August 2017 DIY drop caribou

rambopup4

Active Member
Messages
245
Anyone know of any good air transporters offering fly in drop caribou services at this late date? I've not drawn any western states I've applied in. North slope of the brooks range is out due to the cost just to get up to the Chandalar Lake area or Deadhorse as well as Forty mile herd. 40 mile air owner told me as a non resident if I had to rent equipment it meant I did not know how to hunt and he was not interested in my business!
 
Well there are no other options for caribou as a NR if The Brooks is out and 40-mile is out unless you want to hunt off the Haul Road.

Good luck finding a rental car!
 
what equipment were you wanting to rent? I've talked to the 40 mile air folks and they were always super nice.

agree about Kodiak. we hunted deer and caribou(ferel reindeer) in 2015 and we each killed 1 of each. its not cheap to hunt the south end of Kodiak by any means but it was a blast! and a good taste of hunting Alaska.
 
Zach at Forty Mile Air told me that no less than three weeks ago! Business must be really good such that an air transporter can dismiss a potential out of state customer who needs to rent all the necessary equipment to do a DIY drop camp for caribou in Alaska. I've been to Kodiak once before in 2008 for Mountain Goat. In 37 plus years of hunting in 17 states and seven foreign countries that hunt was the worst I've ever experienced! I immediately contacted the Alaska State Troopers once the float plane returned to the Kodiak air base.
Never book a hunt of any kind with Jeff Welch of Welch Brothers guiding or his sub agent Dale Stratton of Can't Get Enough Fishing.com At $250/day for my wife to remain in camp and fish, Jeff Welch did not even bother to take her out fishing or crabbing! Neither he nor the sub guide Dale Stratton informed me of having to purchase a game locking tag before the hunt despite being in three, yes three, sporting goods stores which sold such before the hunt. I paid a $2500 deposit to Welch before the hunt and never got a receipt as required by Alaska ADFG and big game hunters board. I then contacted ##### Rohrer a well known outfitter on Kodiak who at that time was on the board of directors of the Alaska outfitters association with all the details,receipts and documents and he and the board took no action!
Nevertheless I've researched caribou hunts on Kodiak and would be interested in any first hand recommendations on how to arrange such as long as it does not involve Jeff Welch and Dale Stratton!
 
call Andrews Airways. top notch transporter. Kodiak Camps will rent you any gear you want too. we rented a bombshelter and bear fence from them.
 
Couple things. Zach owns Tok Air, not 40-Mile air. I doubt 40-Mile has any slots open anyway for this year, but you never know. They are one of the best outfits in the state.

The feral Reindeer populations on Kodiak have been hovering around 350 head for the last 10 years or so. Hunting pressure has been increasing over the last few years like 2-3x as many hunters, and accessibility to them is limited. Not saying you can't get one, but your odds of seeing other hunters is quite high compared to 40-Mile area, or south side of the Brooks.

Prior to 2012 the harvest on Kodiak was about 15 caribou. I haven't seen 2016 yet stats yet, but 2015 was 40, and 2014 was 36. Mature bulls make up about 15% of a healthy heard. I would for sure talk to the bio before booking a trip and finding out that a "big" bull is a 3yo, much like what Adak has turned into. Unless you are just after any caribou, then I'd go to Adak and be miserable and fill up a truck with caribou.

Check with Wrights Air out of Fairbanks. Tough to find a flight this late in the game. Keep calling though.

Another option, not cheap, is the Western Alaska Range. Check with Willow Air, or transporters out of McGrath.

Cheap and easy caribou hunts are a thing of the past, and only getting worse, especially for a non-resident.

I can't wait to shoot one or two this fall.
 
Bambistew is right on about the caribou herd and increased # of hunters. they are tough to find and 15% Mature bulls might even be high. we found a herd of approx 100 bou. and only 2 of them were worth shooting and packing back to camp and we tipped them both over but i was super happy with mine (top one) by buddy shot a really nice one! I wouldn't go expecting to find them. take a deer tag and a bou tag and if you can't find the bou shoot another buck.


898781198717410470796153262792300914452894261821n.jpg



31012fullsizeoutput3b3.jpeg
 
Have you looked into DIY'ing the Taylor Hwy (Registration RC860). It's only a registration hunt and I remember seeing lots of racks coming from there when I lived in Copper River Basin, during the open season up there. I wouldn't think you'd need a transporter for that hunt...unless your hell-bent on taking a fly-in drop hunt. The only caution I'd give is be there early, ADFG always closes the season early (via Emergency Order) due to meeting their harvest quotas before regulation season ends.

Also, don't discount renting some float-hunting equipment! :D
Good luck.
 
Just got done reading a story about how the locals hunt with a airplane flying in the night before there hunt and see where the herd is moving to so they are in front of them for the next morning,then that afternoon they fly ahead again to get in place for the next morning hunt, Leapfrogging like this seem they do pretty good doing it like that. Doing it this way keep them with in the law of not hunting same day you fly.
They did say it cost a lot more for this service.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom