Bucket List: Caribou

[Western Hunter]

Every big game hunter out there owes it to themselves to go North to hunt at least once, if not more. The problem with going north to Canada or Alaska is the expense. For a great many people, sheep, bear, and moose hunts are prohibitively expensive. The alternative to these pricier adventures is a caribou […]

The post Bucket List: Caribou appeared first on Western Hunter.

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[Heat]

One of these days...

[HyNoon]

Yes sir.... one of these days.....

[johnrr65]

6 hours ago, Heat said:

One of these days...

+1

[JSR]

Black Bear and Sitka Blacktail are doable Biggest expense is probably airfare and bush pilots

I know a guy that saved for almost a decade to go on a Caribou hunt. Booked a 10 day hunt and it was over in 2 days. They flew around until they found a big herd. Determined their direction, flew head a few miles, waited the mandatory 24 hours, killed a big bull and came home.

[HuntHarder]

Did my first AK caribou hunt in 2019.  Alaska was amazing and I can not wait to get back.   The scenery is second to none and the remoteness of the hunting grounds is spectacular.  

[PRDATR]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:53 PM, JSR said:

Black Bear and Sitka Blacktail are doable Biggest expense is probably airfare and bush pilots

I know a guy that saved for almost a decade to go on a Caribou hunt. Booked a 10 day hunt and it was over in 2 days. They flew around until they found a big herd. Determined their direction, flew head a few miles, waited the mandatory 24 hours, killed a big bull and came home.

It's just not the same day so you can land at 11PM and hunt in the morning. The herds were big back in the early to mid 90's.

[wildwoody]

Caribou is my bucket list.

[PRDATR]

This was from a trip I was invited on when anther guy's wife nixed his trip in 1996. We killed these about 120 miles east of Nome. We flew into Anchorage, then to Unalakleet where we spent a few days upriver at a guys cabin fishing. Then back to Unalakleet where we spent the night waiting for the wind to subside. It finally did in the evening and Jim Tweto flew everyone up in the plane in the picture. He came back just about sunset and he and I flew up in some old 1940's twin engine with all the gear including two ATV's coolers etc landing just at dusk.

[HyNoon]

PRDATR do you have a picture of the mount? If so I would like to see it.

[BOWUNTR]

Did this a few years back... Ed F

 

 

[tomharveyb]

I did a caribou hunt in Ak in 2014.  Flew to Anchorage, then to Kotzebue, then small bush plane into Brooks range with Northern Air Trophy.  Back then a tag was $325 and you could buy 2.  I think it’s $625 now and can only buy 1. Our hunt was outfitted with gear and food- drop off, see ya later.  Filled tags in 2 days, cost about 5k each total -airfare , outfitter, tags, misc including hotel one night.  Fun to do once.  I’ll probably never do another.

[PRDATR]

9 hours ago, HyNoon said:

PRDATR do you have a picture of the mount? If so I would like to see it.

Never had it mounted. A friend of a friends brother lived there and we flew into Anchorage, his wife picked us up and we slept at their house. Got up went out to some touristy place for breakfast then to Costco. We then flew to Unalakleet and met his brother and since there were locals using the miners cabin we were going to hunt from his friend, a well known local guide, had his wife meet us at the airport and we took all our gear back to their house. Then he let us use his boats and we headed about 7 miles up the Unalakleet River and stayed a couple of days at Vances cabin that he built years before after buying 40 acres from the tribe. There we met a couple of his hunters from Germany and fished for Silvers, Dollies and Grayling for a couple of days before heading back to Unalakleet. We were going to flyup to Caribou camp but it was too windy so we stayed at Vances house, on the beach, with his wife and daughter before finally flying up to hunt late the next day. We all tagged out the following day and flew back a day later. We didn't see any bears on the hunt but I did have a Musk Ox walk past me at about 50 feet. I thought they would be bigger.

We stayed everywhere for free and only real cost while there was to put gas back in the boats we used to fish from. I was gone for 9 days and my total cost for my tag, three resturant meals including the bush plane was $1,650.

[Outdoor Writer]

Caribou hunting is a blast if you're in the right place at the right time. I've got three of the subspecies -- Alaskan Barren Ground, Central Barren Ground (Northwest Terr.) and Mountain (B. Columbia) 

The one in the middle is the Alaskan. Lower left is the Central.

 

Heading back to the lodge at McKay Lake, NWT. 

 

 

[Outdoor Writer]

2 hours ago, BOWUNTR said:

Did this a few years back... Ed F

Good video. 👍