Bear or Caribou

Wapiti23

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Jul 19, 2009
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Wakopa
Hey everyone. I've been wanting to head up north for my first time Alaskan hunt and can't decide between a DIY black bear hunt or fly-in caribou hunt. Logistically I'm guessing that the caribou hunt would require more logistics. Not really looking for a coastal hunt for bear and was wondering if a hunt off of the road system on the Kenai Peninsula would be worth the trouble. Park some place and walk in 3 miles to camp and hunt for an example. I live in North Dakota and would fly up. Would the cost differ quite a bit from these two hunt? Would like to keep the trip at or under $5000 if possible. Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
 
Ypu could do either hunt for less than $2000 from the road system, or another $1500-2500 to fly in.

Apply for an AK airlines card, you get 25000 miles after $1500 in purchases.

Then it's just a rental car and tags.

You could archery hunt bou off the Haul Road for a little more than a bear hunt.
 
Bambi are there better areas with some road access that would also be worth considering for bear? I was just using the Kenai as a general region I guess. Would probably hunt with a rifle the first trip. Would spring or fall be better? I know "0" about Alaska and could use all of the help I can get I guess. No specific areas but Alaska is yuge. I have read many great things about 40 mile for their charter for caribou and understand they're new client rules for booking.
 
Kenai has more bear hunters along the road than bears anymore, but get away from the road and you have it to yourself. Not a fun climb though, few trails and the brush sucks. There are other places for bears, but it depends on density of brownies, they don't play well with black bears.

Fall is the time to go IMO. Also there is no baiting in the fall (unless it changed recently, we're having a war on bears, so it may have). So fewer people out, and less chance of running into a bait station/hunter.

40-Mile is one of a dozen or more that charter for bou. They're just best known, and have a website. Lots of others that don't advertise because they have all the work they need. The issue is there is only so much time to fly people in and out during the season, its not hard to book your flight time up in a fall.

There was a recent thread on DIY caribou or moose hunting MDhunter put up costs. He included everything for how he does it. I tend to go pretty cheap, and sleep in the truck or tent vs hotels, eating out, etc. Lots of ways to save money.
 
Ok thanks a lot. We'd be tenting it no matter what we decide to go after. I've always wanted to harvest a caribou but am also considering bear for my first Alaskan hunt to get my feet wet I guess. Could you pm me with any other charters that do good work and are respectable? If not I'll just have to do some research. Thanks again.
 
There are few caribou herds available to non-residents on the road system and
much competition with 4-wheeler based hunters.

Most reliable air transporters are already booked for this fall.

One nice thing about black bears is they are easy to spot eating blueberries
in alpine tundra and they do not move much when chowing down on berries.
Plus fairly easy to pack out for a solo backpack hunter (they are relatively small).

While glassing alpine tundra you may see Dall sheep, moose, caribou, wolverines, lynx, wolves, etc.
Plus alpine tundra is an awesome wilderness experience in Alaska,
usually windy so bugs less of a problem.
 
Thank you AlaskaHunter. My timeframe would be the fall of 2018 at the earliest for black bear and possibly 2019 for the caribou so that will give me a little time I guess to figure some things out. Hopefully my wife wants to make a trip up there soon and will like enough to plan our move up! Hey I a guy can dream right? Thanks again.
 
Thank you AlaskaHunter. My timeframe would be the fall of 2018 at the earliest for black bear and possibly 2019 for the caribou so that will give me a little time I guess to figure some things out. Hopefully my wife wants to make a trip up there soon and will like enough to plan our move up! Hey I a guy can dream right? Thanks again.

Also in Alaska you can use your tag for a species of lesser cost.
So if you pay for a caribou tag, you could take a black bear on that tag.
"(15) Nonresident big game tags
A nonresident may not take a big game animal without previously purchasing a numbered, nontransferable, appropriate tag, issued under this paragraph. The tag must be affixed to the animal immediately upon capture and must remain affixed until the animal is prepared for storage, consumed, or exported. A tag issued but not used for an animal may be used to satisfy the tagging requirement for an animal of any other species for which the tag fee is of equal or less value"


(My wife is from North Dakota...Glendfield near Carrington, with her sister at Devils Lake)
 
You can hunt black bears in a lot of places but you can only hunt caribou in a few. If you are going to go all the way up to Alaska I would chase caribou and then look at doing bears closer to home.
 
Agree with MAXX...... If you have a $5,000 budget, I'd roll on Caribou. Lots of talk about closing Non-resident hunting opportunities for bou going on up there right now so that's what I'd focus on. Started by closing off Kotz and now the north slope is on the table. 70 North Air, coyote air, or 40 Mile air is who I'd contact for a fly in bou hunt. It can be done cheaper by bowhunting the Haul Rd but I'd spend the $$$ and fly in. Residents don't seem to care about black bear so they don't get the attention the other game species get up there. Blackies can be hunted relatively inexpensive in the fall by hiking in the Chugach Mountains off any trail that gets you a few miles from the road in the Alpine. $450 Tag, $230 7 day Hunting/fishing, rent a car, drive to trailhead, hike in, camp out:)
 
How serious/possible is this caribou closure for Non-residents? Being from out of state and not knowing the local politics, this whole issue just seems extreme for a state the size of Alaska. I just boggles my mind.
 
How serious/possible is this caribou closure for Non-residents? Being from out of state and not knowing the local politics, this whole issue just seems extreme for a state the size of Alaska. I just boggles my mind.

The reduction of caribou hunting is complicated, but to try to simplify - its the result of caribou loss (population of most herds is falling) for unknowable reasons and pressure from indigenous people to keep nonlocal residents from hunting in "their" areas.
 
The reduction of caribou hunting is complicated, but to try to simplify - its the result of caribou loss (population of most herds is falling) for unknowable reasons and pressure from indigenous people to keep nonlocal residents from hunting in "their" areas.

Also it is federal land issue..much of the land along the haul road is federal land,
and for the feds local subsistence is high priority. The state (Alaska Fish and Game)
is against closing to non-residents.

Alaska Fish and Game has done an excellent job managing the 40mile caribou herd.

Gary is correct that most herds have declined (Mulchatna, Western Arctic, Central Arctic, etc).

34 of the 43 major herds that scientists have studied worldwide have declined the past decade.
 

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