What I learned my first caribou hunt

[Flatlander06]

Awesome break down! Thanks for sharing! I am planning on an Alaska Caribou trip in 2025 hopefully!

 

[WeiserBucks]

@mcseal2 in hindsight is there anything you guys brought that was useless and should have been left behind?

 

[mcseal2]

I’ll think on that one and text the other guys. I can’t remember anything off the top of my head. I’ll get back to you after I ask them.

 

[mcseal2]

Well I got replies from everyone, not a ton we would change.

One guy said he packed to many base layers of different weights. My thoughts on that is take the lightest ones you think you can get away with in merino or a merino blend. Tundra is hard to hike in, take something that will handle sweat and not overheat you. Rely on your layering system for warmth. I like merino next to skin, then a synthetic mid layer, puffy layers, and rain gear. I have been trusting my Superdown more each year I use them, taking my synthetic puffy's less.

The other guy said he would not do that hunt without 2 pairs of boots. He had Lacrosse boots and Kennetrek Mountain Extremes, wore the Kennetreks most. I'd be fine doing the hunt in just my Crispi Hiland Pro boots but I'd want my light camp shoes I described.

Also be sure to talk with everyone going, maybe even have a gear dump on someone's floor before the hunt. Packing redundant stuff that's not necessary for survival can add up quick, especially if you are hunting in pairs or all in a group.

We packed to much food, but in my opinion that's not a bad spot to fill your weight limit if you have room. We talked to some guys after our hunt that came by on a raft during our hunt. They were out like 6 extra days, tagged out and in bad weather before they could get picked up. Extra food & fuel to cook it would have been really nice in that situation. There is just not a lot to burn in a lot of Alaska.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dmvadala]

Thanks for the write; up headed for my first caribou hunt this year and there is a lot of great info for a first timer.

 

[Crosser05]

Beyond useful, thank you!

 

[Bamastan]

Lots of good info. Thank you!

 

[Clem325]

Awesome info. Thanks for taking the time to share this!

 

[EricBender208]

Like I did after the moose hunt I wanted to put up a post about what I learned on my first caribou hunt. I got a lot of help from people here in preparing for both hunts and want to do my part to pass on what I learn. I do a review after each out of state hunt like this for myself anyway, to hopefully increase my skill level and decrease my packing list as I gain experience. I may as well share it with all of you.

I think being a first timer giving advice can be a double edged sword. On one side I probably think to mention things an experienced caribou hunter might take for granted. On the other side I have only been on one hunt and have only that experience to go off of. What I’m saying is take my advice for what it’s worth, a lot of hunters with a lot more experience are available to help you on this site. They were very willing to help me and I am very thankful for that.

To start I’ll give a little background on our hunt. We flew out of Kotzebue on 9-16 and back to Kotzebue on 9-24. We were lucky to get out a day early. Weather ranged from the upper 40’s for highs to single digit lows. Three of us hunted from one camp unguided but flown in by a transporter. They used a pair of 206’s and landed on a gravel bar.

Our hunt was done from a base camp with weight split between 3 people. Our gear excluding clothes we wore in and our binos/harnesses was 250lbs. Our food we would consume in the field was not counted against our weight limit but rifles were. We went with a more comfortable and heavier camp than we would have on a float hunt. We had a 10x10 tarp to cook under, camp chairs, Thermarest cots, and a Cabelas Instinct Alaskan Guide 6 man tent.

We each carried a Rite in the Rain notebook on our hunt and kept a journal for ourselves. We each also had a section in the back for tips, gear ratings, and anything else we wanted to share after the hunt. This is compiled from our conversations, experiences, and notes. I may be writing an article on the story of the hunt, so I’m going wait to share that part for now. This post will be on tips and gear.

HUNTING:

We all got caribou, no giants but we tagged out. I shot a nice bull that fit the description of what I realistically expected from researching this hunt. We did not see any really big frame bulls with great fronts and tops. We saw bulls with great fronts, big frames, and few or no points on their tops that we passed early. I think that’s just the luck of the draw hunting migrating caribou, others hunting with the same transporter at the same time shot some really large bulls that had everything I could want. You have to hunt what is there and be prepared not to fill your tag if you hold out to long. No matter your skill level or ability to cover country, luck is going to be involved when hunting anything migratory from a fixed location. It’s just part of hunting. This may play into your decision between a drop camp or float hunt.

Hunting caribou is about much more than the harvest of the animal and if too much focus is put on that I think it can really take away from the experience. I was fortunate enough to harvest my bull on the third day we could shoot. Having that out of the way really let me relax and take in the whole experience. There is a beauty to that remote country and its inhabitants that it’s worth taking time to appreciate even if it means slowing down to do so. You won’t regret taking time to take in the whole experience later.

Take way more pictures than you think you need to. Describing a hunt in a place like this to family and friends is hard with pictures, it’s even harder without. None of the three of us wish we had taken less pictures.

Tundra is every bit as hard to travel in as you hear or read. I’ve heard a mile in the tundra described as equivalent to anywhere from 5 to 7 miles in the mountains. I think that is pretty accurate. We found travel best along the river and near the edge of other large sharp drop offs. The flat ridge tops had the worst tussocks with the biggest gaps between them. Walking on the worst of it is like trying to do a stair-master as someone drags it bouncing down a rough road. Stepping on the top of the tussock made it fall to one side or the other. Stepping between tussocks meant sending your foot into a hole of unknown depth, likely between 1.5 and 3ft. It’s tough traveling, but not so tough I don’t already want to go back. Just be prepared for some type 2 fun. Trekking poles make a big difference.

Water comes out of hills where and in what quantity it wants to. Sometimes streams near hilltops are to wide and deep for knee boots. You can’t always get across without going far out of your way upstream. Going down may or may not show you a place they get wide enough to cross. Often it’s best just to put on waders and cross at the best place near you rather than spend a lot of time looking.

Caribou seemed fairly easy to get within 250 yards of. We took longer shots on our bulls, but that was more due to terrain and the herd’s direction and speed of travel than them being scared of us. Nothing paid much attention to seeing us until we were within that distance, sometimes much closer. Wind is a different story, once they smelled a human they were leaving. I’m sure we did not smell very good after a few days in the field, humans may have had the same reaction.

Our caribou were taken at 500, 300, and 330 yards. The first was shot prone at 500, two shots but the first would have done the job with a little more patience. My bull was shot standing over my tripod at 300 yards, and the last was shot sitting over trekking poles at 330 yards. Due to terrain only the one bull could be shot from prone. I’d recommend having yourself and your equipment prepared to shoot from at least kneeling height. Two of us had 300 win mags with 180gr Nosler E tips and one had a 7mm Rem Mag with 160gr Nosler Accubonds. All worked well. Rifles that big are not needed for caribou but that’s what our lightweight rifles are chambered in. I would not recommend going to light in rifle or caliber. Caliber due to bears, weight due to stability from less than ideal positions. All our guns will weigh between 8 and 9.5lbs fully loaded, with sling, and ready to hunt.

Im heading to Alaska I’m august of ‘25 to do the same thing. Thanks for the insight.

 

[ruralnv]

Thank you for the information

 

[moose paddle]

Good write up! Im planning a float trip for August 2025....Ill definitely be revisiting this post.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks, and good luck on your hunt.

 

[Snookster]

Great report Mcseal2! ... I'm curious, if you do not mind sharing, approximately what age were the (3) of you when you did this trip? ... Hoping to get myself to AK for a hunt.

 

[mcseal2]

We were all ealy 40’s.

 

[jdinville3]

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?

Going with Arrowhead August 2024 also! Do you have a list made up yet?

 

[longrie]

Great write up!

 

[thawk8541]

Great writeup and recommendations!

 

[skullclnr]

this is great 2026 in the works so thank you!!

 

[Jmillgreen]

Awesome info! Thanks!