Caribou in AK?

Has any of you guys hunted Caribou in AK? Ive been invited to hunt the Mulchanta herd in Sept. its a 6 day hunt, The price is $1,200.00 not including air fair to AK. I will be hunting with 4 AK residents. I can also purchase a Moose tag.

Is this a good deal? And if any of you have hunted Caribou, Tell me about your experience.

Willirower, It sounds good but again I don't know what services your getting. In 1989 one of my friends paid $1000 to hunt the same herd and only had a drop camp which included nothing but a two man tent. That is a small tent and no stove for heat. Had to provide everything for himself. Are you being guided? Are these AK folks going to act as your guide? My buddy got very worried as he and his partner ran out of food 2 days early and the weather socked them in for 2 days more before the plane could pick them up. They guided themselves and did poorly with one very small BOO.

speaking of carobou i have heard of a small herd in North Eastern washington. Can you hunt them? probably not but just wondering.
Tyler

BigShark,

The people Im going with do this hunt every year. Some years they get thier 5 animals apiece, some years they just get a few.

This is a going to be a drop hunt. We will have to bring our own food and such. From what I understand we get dropped a day ahead of the herd at one of many camp sites along the migration route. Then the plane returns 7 days later to get you and your stuff. I guess the camps have wood floored canvas wall tents with cots and propane stoves........

Willie,

Yes, that's a great deal, you won't do it any cheaper. I've been on two drop camp hunts in the Mulchatna valley. The herd is very big but also unpredictable. If you have the option of being moved in the middle of your hunt it is a good one. Both times I went we were lucky and in the middle of the herd most of the hunt. Be aware of additional costs to fly out the horns and the meat. Also, while the moose sounds good, packing one out is a huge chore. With a couple of guys it might not be too bad. Also remember most moose kills end in some type of bear story. The fact that you are going with some locals that do it every year should make the trip relatively easy.

Tyler:

There is a small herd of Woodland Caribou in NE Washington. Different subspecies from what these guys are after, and NO you can't hunt them. The state of Washington gives out exactly zero permits per year for them. That herd has struggled quite a bit and is getting smaller all the time. Not sure if it's viable long term, but I hope so.

Dan

thanks dan
tyler

Not sure if it's a good deal or not although it sounds kinda good to me...I was stationed in Adak Alaska in the early 90's...Hunted caribou for two years...What an experience...We had no guides and had to learn by trial and error...Since there are no trees on the island, you are hunt in the open tundra....Caribou primarly stay in herds, so it's a stalking game once you find the herd. We couldn't use vehicles or planes to get us to the other side of the island, so we did a lot of hiking. That meant, taking all your gear on your back. If you went on a weekend hunt, you needed to plan on having enough stuff to stay for a week in case of incliment weather....Caribou are great animals to hunt...Meat tasted excellent and if your looking for a trophy....Caribou have big racks...Not sure if you know this but the cows also grow antlers....Caribou are typically Elk size animals, so you'll get tons of meat...Good Luck and let me know how you do!

I've done 2 drop camp hunts in the Iliamna area. We had to bring all the stuff we needed. One hunt was 7 days and the other was 11. It is really fun. The price you have been given is average to good. Also, you are going with repeat customers of the taxi service, so your chances of being dropped in the right location are a lot better (sorry to say but it is true). We did the same thing, by going with guys who were using the taxi service a lot and ended up shooting several quality animals, some were real beauties. I should try and scan some pics.

They are a very fun animal to hunt, and can be stalked within bow range by simply playing the wind. Don't let Tred Barta fool you, they aren't the wariest creatures in the woods. I think it is a great adventure.

I am 7 years older now

I hunted the Mulchatna back in '98.
Met up with a buddy who lives in Eagle River, we went with Glen Alsworth of Lake Clark Air on a drop off DIY hunt.
We took four very nice bulls
Think the whole thing cost about 4 grand for two bulls.
They supplied the food & gear.
We had a great time.










The Mulchatna was just starting to show signs of decline then.
Then it really got bad, the herd split or crashed and good bulls were damn tough to find.
Very poor hunting there for some time.
I think it is starting to improve now, but if I recall they cut the limit to one bull.

The Western Arctic Herd out of Kotzebue are far stronger than in the Mulchatna right now.
Though a slightly smaller caribou your odds of success are much greater.It will cost you a bit more to fly up there, but you will most likley see WAY more mature bulls.


Ron Aldridge runs a very good outfit out of Kotzebue, he offers drop camps as well for $2.700.
http://www.caribou-unlimited.com/

Did the same hunt as Sal in 99 with the same outfit. Using the gps coords I figured out we were 7 miles N of Lake Ilaimna after I got back.
I was shocked at the amount of caribou. The second night we woke up to the sound of hundreds of bou jogging by our tent huffing as they went by....we initially thought it was a bear or bears. We got our 4 for 2 guys and then ptarmigan hunted and fished for bows and grayling. We didn't even have to use sandshrimp for the grayling like Blades did.
That was one cool trip. I hope to take my son up there to do that one.

I've going up to AK annually since 2000 or so and have never seen a caribou. They don't exist.

Stop by the shop near the lunch spot on the Ave Parker. Buy a caribou whistle. It works.