ALASKA WEST AIR DROP MOOSE HUNT

[boliver29]

ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH ALAKA WEST AIR? TALKED TO THEM ABOUT A DROP HUNT FOR MOOSE AREA 16B. THEY PROVIDED A FEW REFERENCES. HOW IS AREA 16B? I’VE READ A FEW POSTS ONLINE THAT ITS BEEN OVER HUNT. ALL THE REFERENCES THEY PROVIDED ALL SAID THEY WERE GREAT.


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[johnnycake]

I hunted caribou with them in a fly out back in 2006. Absolutely would not recommend. Got told many things that ended up false, but the biggest was that we'd be in unit 19 and not hunting the Mulchatna herd but then we were dropped off in 17B hunting the fringe of the remnants of the Mulchatna herd. Had zero say in where we were dropped off. Once they had our deposits, they were ghosts and wouldn't answer phone calls or emails. Two months before the hunt we were fishing in Soldotna and dropped in the office to talk with Doug. After waiting in the lobby for a couple of hours, being told he'd be out to talk with us in a bit, we saw the dude run out the back and down the dock to jump in a plane.

Should've just taken our lumps and cancelled right then. But we ate a bunch of blueberries.

 

[bmrfish]

Hunted moose with them several years ago across the inlet. Lake drop off. 17 I think. Two of us. Called in 2 moose. Killed a 54” that died 20 ft from the tent. Other one was too small for non resident. Rained a lot. Reasonably priced back then. Other guys we talked to were hit or miss. I’d give then a qualified OK. Did I mention it rained a lot?

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[Yukon Cornelius]

One thing to consider is that you should look at the harvest reports for the units you want to hunt.

Many units have success rates around 20% and that can tell you a lot about the area. You can also
See how many tags were given for that unit.

 

[Tjdeerslayer37]

Hunted moose with them several years ago across the inlet. Lake drop off. 17 I think. Two of us. Called in 2 moose. Killed a 54” that died 20 ft from the tent. Other one was too small for non resident. Rained a lot. Reasonably priced back then. Other guys we talked to were hit or miss. I’d give then a qualified OK. Did I mention it rained a lot?

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heading there in a week, good to know they do exist there. nice bull!

 

[hunt1up]

3 of us hunted with them in 2019 just before Covid kicked off. 3 moose tags and I was the only one that filled a tag. We saw one moose in 9 days. That area is THICK. We heard some other moose that were nearby but never laid eyes on them. If a moose didn't come out along the lake we were on then we weren't going to see it. I'd say that speaks more to the unit than the operation.

We didn't have any input on where we were getting dropped. Just that it was a spot that generally resulted in a moose. I haven't hunted much in Alaska but that area didn't feel "remote" to me, even though we were out in the wilderness. It's not far from civilization so it's easily accessed I guess? We'd hear other gunshots and see other planes on a regular basis.

I'll say that their operation seemed professional, safe, and timely. So no complaints from a logistics standpoint.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

May I ask…if a transporter drops you off on a lake and you aren’t successful, is that the transporter’s fault?
How do you guys define success? Blood on the ground? Or no one dies?

Not saying this is the case, but it seems that success is measured by harvested animals. Maybe I take hunting for granted because I live here. A moose is a necessity since I live in a community that doesn’t have a store and only gets two scheduled flights a week. However if I was dropping the coin you nonresident hunters do, I may view this differently. I know I’d be pissed if I was dropped in a heavily hunted or high pressure area. But most hunting areas here are high pressure. I have already met two groups of float hunters that are hunting the creek I plan on hunting. They were 4 days apart in their arrival. My hope is that I still got ten days before I leave for the hunt. So hoping they are gone by then. If they are there, I’ll hit my second choice.
Alaska can be remote and I hunt/live in a remote area. Last year we had over 100 out of state hunters in our town. I’m in a very heavy moose populated unit with a controlled use area to make it more challenging for out of towners however I still see people. Thankfully most respect camps and stay a mile away at least.

 

[hunt1up]

May I ask…if a transporter drops you off on a lake and you aren’t successful, is that the transporter’s fault?
How do you guys define success? Blood on the ground? Or no one dies?

Not saying this is the case, but it seems that success is measured by harvested animals. Maybe I take hunting for granted because I live here. A moose is a necessity since I live in a community that doesn’t have a store and only gets two scheduled flights a week. However if I was dropping the coin you nonresident hunters do, I may view this differently. I know I’d be pissed if I was dropped in a heavily hunted or high pressure area. But most hunting areas here are high pressure. I have already met two groups of float hunters that are hunting the creek I plan on hunting. They were 4 days apart in their arrival. My hope is that I still got ten days before I leave for the hunt. So hoping they are gone by then. If they are there, I’ll hit my second choice.
Alaska can be remote and I hunt/live in a remote area. Last year we had over 100 out of state hunters in our town. I’m in a very heavy moose populated unit with a controlled use area to make it more challenging for out of towners however I still see people. Thankfully most respect camps and stay a mile away at least.

In our case we were not disappointed. Going in with 3 moose tags was probably a bit silly and we were happy we were able to get one. I’ve eaten plenty of tag soup and a kill doesn’t always define success. Overall it was an enjoyable experience.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

In our case we were not disappointed. Going in with 3 moose tags was probably a bit silly and we were happy we were able to get one. I’ve eaten plenty of tag soup and a kill doesn’t always define success. Overall it was an enjoyable experience.

That’s how we are. Tag soup is ok. If seasoned correctly with some laughs and a better plan.

We went down the Yukon 2 seasons ago with 5 tags. Punched one. And shared the moose. One moose doesn’t feed 5 families for a year but it will fill 2 freezers.

I’m sure hearing others does suck. And the thickness of the brush still amazes me after 13 years.