40 Mile Air vs Ram Aviation?

[ddavis_1313]

Wife and I just got home from a float moose hunt. Was a great trip, but, crowded river considering what we were told.

That being said, our first kid is on the way and due in January. My wife has been my hunting partner for 10 years. She killed a bull with Ram in 2022. I could have but didn’t. Bears were terrible. We lost all of her meat in less than 2 days and she had strep throat so I opted to have us get pulled out.

She already told me to book a hunt if I want to go back. If she can go, great. If not, I’ll go solo or try to find someone that wants to go.

Ram Aviation was first class all the way and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. That being said, the scenery isn’t so great. I mean, they do call it Barren Ground for a reason. lol

I’d love to hunt the 40 mile herd but from what I’ve gathered either fly with 40 mile or don’t do it. (That was in reference with another transporter there)

Just wondering if any has hunted with 40 mile or has hunted that herd. If anyone has some other insight on drop hunts that they want to share via pm I’d muchly appreciate it.

Also, if anyone has a hunt booked with 40 mile air and needs another hunter, I’m more than competent and capable.


Thanks!


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[ddavis_1313]

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[timekiller13]

Others may chime in, but the last I heard is 40 mile Air wasn’t taking any new customers. Returning customers only and they have such a long list of returning clientele that I think you are going to have get willed a spot to get in with them.

 

[VernAK]

Others may chime in, but the last I heard is 40 mile Air wasn’t taking any new customers. Returning customers only and they have such a long list of returning clientele that I think you are going to have get willed a spot to get in with the

I think I'm reading your OP correctly....you just returned from a moose hunt but want to book a caribou hunt. Is that correct?

Timekiller about sums it up for booking with 40 MIle Air.....both caribou and moose.

Here's my random before coffee thoughts on the situation in the 40 Mile Country:

40MA guys are my friends and I've flown with them for decades.......the best out there IMO!

Last winter was mild compared to the past 2-3 winters and the ungulates were fatter and trophy quality better. Let's hope for another mild winter.

Predation is excessive and wolf control measures will begin next spring. The wolf packs are huge. The moose herd seems to be lacking in young replacement stock.

The 40 Mile Caribou Herd is managed by an international coalition [Alaska & Yukon Territory]. A meeting is planned for this winter, and I'll try to update after we complete the meetings.

Currently the herd is about 30K head but winter snows and predation are facing us.

Biologists will soon capture and weigh some of this year's calves. I suspect the results will be favorable as birth weights were the highest in several years.

 

[Tmcgarrigle]

I hunted with Ram in 2019 and had nothing but good things to say about the trip. I'd book another trip with them in a heartbeat if I want to do another caribou hunt in that area. I'm just kicking around different places for my next caribou hunt

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Well Ram brought planes to the Interior this year due to weather and conditions out of Kotz. They created a displacement of over 150 caribou hunters into areas already full by other air services who also moved in to new areas (traditional use areas for many other outfits). It was a shit show for many hunters as a result. I would expect they'll have a more difficult time doing this shift of services next year, but time will tell.

The Interior experience and game populations cannot support Ram's high intensity volumes, so I hope that improves.

 

[william schmaltz]

If I had one caribou trip to do, I would shoot for 40MA; granted by some miracle I could actually get on the books. I gravitate towards companies that are near impossible to get in with b/c return clients flood the books.

GMU23 is going to draw for NR starting next year. 40 Mile Zone 2 closed early this year b/c it hit quota and quotas are steadily dropping (who knows what they will be next year.) Ram unfortunately got on the Go Hunt/Huntin Fool spray and pray make hay while the sunshines hunter saturation the last couple years, and I have a hard time trusting companies once they go down that road. Maybe the limited NR tags in 23 will help with what appears to be wild overbooking from the outside looking in.

 

[ddavis_1313]

If I had one caribou trip to do, I would shoot for 40MA; granted by some miracle I could actually get on the books. I gravitate towards companies that are near impossible to get in with b/c return clients flood the books.

GMU23 is going to draw for NR starting next year. 40 Mile Zone 2 closed early this year b/c it hit quota and quotas are steadily dropping (who knows what they will be next year.) Ram unfortunately got on the Go Hunt/Huntin Fool spray and pray make hay while the sunshines hunter saturation the last couple years, and I have a hard time trusting companies once they go down that road. Maybe the limited NR tags in 23 will help with what appears to be wild overbooking from the outside looking in.

GMU23 was already mostly closed due to them shutting down federal lands. We dealt with that in 2022. Complete BS reasoning for closing it for caribou. I sat in and listened to the meeting they had…. The only thing left was the state land. I’m m suspecting that going to draw is piggybacking off that closure.

I wasn’t aware that Ram was running a high number of hunters. When we hunted in 2022 they were one of the lower number of hunters in Kotz. Maybe 60-65 for the entire season for caribou.


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[Dexter Grayson]

If you can get in with 40 mile you won’t be disappointed! Scenery and trophy quality of the 40 mile area are unmatched.