My DIY Alaska Caribou Gear List

[Brad@Argali]

For those that want a detailed breakdown, see the link below for my detailed gear list from my hunt in 2019. I flew out of Kotzebue into the field, and my gear list was done with our 125 pound weight restriction in mind. Wouldn't consider myself an expert on AK, but for any first timers, I may be able to answer any lessons learned. My gear setup worked really well and I wouldn't change much of anything from what we brought. Shoot me any questions about gear in this thread!

Alaska DIY Caribout Hunting Gear List

 

[LaHunter]

Thanks for posting Brad. I watched the youtube videos of your hunt and really enjoyed them.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks, I also enjoyed the videos. I am headed to Kotz mid September if plans don’t get changed due to current events.

 

[Nick Muche]

Other than all the clothing, I think that's a pretty damn good list. Congrats on your hunt as well!

 

[VernAK]

The list looks good but I like to have more grub just in case of a delay in getting out.

 

[HuntHarder]

The list looks good but I like to have more grub just in case of a delay in getting out.

I agree, but maybe to a higher degree. When I am in the bush, I take a bunch of extra food. I would gladly trade some of that clothing for some delicious food.

 

[Brad@Argali]

Thanks for posting Brad. I watched the youtube videos of your hunt and really enjoyed them.

Appreciate that.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Brad@Argali]

Thanks, I also enjoyed the videos. I am headed to Kotz mid September if plans don’t get changed due to current events.

You may be safer out in the alaska wilderness, but I hear ya. I'm supposed to be back in AK in August.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Brad@Argali]

Other than all the clothing, I think that's a pretty damn good list. Congrats on your hunt as well!

Ha!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Brad@Argali]

The list looks good but I like to have more grub just in case of a delay in getting out.

I had two extra days of food but definitely could have brought a little more.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Brad@Argali]

I agree, but maybe to a higher degree. When I am in the bush, I take a bunch of extra food. I would gladly trade some of that clothing for some delicious food.

Fair enough!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[VernAK]

Fair enough!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I take lots of extra food! Usually an extra cub load for 4 Geezers. I once went on a weeks hunt and it was 18 days before the weather moderated enough for an exit flight. I caught a few silver salmon with my hands in a beaver dam and they were getting quite tiresome by the end.

 

[tunaorlater]

Great Video series! Thanks for the list, so other than the 28 Nosler, what would you leave behind or would you take the exact same kit?

 

[Brad@Argali]

Great Video series! Thanks for the list, so other than the 28 Nosler, what would you leave behind or would you take the exact same kit?

I had more clothes than I needed. I think I only wore 2 base layers the whole trip and I have one set of clothes for the trip there and back. Other than that wouldnt change anything, even the 28.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[HuntHarder]

I brought way too much clothing on my Alaska hunt as well. I went in with the mindset of: getting wet and not having extra clothing would SUCK!. I probably wore 30% of the clothing I took.

 

[etsanger]

Really good list. Thanks for sharing! How much water did you have to cross and how did the waders/old sneakers work? Did you feel like taking your boots off and putting them back every time you had to cross water was a pain? I've been researching this a bit and sounds like there's no perfect solution (ie rain gear and duct tape, wiggy's, chota hippies, full waders), but curious what your thoughts are on the subject?

 

[akhunter87]

On the topic of clothing, I think it's highly dependent on where your going, what your hunting, and how you are getting to camp.

If your method of transportation is a Beaver or an airboat, then I don't think it makes that much of a difference to me. Most of that stuff is gonna stay at the main camp for me anyway and I will spike camp a good deal. I think the over the hunts I've done though I've kinda of figured out what I can leave at home and what is nice to have at camp. Now if you are hoofing it in and need to cut ounces, thats a whole different mindset for me and a whole different gear list.

 

[AKBorn]

Brad, your list is really thorough, albeit a little heavy on the clothes! To be fair, my first couple of trips to AK I was also heavy on clothing, have pared it back quite a bit over the years.

Apologies if I missed your post-hunt writeup somewhere (and I did NOT watch the Youtube video); I wanted to pose a few questions that first-time AK hunters might not know to ask, but which might be helpful in their planning and setting expectations –

What dates were you in the field? What were the approximate coldest and warmest temps you encountered?


How bad were the bugs? Were they a constant, or were they not around much during the cooler temps or when it was breezy?


Bears. Guys coming from states without any or many grizzles would be curious – did you run into any/many bears? If you did, when did you encounter them, and were they close or at a distance?


Was it fairly easy to find a flattish camping spot? Was the ground under the tent dry, a little spongy, or pretty wet?


How long did you keep your meat in the field?


Was there anything in the field (temps, conditions, terrain, other) that was MARKEDLY different than what you expected or were planning for?

 

[JohnB]

Brad, your list is really thorough, albeit a little heavy on the clothes! To be fair, my first couple of trips to AK I was also heavy on clothing, have pared it back quite a bit over the years.

Apologies if I missed your post-hunt writeup somewhere (and I did NOT watch the Youtube video); I wanted to pose a few questions that first-time AK hunters might not know to ask, but which might be helpful in their planning and setting expectations –

What dates were you in the field? What were the approximate coldest and warmest temps you encountered?


How bad were the bugs? Were they a constant, or were they not around much during the cooler temps or when it was breezy?


Bears. Guys coming from states without any or many grizzles would be curious – did you run into any/many bears? If you did, when did you encounter them, and were they close or at a distance?


Was it fairly easy to find a flattish camping spot? Was the ground under the tent dry, a little spongy, or pretty wet?


How long did you keep your meat in the field?


Was there anything in the field (temps, conditions, terrain, other) that was MARKEDLY different than what you expected or were planning for?

Take a gander at the videos. They are quite enjoyable and answer a lot of your questions.

Thanks for the vids Brad, I like 'em a lot. Although the excessive turkey calling in the last one caused my wife to revoke my YouTube privledges unless she isn't in the house.

 

[Bull_n_heat]

Thanks for putting this together Brad! I too enjoyed the video and find this to be a handy starting place for anyone looking to do something like this.

I think I can glean from the list, but I assume this was for a 9-day on-site hunt, or did you take an extra ration of chow in case things got western? How much caribou did you eat in field?