Cool deal. I'm always up for meeting new hunting friends, especially if they're from the Big Sky State. Speaking of we still need to get you one of those big central MT mulies ArcticBowMan. I know Kevin will take you into his honey holes anytime you want. Wolf Killer, you should have said you know ABM. He'll take care of ya. He knows a hell of a lot more about the Haul Road than I do. He always keeps it interesting too. Phase III blizzards, boats launched up onto gravel bars, Singapore crotch rot, the whole "Rambo" incident...it's all good!!! I'll just leave it at that for fear that he'll start airing out my dirty laundry.


BareBack Jack,

I honestly don't know what a lot of the rental prices are because I live here and I own that stuff. As far as the drive up I'd say it depends on what size rig you have and how many guys. If you have a crew cab truck and say four or more guys it'd definitely be more economical to drive up instead of flying. That of course doesn't take into account for the minimum six or so days of extra time it'll likely take in travel time up and back. Where you'd really save is the freight to get your animals back to the states. That's where the airlinesreally gouge you. Be sure to check the import/export rules for taking meat through Canada these days. I know it's on again off again all the time for beef so make sure you can legally bring your critters back depending on the current embargo status. There are caribou herds around Tok. The Nelchina Herd (mostly in Unit 13) is all Tier 2 subsistence hunting only so you're out of luck there. The 40-mile herd is accessible around Chicken, north of Tok. That hunt is a registration permit hunt that runs off of a quota. Most successful hunters use ATV's up the Chicken Ridge Trail and there's a lot of competition. They filled the 400 or so quota last fall in something like 10 days. That one you have to be there early, have an ATV, and don't forget to pack your flak jacket. The closest herd out of Anchorage is the Mulchatna herd on the Alaska Peninsula. That herd has really declined in recent years and reports are that mature bulls are almost non-existant anymore. The biggest herd in the state is the Western Arctic Herd out of the Nome and Kotzebue area in Northwestern AK. Here's a link to a site that has some good archived info regarding flight services, etc. Be prepared for fly-out prices to really spike in price because the cost of fuel really hits those boys hard. Hope that helps.

http://www.pristineventures.com/cgi/messageboard/board.pl

AK Jeff