DIY Archery Caribou Hunt Kotzebue, Alaska

[Ryan]

Excellent. Thanks again. I suppose that one key to success would be to keep an eye on reports for growth/decrease of the herds via ADFG over the next year or so. Unless you know of any other reliable sources.

DL

The newpaper and ADFG are the best bets. Whatever herd you end up hunting do a Google search the spring to summer before you hunt. If there's anything drastic about it it should be out by then.

 

[DoubleLunger]

The newpaper and ADFG are the best bets. Whatever herd you end up hunting do a Google search the spring to summer before you hunt. If there's anything drastic about it it should be out by then.

Will do. Thanks Ryan

 

[ack]

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Good day my fellow hunters,

I Hope all is well. Myself, a buddy of mine, and hopefully my Ol man(@velodog) if I can talk him into it, are planning and adventure in Alaska for 2020 to hopefully draw back on some Caribou.

Possibly around the Northwest part of the state or wherever the herds seem to be the fullest.

We’re considering an unguided DIY outfitted hunt for five days. We certainly have plenty of time to plan and get into shape.

Just curious if anyone else has done this type of hunt for Caribou around NW Alaska and what your experience was like. I.e. what to do/not to do. As well as who you used for a bush pilot service, outfitter, etc.

Or if I’m just an idiot that doesn’t know how to find this kind of information on this forum and I’m posting on the wrong place then please let me know.

Just point me in the right direction!

Thanks all,

DL

Be very careful as Alaska is full of scammers.....We did 6 drop hunts in different areas..Three were good and three were rip offs and I have heard some horror stories ..All I'm saying is be careful who you hire to drop you...We did two with Cabela's and never again..One was ok but other was no game in area...Pilot out of Kotz named Spezak told us not to drink any water and left us with 5 gall for a week ..We got it off tarps when there was a good spring nearby..We were dumped a couple miles from Caribou Unlimited camp which had three planes going..Heard 60 shots one morning within a couple minutes...Folks in Kotz hate out of staters too..Do a lot of checking as the hunt is worth it if you get a good place...Areas change from yr to yr....Might ask "Ron Spomer "on "Model 70 Win owners" as he knows some about areas..or contact local biologist out of Kotzebue..Porcupine heard may be way to go now..

 

[huntinlabs]

Why not do the 40 Mile hunt? We were extremely successful this year in 3 for 3 as were alot of other people. Plus you dont need the extra expense of a plane.

 

[DoubleLunger]

Be very careful as Alaska is full of scammers.....We did 6 drop hunts in different areas..Three were good and three were rip offs and I have heard some horror stories ..All I'm saying is be careful who you hire to drop you...We did two with Cabela's and never again..One was ok but other was no game in area...Pilot out of Kotz named Spezak told us not to drink any water and left us with 5 gall for a week ..We got it off tarps when there was a good spring nearby..We were dumped a couple miles from Caribou Unlimited camp which had three planes going..Heard 60 shots one morning within a couple minutes...Folks in Kotz hate out of staters too..Do a lot of checking as the hunt is worth it if you get a good place...Areas change from yr to yr....Might ask "Ron Spomer "on "Model 70 Win owners" as he knows some about areas..or contact local biologist out of Kotzebue..Porcupine heard may be way to go now..

Thanks Ack,

I’ll certainly pay attention to this kind of headache. No one wants to plan an adventure just either see nothing or be caught in a bad situation.

 

[DoubleLunger]

Why not do the 40 Mile hunt? We were extremely successful this year in 3 for 3 as were alot of other people. Plus you dont need the extra expense of a plane.

Interesting. I’m not sure of what the 40 mile hunt consists of. Is this a drive and glance type hunt? And where is this normally conducted from?

Thanks,

DL

 

[DoubleLunger]

I’m also interested in what type of gear will be absolutely necessary. I have some good winter hunting clothing by Firstlite. Merino wool base layers, merino and alpaca wool socks, A good pair of leather gortex lined hiking boots by Scarpa, and am debating on a good pair of binos or a spotting scope. Of course rain gear is in the mix. As well as a decent buck knife. The outfitter that we’re looking at provides a packing list yet I’m still interested in everyone’s opinions based on experience as to what items made their trips more comfortable vs miserable.

Thanks all,

DL

@Velo Dog

 

[Ryan]

I’m also interested in what type of gear will be absolutely necessary. I have some good winter hunting clothing by Firstlite. Merino wool base layers, merino and alpaca wool socks, A good pair of leather gortex lined hiking boots by Scarpa, and am debating on a good pair of binos or a spotting scope. Of course rain gear is in the mix. As well as a decent buck knife. The outfitter that we’re looking at provides a packing list yet I’m still interested in everyone’s opinions based on experience as to what items made their trips more comfortable vs miserable.

Thanks all,

DL

@Velo Dog

I don't know enough about the 40-mile hunts to help you much. I know it's unit 20 and they divide it into several sections to manage it since it can get hit hard in certain areas near roads if they all migrate there at once. In this case you have to do more planning and have more resources like vehicles and 4-wheelers available. You may show up in an area and have a zillion of them, or none. None means pack up look again. Possibly running into others hunting them too which makes bowhinting tougher. So, I'd still do a fly out for a once in a lifetime bowhunt. Any decent service will drop you in or in front of migrating animals and you shouldn't have anyone else around. Just my two cents.

As for equipment. Definitely get some decent binocs, they help immensely. You'll see antlers way off and can look over a herd or an animal much better with a quality set of 8x or 10x. But I'd leave a spotting scope at home, that's for fine detail work. I only use one for legal sheep determination and at the range. It's a lot of weight for little use on caribou IMO. If hunting in August bring a fine mesh bug suit. They weigh little and man can bugs get bad. Rain gear. Almost a given it'll rain and it works great as an outer shell for layering.

 

[DoubleLunger]

I don't know enough about the 40-mile hunts to help you much. I know it's unit 20 and they divide it into several sections to manage it since it can get hit hard in certain areas near roads if they all migrate there at once. In this case you have to do more planning and have more resources like vehicles and 4-wheelers available. You may show up in an area and have a zillion of them, or none. None means pack up look again. Possibly running into others hunting them too which makes bowhinting tougher. So, I'd still do a fly out for a once in a lifetime bowhunt. Any decent service will drop you in or in front of migrating animals and you shouldn't have anyone else around. Just my two cents.

As for equipment. Definitely get some decent binocs, they help immensely. You'll see antlers way off and can look over a herd or an animal much better with a quality set of 8x or 10x. But I'd leave a spotting scope at home, that's for fine detail work. I only use one for legal sheep determination and at the range. It's a lot of weight for little use on caribou IMO. If hunting in August bring a fine mesh bug suit. They weigh little and man can bugs get bad. Rain gear. Almost a given it'll rain and it works great as an outer shell for layering.

Thanks again. Makes perfect sense. Definitely believe we’ll get a lot more bang for our buck if we were to fly out.

I definitely wouldn’t look forward to lugging around a heavy spotting scope. Especially if it’s not going to be a crucial part of equipment.

DL

 

[WAB]

Agree on the spotting scope, bino's are fine on bou. Spot on on the rain and bugs. Hunting the North Slope the bugs actually seem to get worse with a little snow, crazy!

 

[WAB]

Oh, and be prepared for snow. We killed two caribou one evening. Worked on them until 1 AM and finally hit the sack after dumping equipment on the ground in camp totally exhausted. Woke up 5 hours later with the roof of the tent on my face. We got 12" of snow in 5 hours! It took forever to find all of our equipment buried under 12" of snow. Lesson learned!

 

[DoubleLunger]

Oh, and be prepared for snow. We killed two caribou one evening. Worked on them until 1 AM and finally hit the sack after dumping equipment on the ground in camp totally exhausted. Woke up 5 hours later with the roof of the tent on my face. We got 12" of snow in 5 hours! It took forever to find all of our equipment buried under 12" of snow. Lesson learned!

Good advice. I sometimes forget how likely it is to get snow up there. Even earlier in the season.

Thanks for the info

 

[jduckhunter]

I guess we lucked out with the bugs, with it raining most of the time the bugs didn't bother us much. But let the rain stop for a few minutes and all of a sudden there was a black cloud around you. That's how I shot my moose, it stopped raining for a minute so I stopped on top of a little rise, sat down to take my hip boots off and pull my socks up. Soon as I got one boot off I was swarmed, so I pulled out my Ben's bug juice and started to liberally apply it to any exposed skin. That's when I spotted a bull moose about 350 yards away emerge from the willows. He was heading for the river, I had no chance to head him off. So with one boot on and one off and my hands oily with insect repellent I stood up and started shooting. I had to stand and shoot to clear the tree tops between he and I, I would have much preferred a prone position. I managed to hit him 3 out of 4 shots, 2 lung shots, 1 liver and the 4th knocked about 2' of tree top off between us. My buddy that was about 100 yards away came running over after the shooting, took one look at me and asked me what the hell I was doing. I guess he had never seen a guy standing on a hill with one boot off and his pant legs rolled up above his knees, firing away at a moose before. My moose was down, that's when the fun ended, it was all work after that.

 

[Ryan]

I forgot one crucial item I tell everyone to bring. A thick paperbook book. Low tech cheap boredom survival gear if you get weathered in. Pick something you know you'd like but have never read, you may read it twice in the same trip. I have.

 

[DoubleLunger]

I forgot one crucial item I tell everyone to bring. A thick paperbook book. Low tech cheap boredom survival gear if you get weathered in. Pick something you know you'd like but have never read, you may read it twice in the same trip. I have.

Makes perfect sense man. I wouldn’t want to rely on technology for entertainment while out there

 

[DoubleLunger]

I guess we lucked out with the bugs, with it raining most of the time the bugs didn't bother us much. But let the rain stop for a few minutes and all of a sudden there was a black cloud around you. That's how I shot my moose, it stopped raining for a minute so I stopped on top of a little rise, sat down to take my hip boots off and pull my socks up. Soon as I got one boot off I was swarmed, so I pulled out my Ben's bug juice and started to liberally apply it to any exposed skin. That's when I spotted a bull moose about 350 yards away emerge from the willows. He was heading for the river, I had no chance to head him off. So with one boot on and one off and my hands oily with insect repellent I stood up and started shooting. I had to stand and shoot to clear the tree tops between he and I, I would have much preferred a prone position. I managed to hit him 3 out of 4 shots, 2 lung shots, 1 liver and the 4th knocked about 2' of tree top off between us. My buddy that was about 100 yards away came running over after the shooting, took one look at me and asked me what the hell I was doing. I guess he had never seen a guy standing on a hill with one boot off and his pant legs rolled up above his knees, firing away at a moose before. My moose was down, that's when the fun ended, it was all work after that.

Whoa! That is not only some crazy luck but some sudden instinct hunter skill reaction. Glad you got the moose. It’s amazing what kind of luck nature/God throws to us

 

[DoubleLunger]

Debating on bringing my camcorder if I decided to film any of the hunt. Only concern is of course the weather ruining it or not being able to use it if the rain pounds us most of the time. I suppose I could keep it in the pack in a waterproof container and just bust it out whenever the weather subsides

 

[jduckhunter]

Whoa! That is not only some crazy luck but some sudden instinct hunter skill reaction. Glad you got the moose. It’s amazing what kind of luck nature/God throws to us

Yeah, I learned a long time ago to take what nature gives you and to always say thank you. I guess one of the morals of this story is to be ready for anything at any time.

 

[1dirthawker]

double lunger,

i am a buddy of your ol' man. i have hunted kotz, 3 yrs ago, and am doing some research to go on a caribou hunt on my own as well for next year. i will call velo dog and give him my thoughts.

 

[DoubleLunger]

double lunger,

i am a buddy of your ol' man. i have hunted kotz, 3 yrs ago, and am doing some research to go on a caribou hunt on my own as well for next year. i will call velo dog and give him my thoughts.

Sorry for your luck of choosing friends . Just kidding. I certainly do appreciate this.

Always cool to see some of my ol’ man’s buddies on here.

Thank you @1dirthawker,

DL