2022 Haul Road Caribou Hunt. Who is going????

[SKIHUNTFISH]

I'll be there! 8/9th-16th

Will you be hunting those days or is that from fly in to fly out of AK? Our truck rental is from Sep 1 to Sep 9. So we will only really hunt a max of 7 days I would imagine.

 

[jdvanstar]

Will you be hunting those days or is that from fly in to fly out of AK? Our truck rental is from Sep 1 to Sep 9. So we will only really hunt a max of 7 days I would imagine.

I'll be getting in on the 4th of August and hanging around in the south for a few days (checking things out in the Kenai area for a while). Driving up thru FB and then headed to hunt 8th-16th

 

[Jeffweaver4]

We did this hunt in 2021, if you plan on bow hunting my best advise is to still pack in 2-3 miles. The caribou were a lot less skittish the further from the road you got. You will have no other hunters to deal with either. We would just kneel down and they would circle us at 70ish yards often.

As for optics I used my 10x42 swaro’s a 65mm spotter will be money if your packing it around.

I took this picture while hauling meat back to the RV, they were around the 70 yards mark from us. We went the first two weeks of September and had a good time, most of the decent bulls were all out of velvet

 

[SKIHUNTFISH]

View attachment 367783We did this hunt in 2021, if you plan on bow hunting my best advise is to still pack in 2-3 miles. The caribou were a lot less skittish the further from the road you got. You will have no other hunters to deal with either. We would just kneel down and they would circle us at 70ish yards often.

As for optics I used my 10x42 swaro’s a 65mm spotter will be money if your packing it around.

I took this picture while hauling meat back to the RV, they were around the 70 yards mark from us. We went the first two weeks of September and had a good time, most of the decent bulls were all out of velvet

That is an awesome photo... Did you guys walk in to the 2-3 mile mark each day or did you spike camp out there?

 

[Jeffweaver4]

That is an awesome photo... Did you guys walk in to the 2-3 mile mark each day or did you spike camp out there?

We used rifles so we actually camped 6 miles in from the haul road. From the 2+ mile mark the caribou got a lot less weary. When I go again I’ll bring the bow and spike camp in 3 miles from the hwy. parking along the road can be a pain at times, the banks are pretty steep (10-15’) so just pulling off it can be hard at times.

 

[SKIHUNTFISH]

We used rifles so we actually camped 6 miles in from the haul road. From the 2+ mile mark the caribou got a lot less weary. When I go again I’ll bring the bow and spike camp in 3 miles from the hwy. parking along the road can be a pain at times, the banks are pretty steep (10-15’) so just pulling off it can be hard at times.

Got it. Thanks for the advise.

 

[jdvanstar]

View attachment 367783We did this hunt in 2021, if you plan on bow hunting my best advise is to still pack in 2-3 miles. The caribou were a lot less skittish the further from the road you got. You will have no other hunters to deal with either. We would just kneel down and they would circle us at 70ish yards often.

As for optics I used my 10x42 swaro’s a 65mm spotter will be money if your packing it around.

I took this picture while hauling meat back to the RV, they were around the 70 yards mark from us. We went the first two weeks of September and had a good time, most of the decent bulls were all out of velvet

Great pic!

I've heard hiking is tough - did it take you a while to get back in that far?

 

[Jeffweaver4]

Great pic!

I've heard hiking is tough - did it take you a while to get back in that far?

Yeah it took about an hour a mile maybe a little more. It was really wet where we went in at so going around ponds took some time

 

[AFSmude]

I will be heading up there with a couple young bucks to do my heavy hauling... We haven't picked dates yet, but I'm leaning towards the last week of August into the first week of Sept. We will be bow hunting.

 

[Brentreese]

We used rifles so we actually camped 6 miles in from the haul road. From the 2+ mile mark the caribou got a lot less weary. When I go again I’ll bring the bow and spike camp in 3 miles from the hwy. parking along the road can be a pain at times, the banks are pretty steep (10-15’) so just pulling off it can be hard at times.

How is camping out on the tundra? The haul road is on my 2-3 year plan. Is it remotely possible to hike in past the 5 mile mark and back to the truck daily? (I'm a rifle only guy) Or is that just a crazy plan?

 

[Jeffweaver4]

It’s possible to do it, but it takes some time getting back to the 5 mile mark with the ponds and creeks you have to cross and go around. Even with an empty pack it’s still a pain, but i don’t see why it can’t be done.

Camping out in the tundra was pretty awesome. It’s very comfortable as long as you find a high ish spot to camp out on. Stand in a spot for a couple minutes and if you’re feet aren’t in water pitch a tent. I would 100% camp out in the tundra again rather then take that hike back and forth in the same day.

 

[BowMan86]

It’s is possible to hike out and back in a day. Just plan to hike out very early and getting back pretty late. I have done this hunt a few times over the past few years and have been successful each time hiking out past the 5 mile zone. It’s actually not that bad with an empty pack. We have made it out that far in about 3 hours (one way) with empty packs. It’s when they are full that it turns into a 5-7 hour deal one way. And I can promise you it will be the worse terrain you have walked on. Also know that if you kill a caribou out there it will turn into a 2-3 time round trip deal. We always pack a camp out there and stay a few days but that severely limits the amount of meat you can take out on your first trip back. It’s a great trip and really fun to look back on, but the tundra can make it miserable at times.

 

[Clarktar]

Myself and @S.Clancy will be in that hood come late August!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Behlftball]

It’s is possible to hike out and back in a day. Just plan to hike out very early and getting back pretty late. I have done this hunt a few times over the past few years and have been successful each time hiking out past the 5 mile zone. It’s actually not that bad with an empty pack. We have made it out that far in about 3 hours (one way) with empty packs. It’s when they are full that it turns into a 5-7 hour deal one way. And I can promise you it will be the worse terrain you have walked on. Also know that if you kill a caribou out there it will turn into a 2-3 time round trip deal. We always pack a camp out there and stay a few days but that severely limits the amount of meat you can take out on your first trip back. It’s a great trip and really fun to look back on, but the tundra can make it miserable at times.

Interesting. This is the first thread I've heard of people doing the hike in and out in a day.

 

[Rural Alaskan]

Is the Haul Rd the porcupine herd? How do they compare to the Nelchina herd?

 

[Confluentus]

The porcupine herd has been coming within striking range of the haul road in recent years, however most of the caribou in that area are Central Arctic herd.

They do not typically seem to develop the size and mass that caribou in the the Nelchina or 40mile herds are capable of.

 

[Rural Alaskan]

The porcupine herd has been coming within striking range of the haul road in recent years, however most of the caribou in that area are Central Arctic herd.

They do not typically seem to develop the size and mass that caribou in the the Nelchina or 40mile herds are capable of.

Thanks.

 

[BowMan86]

Interesting. This is the first thread I've heard of people doing the hike in and out in a day.

Sorry, that may have come out wrong. I have never went out and back on the same day to hunt. All of my out and back trips have been to recover meat or gear that was left out there after a successful hunt. I have always packed gear to stay out there a few days and then take a few days packing out meat and gear. I have actually made it out and back in a little over 6 hours (empty packs in and only about 30 lbs each coming out with the rest of our gear we left out there). I do however think you could go out with an empty pack early in the morning, shoot a caribou, and make it back by dark. You would just have to make additional trips for the rest of your meat.

 

[Behlftball]

How much do you have to worry about grizzlies? Does everyone carry a sidearm?

 

[Rural Alaskan]

How much do you have to worry about grizzlies? Does everyone carry a sidearm?

Can’t speak for everyone, but I hunt the Copper Valley and I always carry a Glock 20. Used to carry a 4” Redhawk 45 colt with 365 gr hard cast, loaded with 19.1 grains of H110 but it’s so dadgum heavy that I’m trying to sell it for hunting gear.