Frank Church Wilderness Deer Hunt

[Daxter]

It has always been a dream of mine to go on a Nov. muley hunt in the Frank Church Wilderness. I know it is super steep, rugged, remote, risky and dangerous, that is what makes it appealing to me. I am seeking the real wilderness experience. I figure I can have an "Alaska Type" wilderness hunting experience (flying in in a super cub, crazy variable weather, not seeing any other hunters, etc.) for less money than it would cost me to do something similar in AK. I want to charter a flight into the wilderness and then backpack another 6-10 miles from the airstrip to a hunting area.

I wondered if any fellow MM'ers have done this type of trip and what you would recommend. Did you buy elk tags too? Were there lots of folks in the vicinity of the airstrip? How far do you have to go to get away from the crowds? How much did the chartered flights cost? What pilot would you recommend? How late in Nov. do you dare stay? If anyone wants to pm me about a recommended airstrips to start from I would also appreciate it. And, of course if anyone has stories or photos from this type of hunt I would also love to see that. Thank you so much.

Dax

 

[Outdoordan]

Try Middleforkair.com. They fly into the "church". Was going to use them for sheep. Didn't end up doing it. Heard it may be fairly crowded right near landing strips but if you can backpack from there it may get better.

 

[Califelkslayer]

Did it in 93 for elk. If you remember, that was after a terrible winter. Flew in to Indian Creek, floated down to Thompson's Creek and flew out. Tried to use the raft to get away from folks. We hiked up on top which was 4-5 hours and hunted. Took a spike camp up. Saw and/or heard bulls most every day but didn't really get away from folks. I think if I was gonna do it for deer, I'd hunt below Thompson's Creek. Its more mule deer loking to me. The upper areas are great elk habitat. If I was doing it for a trophy deer, I wouldn't mess with elk. If you killed one on top where I was, I'd be 4 days getting it out. Maybe 3 if you boned it all out.

By November the deer may move down towards the river, wherever the does are. The first answer is a good one. Call the air services. There used to be one out of Riggins and one out of Salmon. They know what comes out of there and when. Good luck and let us know how you do.