Otty0914
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2019
Here is my review of our experience with Arctic Air Service:
The attached map gives a little insight on most of the events discussed in this review. The pin is our camp, the green diamonds are approximate locations of the other 4 camps around us based on where I saw them in relation to other terrain features I could identify. The blue diamonds are the approximate location where I viewed other hunters in the spotting scope. The red diamonds are our 2 glassing locations, and the orange trail is our approximate travel path.
We booked this hunt after my first hunt with arctic air in 2020 while owned by Sheila and Mike that was a fantastic experience. My wife and I harvested bulls and caught a countless number of graylings, saw moose, bears, northern lights and just had the textbook flawless trip that met every one of our expectations.
Obviously with the GMU closure the hunt was postponed and we opted to keep our dates to be rescheduled. Our options were to hold the dates and reschedule when possible or walk away from the 50% deposit already paid. I was contacted by the new owner Gary Colbath in February of this year to discuss new dates. He was able to schedule our hunt and honor our deposit and even credit us more for our father who was supposed to go with us but couldn’t due to medical issues. So he rolled our fathers deposit onto our remaining balance and we paid the remaining amount. For that I was very thankful. Now that you have a little back story on how we got to this point here is my review of the arrival, drop-off in the field, hunting, and extraction from the field.
Hunt Dates 9/11-9/18
Arrival to Kotzebue on 9/10 at 12:35pm, Gary, Bruce, and Cree from Arctic Air met us and 10 other clients (Parties of 2 (My Brother and I), 2, 4, and 4) at the airport and assisted us with getting everything to the hotel with an orientation meeting at 7pm on the 3rd floor of the Nullagvik hotel. This orientation covers all paperwork and verification of licenses and tags along with what to expect for fly-in and fly-out days. What communications to expect from the transporter and what weather communication are going to be expected from you. Gary also covers bear safety and what is expected if a mistake is made in the field ex: shooting a cow you thought was a bull or shooting a bear in self-defense. All good information.
9/11 – Communication was sent out at 8am that they were waiting for weather to clear and to meet in the hotel lobby at 10am for more information. At 10am my group (My brother and I) and another group of 4 was selected to stage at the airport for flights into the field. Once arrived the group of 4 loaded into 2 planes and took off. My brother and I thought for a while that this flight wasn’t going to happen due to weather rolling through the area. The other 2 transporter groups (Ram and another group I don’t know the name of) were packing up and calling it a day but we were still holding on. Soon Gary showed up and gave us fist bumps saying we are going hunting! 2 pilots showed up unloaded some hunters that were not successful and loaded our gear into the planes and we were off to the field at 7pm landing at 8pm on a gravel bar indicated on the map. It was a rush to get camp set up and get some water and food before calling it a night dreaming of a giant herd of bulls ready for harvesting the next day.
9/12 – Day 1 hunting – We woke up and grabbed our packs that were feverishly worked on the night before in preparation for the day. We worked up to a high spot in the tundra to glass the valley keeping our creek bottom in sight due to the amount of tracks seen there. The day brought a sighting of a bull 2 miles away that went to our north away from us but would have never been able to catch up with. We also glasses 6 other hunters… Realizing we were set down near a camp only 400yds to our north on the opposite side of the river and a camp to our south apparently on a ridge top approximately 1 mile away.
9/13 – Day 2 hunting – We woke up to go back to our glassing spot thinking if we beat everyone out early we might catch some caribou that have filtered into the area before other camps can get to them. Day 2 brought no caribou sighting but now 7 hunters scattered on every ridgetop around us. Frustration set in and we headed to camp and I sent Gary a message at 7:29pm that read, “Only 1 caribou sighting, saw 6 hunters on day 1 and 7 hunters today.” His response, “Yikes. Must be Ram guys I think, we only have one camp anywhere close to you? Keep hunting – in that area for a reason” After some discussion we decided if the caribou aren’t coming to us we will go to them. We selected a distant hill about 3 miles from camp. Realizing it would take a great effort to get there it was early to bed then off to that hill early in the morning.
9/14 – Day 3 hunting – We set out for the new glassing spot passing by our neighbors camp of 5 hunters to our north. In route we encounter a group of 20 cows and calves. Making it to our mountain by 11am. We were really searching that group for any bull that costed us about an hour or 2 in our travel. Once behind the glass on our new glassing knoll it was evident that this hunt was going to be more about beating other hunters when I glassed 2 more camps to our north on the same river bottom, we were located on. This brought our total to 4 camps besides ours with 2 tents each indicating more than 2 hunters. After more glassing it was confirmed that each camp had 4 hunters. So, in order from south to north along this river bottom there was my brother and I, a camp of 5 - 400 yds north, and about another half mile up a camp of 4 and another mile up another camp of 4. Leaving the other camp to our south on the ridge with at least 3 confirmed but based on the number of planes that landed days after it required 3 planes to extract them with my guess being a group of 5.
9/15 – Day 4 hunting – We set out for our glassing knoll knowing that at this point we needed luck to bring a bull to us and even if we harvest one that it will be one hell of a pack job getting it back. Both of us were sore from the day before but found an alternate route that would alleviate some of the tundra walking. It worked out and we were on our glassing knoll by 9am. Glassing some nice bulls 3-5 miles away and staying a safe distance away from the river bottom lined with camps. We did see a group of bulls to our north about 3 miles away on the opposite side of the river. While watching this group I observed 3 dots stalking up on them and harvesting a couple from the group. The remaining bulls spooked out of the valley after they shot. Towards the end of the day we spotted a lone cow that picked up the attention of a bull and they slowly started working their way towards us from about 3 miles away. Getting rather excited we watched and planned how we would get off our knoll and cut them off. When they were about a mile and a half away we began to descend off our hill top when a bush plane flew over the ridgetop and dropped into the far camp for extraction of the hunters. This spooked the cow and the bull followed both running in the opposite direction of us… That day both northern most camps were removed from the field. We felt that maybe this would offer us a better chance to have a herd move down the river to our location.
9/16 – Day 5 hunting – We put all our eggs in that glassing knoll basket, knowing this would be our last day to attempt to harvest from that spot as a one day pack out would not be possible with our energy level and terrain. Day 5 brought 1 bull sighting 4 miles away and moving west away from our location. On our return trip to camp that evening we met our neighbors to the north about 400yds. A camp of 5 that had the same luck we did. No caribou but sightings that were out of hunting range. We asked them who they were hunting with and there response was Arctic Air. Our transporter dropped us right next to one of his other camps and thought it would be ok to do so just because they were on the other side of the river. This river at its current level could be crossed but we never did out of consideration for that camp.
9/17 – Day 6 hunting – We decided to glass from our high spot close to camp in hopes that now all camps to the north have been removed might bring caribou into our valley but nothing was seen and we enjoyed a relaxing camp day getting ready to be flown from the field the following day.
9/18 – Day 7 Extraction Day – Gary was requesting information on weather it was favorable for flying and we had a plane to our location by about noon or 1. Pilots Steve and Clay were great, always worried about our comfort on the flight ensuring everyone was ok giving a thumbs up every so often. You can tell they were all very skilled and experienced pilots which brought a calmness over me seeing as though I hate heights and see flying as just a necessary evil to do this hunt. Our return to the hotel offered us the opportunity to talk with other hunters and the consistent theme was viewing a few other hunters but most were very alarmed to hear of the 18 other hunters encountered in our area. Consensus was this is their last trip with Arctic Air as it will be my last as well.
Continued in next comment section.
The attached map gives a little insight on most of the events discussed in this review. The pin is our camp, the green diamonds are approximate locations of the other 4 camps around us based on where I saw them in relation to other terrain features I could identify. The blue diamonds are the approximate location where I viewed other hunters in the spotting scope. The red diamonds are our 2 glassing locations, and the orange trail is our approximate travel path.
We booked this hunt after my first hunt with arctic air in 2020 while owned by Sheila and Mike that was a fantastic experience. My wife and I harvested bulls and caught a countless number of graylings, saw moose, bears, northern lights and just had the textbook flawless trip that met every one of our expectations.
Obviously with the GMU closure the hunt was postponed and we opted to keep our dates to be rescheduled. Our options were to hold the dates and reschedule when possible or walk away from the 50% deposit already paid. I was contacted by the new owner Gary Colbath in February of this year to discuss new dates. He was able to schedule our hunt and honor our deposit and even credit us more for our father who was supposed to go with us but couldn’t due to medical issues. So he rolled our fathers deposit onto our remaining balance and we paid the remaining amount. For that I was very thankful. Now that you have a little back story on how we got to this point here is my review of the arrival, drop-off in the field, hunting, and extraction from the field.
Hunt Dates 9/11-9/18
Arrival to Kotzebue on 9/10 at 12:35pm, Gary, Bruce, and Cree from Arctic Air met us and 10 other clients (Parties of 2 (My Brother and I), 2, 4, and 4) at the airport and assisted us with getting everything to the hotel with an orientation meeting at 7pm on the 3rd floor of the Nullagvik hotel. This orientation covers all paperwork and verification of licenses and tags along with what to expect for fly-in and fly-out days. What communications to expect from the transporter and what weather communication are going to be expected from you. Gary also covers bear safety and what is expected if a mistake is made in the field ex: shooting a cow you thought was a bull or shooting a bear in self-defense. All good information.
9/11 – Communication was sent out at 8am that they were waiting for weather to clear and to meet in the hotel lobby at 10am for more information. At 10am my group (My brother and I) and another group of 4 was selected to stage at the airport for flights into the field. Once arrived the group of 4 loaded into 2 planes and took off. My brother and I thought for a while that this flight wasn’t going to happen due to weather rolling through the area. The other 2 transporter groups (Ram and another group I don’t know the name of) were packing up and calling it a day but we were still holding on. Soon Gary showed up and gave us fist bumps saying we are going hunting! 2 pilots showed up unloaded some hunters that were not successful and loaded our gear into the planes and we were off to the field at 7pm landing at 8pm on a gravel bar indicated on the map. It was a rush to get camp set up and get some water and food before calling it a night dreaming of a giant herd of bulls ready for harvesting the next day.
9/12 – Day 1 hunting – We woke up and grabbed our packs that were feverishly worked on the night before in preparation for the day. We worked up to a high spot in the tundra to glass the valley keeping our creek bottom in sight due to the amount of tracks seen there. The day brought a sighting of a bull 2 miles away that went to our north away from us but would have never been able to catch up with. We also glasses 6 other hunters… Realizing we were set down near a camp only 400yds to our north on the opposite side of the river and a camp to our south apparently on a ridge top approximately 1 mile away.
9/13 – Day 2 hunting – We woke up to go back to our glassing spot thinking if we beat everyone out early we might catch some caribou that have filtered into the area before other camps can get to them. Day 2 brought no caribou sighting but now 7 hunters scattered on every ridgetop around us. Frustration set in and we headed to camp and I sent Gary a message at 7:29pm that read, “Only 1 caribou sighting, saw 6 hunters on day 1 and 7 hunters today.” His response, “Yikes. Must be Ram guys I think, we only have one camp anywhere close to you? Keep hunting – in that area for a reason” After some discussion we decided if the caribou aren’t coming to us we will go to them. We selected a distant hill about 3 miles from camp. Realizing it would take a great effort to get there it was early to bed then off to that hill early in the morning.
9/14 – Day 3 hunting – We set out for the new glassing spot passing by our neighbors camp of 5 hunters to our north. In route we encounter a group of 20 cows and calves. Making it to our mountain by 11am. We were really searching that group for any bull that costed us about an hour or 2 in our travel. Once behind the glass on our new glassing knoll it was evident that this hunt was going to be more about beating other hunters when I glassed 2 more camps to our north on the same river bottom, we were located on. This brought our total to 4 camps besides ours with 2 tents each indicating more than 2 hunters. After more glassing it was confirmed that each camp had 4 hunters. So, in order from south to north along this river bottom there was my brother and I, a camp of 5 - 400 yds north, and about another half mile up a camp of 4 and another mile up another camp of 4. Leaving the other camp to our south on the ridge with at least 3 confirmed but based on the number of planes that landed days after it required 3 planes to extract them with my guess being a group of 5.
9/15 – Day 4 hunting – We set out for our glassing knoll knowing that at this point we needed luck to bring a bull to us and even if we harvest one that it will be one hell of a pack job getting it back. Both of us were sore from the day before but found an alternate route that would alleviate some of the tundra walking. It worked out and we were on our glassing knoll by 9am. Glassing some nice bulls 3-5 miles away and staying a safe distance away from the river bottom lined with camps. We did see a group of bulls to our north about 3 miles away on the opposite side of the river. While watching this group I observed 3 dots stalking up on them and harvesting a couple from the group. The remaining bulls spooked out of the valley after they shot. Towards the end of the day we spotted a lone cow that picked up the attention of a bull and they slowly started working their way towards us from about 3 miles away. Getting rather excited we watched and planned how we would get off our knoll and cut them off. When they were about a mile and a half away we began to descend off our hill top when a bush plane flew over the ridgetop and dropped into the far camp for extraction of the hunters. This spooked the cow and the bull followed both running in the opposite direction of us… That day both northern most camps were removed from the field. We felt that maybe this would offer us a better chance to have a herd move down the river to our location.
9/16 – Day 5 hunting – We put all our eggs in that glassing knoll basket, knowing this would be our last day to attempt to harvest from that spot as a one day pack out would not be possible with our energy level and terrain. Day 5 brought 1 bull sighting 4 miles away and moving west away from our location. On our return trip to camp that evening we met our neighbors to the north about 400yds. A camp of 5 that had the same luck we did. No caribou but sightings that were out of hunting range. We asked them who they were hunting with and there response was Arctic Air. Our transporter dropped us right next to one of his other camps and thought it would be ok to do so just because they were on the other side of the river. This river at its current level could be crossed but we never did out of consideration for that camp.
9/17 – Day 6 hunting – We decided to glass from our high spot close to camp in hopes that now all camps to the north have been removed might bring caribou into our valley but nothing was seen and we enjoyed a relaxing camp day getting ready to be flown from the field the following day.
9/18 – Day 7 Extraction Day – Gary was requesting information on weather it was favorable for flying and we had a plane to our location by about noon or 1. Pilots Steve and Clay were great, always worried about our comfort on the flight ensuring everyone was ok giving a thumbs up every so often. You can tell they were all very skilled and experienced pilots which brought a calmness over me seeing as though I hate heights and see flying as just a necessary evil to do this hunt. Our return to the hotel offered us the opportunity to talk with other hunters and the consistent theme was viewing a few other hunters but most were very alarmed to hear of the 18 other hunters encountered in our area. Consensus was this is their last trip with Arctic Air as it will be my last as well.
Continued in next comment section.
