RuRu12

aksheephuntress - I appreciate your info and your enthusiasm. I have only been on one guided hunt myself. I hunted Wyoming with a guide about fifteen years ago. We hunted public land and I quickly figured out that the only things he had that I didn't were gear and local knowledge. So I bought the gear I needed and I have been hunting DIY out west on my own ever since. There is more than a litlle differnce in the requirements though when you start talking moose and Alaska. The distance factor alone makes ittotally impractical to haul all of the gear I normally take out west all the way to AK,throw in dealing with the meat and pack in/out requirements, the vastness of the territory, etc.,and a guide isalmosta requirement for me.

Ihave a guide setup already.I was refered to him by a friend that will be tagging along on the trip. My friend has hunted with him numerous times over the last twenty years and has taken 2 big bears, sheep, and caribou with him.

The area we will be hunting is near/along the Johnson River in 20D. The guide has told me we should see several legal bulls during the ten day season, and that there is a good chance of seeing grizzly. Healso told me that they do not normally see black bears, and only rarely see wolves. He said we would probably hear wolves and evensee their tracks, but it was notlikely to see them.

I do most of my western hunting with a 7mm Remington Magnum. I also own a .300 Win Mag and a .300 Wby Mag. I do not currently own a .338 WinMag, but I am strongly considering acquiring one before my AK trip. I am also considering getting rid of the .300s and purchasing a .300 Remington Ultra Mag to replace them.

I am really looking forward to my first Alaska adventure and appreciate your information/help. I hope to make it back up in 2010 to hunt Sitka Blacktails on Kodiak.