Haul Road - Dayhunt with Rifle?

[Broomd]

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.

I thought it was mandatory for any Alaskan to bow hunt the corridor. I got it around '04 after taking the test in Fbks.
At any rate it is required here in Idaho, glad to have it already from AK.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I thought it was mandatory for any Alaskan to bow hunt the corridor. I got it around '04 after taking the test in Fbks.
At any rate it is required here in Idaho, glad to have it already from AK.

AK also has state reciprocity, I did an online bowhunters safety program which is accepted in AK since going to the in person now hunter course just isn’t realistic. Glad I have it since it dosent expire. Just wasn’t sure about the haul road rules.

 

[Nick Muche]

Required

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Required

Cool, glad I have it then I guess since I didn’t apply for any archery stuff this year. Good to know.

 

[jhm2023]

Some folks should just go ahead and take a look at the applicable regs if you will be or are planning to hunt in a place. Just saying. Don't expect that wildlife Trooper to cut you any slack when you say "well, I read it on a forum that I could do this".

 

[Molon Labe]

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.

You can make the 5 mile walk twice a day. BUT you shouldn’t. Just camp out there at 6-7miles or get bow cert.

The average speed with packs and rifles when I’ve done the death March is 1mph. So you have 10hrs a day where you see caribou but you have to keep walking. Then add on another 3-4hrs to loop around a lake or elevation. That’s 14hrs of walking plus add in another couple hours of glassing and you are down to 8hrs left in the day for making food and sleeping.

Get up the next day and do it again? It sucks. First time it was around 15 miles traveled and the next morning my legs were so cramped/shot I didn’t even want to get up to take a piss.

If you are still going to do it…get bow cert…”just in case” haha. You will do death march first day and then just spend the rest of the trip driving up and down the road with your bow in the back seat guaranteed hahaha!

 

[YellCoAR]

A few things to consider from someone who has done it.
1. You can not see if any caribou are present at the location you decide to make your 5 mile march.
2. Some areas are better than others for the march.
3. Have the best spotting scope you can afford.
4. If something goes wrong it is a long way back to the truck.

May people don't understand caribou much like myself. Some get lucky and some learn. There are a lot of caribou, but there is vast amount of area they can be. You can pick an area and not have a caribou with in a hundred miles you. If you see them close to the road. It does not mean they will be present after the five mile mark. I watched a couple nice bulls all day from the 5 mile mark. They were 4.75 miles out and never moved over a couple hundred yards all day. I think this why so many bow hunt. you can cover so much more area and spend time hunting where you find caribou. All that being said I enjoyed my hunt and would do it again. If you really want to kill a caribou and not just the experience. I think a transporter is the way to go.

 

[Behlftball]

You can make the 5 mile walk twice a day. BUT you shouldn’t. Just camp out there at 6-7miles or get bow cert.

The average speed with packs and rifles when I’ve done the death March is 1mph. So you have 10hrs a day where you see caribou but you have to keep walking. Then add on another 3-4hrs to loop around a lake or elevation. That’s 14hrs of walking plus add in another couple hours of glassing and you are down to 8hrs left in the day for making food and sleeping.

Get up the next day and do it again? It sucks. First time it was around 15 miles traveled and the next morning my legs were so cramped/shot I didn’t even want to get up to take a piss.

If you are still going to do it…get bow cert…”just in case” haha. You will do death march first day and then just spend the rest of the trip driving up and down the road with your bow in the back seat guaranteed hahaha!

Thank you for the firsthand advice

 

[Behlftball]

A few things to consider from someone who has done it.
1. You can not see if any caribou are present at the location you decide to make your 5 mile march.
2. Some areas are better than others for the march.
3. Have the best spotting scope you can afford.
4. If something goes wrong it is a long way back to the truck.

May people don't understand caribou much like myself. Some get lucky and some learn. There are a lot of caribou, but there is vast amount of area they can be. You can pick an area and not have a caribou with in a hundred miles you. If you see them close to the road. It does not mean they will be present after the five mile mark. I watched a couple nice bulls all day from the 5 mile mark. They were 4.75 miles out and never moved over a couple hundred yards all day. I think this why so many bow hunt. you can cover so much more area and spend time hunting where you find caribou. All that being said I enjoyed my hunt and would do it again. If you really want to kill a caribou and not just the experience. I think a transporter is the way to go.

Thank you. I will already be in the area with a vehicle so it's a lot less expensive than a transporter at this point.

 

[actionshooter]

Some really good advice here... either hike in for multiple days or bowhunt.... just my 2 cents. That "ground" is deceiving and really slow going.