Learn me some Caribou

I am at the very beginning stages of researching a caribou hunt for the wife and I. I was hoping for some input or advice on what the options are right now. This would be a save up for a year or two thing so I'm not looking for 2014.

It looks like the big herd migration hunts in Northern Canada have been getting a lot more expensive the last five years or so. Is this still the way to go or is there better options?

Does anyone know of a feasible drive up hunt? We love road trips and it might be really fun to take a couple days on the ends of the trip to drive. It looks like the mountain caribou hunts in BC are kind of a high dollar thing, and not usually done as a single species deal.

I've also looked a little at the 40 mile air option in Alaska. The price seems manageable, but I'm not sure if I can talk my wife in to flying in and staying by ourselves in a backpacking tent.

Any input would be appreciate.

Get some snow camo and wait patiently on your roof top December 24th. A whole sleigh full should come by and then take your pick! Just don't be disappointed if you get a lump of coal in your stocking Christmas morning.

Don't nonresidents need to get a guide for most hunts in Canada? Regardless, I've heard great things from friends about their float trips on the North Slope. High success rates, great fishing, and fairly affordable. It's definitely on my list.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=253065

Randy I highly recommend Mike with 70 North out of Happy Valley had an awesome hunt with him and reasonable price for drop off. Most of the operations out of Happy Valley do very well that would be my choice as far as price and lots of great animals.

I went with Northern Air Trophy out of Kotzebue and had a great experience. We rented our gear and bought our food from them. I took my wife and we stayed in a 10X10 Cabela's Alaskan Guide tent. We arrived Aug 31 and had great weather for a week straight. Light rain every night, but none during the day. No bugs either. Tons of caribou.

http://www.northernairtrophy.com/trophy_hunting/caribou/caribou_outfitted.php

There's no hope without dope on the north slope.

But there is a lot of Caribou.

Thanks Brownbear and Sagebrush. I had already looked at the Northern Air trophy site, seems like a good operation. The fly-in drop off does sound like it'd be the feasible. I'm having a hard time finding anything but awesome reviews on any of these drop camps, is it really that easy to get plopped down right in the middle of that many caribou?

It can be that easy, but its not always. I've heard to many stories of guys getting dropped of in the traditional caribou range that the outfitters use, only to have the caribou still 3 weeks away. They are highly nomadic, and can be here to day gone tomorrow.

The North Slope Hunt is one of my favorites for sure. Mainly because it was a true DIY hunt for me. The fly out hunt we did out of Bethel was more successful, and we had caribou cruising withing 400 yards of camp damn near every day all day.

I never did punch a tag on the North Slope, but I was focused on archer hunting the pipeline corridor. Had to manny opportunities to count, and should of probably connected on my first trip if i had set the video camera down and just hunted. Lots of encounters in the 90 yard range just not in archery range for me.

The outfit out of Happy Valley seems to have good reviews, but its been 6 years since I've been up there or looked at a hunt up there. I took a Jet boat up river from near there and got the 5 miles off the road to riffle hunt, and after 6 days of hunting, we only saw one small group of bulls that we passed on. All the bou were next to the road, so we motored in every day and archery hunted from the truck.

The first year I was up there I managed to take a nice bull out of the 40-mile herd, but It wasn't really known for its trophy potential. That herd is heavily hunted by road access from Chicken early on and off of the Steese Higway near Central later in the migration. When they come through, they come through thick! Never did the fly out hunt for this herd, but it could be good as well.

If it were me and you were thinking about doing the drive up, I'd hit the north slope and hunt the Hauls road. Maybe a day or two hunting the 40 mile herd on the way up or back, as a secondary option. Otherwise pay for the fly in hunt.

There was an article, I believe it was in Petersen's Hunting last year about a caribou hunt out of Fairbanks. If I remember correctly they just drove up the Dalton Highway and hiked off from the road to hunt the north slope. Not sure of what the non-resident requirements are but that might be worth looking into.

Curtis.mullin said:

There was an article, I believe it was in Petersen's Hunting last year about a caribou hunt out of Fairbanks. If I remember correctly they just drove up the Dalton Highway and hiked off from the road to hunt the north slope. Not sure of what the non-resident requirements are but that might be worth looking into.

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Be careful with this statement.... Hiking 5 miles off the Dalton to get to an area you can rifle hunt, is nothing like hiking 5 miles anywhere in MT.... I have heard it compared to walking on a waterbed full of bowling balls. I have been there, and done this trip, and can tell you that I for one would not be walking 5 miles in. On the other hand as my little bro (FRENCHY) said, if you want to archery hunt it, the road is the way to go. Otherwise find a ride to get you the 5 miles away from the pipeline.

Matt flies several times a day and knows exactly where there are caribou north of Kotzebue. We flew around our area several times looking at herds of caribou and making sure there were no other camps within miles. It is illegal for a transporter to tell you how or where to hunt, but if you happen to see caribou in your area while looking for a place to land, no problem.

This went on for 11 hours on the second day of our hunt 125 yards from our tent.

Randy11 said:

Thanks Brownbear and Sagebrush. I had already looked at the Northern Air trophy site, seems like a good operation. The fly-in drop off does sound like it'd be the feasible. I'm having a hard time finding anything but awesome reviews on any of these drop camps, is it really that easy to get plopped down right in the middle of that many caribou?

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Yeap I knew we were in for a good time when we ran bou off the airstrip to land the plane We could seriously any day there sit and camp and count 50- 300ish bou.

Elkwhisper said:

Be careful with this statement.... Hiking 5 miles off the Dalton to get to an area you can rifle hunt, is nothing like hiking 5 miles anywhere in MT.... I have heard it compared to walking on a waterbed full of bowling balls. I have been there, and done this trip, and can tell you that I for one would not be walking 5 miles in. On the other hand as my little bro (FRENCHY) said, if you want to archery hunt it, the road is the way to go. Otherwise find a ride to get you the 5 miles away from the pipeline.

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I will say an amen to this one we shot two bou first morning 1 1/2 miles from camp and got the last of them into camp two days later I was drained that country will fool you it is no joke so be prepared. I knew I should have taken the one 100 yards from the tent dang it:W:

sagebrush said:

I went with Northern Air Trophy out of Kotzebue and had a great experience. We rented our gear and bought our food from them. I took my wife and we stayed in a 10X10 Cabela's Alaskan Guide tent. We arrived Aug 31 and had great weather for a week straight. Light rain every night, but none during the day. No bugs either. Tons of caribou.

http://www.northernairtrophy.com/trophy_hunting/caribou/caribou_outfitted.php

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My first trip I was skunked but still I was in Alaska and had a great time. I went with We Guide Alaska but my next trip will be with Northen Air. Talked with several guys at the airport that used them and they were impressed. Looking forward to round two with barren ground caribou.

Whether you go with 70 North Aviation out of Happy Valley or with 40 Mile Air, you and your wife will be flying in and sleeping in a tent in a pretty remote area (just helping you get your wife comfortable with what to expect). Be aware that the walking up in the Brooks Range (70 North country) is much harder, walking through tundra and tussocks is no fun at all, and packing meat across the tundra is even less fun.

The area covered by 40 Mile Air is more taiga than tundra and tussocks, although you will find areas where there are tussocks and swampy ground (we did on our caribou hunt last year).

The 40 Mile herd is much smaller than the caribou herd in the Brooks Range, and generally has less trophy animals in it (not sure if you care about that or not). The one thing to be aware of is that if you hunt the Brooks Range there is a chance that you'll see or be camped in proximity to other hunters. I've been on several hunts with 40 Mile, and was always miles from the next nearest camp - you won't see anyone in the field when you're hunting with them.

Hope some of this helps you decide what's best for you and your wife, both are great adventures and something you'll remember for a lifetime.

Michael

Interesting take about the 40-mile herd trophy quality. First I've heard of this.

The WACH population is down almost 50%+ from 8-10 years ago.

Jim Dau is probably the best caribou bio in the US, he surely knows and understands the WACH, I believe he's been stationed up there for 20 years or more. Nice guy and tons of knowledge.

Latest press release.
http://www.adn.com/2014/05/24/3485009/decline-of-western-arctic-caribou.html

IMO... The Noatak area (Kotzebue) is one of my favorite places in the state. Some of the most remote country left in NA. Its wild, scenic, and a place that time forgot. It would be an experience you and your wife will never forget.

FYI the animosity towards NRs in Kotz is impressive. Very few people rely on "outside" $ to live, consequently they zero interest in tourists. If you need to stay over night in town, accommodations are limited, and the price per room is now around $280/night.

The thing that makes the 40mile area more attractive, IMO is that you can find a few resident animals pretty much year round (maybe this is where the trophy perception comes from?) Knowing where to find the resident mature bulls is no harder than finding mature animals of any kind. Getting dropped off in the right area is the hard part.

In contrast to the WACH its feast or famine. They summer on the north slope, and come back south to rut, winter, then head back north to calve, then do it all over again. You may need to be moved to an area where animals are moving through. They tend to use the same migration corridors through the mountains each year, but sometimes they switch it up. The weather in the Arctic is fickle, fog/wind issues may prevent you from getting moved to a better area before its time to go home. Going later will increase your chances of hitting the migration, but also increases weather related issues and snow. Fog can settle in for days...

I wouldn't recommend a backpack style tent for a later season hunt out of Kotz. Take a tent that you can heat, you'll be more comfortable. Generally, firewood is hard to find and punky, so starting a fire to warm up and dry out can be challenging.

IMO, flip a coin. Both have pros and cons.

Bambistew said:

Interesting take about the 40-mile herd trophy quality. First I've heard of this.
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FYI the animosity towards NRs in Kotz is impressive. Very few people rely on "outside" $ to live, consequently they zero interest in tourists. If you need to stay over night in town, accommodations are limited, and the price per room is now around $280/night.
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IMO, flip a coin. Both have pros and cons.

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Holy Cow Ivan - $280 a night??? I was just with my girlfriend at a hotel in California where our room patio opened up to the beach, and it was $299 a night.

FYI Randy - I'm a meat hunter mostly, so Bambi's take on the trophy quality of the 40 Mile Herd is much more accurate than mine. I don't pay close attention to antler size, so not the best judge of trophy quality. Every bou I've shot feels like a trophy to me.