2020 Golden Eagle outfitter Report

[j3butch]

I‘m researching our first AK caribou hunt and after scouring the posts on here I‘m leaning towards Golden Eagle early September. I’m trying to get the most up to date recomendations I can so hopefully I can hear from those of you that went this past fall. That said I’ll take any info on them along with budget. We will be flying from CO and I’d prefer to bring back my meat frozen in whole muscles opposed to getting it processed. I had a good combo moose woodland caribou hunt in Newfoundland but was not thrilled with the processor so do not want to go down that road again.

Thanks you Rokslide community for all the information I’ve gotten so far.

 

[Josh86]

I‘m researching our first AK caribou hunt and after scouring the posts on here I‘m leaning towards Golden Eagle early September. I’m trying to get the most up to date recomendations I can so hopefully I can hear from those of you that went this past fall. That said I’ll take any info on them along with budget. We will be flying from CO and I’d prefer to bring back my meat frozen in whole muscles opposed to getting it processed. I had a good combo moose woodland caribou hunt in Newfoundland but was not thrilled with the processor so do not want to go down that road again.

Thanks you Rokslide community for all the information I’ve gotten so far.

Search "Unit 23 Success" and you see pictures from my trip with Golden Eagle. I highly recommend them.

 

[j3butch]

After researching some more we've decided to go with Ram Aviation. I have no doubt Golden Eagle would have been great as well. Another question though even though I'm not getting any traction on my post LOL

I'm looking for recommendations on a place to stay in Kotz for our first night and after the hunt.
I very much appreciate the help

 

[Josh86]

We stayed at Sunny Willow AirBnb the owner is great and you have all the amenities of a full house at the same price as the other rooms in town.

 

[Uintah]

After researching some more we've decided to go with Ram Aviation. I have no doubt Golden Eagle would have been great as well. Another question though even though I'm not getting any traction on my post LOL

I'm looking for recommendations on a place to stay in Kotz for our first night and after the hunt.
I very much appreciate the help

Hey J3butch, just out of curiosity, what gave Ram the edge? Why did you ultimately decide to book with them? I also have a caribou drop hunt booked through Ram in 2021 and have several reasons why I chose them. But, I'm curious what your reasons are?

 

[j3butch]

Hey J3butch, just out of curiosity, what gave Ram the edge? Why did you ultimately decide to book with them? I also have a caribou drop hunt booked through Ram in 2021 and have several reasons why I chose them. But, I'm curious what your reasons are?

Several factors-but again, I would have been comfortable choosing Golden Eagle. Since this is our first DIY I knew I would have a bunch of questions and Bryan has been responsive and helpful so far. I liked that RAM was hunting only and sounds like he can get hunters into more varied terrain than Golden Eagle. RAM is more expensive for sure though but you also get 125lbs gear. In the end it was a toss up and RAM had dates that worked for us-I also liked that they had an active Instagram account-it doesn't hurt that Donnie Vincent uses them as well as Iron Will outfitters.

 

[mooster]

After researching some more we've decided to go with Ram Aviation. I have no doubt Golden Eagle would have been great as well. Another question though even though I'm not getting any traction on my post LOL

I'm looking for recommendations on a place to stay in Kotz for our first night and after the hunt.
I very much appreciate the help

Bieber’s Bnb is good. Nice great room for guys to hang out and watch football. Two kitchens to use. Owners very friendly.

 

[Jboogg]

Hey J3butch, just out of curiosity, what gave Ram the edge? Why did you ultimately decide to book with them? I also have a caribou drop hunt booked through Ram in 2021 and have several reasons why I chose them. But, I'm curious what your reasons are?

Hi @Uintah can I ask why you decided to go with Ram Aviation? I’m looking to do a Caribou hunt with some buddies in 2022 and Ram is on my list of outfitters. Just curious if you could share why you are booking through them?

 

[Uintah]

Hi @Uintah can I ask why you decided to go with Ram Aviation? I’m looking to do a Caribou hunt with some buddies in 2022 and Ram is on my list of outfitters. Just curious if you could share why you are booking through them?

Hey Jboogg,

Sure! I did a ton of research and looking into different options and ultimately settled on Ram for several reasons:

1 - Local knowledge - Brian is born and raised in Alaska and knows his stuff
2 - Price - Not the cheapest but not the most expensive either
3 - Accommodations - Ram offers camp package rentals if you want
4 - Brian himself - I met Brian in person at the hunt expo in Salt Lake City he was friendly and easy to talk to, answered all my questions and all of my follow up questions and all the followups to my followups! He was a very helpful, outstanding guy.
5 - Customer testimonials - Authentic experiences and opinions. At the hunt expo, there were several guys coming and going that were talking about Ram and the previous years results and how Brian delivered. There were also several guys wishing they had booked with Ram but hadn't and were disappointed so were looking to book for 2020 or 2021.
6 - I also like that Ram isn't flashy. Meaning, I respect a company that doesn't have to spend tons and tons of money marketing it's brains out. Business is earned quietly based on reputation, results and repeat customers rather than flashy marketing.

 

[mcseal2]

I went with Golden Eagle this year. I will go with them again.

They are really busy during caribou season and don't have a ton of time for questions or helping you. It's in your best interest to be self sufficient and organized. Try to get your questions asked months early when they aren't as busy if possible. I would imagine this holds true to a lot of transporters and outfitters anywhere, it has on both my Alaska hunts. In my experience the easier you can make the transporter's life, the better they can make your hunt.

 

[Nick Muche]

" In my experience the easier you can make the transporter's life, the better they can make your hunt."

Read that, and then read it again, and again and again. Be organized, be ready, be as self sufficient as possible and have your gear packed neat and tidy.

 

[mcseal2]

I'm recording a podcast on our caribou hunt with Jordan tonight, I'll be sure to bring this up.

 

[VernAK]

Read that, and then read it again, and again and again. Be organized, be ready, be as self sufficient as possible and have your gear packed neat and tidy.

and again

 

[JakeMcCandles]

We used Golden Eagle for a September caribou hunt this year, and I'd use them again. They flew our group of three out in 2 Cessna 206s, and actually were able to fly us out to the field a day early. I liked that they showed some flexibility.

Both planes were in great shape. I'm sure that is probably the case with most transporters, but I was impressed.

Jared at Golden Eagle stayed in touch really well while we were out in the field. We texted by Garmin inReach and I gave a weather report each morning. He always acknowledged. On the day we were set to fly out, he was in touch about weather, etc. Overall, I always felt like he was paying attention and responsive.

The hangar was super convenient, located a block away from the Kotzebue commercial terminal. It worked well to leave our "town" stuff there when we flew out, and when we flew back, they had a place for us to process meat. They also had meat and antler boxes available.

Candidly, it took me some time to get my head around the difference between a transporter and a guide/outfitter. These guys are there to get you out to the field and back safely, ideally in a good spot for the caribou migration. They have a bunch of other clients and schedules they are trying to handle at the same time, so they aren't going to spend a lot of time hanging out or being more social like you would see with a guide.

I'll echo what mcseal2 said above. Being well prepared, self sufficient and ready to go when you hit the ground makes a big difference.

 

[JakeMcCandles]

After researching some more we've decided to go with Ram Aviation. I have no doubt Golden Eagle would have been great as well. Another question though even though I'm not getting any traction on my post LOL

I'm looking for recommendations on a place to stay in Kotz for our first night and after the hunt.
I very much appreciate the help

We stayed at Sunny Willow B&B. It's a guy's house, so basically an AirB&B situation. I'd definitely recommend it.

Skip the hotel - when we were there, they were using one floor for COVID quarantine, so it was never a consideration, but after seeing it and the cost, I'd definitely look at other options.

Bibber's B&B was right across the street from Sunny Willow. Never went in, but it looked more like a motel. Definitely saw a lot of camo going in and out of the door (note: don't do that. take non-camo clothes for town). In doing our research, we saw mixed reviews of Bibber's.

 

[j3butch]

We stayed at Sunny Willow B&B. It's a guy's house, so basically an AirB&B situation. I'd definitely recommend it.

Skip the hotel - when we were there, they were using one floor for COVID quarantine, so it was never a consideration, but after seeing it and the cost, I'd definitely look at other options.

Bibber's B&B was right across the street from Sunny Willow. Never went in, but it looked more like a motel. Definitely saw a lot of camo going in and out of the door (note: don't do that. take non-camo clothes for town). In doing our research, we saw mixed reviews of Bibber's.

Thanks. I booked with Joe at Sunny Willow. He’s been great with all my questions. He said he had a big table on the deck we can hopefully use for processing our meat if we tag out. What did you use for freezer? Does he have one?

 

[Horby]

Thank you for the information. It may seem small but all the small details are sure helping me plan this trip.

 

[bowonly]

Our group of three bow hunters used Golden Eagle for caribou hunting the first week of September in 2019. They were helpful in answering email questions before hand. The staff was very helpful and friendly before we flew out while we were there preparing in Kotz. And after we got back, as well. They all deal with a constant state of flux in flying and a lot of people who are inexperienced and not very organized, so becoming irritable and short would be very easy. I did not see any thing like that.
A couple of observations from our experience. First, we "reserved" and paid for gas stove canisters at the local hardware store thru several personal contact phone calls. A day before our arrival, we were assured they were sitting in a box by their desk waiting for us. None to be found when I went to pick them up. I got the blank look and the run around. Finally got a refund, but never a plausible explanation. All sold out in town. Because of Golden Eagle, we were able to get our hands on some partially used canisters for our hunt. Getting gas canisters in Kotz is a challenge. Second, there are a lot of caribou hunters going thru that place in the fall. While there is a lot of Alaska up there to hunt, there are just so many places to land a plane to put all those hunters from early August thru September. Especially, landing spots with caribou. Expect to be camped where a lot of other hunters have already camped and hunted that season. And bury your shit and toilet paper when you crap near your campsite!

 

[Ocnandmtns]

@bowonly We are booked w/ GE for first week of Sept ‘21 and were planning to buy camp fuel in town. That’s great they helped you out but based on your experience getting the fuel- would you do something differently next time to make sure you had it when you arrived?

also how’d you guys do with bow? I’d much rather hunt archery but would hate to hunt all week and never get an archery range shot so leaning toward rifle. Feel free to PM to keep this thread on track.

 

[mooster]

I

@bowonly We are booked w/ GE for first week of Sept ‘21 and were planning to buy camp fuel in town. That’s great they helped you out but based on your experience getting the fuel- would you do something differently next time to make sure you had it when you arrived?

also how’d you guys do with bow? I’d much rather hunt archery but would hate to hunt all week and never get an archery range shot so leaning toward rifle. Feel free to PM to keep this thread on track.

i Hunted out of Kotz with Artic air. I played with idea of bow. Thank god I chose to bring a rifle. I shot my small bou at 405 yds, last evening of last day. There was no brush nor close caribou. That said, some of the bou we did see used the same places to river cross or crest drainages, so you could hunt them that way.

If your ok with carrying a bow and going home empty, then bring it. Otherwise plan to share a rifle as plan B, or bring your own. Where we hunted we saw wheeled planes daily so Artic (floats only) and GE may use close spots.