solo hunter, especially if you haven't done wilderness Alaska yet). Feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like more logistical info, I've done remote AK hunt about a dozen times, it's a great adventure every time. Have found some great hunt partners from this site!

 

[mixedbag]

get ahold of this guy^^^^.You'll get a real good introduction into remote hunting with Mike.He has a great pack list and comfortable camp.I learned alot on our caribou hunt together.I wouldn't recommend starting out with moose

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Guys I really appreciate all the advice so far after reading your comments I have a couple of clarifications and questions.

I don't really want to go solo, I've just had a hell of a time finding a reliable hunting partner. I have some good friends who I could talk into the endeavour but I know the stakes are different in a fly in trip and I don't want to have to be someone's guide and/or worried that they are going to show up prepared. Finding someone that is dependable, prepared, and experience has been a tall order,. I I'm an adult onset hunter and therefore I don't have buddies from childhood.

I would love to do a moose but I know what's involved at least theoretically and had pretty much crossed that off the list. Deer, caribou and bb seem like the best bet.

While I love the POW episodes that both Randy and Steven have done I don't think I want to do a coastal hunt right off the bat. Also I think to do it next year I would have had to applied already???

I think my preference would be to do a blueberry bear hunt per meateater... simply because that's the kinda habitat I'm interested in hunting. I know there are critters everywhere in Alaska but can you access that type of area from a road?

I don't have a woodland v. barren ground caribou preference, would a woodland be a better hunt for a first timer?

I had an alaskan guide say they like inreach more than a sat phone any opinions?

Again thank you for taking the time to educate a neophyte.

 

[mdhunter61]

You could hunt black bear form the road system no problem, quite a few places on the road system that have good bear habitat - Kenai Peninsula, Eureka, Talkeetna, Denali Highway are all road accessible, especially if you're willing to spot from near the road and hike after a bear if you see one.

I'm not aware of woodland caribou in Alaska, although I'm not an expert. Pretty sure most of the ones I've hunted are barren ground.

I always get a sat phone; I think Inreach lets you text updates to people, but I prefer the ability to call and talk when I need to talk to someone.

I'm doing a moose/caribou combo hunt with a buddy this fall. I may have an opening for a partner on a future hunt, but may have 2 future hunts already lined up with previous hunt partners.

Keep doing your research and keep checking this site, I got 3 awesome Alaska hunt partners here.

Michael

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Yeah I'm an idiot I didn't mean woodland like boreal caribou I meant... areas with a local herd or rather than trying to hunt the big migrating herds. So yes all barren ground.

 

[mixedbag]

You don't need to draw a tag where 40 mile flys unless something has changed in last 3 years.I used them on a caribou hunt and they were excellent.When I think Alaska hunting,I think of flying in cubs or beavers.I wouldn't know where to start with road hunt
Good luck on your hunt.I am so glad I did my 3 trips there.A few less things I would say I wish I did when my time runs out

 

[Gary]

Guys I really appreciate all the advice so far after reading your comments I have a couple of clarifications and questions.

I don't really want to go solo, I've just had a hell of a time finding a reliable hunting partner. I have some good friends who I could talk into the endeavour but I know the stakes are different in a fly in trip and I don't want to have to be someone's guide and/or worried that they are going to show up prepared. Finding someone that is dependable, prepared, and experience has been a tall order,. I I'm an adult onset hunter and therefore I don't have buddies from childhood.

I would love to do a moose but I know what's involved at least theoretically and had pretty much crossed that off the list. Deer, caribou and bb seem like the best bet.

While I love the POW episodes that both Randy and Steven have done I don't think I want to do a coastal hunt right off the bat. Also I think to do it next year I would have had to applied already???

I think my preference would be to do a blueberry bear hunt per meateater... simply because that's the kinda habitat I'm interested in hunting. I know there are critters everywhere in Alaska but can you access that type of area from a road?

I don't have a woodland v. barren ground caribou preference, would a woodland be a better hunt for a first timer?

I had an alaskan guide say they like inreach more than a sat phone any opinions?

Again thank you for taking the time to educate a neophyte.

A road hunt for blackies is very doable and relatively cheap. Fly to ANC, rent a vehicle (if you bring camping equipment lots of hunters and fishermen are renting a van from UHAUL - cheap RV). Head south on the Seward Hwy. Lots of pull-offs to glass from and parts of the highway are a bear rich environment (during berry season). You could even leave the vehicle parked and hike off the highway and camp out a night or two. If you decide on this route, pm me and we can get into more detail.
ALL of our caribou migrate, to a greater or lesser extent. I believe all caribou that are road accessible are permitted hunts, reserved to AK residents. If you go for caribou, you need to start lining up a transporter now (for a 2018 hunt). If you decide on a Kodiak deer hunt you could wait until next year to do that or still get it done this year. A road based black bear hunt could be done within a couple weeks from when you decide to do it.
Sat phones typically rent for about $75/week with a $1-$2/per minute use charge. I wouldn't give out the sat phone #, as incoming calls can run OVER $15/minute. It all depends on the phone provider's service.
You should check out the AKDF&G website. New hunting regs will be out soon. The regulatory year is July1 thru June 30. There has been a lot of talk lately of requiring a nonresident to be guided for caribou in certain GMU's. Also seasons have been shortened and bag limits reduced in some areas. Changes are coming.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I used to rent a sat phone @$75 per week ( I hunt /fish solo quite a bit).

Now I use an InReach @ $12 per month I can text my wife and she can also see my exact
location through a private facebook posting anytime she wants. Plus there is a SOS button
if I get into trouble. 2 things I always carry even on local hikes/cross country skiing, canoing: bears spray, InReach.

One thing I have not seen mentioned in this thread is that most good air transporters
have a big demand and limited supply so they are typically booked with clients about
the October/November prior to the next fall (Augut-Oct season).

So if I was planning a hunt for fall 2018, I would get my deposit to the chosen
air transporter as soon as they are accepting deposits in late fall 2017.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I think I might be buying an InReach for hunting in general and then renting a Sat phone $75 seems well worth it. I talked with a buddy who lives there and it seems like for NR caribou you really need to fly, which is what I would rather do anyway for the experience. That said I found a few driving options that are registration hunts and I was wondering if any NR had done one and if it was something they would try again? Another thing I was trying to gauge is what people mean by crowded with regard to Alaska. I have been told by a couple of people that I might not want to drive to hunting spots because of hunter pressure... I can't imagine that 3 hours outside of Fairbanks a town with only 30,000 residents, hiking 3-4 miles from the road I would be see anyone?? I consider crowded the bridgers in Bozeman on opening day where I glassed up 18 dudes in a 2-3 square mile area, or elk hunting CO where you get to a trail head and have to park a mile down because of the line of trailers. Do Alaskans get bummed out when they roll up to trail and there is another car or should I legitimately be worried about having animals I'm staking get bumped from other guys who are also sneaking in on them? Just trying to set my expectations appropriately.

 

[Gary]

duplicate posts and I'm blaming it on the computer. I HATE windows 10.

 

[Gary]

Not sure where your info is coming from, but the Fairbanks/Northstar Borough has a population of over 90K. The registration caribou hunts also draw people from all over the road system (over 75% of the states population). Also a lot of 4 wheelers and snowmachines running all over. Every year sees more people wearing blaze orange for safety considerations. If you're serious about a caribou hunt, start looking for a unit that will be open to nonresidents in 2018. I wouldn't send anybody a deposit until your sure the area will be open and I wouldn't take the word of someone who stood to profit whether he was right or wrong.
In addition to checking F&G's website, here is another good resource for AK hunting;
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forumdisplay.php/2-Alaska-Hunting
There are a couple of discussions on caribou hunt/season/guide requirements on there now.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Sorry Gary I used wikipedia and failed... thanks for the web resources

 

[Bambistew]

Those registration hunts can be a chit show. Not a lot of East caribou hunts for residents, so those tags get hunted hard, and the quota can be filled quick and the hunt canceled just as fast. As Gary mentioned, fly out for better chances.

3 hour drive gets you to where all the people start hunting.

As far as pressure, of you get off the road 2-3 miles, and away from the ATV trails you'll have a lot of country pretty much to yourself. Problem is it may be void of wildlife... or not.