Alaska DIY Caribou Hunt - Arctic Air

[VernAK]

Auto-load rifles are legal!

 

[Otty0914]

Auto-load rifles are legal!

Excellent, Thanks VernAK!

The rifle was her grandfathers and he passed away about 2 years ago. He always talked about hunting in Alaska because he took many cruises there but never got the opportunity to hunt there.

 

[Nick Muche]

Don't forget to leave evidence of sex on your hind quarters. That's an easy fine for troopers to hand out.

 

[Otty0914]

Don't forget to leave evidence of sex on your hind quarters. That's an easy fine for troopers to hand out.

Good call!!! I did know that one but can see how that can easily be missed.

 

[Randlhunting]

Tagged

 

[Otty0914]

We are renting our camping gear from Arctic Air so we will be limited to 80#'s of personal gear including gun ammo sleeping bag. would it be beneficial to bring a Mr. Buddy heater? I don't think it weighs much but just curious if anyone else brings something like that along to run for a little while before bed and a little while when getting ready in the morning.

 

[Ptownhunter]

I don't believe that you count your rifle and ammo in the weight your required to stay under. It's not a bad idea if you have the room.

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[MLGrace]

So I used to live in Fairbanks and was a military pilot. Even locals can struggle to find caribou. We would fly long distances without seeing a single animal and then suddenly there are several thousand caribou in view. I have chased on them on foot at times and could not catchup with entire herds. You may not get an animal. That is ok. So my advice is that you enjoy the entire experience because just being there is absolutely awesome. caribou movement is tough to judge.

 

[Ptownhunter]

We flew out of Kotzebue in 2017 and our limit was 70 lbs not counting firearms ammo and cases. But if you weighed under 180 lbs. your weight limit was 80 lbs. Unfortunately I didn't get the extra 10 lbs. It was cold at night to the point our pot of water on the stove for coffee would be frozen every morning. So a heater is a luxury where bringing it or leaving it home comes down to each person and their personal priority regarding what is needed more. Good luck with that. I switched things around right down to the last minute. You'll know exactly what you need for the next trip and conditions will change requiring different or more gear. My gear list is always changing depending on conditions, location and the prey just to name a few. I try to keep a list of things that I always take and adjust as needed. I'm trying to find a location and Outfitter now for a drop camp DIY caribou hunt next summer. I may be going alone if my buddies flake out. In that case I will change up to a 1x1 guided hunt but I'm going. Good luck.

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[Otty0914]

I don't believe that you count your rifle and ammo in the weight your required to stay under. It's not a bad idea if you have the room.

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I just looked at the paperwork again, it says 80# which is inclusive of your weapon(s) and ammo. I guess they did that because people were getting carried away with weapons going into the field.

 

[VernAK]

I just looked at the paperwork again, it says 80# which is inclusive of your weapon(s) and ammo. I guess they did that because people were getting carried away with weapons going into the field.

A great reason to buy a new lightweight rifle!

 

[Low_Sky]

would it be beneficial to bring a Mr. Buddy heater? I don't think it weighs much but just curious if anyone else brings something like that along to run for a little while before bed and a little while when getting ready in the morning.

I'd leave the Mr. Buddy at home. My friend has one that we run in his ice fishing tent and those little 1 lb green bottles don't last long. If you're seriously considering bringing something for tent heat, I'd budget more weight for stove fuel so you can heat water and store it in Nalgene bottles. One or two near-boiling Nalgenes stuffed in a thick pair of socks or wrapped in a midweight layer adds heat to a sleeping bag all night long.

 

[thewonfather]

Hello all, I stumbled upon another thread and didn't want to highjack it but I'm just looking for some advice.

I have booked a trip with Arctic Air for their DIY Caribou hunt 8/29-9/5/2020. I have never been to Alaska or hunted Caribou but have hunted and trapped the Adirondack Mountains and Tug Hill Plateau in Northern NY for many years. I will be bringing my girlfriend who has limited experience hunting but it's a bucket list trip for the both of us. We have butchered whitetails together, we are training together by rucking with our packs, going to the range to practice and we are both extremely excited but also very nervous about what we may encounter out there. Travel interruption, weather, whatever the case may be but a lot of that is out of our control. #1 the bears, I have never hunted the same turf as a grizzly bear and I have read every piece of material on bear safety and Sheila has told me in there 30+yrs of operation they have never had a problem with bears. Any of you who have hunted with them have any experiences you'd like to share?

The other thing is what would you say is the most overlooked information, item, preparation etc... that a new to Alaska hunter might miss?

I guess any tip, advice or lessons learned from your hunts I would just love to hear them.

I just got back and very disappointed. Had a 9 day hunt that Sheila cut to 7 then pulled me from the field on day 5 because of bad weather coming. That was a lie. Its in the high 60-70 degrees. They also forgot to provide a stove and water container. Once back in Kotzebue I got my belongings and noticed my brand new Kuiu bag was missing. They made no offer to replace is. I was then dropped off at a airBnB and forced to pay $150 for a room and another $350 to fly out early. While eating a police officer approached me with small talk and asked how my hunt went. I told him about going with Arctic Air and he rolled his eyes. He explained Sheila once owed Ram and had numerous complaints and legal problems. Therefore she sold and started Arctic Air. I called Sheila today to explain my concerns. She took no responsibility, made numerous excuses, got upset and hung up on me. I hunted extremely hard and passed on several animals looking for a trophy. I settled on a meat animal once knowing they were coming to get me early. My hunt was a success due to my positive attitude. I do not recommend this company due to extremely poor customer service and the theft of my personal property.

 

[mcseal2]

Very sorry for your bad experience. Thanks though for sharing it with everyone to help others avoid a similar one.

 

[Kerrbow]

I just got back and very disappointed. Had a 9 day hunt that Sheila cut to 7 then pulled me from the field on day 5 because of bad weather coming. That was a lie. Its in the high 60-70 degrees. They also forgot to provide a stove and water container. Once back in Kotzebue I got my belongings and noticed my brand new Kuiu bag was missing. They made no offer to replace is. I was then dropped off at a airBnB and forced to pay $150 for a room and another $350 to fly out early. While eating a police officer approached me with small talk and asked how my hunt went. I told him about going with Arctic Air and he rolled his eyes. He explained Sheila once owed Ram and had numerous complaints and legal problems. Therefore she sold and started Arctic Air. I called Sheila today to explain my concerns. She took no responsibility, made numerous excuses, got upset and hung up on me. I hunted extremely hard and passed on several animals looking for a trophy. I settled on a meat animal once knowing they were coming to get me early. My hunt was a success due to my positive attitude. I do not recommend this company due to extremely poor customer service and the theft of my personal property.

I would share my experience with a new post here on Rokslide and as many hunting forums as i could find to let people know exactly how your experience with Arctic Air played out. I would also notify Alaska Fish and Game and register a complaint. Hopefully your bad experience will dissuade other hunters from booking with them and maybe there air transport license can be pulled. Don't let this experience you had be blown off and keep hammering away and maybe you will get some recourse for what happened.

 

[Willie IV]

I'm glad you shared your experience. Arctic Air was a service we were considering for next year. Like another member said; I'd start a new topic so others may hear your story.

 

[thewonfather]

Very sorry for your bad experience. Thanks though for sharing it with everyone to help others avoid a similar one.

I actually had a great experience. I made the best out of the situation. I’m just disappointed Sheila takes no responsibility for her poor business ethics. She broke her contract in many different ways. My credit card company will refund the money.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Just remember that bears are scavengers, not aggressive killers of people. When you have meat in camp, bring it in close enough that bears can't sneak in and take it comfortably. Make them have to choose to cross your scent boundary to get to it...they 99.9% of the time won't even dare.

Keep it less than 100-ft (not yards) from your camp. Keep it in the open in plain view of your tent. Urinate and drop dookie bombs within 10-ft of your meat cache in the most likely spot bears will enter your camp (fairly predictable routes). Make your urine streams in the brush and vegetation so it last longer, and make a half-circle or full circle perimeter around your meat cache.

sleep well. Bears are not to be feared. Guide them to make good decisions around your camps and you'll learn to co-exist without negative encounters.

 

[Kerrbow]

I actually had a great experience. I made the best out of the situation. I’m just disappointed Sheila takes no responsibility for her poor business ethics. She broke her contract in many different ways. My credit card company will refund the money.

You are one of those "glass is half full" type of individuals. I applaud you on your success in spite of what happened to you. However deceptive business practices need to be shared, so others who are not as forgiving as you, don't get taken advantage of. As you stated there was no truth in their statement about bad weather. A lie is a lie is a lie and has evidently been a past behavior in this industry before. If you were lied to and then had gear stolen while under their control I cannot understand about having a "great experience". Please reconsider telling your experience to those who will be coming after you and will be spending thousands of dollars that they might have saved for years to do this hunt like myself. My partner for next weeks hunt out of Kotzebue went with them in 2017 and were dropped into an area where they spent 7 days and saw not a single bou. Come to find out they were put into an area where the caribou don't arrive until late Sept. I am glad you got your money returned from your credit card company and I hope Arctic Air loses out financially. Honesty and integrity is the most important thing in this type of service. Good luck and thanks for sharing.

 

[KChunter71]

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