Kotzebue Caribou hunt

[BigHunterification]

BH, thank you for sharing the videos and comments. That was a lot of fun to watch.

We hunted out of Kotz in September 2019. Same as you, we didn't see a ton of caribou but shot three for four and should have had the fourth.

We brought and used a UDAP 45X45 bear fence. Worked great. Had a lot of bears around and had one charge during the trip.

I finally got my mount back last week View attachment 255036and convinced my better half to let me hang it in the family room yesterday. Here it is. Not a monster but I don't think there is anything called a "dink" when you work that hard in the tundra for a bull. I was in pain hearing you shot yours 2.7 miles from camp. Two us dropped bulls 2.0 miles down hill from camp at the same time. Nearly killed me packing them out in time for our flight home. Nice video and thank you for sharing.

Lucky guy! I am still waiting for my caribou mount. Beautiful mount!

 

[Skullwhite_designs]

OP what dates did you end up going? Thanks

 

[BigHunterification]

We were there the first week of September. Also, I finally got my caribou back! I will post a picture soon.

 

[Skullwhite_designs]

Awesome. What were the lowest temps you ended up seeing?

 

[BigHunterification]

We had one night where it dropped below freezing into the upper 20s. Rest of the nights were mid 30s. During the day it averaged mid 40s.

 

[Sconnie77]

There is currently a proposal out there to close hunting in GMU 23 and 26A for non-subsistence hunters. We all need to make our voice heard. If you can call in Friday night, please do so. If not, please send an email to let the FSB you do not approve of this measure... https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/new...y-announced-temporary-wildlife-special-action

 

[Jboogg]

I would bring a raft. The raft you saw in the video was $20 and we had it shipped to the Hangar in Kotzebue. We ended up leaving it with some other guys but it worked great. We tied paracord to it, one of us would cross then the other would pull it back with the cord, then cross. The river was too deep to cross with chest waders so we were glad we had it.

Do you by chance have a link to that raft? We are doing a DIY drop camp with GE this September and would love to add this raft to our gear list. Thanks!

 

[BigHunterification]

Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000051ZHS/ref=twister_B08CY22Q89?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Have it shipped to GE's Hangar. Looks like they marked the price up 120% compared to when we went. Unreal! We didn't pay more than $20 for it and we left it with the next group.

 

[coldchow]

I finally was able to put my Caribou hunt footage together and create a video. We used Golden Eagle Outfitters back in September of 2019. Not as many caribou as we hoped to see but was still an incredible trip. Enjoy the videos. It is a 2 part video. 3 if you watch the "Grizzly killing a caribou" video I made.

Really enjoyed the videos. Congrats on what looked like a great hunt.

 

[j3butch]

I finally was able to put my Caribou hunt footage together and create a video. We used Golden Eagle Outfitters back in September of 2019. Not as many caribou as we hoped to see but was still an incredible trip. Enjoy the videos. It is a 2 part video. 3 if you watch the "Grizzly killing a caribou" video I made.

Hi there. What's the camera and adapter your using on your spotter? Thx great video

 

[BigHunterification]

Hi there. What's the camera and adapter your using on your spotter? Thx great video

I mostly used my old Canon Vixia hf20. I bought it in 2008. Works great but is old considering today’s standards. The other camera I brought was a Canon powershot elph with the Tines-up scope-cam adapter on my Swarovski spotter, but 90% of the time it was the video camera.

 

[Ickle1979]

I finally was able to put my Caribou hunt footage together and create a video. We used Golden Eagle Outfitters back in September of 2019. Not as many caribou as we hoped to see but was still an incredible trip. Enjoy the videos. It is a 2 part video. 3 if you watch the "Grizzly killing a caribou" video I made.

Question about the camp equipment, was that your own or a rental?

 

[BigHunterification]

Question about the camp equipment, was that your own or a rental?

That was our own camp. We were allowed to bring in 80lbs each which was enough gear but 10 more lbs we would've been more comfortable. There is another outfitter, RAM aviation, that I believe provides camping gear and food for more money. I had a friend use them the same year we were there.

 

[Ickle1979]

That was our own camp. We were allowed to bring in 80lbs each which was enough gear but 10 more lbs we would've been more comfortable. There is another outfitter, RAM aviation, that I believe provides camping gear and food for more money. I had a friend use them the same year we were there.

Oh ok. I have looked at ram too. How was his experience with them?

 

[j3butch]

Oh ok. I have looked at ram too. How was his experience with them?

We went with Ram this past September and was very happy with them

 

[BigHunterification]

Oh ok. I have looked at ram too. How was his experience with them?

They were happy with the experience. They killed bigger and better bulls than us and saw 5x the numbers; however, the rest of the guys that flew out the same week did not do that great which is just luck of the draw. I honestly feel the pilots do their best to try and get you in to the better areas for a successful trip. We have toyed with the idea of going back and using RAM or Golden Eagle again. I think you would be happy with either.