Alaskan hunting laws

[WAB]

I would love to be "invited" on an Alaskan hunt from a live-aboard motor yacht!

You saw what Red Leg posted, you're just under incomed!

We ran a boat out of Valdez for years. It’s a great way to hunt Coastal Alaska. Run 100 miles down the coast, anchor up and put the zodiac in the water. Warm boat and hot meal waiting after a cold day hunting!

 

[Say Man]

That hunt report brings back memories! One of my friends runs the other crane/goose operation in Delta on the barley projects. I spent some enjoyable days in those fields. FYI, the Delta Clearwater river has the best grayling fishing I have ever seen. It boils with a hatch of black gnats at 1PM every day Spring, Summer and Fall. The water is so clear you spot the fish by looking for their shadows on the bottom. Take your fly rod if you’re heading back!

It's been a while for me for the Delta geese and cranes and I sure do miss it. Most of that time is spent looking for a moose around here these days.

 

[huntinlabs]

It's been a while for me for the Delta geese and cranes and I sure do miss it. Most of that time is spent looking for a moose around here these days.

How did you do this year? I'm in north pole and hunt up off the Elliot. Had one group of guys see one cow in a week.

 

[Say Man]

How did you do this year? I'm in north pole and hunt up off the Elliot. Had one group of guys see one cow in a week.

I do the bow thing here around town and just started seeing some moose this past weekend. Nothing close enough to shoot yet but still working on getting a bull. Got the rest of the month to try and get one on the ground. Haven't heard of too many being taken this year. Been kind of slow around here with stories for moose. Hearing," Haven't seen much of anything" a lot these days.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah there is not very many people that can pack out a full sheep, goat, or caribou boned out with hide and horns all in one trip. A full grown moose will take 2 people at least 2 trips each....
The reality is that if there is not a guide required for sheep hunts to help share the load, there will be a lot more sheep parts left on the mountain...

I'm guessing the requirements started and still are for safety and guide job security, but now let's include hunting pressure moderation. Everyone and their brother wants to get their sheep grand slam so the pressure on Dall sheep is steep as is.

I know one guy who took his whole sheep out in one trip, he said he was dead beat when he hit the tent and slept 10-12 hours. I did it with a partner, which 40-mile air required just for safety. I thought they were just drumming up extra business until I started hauling it. Make a bad move and you'll break an ankle somewhere a plane can't land to rescue you. A caribou by yourself in one trip is insane unless it's a cow. Moose is just plain work. A lot of it.

 

[WAB]

I couldn’t agree more on the insanity bit. I did a single trip with a big bull caribou because there is a 5 mile no shooting corridor on the haul road. If my buddy helped me pack he would have lost a day hunting.

Funny part of that story, I collapsed in the back seat of the truck and slept 18 hours. When I woke up I couldn’t get out of the truck, it was encased in ice in a massive blizzard. I started the truck and ran it until I had ‘thawed’ my way out. I had a gps and compass but my buddy 5 1/2 miles in had neither. I set the bearing on the compass to get me back to the road if the gps failed and took off for the tent. I was literally within 50!yards of the tent before I saw it.

I thought my buddy would be worried but he was ecstatic. He had just hunkered down to wait it out. During a lull he had looked out and there was a big black wolf on the gut pile of my caribou. You know the rest of the story!

 

[JPbowhunter]

Back in the middle of August I had the privilege of getting a Dall Sheep out of Delta. It was a legal ram but nothing big. It was two days into the mountains before we even got to where we were in sheep country and it took two very long days coming out. If it weren't for being a resident that little sheep would have cost me a fortune. Also I am not sure that someone coming up here would realize the amount of effort to get a sheep out without the help of a guide. My pack coming out weighed 126 pounds and that is pretty common with sheep and goats that I have hauled out of the mountains. With a guide they do most if not all the heavy hauling so makes it nice for those that can pay to do it and usually it's to an airstrip. My little jaunt was over 18 miles each way. That may not sound like much but when you consider that it is about 3500' elevation change through thick alders and devils club then you can start to understand.

Im genuinely envious of that kind of trip! Wish us foreigners could do the same.

I'm heading back to nz next year for a diy chamois hunt but it's not quite the same!

 

[WAB]

Im genuinely envious of that kind of trip! Wish us foreigners could do the same.

I'm heading back to nz next year for a diy chamois hunt but it's not quite the same!

I’ll bet that is a tough hunt as well. Those mountains look pretty amazing!

 

[Say Man]

Im genuinely envious of that kind of trip! Wish us foreigners could do the same.

I'm heading back to nz next year for a diy chamois hunt but it's not quite the same!

Best of luck. If you think about it let us know how you did. Sounds like an awesome hunt in some beautiful country.

 

[Mekaniks]

Every time something like this happens it adds fuel to the “Guided Hunts Only” argument.

http://www.ktva.com/story/39205576/guiding-firm-reported-clients-illegal-moose-kill-troopers-say

 

[jeff]

I know of a client who killed a bull in a 50 inch area and the guide said it was legal and to shoot, when it hit the dirt it was just under 49 inches. The guide and outfitter did not get in any trouble only the client as he was the one who shot it. He called Fish & Game and tuned and reported himself.

 

[Say Man]

I know of a client who killed a bull in a 50 inch area and the guide said it was legal and to shoot, when it hit the dirt it was just under 49 inches. The guide and outfitter did not get in any trouble only the client as he was the one who shot it. He called Fish & Game and tuned and reported himself.

I think the guide should have paid the fine or at least made amends for telling his client to shoot the moose that was illegal. Of course I have heard from guides that they tell a client not to shoot and next thing is the gun goes off and down goes the moose (or insert other critter name here) when they told them not to shoot and then it becomes a game of guide said/client heard situation. Self reporting is always the best thing though. Getting caught trying to be sneaky can cost one dearly.

 

[markferrigno]

Every time something like this happens it adds fuel to the “Guided Hunts Only” argument.

http://www.ktva.com/story/39205576/guiding-firm-reported-clients-illegal-moose-kill-troopers-say

Not sure this is a good example. This is the same guiding firm involved in this: "The incident comes more than three years after Renfro's guided an illegal bear hunt by outdoor-show TV host Theresa Vail, in which the Anchorage Daily News reported both Vail and Renfro's staff were charged with misdemeanors."

https://www.adn.com/crime-justice/a...-covered-illegal-alaska-bear-kill/2015/12/07/

 

[Say Man]

Not sure this is a good example. This is the same guiding firm involved in this: "The incident comes more than three years after Renfro's guided an illegal bear hunt by outdoor-show TV host Theresa Vail, in which the Anchorage Daily News reported both Vail and Renfro's staff were charged with misdemeanors."

https://www.adn.com/crime-justice/a...-covered-illegal-alaska-bear-kill/2015/12/07/

I think that's the reason they turned them in. They are not needing any more bad press and if they got caught again the results would be severe with possibly losing planes and equipment so I think they will be doing everything they can to try and stay on the up and up.

 

[markferrigno]

I think that's the reason they turned them in. They are not needing any more bad press and if they got caught again the results would be severe with possibly losing planes and equipment so I think they will be doing everything they can to try and stay on the up and up.

Agree 100%. I was just pointing out that using guides who admitted to poaching previously is not a good example for the argument that poaching during the same outfitters "unguided" hunt could lead to "Guided only" hunt rules.......

 

[Say Man]

Agree 100%. I was just pointing out that using guides who admitted to poaching previously is not a good example for the argument that poaching during the same outfitters "unguided" hunt could lead to "Guided only" hunt rules.......

Understood, thanks for clearing that up. I agree that this is a bad example but there are several drop off hunts that happen every year that something illegal has happened and does not get reported. That doesn't mean that every drop off hunt is like that and probably to the contrary. Living in AK I hear about this all the time and some of it may not be true but some are and it makes it a little difficult to dismiss all the stories. Most of the time it's that the people came up from the lower 48, spent all this money and feel like they should go home with something so they take the opportunity to take something that may be illegal. Granted like I stated before it's probably a select few but it does happen.

 

[markferrigno]

Yeah, I am sure illegal hunting happens everywhere all over the country. I think part of it is the insane regulations in some states.

Some is people are just unethical, guides included. I understand guided only for safety, esp. in a place like Alaska but that wouldn't eliminate all illegal actions.

 

[jeff]

In Idaho there are several incidents every year where outfitters brake the game laws , cover up illegal activities and they barely get their hands slapped. The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association are self policing, it's like the fox guarding the hen house. One example comes to mind where they illegally guide a moose hunt and when caught they were issued a six month license suspension which was after hunting season closed, the only effect was they had two lion hunts booked and they made arrangements with another outfitter to accompany them with the client. Their license was restored before they had hunters for the next year. It looked on paper that they were punished but not really. The OGA have a lot of political clout and get what they want.