Arctic Air Unguided Caribou Hunt

[Kevin Dill]

To each his own. I go hunting to get away from people and their ways. When I spend the money to go all the way to Alaska for a hunt, I 100% am going to be alone in the backcountry....meaning without other camps or settlements nearby. The very last thing I would EVER want to see or experience would be other hunters or their camps. So that said, I would only book with someone who would guarantee me (and maybe a partner) my own chunk of Alaska real estate with nobody else for miles. This is just me and how I must have it. It wouldn't matter if the area was teeming with antlers...I simply wouldn't go where other hunters were present. I'd have no trouble qualifying my pilots on that, but of course I'd do it tactfully and without seeming demanding. I'd also check references carefully.

 

[VernAK]

To each his own. I go hunting to get away from people and their ways. When I spend the money to go all the way to Alaska for a hunt, I 100% am going to be alone in the backcountry....meaning without other camps or settlements nearby. The very last thing I would EVER want to see or experience would be other hunters or their camps. So that said, I would only book with someone who would guarantee me (and maybe a partner) my own chunk of Alaska real estate with nobody else for miles. This is just me and how I must have it. It wouldn't matter if the area was teeming with antlers...I simply wouldn't go where other hunters were present. I'd have no trouble qualifying my pilots on that, but of course I'd do it tactfully and without seeming demanding. I'd also check references carefully.

Agreed!
The wilderness is far more important to me than seeing multitudes of game animals. I have multiple opportunities to hunt moose and caribou close to home without spending $3K to fly in remote. On a clear day I can see another tent through my spotting scope and he's a member of this forum.

 

[Birddog916]

I used Ram Aviation this year. I had similar worries about Ram because of the reviews they received from the prior owner (now runs Arctic Air). I ended up choosing Ram because they run less hunters through. I was worried about being another “number”, and honestly it paid off. The guys I met at the airport going with Arctic were not that impressed. Overall I was happy with Ram Aviation and his team. I think they all have the same mentality though, get the hunter in and out ASAP. Here is my bull:
View attachment 133381


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Wow great bull. Some day I need to go do this.

 

[NUGGET]

To each his own. I go hunting to get away from people and their ways. When I spend the money to go all the way to Alaska for a hunt, I 100% am going to be alone in the backcountry....meaning without other camps or settlements nearby. The very last thing I would EVER want to see or experience would be other hunters or their camps. So that said, I would only book with someone who would guarantee me (and maybe a partner) my own chunk of Alaska real estate with nobody else for miles. This is just me and how I must have it. It wouldn't matter if the area was teeming with antlers...I simply wouldn't go where other hunters were present. I'd have no trouble qualifying my pilots on that, but of course I'd do it tactfully and without seeming demanding. I'd also check references carefully.

Sounds all good until a private pilot lands by ya. It happens. No air transporter can guarantee you will not see other people. And if they do they are full of ****

 

[Kevin Dill]

Sounds all good until a private pilot lands by ya. It happens. No air transporter can guarantee you will not see other people. And if they do they are full of ****

I would agree, though this has never happened to me in many consecutive years of transport-only hunts to 5 different locations. I also know of a good many others who've never been dropped on by another pilot while hunting an area.

The error of my statement was using the word 'guarantee'. What a pilot can do is promise (or guarantee) he won't drop me in adjacent to other camps; nor will he drop others adjacent to my location. Lazy or unscrupulous pilots can't be controlled if they decide to push their way in as an uninvited guest pest.

But the truth of it is that most really good transporters are trying to keep people well separated, and for what should be obvious reasons. The pilots I've flown with are determined to avoid other pilots at all costs....and that's paid off with a huge majority of repeat clients for them.

 

[oregonbowhunter]

View attachment 159616
our camp and the other camp across same lake. They dropped us off, pulled out hunters from our site.Then returned to swap out the camp across from us. Some days we were 1000 yds (rangefinder) apart glassing the same valley. We never saw the other hunters have antlers or meat bags in their camp. This is our N=1 experience with AA.

That camp across the lake looks like where we were last year. We didn't have anybody across from us, but it sure looks familiar. Is it Sidik Lake by chance?

 

[mooster]

That camp across the lake looks like where we were last year. We didn't have anybody across from us, but it sure looks familiar. Is it Sidik Lake by chance?

Yes sir, Sidik!

 

[oregonbowhunter]

Crazy small world!

 

[weaver]

I can't imagine going on a fly in hunt and being dropped across the lake from another camp.

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[mooster]

Crazy small world!

So how’d you do? Here’s my monster without me standing behind it to inflate it! Shot last hour of last day flew out next am.

 

[oregonbowhunter]

We had a great time! It was my sons graduation gift. Got lucky and got good animals and no real hiccups on the trip!

 

[mooster]

we had hunters blocking us (Red X’s) and the river blocking us. We hunted the area indicated and to our S/SE. most bou were on the Sw ridge line miles across the river. We saw less than two dozen within a mile of camp.

 

[mooster]

We had a great time! It was my sons graduation gift. Got lucky and got good animals and no real hiccups on the trip!View attachment 159904View attachment 159905

Wow, congrats! That’s awesome! Too cool. We went last week of their season. With velvet y’all must have been a bit earlier than us.

 

[oregonbowhunter]

I was like you. I didn't get mine till the last afternoon, thought I was going to eat my tag. Then got lucky, was really slow the last few days we were in there.

 

[oregonbowhunter]

First couple of days we had a lot of caribou all around us. We probably saw couple hundred a day for the first few days then it dried up.
That sucks you had other people to contend with when you think you are going to be out in the middle of nowhere.

 

[oregonbowhunter]

We were earlier, we went into the field I believe on August 12th

 

[Birddog916]

We had a great time! It was my sons graduation gift. Got lucky and got good animals and no real hiccups on the trip!View attachment 159904View attachment 159905

That looks like one for the ages. Nice work

 

[oregonbowhunter]

Thanks, It was a great trip for sure!

 

[Ptownhunter]

I went out of Kotzebue three years ago with AA and was set down just north of the mine road during the first week of September. Unfortunately we didn't see any caribou the whole time. But I have a question about this year's hunt regarding the cape and horns. We're going out again the 1-10 of September and I'm looking for a caribou with a white cape with or without velvet on the horns. I've been told that the older bulls will have the white cape and I've also been told that it only depends on the time of year. The velvet can be added or removed but there's nothing that can be done to get a white cape. So you guys that have been there and done that for years can you tell me if I'm hunting around Desperation lake or Howard pass the first week of September will the Caribou have a white cape?

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[Northwestalaska]

For what its worth i hunted with AA last year as well. I too noticed a more crowded tundra than was expected. Especially after sat phoning that we had a bull down. I think it was slim pickings last year so folks were likely closer than originally planned to maximize opportunities. I think the bulk of their reviews are good and that should tell you alot. My advice is go as late as you can.

Last year 100% of our groups tagged out which is not unusual in unit 23. WACH is a prolific herd and if you're being placed in the right drainages, seeing plenty of game is no problem. As a rule that situation of dropping a group onto of another group should not happen. Many years ago I stopped using a certain flight service because 2 of my groups got "Dumped" on the same lake which already had another group there. Not going to name the flight service (you can do that) but the practice of "Dumping " groups is commonly called "Yo Yo" because the service is over booked and is dumping groups as fast as possible so they can go get another without consideration of active migration or not. AA is the only flight service who is only on floats. Not that being floats is bad but when that is your only option that is a limiting factor. Being dropped on a ride top or in a active drainage is not possible on floats so there are some limitations.

Alaska has some "Bandits" who will help you with a wonderful camping trip so my advise is know your flight service and ask questions.

Walt