Tok Air Service

[Kevin Dill]

The likelihood of getting in with 40 mile air is slim, due to many repeat customers. But, as of right now, I am just another name on their 40-mile long wait list.

Fixed it for you.

 

[AKBorn]

I have zero doubts that Tok Air provides a great service, but his price is very high. I called and asked about booking for 2021 or 2022 and was quoted $8500 for moose. That's just his flight service, nothing else. Not knocking the man or his business in any way. If people will pay that and then more power to him for charging that. I can't pay that.

The likelihood of getting in with 40 mile air is slim, due to many repeat customers. Again, good on them for having so many repeat clients. Do I wish I could somehow become one of those repeat clients? Absolutely. But, as of right now, I am just another name on their mile long wait list. There are a fair amount of other, reputable transport services in other parts of the state, that fall in my budget. I am continuing to do my research, but should have a spot locked down for 2021 in the next little bit.

FYI - I always hunt with 40 Mile because I really like hunting that part of the state. However, there is also VERY good moose country in Western Alaska, and the biggest moose there are bigger than in the 40 Mile country on average. Perhaps check with Wade Renfro out of Bethel, or Golden Eagle Outfitters out of Kotzebue. There is also another good air service out of Bethel, the name slips my mind at the moment.

Best of luck, hope you find the hunt you're looking for!

 

[Aeast]

After years of research and planning a first Alaska moose hunt, this is what I've concluded.

Planning a moose hunt is a daunting task for a first timer and even more so for a non resident. The shear amount of information to sort through is overwhelming at best. What type of hunt (Ridge top, lake, float, etc.) Which transporter to use, or is an outfitter better? Guided or unguided, hunt planner etc, it can get really frustrating fast.

Then once a specific type of hunt is narrowed down and reputable outfitters are established, the real headache is about to begin. All are on a 2 plus year waiting list if you can even get on their list at all, hunt planners included.

So where does this leave you? Planning a trip from scratch? choosing a pilot, choosing a specific location, figuring out traveling logistics and the list goes on. This would be the preferred route and as Kevin Dill states, a third the cost, but... this is quite the task to be successful if you have zero first hand knowledge about moose hunting in Alaska, and one can only get so much from the internet, harvest data, local biologists etc.

I think this is where transporters like Tok Air fit a specific bill. Yes the cost is high, but for someone looking for a once in a lifetime hunt, it's not awful. Could I afford it year after year? Heck no, but I can once. Next time we go we will probably try to plan our own trip, but that's after we have one under our belt and have a little feel for process.

My 2 cents anyway.

 

[Russellback]

My brother and I booked with Zach at Tok Air and even sent him the deposit only to have him call me months later and say his prices was going up. The bad part was it was too late in the year to get with someone else. I thought it was just some issue he had with me or something else but it sounds like he’s pretty notorious for this. There are a lot of transporters out there, just do some homework.

 

[NUGGET]

My brother and I booked with Zach at Tok Air and even sent him the deposit only to have him call me months later and say his prices was going up. The bad part was it was too late in the year to get with someone else. I thought it was just some issue he had with me or something else but it sounds like he’s pretty notorious for this. There are a lot of transporters out there, just do some homework.

How did your hunt go?

 

[MaraviaDave]

My brother and I booked with Zach at Tok Air and even sent him the deposit only to have him call me months later and say his prices was going up. The bad part was it was too late in the year to get with someone else. I thought it was just some issue he had with me or something else but it sounds like he’s pretty notorious for this. There are a lot of transporters out there, just do some homework.

I had a similar experience with Zack. When I booked hunt with Zack he agreed to fly in a gear load of 200 pounds, in addition to the flights for me and a buddy, with our 50 pound packs. I confirmed this a number of times leading up to the hunt, including a week prior to arriving in Tok. When we checked in with him, the day before flying out, he told us that he wouldn’t fly our gear load and told us to unpack all of our gear and get down to 50 pounds each. We had planned to take gear that was heavier than we would have.....if we would’ve known that we’d be restricted to 50 pounds. Things like heavier tripods, tents, food etc. When I explained that to Zack and reminded him of the number of times that we had agreed on a gear load, he got pissed and said that I was correct, but that he was only going to allow us a gear load of 50 pounds and charge us full price for the flight. I believe he was doing this as another effort to discourage us from him needing to do a third flight. From my perspective, he’s a single pilot operation and if he gets shut down due to weather or has a lot of meat hauls to do he gets overwhelmed. Which seemed to be the case with us. I now fly with 40 Mile Air for sheep and moose every year and have been very happy with their entire operation. I know that people have flown with Zack and had good hunts. If I were to make a recommendation, based on my experience with him, it would be to not plan on a gear load and be prepared to stay in the field past your pick up date.

 

[NUGGET]

Don't worry guys about Zach being a solo operation. He's training up an 18 year old kid to help out. Nothing like having a kid with a little experience doing bush landings ahahahahahhahahahaha

 

[NUGGET]

Pm sent

 

[Matapatos]

I’m a noob here for sure, but looking @ Tok for an upcoming caribou hunt. Seems to me that everyone who hunts w/ Zack is highly complimentary and successful. Yet the “I will “stick w/ 40mile” club or those that haven’t hunted w/ him post lots of negative feedback. From an outsiders perspective, that’s pretty suspicious. I’m always wary when the only negative comments you see are not people w/ 1st hand experience. And btw, I’m no rich guy, just a hunter from the east coast who saves his $ and wants one hunt of a lifetime. Seems 40mile only caters to it’s wealthy patrons (how else could you describe anyone who could do caribou, moose, sheep hunts year after year). Some of us don’t have the luxury of spending years praying for a slot on a waitlist. Paying a couple grand more for a guaranteed slot w/ a reputable service seems worth it to me. I’m too old to hope to break into a local good ole boys club.

I flew with Zack and I won't be flying with him again. I was hoping to be a one and done get my moose, but it wasn't even close to that. Not to mention other people I've talked to that have flown with him... And not just because of cost. Also, if you think he's 1/3 the cost of a guided hunt, you better do some more research

 

[Thomas11]

Pm sent

I’d be interested in this as well!!

 

[NUGGET]

I flew with Zack and I won't be flying with him again. I was hoping to be a one and done get my moose, but it wasn't even close to that. Not to mention other people I've talked to that have flown with him... And not just because of cost. Also, if you think he's 1/3 the cost of a guided hunt, you better do some more research

I’ve never heard anything bad about his moose hunts. If you’re so inclined please share more info about what happened...

 

[creepincm]

If you could pm me with the details on the $2000 air taxi you spoke about I would appreciate it! Thanks

I'd be interested in this too!

 

[Matapatos]

I’ve never heard anything bad about his moose hunts. If you’re so inclined please share more info about what happened...

Have you heard anything bad about any of his hunts? The hunt left something to be desired, but I can hardly blame it on him if I didn't even have a chance at a moose, it's still hunting. It's him and his demeanor and it's been fairly well covered on this thread. One thing that hasn't been covered very well is his communication skills. It took a few days to get a hold of him at times while we were in the field.

 

[NUGGET]

Have you heard anything bad about any of his hunts? The hunt left something to be desired, but I can hardly blame it on him if I didn't even have a chance at a moose, it's still hunting. It's him and his demeanor and it's been fairly well covered on this thread. One thing that hasn't been covered very well is his communication skills. It took a few days to get a hold of him at times while we were in the field.

Yes I've heard some bad things about some of his other hunts. That's why I specifically mentioned I haven't heard anything about his moose hunts. I know the vast majority of his strips and can't say anything bad about any of the locations. Hell it helps when you land at your former employers strips and then walk just down the ridge and make your own strip. Its the Tok Air way...

That sucks you didn't get a moose. Hopefully you get the chance to come back and get it done.

 

[Matapatos]

Yes I've heard some bad things about some of his other hunts. That's why I specifically mentioned I haven't heard anything about his moose hunts. I know the vast majority of his strips and can't say anything bad about any of the locations. Hell it helps when you land at your former employers strips and then walk just down the ridge and make your own strip. Its the Tok Air way...

That sucks you didn't get a moose. Hopefully you get the chance to come back and get it done.

Gotcha... I hadn't heard anything bad about the hunts themselves, just the way he is and does business. I'd love to come back and do another hunt, it'll take some more years of eating ramen noodles to make it happen, though.

 

[tam9492]

For AK residents that book flights every year - is it not worth the cost, time and effort to learn to fly and own an aircraft? I'm clueless as to the time and cost commitment it takes. I'm good friends with a doc in Anchorage, and he flies himself. Granted, he's financially able to support that hobby, but that freedom has to be worth a lot.

 

[VernAK]

It's not only expensive but the skills required for bush flying require a lot of practice and experience that a casual
pilot usually doesn't have the time to accumulate.

Many landing locations may often be the territory utilized by a long established outfitter and your presence is usually not appreciated.

Now that you have your own aircraft on the ground, you have to babysit that that thing in case of winds or bears etc.

 

[Indian Summer]

I always wondered if Zack hunted on top of 40 Mile clients. To me that is a straight up sign of no integrity! Isn’t Alaska big enough to go make your own way? Shouldn’t he be thankful for the opportunity and the experience he gained flying for them?

The number one thing I look for in friends, hunting partners.... and outfitters is INTEGRITY! Without it that how can you have trust? How can you believe anything you are told about your hunt? How do you know your price won’t change after you pay a deposit and that the guy will be there when you need him to answer the sat phone or Inreach? Will he be there to fly an animal out before it spoils?

Screw that! No integrity no deposit from me!!! Hunting on top of your former employer screws that outfit, his clients, and your clients. Only one person benefits from that! Him!

 

[VernAK]

Well said!

 

[Idahunter]

I’ve met Zack a handful of times. Flown with him only once. I gotta trust someone to do business with them and especially to fly me in to an area. With young kids at home there is no way I’m getting in a plane with that guy. Alaska has a way of shitting on your plans. You try to rush it and it will catch up to you eventually. Besides his weak handshake and not looking one directly in the eye he gets in a big hurry. He puts way too many guys in the field for a one man operation. It’s going to catch up to him. His price increases isn’t to lower the hunters, it’s just all part of the Zack personality.

I’m not sure why there is so much fascination with the 40 mile country, especially if you are a non resident. The moose densities are super low there and the season is short in much of the country. Hell some areas don’t open till sept 8th and lot of the big bulls already have a harem of cows by then. There is a lot better areas to hunt as a non resident IMHO and they are a lot cheaper too. It just takes a little bit of research. I took some non resident friends a couple years back and we saw more moose in a week than you’d see in 5 years hunting the 40 mile country. Cost per person including flying out your moose was 1900. That air taxi now is at 2000 a person including moose take out. What was great too was we were not limited to 50 lbs a person. So plenty of beer went along. Moose hunting is boring so the key to success is beer.

Anyways if you are lucky and eventually get a spot with 40 mile air just remember most the prime spots have been on lock for years. Vern’s spot and Nick’s spot are both great areas. If either stopped hunting it there’s already people to take their place and it’s most likely not going to be you.

I would be interested in an area you suggest other than the 40 mile area. I am trying to setup up a diy with my dad for 2023. Any pointers are greatly appreciated. I agree the prices for some of these guys are ridiculous. We basically just need transport not all of the other frills.