What I learned my first caribou hunt

[RGRWheeler]

Thanks for taking the time and effort for this write up. Buddy and I are planning our first Alaskan hunt for 2023 Haul road caribou, and your write up has been super informative and given me lots of new things to consider. Again thanks you.

 

[NallaJ23]

Thank you for sharing! Sounds like it was an awesome adventure! It’s definitely on my bucket list.

 

[BEEVEE]

I may have missed it in the thread, what transporter did you use? Thanks

 

[Cbiren]

Sounds like a blast. Thank you for sharing!

 

[austinrdavis7]

This was great info. Thanks for sharing

 

[TAS1313]

Thanks for all insights and information ITT. Will be helpful this winter.

 

[Yaremkiv]

Wow this was a fun read.

 

[Dougwise]

I am booked to fly up with Arrowhead August of 2024 - Thanks so much for this information! Answered a bunch of questions.
Are bear problems generally an issue between harvest and pick up? Do the operators offer a meat pick up if you would want to stay and fish and enjoy Alaska for a few days after your hunt?
Do you think a larger tent is worth the weight for two people?

 

[mcseal2]

I can't answer the bear question for sure. I have been to AK 3 times not and have yet to see a brown or grizzly bear. I saw one pretty fresh track along the river on the caribou hunt. On Kodiak this year we saw a lot of sighn but nothing really fresh.

The meat pick-up will depend on the transporter and is something to discuss with them ahead of time. Bear issues are too. That said transporters are often pretty vague with their answers. Alaska is pretty unpredictable, and the transporters don't know that much about a first time client. They don't want to give advice someone later decides was wrong and gets pissed off about. These hunts are designed for people that are pretty self reliant. A good friend of mine is an older guide/outfitter from Wyoming, his answers to people's questions remind me a lot of the transporters. I think a lot of people in that business learn to manage their responses.

I don't want to scare you off from asking questions, I ask a bunch myself. I just don't expect all the answers I might want from the transporter so I ask here and other places as well. The tranporter may give you a list of past clients or references that will be glad to answer questions for you also. Ask any questions of the transporter you can well ahead of their busy season also. January has been a good time for me to get answers. Don't wait until they are busy during hunting or fishing season to ask. My policy is anything I can do to make the transporters life easier will help me out as well in the long run.

As to your last question I'd take a bigger tent if you have the weight limit, or two small tents and a tarp to hang out under as well. If you will be dropped along a river or somewhere with brush having a tarp where you can be out of the rain, but still able to see the surroundings is nice. It helps keep me from getting to bored or stir crazy in the tent when it's socked in and visibility isn't good enough to hunt. Our Kodiak hunt in November we had a big weight limit so we took a big 6 man Cabelas tent, about 10'x10' with room to stand. 2 guys slept in it and we all got dressed in it. The other 2 of us stayed in a 2 man tents. I liked having the 2 man (Kuiu Storm Star) to myself. Camp time Roll A Chairs are nice to have under the tarp too. That's one of the last items I'd drop to save weight.

 

[Wyobull]

Thanks so much for the write up, It was well done a provided a bunch of very usefull info.

 

[Elk Racer]

Been looking into a caribou hunt, I'm sure glad I came across this post. What a great job, thank you very much for taking the time and sharing such valuable information.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks guys, glad it helped.

 

[MR139]

Thanks guys, glad it helped.

I am just starting the process, shooting for a 2024 trip. How far in advance would you recommend seriously getting booked? And what has been your average cost of your three trips doing it DIY? We plan to do no more than 4 guys.

 

[mcseal2]

We just booked for 2024. I’d call your transporter right away and ask when they start booking for 2024.

As for cost I think our average would be $6500 to $7000. That’s hotels, luggage, tags, food, flights, everything. It could be done cheaper or more expensively. I would guess that’s pretty average. Costs continue to rise.

Prices have gone up for transporters since our first hunt too. The transporter’s price has gone up $5400 since we booked our moose hunt and they have enough demand to use a draw system to manage it.

 

[MR139]

We just booked for 2024. I’d call your transporter right away and ask when they start booking for 2024.

As for cost I think our average would be $6500 to $7000. That’s hotels, luggage, tags, food, flights, everything. It could be done cheaper or more expensively. I would guess that’s pretty average. Costs continue to rise.

Prices have gone up for transporters since our first hunt too. The transporter’s price has gone up $5400 since we booked our moose hunt and they have enough demand to use a draw system to manage it.

Thank you! Hope we aren’t too far behind the ball on this… sounds like you need to book further out than I thought. I originally thought 6-8 months ahead was enough. Apparently not even close. Are you typically paying for everything upfront that far in advance ? I don’t even have a transporter lined up and still have a lot of research to do.

 

[mcseal2]

Usually we just pay a deposit.

Caribou opportunity has decreased while demand has at least remained steady I think. I really don’t know on demand, just guessing.

As point creep continues in the lower 48 I expect demand for AK hunts to continue to increase. People I’ve talked to seem to either love the adventure of AK or hate the cold, wet, and unpredictable schedule.

 

[VernAK]

A caribou shot other than in the guts, seems to start bloating before it hits the ground. This is most likely because lichen has a very high carbohydrate content, I suspect. They have to be a fartin machine!

That's the extent of what I've learned in half a century of caribou hunting.

 

[Tahoenorth]

Thanks for the info, we're going with Arrowhead in 2025

 

[sjvcon]

I am going to read through this with great interest. One of my bucket list hunts is Caribou.

 

[jmassart]

Great write up, really helps plan for our last minute hunt this year!