Haul Road - Dayhunt with Rifle?

[Behlftball]

Hi,

I'm looking to do the Haul Road hunt in 2023. I'll be driving up with my wife and kids from WI. We plan to take about 3 and a half weeks and my wife and kids will fly back from Fairbanks and I'll drop the camper at an rv park there and pick it up after the hunt.

My question is about the feasibility of day hunting the Haul road with a rifle. Can you realistically make the 5 mile death march twice in a day? I'd rather truck camp and not have to deal with a whole camp 5 miles back if I get one down. I'm 32 and in good shape (as long as my back holds up) - packed an elk out over 4 miles one way this year.

Is that hike too far? I just see so many videos of people awkwardly stalking by the road with a bow and not sure that's for me.

 

[peaceman]

You have nothing but daylight to do it in, but plan on the hike taking a whole lot longer than you think. Most I know spent the night (or more) when doing this. You want to be prepared as well. If you get soaking wet and then cold, it could be the end...

 

[wildwilderness]

Sounds like a miserable way to spend the day

 

[Jbehredt]

Take your bow and hunt a mile from the road…

 

[Behlftball]

You have nothing but daylight to do it in, but plan on the hike taking a whole lot longer than you think. Most I know spent the night (or more) when doing this. You want to be prepared as well. If you get soaking wet and then cold, it could be the end...

Yeah getting rained on when it's 35 degrees could be bad with high wind and poor visibility if it takes 5 hours to get to the truck.

 

[Behlftball]

Sounds like a miserable way to spend the day

Sometimes the shortest advice is the best

 

[realunlucky]

I think you'd be setting yourself up for a miserable trip.

You'll think how bad can it really be?

Then it'll run though your mind-- those nay sayers just don't want it as bad as me!

Then you'll do it the first day, reality will set in and you'll lay awake that evening thinking WTF am I going to do tomorrow.

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[SDHNTR]

You ever walked on tundra? Learn to shoot a bow!

 

[Confluentus]

Imo, the suck factor of hiking on the slope is overblown. It’s no different than hiking on tussocks anywhere else in Alaska. I was underwhelmed when I did my first hunt up there this year.

That said, tussocks are not fun. You could do the hike in a day, but I think that having some light camping gear along would be worthwhile. If the weather looks bad, do day trips, and if you have a weather window you have the option to camp out there a night or two.

The caribou up there aren’t particularly large-bodied as far as caribou go, but you’re definitely looking at 100+lbs on the way out. Could be done in one trip, and I know people do it that way, but it would really suck.

 

[jhm2023]

Short answer, NO. Just because you make it out of the 5 mile corridor, doesn't mean there will be bulls hanging out waiting for you right near the edge of the corridor. You might see tons of caribou within a mile or so of the road, then not see another animal until you reach 7 miles or more. Hippy hiking (without a dead animal), the 5 miles there and back could be feasible but miserable and hiking back with a bull in a day isn't a good plan. You'd really be doing yourself a disservice by planning this approach. Plan to hike out and stay out until you run out of time or fill your tags. There's also the option to archery hunt within the corridor if you need to camp near the road every day. Enjoy walking on the tundra, it's an experience every hunter should have at least once to appreciate all other types of ground to walk on. The ground does get a little better the closer to the mountains you get and worse the closer you get to the ocean. I've done the turn and burn rifle hunts a lot of times and learned lessons the hard way, questioning my life choices each time. It's really the most fun when you plan to do the "5 miles", and after all said and done going around lakes and creeks you have nearly 30 miles on your gps tracks yet your only 9 miles from the road before you find that bull you want. Then you realize you have to carry that thing back all in one trip. Fun times.

 

[Behlftball]

Short answer, NO. Just because you make it out of the 5 mile corridor, doesn't mean there will be bulls hanging out waiting for you right near the edge of the corridor. You might see tons of caribou within a mile or so of the road, then not see another animal until you reach 7 miles or more. Hippy hiking (without a dead animal), the 5 miles there and back could be feasible but miserable but hiking back with a bull in a day isn't a good plan. You'd really be doing yourself a disservice by planning this approach. Plan to hike out and stay out until you run out of time or fill your tags. There's also the option to archery hunt within the corridor if you need to camp near the road every day. Enjoy walking on the tundra, it's an experience every hunter should have at least once to appreciate all other types of ground to walk on. The ground does get a little better the closer to the mountains you get and worse the closer you get to the ocean. I've don the turn and burn rifle hunts a lot of times and learned lessons the hard way and questioned my life choices each time. It's really the most fun when you plan to do the "5 miles", and after all said and done going around lakes and creeks you have nearly 30 miles on your gps tracks yet your only 9 miles from the road before you find that bull you want. Then you realize you have to carry that thing bag all in one trip. Fun times.

Thank you for you advice. Makes sense that I'm shouldn't plan on 10 miles but maybe 15 to find them if I'm lucky

 

[kwackkillncrew]

That's one hunt where I would say you should actually bring a rifle and a bow if you have them. That way after you experience the death march one day, you could still hunt close to the road the rest of the hunt. Even hiking a mile or 2 from the road will get you away from most of the road hunters and you will most likely be able to see things that you couldnt see from the road.

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[Matthausarchery]

Sounds miserable. If you want to experience AK on day trips I recommend fishing.

 

[Mojave]

Bring a bow hunt within 1000 yards of the road and live your best life.

$15,000 Reward for Missing Haul Road Hunter Steve Keel - OP updated to show locations

There was a brief mention of this guy going missing in the 2022 Haul Road thread Cliff’s notes, he went missing several miles off the road on August 27th and was reported missing on the 28th. Him and a buddy both killed bulls around the 5 mile line and he dropped his pack on his way back to...

rokslide.com

Wife and kids deserve for you to come back.

 

[Confluentus]

Bring a bow hunt within 1000 yards of the road and live your best life.

$15,000 Reward for Missing Haul Road Hunter Steve Keel - OP updated to show locations

There was a brief mention of this guy going missing in the 2022 Haul Road thread Cliff’s notes, he went missing several miles off the road on August 27th and was reported missing on the 28th. Him and a buddy both killed bulls around the 5 mile line and he dropped his pack on his way back to...

rokslide.com

Wife and kids deserve for you to come back.

That is a tragic story, but it’s hardly something to be legitimately worried about. Hundreds of people hunt off the haul rd every year.

If you bow hunt, bring the bow too. The walking on gravel bars and the floodplain around the Sag River is pretty good (relatively), and there are enough willows that you could stalk or ambush. Much more cover near the river than on the open tundra.

 

[Broomd]

Before moving out of AK I wanted to do the death march and was thankful to do so. It was a great hunt and a memory worth earning. It was just one thing on a cool bucket list of hunting and fishing accomplishments.
I'm bow certified in AK, but frankly wanted the rifle hunt for the challenge it posed.

Honestly, the 'twice a day' stuff is nuts. The tussocks are too hard on the ankles for that kind of ground coverage. Take a spike camp and enjoy the time and success past 5 miles.

 

[efing001]

I've done the Haul rifle hunt with camp 5 mi. back. For hiking, the best you can do is about 1mph. If you do the math, it's certainly possible with those long Aug/Sep days. Would i ever do it? Absolutely not...maybe if i had a pack raft heading back out, it might not be so bad...

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Before moving out of AK I wanted to do the death march and was thankful to do so. It was a great hunt and a memory worth earning. It was just one thing on a cool bucket list of hunting and fishing accomplishments.
I'm bow certified in AK, but frankly wanted the rifle hunt for the challenge it posed.

Honestly, the 'twice a day' stuff is nuts. The tussocks are too hard on the ankles for that kind of ground coverage. Take a spike camp and enjoy the time and success past 5 miles.

Do you even need to be bow certified for that hunt? I got my bow very too but I was under the impression that it was only needed for bow only draw hunts.

 

[Antares]

Depends how old you are and what type of hunt it is.

 

[AKDoc]

There are times when a picture is worth a thousand words...

Just one snapshot of the haul road...it does vary in topography along the way, but the tundra and tussocks are pretty much a constant and really are a chore...bring hiking-sticks if you do it. I'm sure you know that caribou are always moving, which adds to the challenge of doing all that in one day.