AK Dalton HWY hunt
 

We'll be hunting Caribou with our bows. Has anyone on here done this hunt? Thoughts or suggestions?

RE: AK Dalton HWY hunt
 

I've shot two caribou on the haul road. I got my first one in November 06 when a portion of the heard was moving through Atigun pass. In 2007 I got one about 30 miles south of Deadhorse when part of the herd was crossing the Sag River. All in all it's a fun hunt. I like the later season because the antlers are hard and the capes are beautiful. The meat sucks during that time of year, but I'm not a huge fan of caribou meat anyway.

RE: AK Dalton HWY hunt
 

So what you're saying is you'd rather hunt them when the meat sucks?? What's the point of killing the caribou then?

RE: AK Dalton HWY hunt
 

What time of the year are you going? Early season be prepared for bugs like you can't even comprehend. Later in the season be prepared for weather extremes, including extreme cold snaps.

Bring at least two spare tires and plenty of extra fuel. Once you leave Fairbanks you can only get fuel at the Yukon Bridge, Coldfoot, and Deadhorse. There aren't any services at the Alyeska Pump Stations along the way. Be mindful of truck traffic at all times. The road is often narrow, with steep shoulders, and blind cornersso don't stop in the road and rubber-neck or take off after caribou and block the road. If you're going to stop, find a pullout and stop there, but don't block the pipeline access roads. Be prepared for a lot of company. That hunt has gotten extremely popular, especially with the recent collapse of the Mulchatna herd in SW Alaska and continual road improvements. If you're willing to hike a mile or two off of the road you'll leave the bulk of the other hunters behind, but keep in mind that hiking on that wet tundra is genuinelymiserable, especially with a heavy pack load. One way to get away from most of the crowds is to raft across the Sag River and hunt the east side. Don't try and wade it though. Ahunter drowned a couple years ago trying to do just that. The water is extremely cold and you can be sapped by hypothermia in no time. The Central Arctic Herd is highly migratory so plan on going through a lot of country without seeing a single animal. On the flip side of that you can be inundatedwith them if you end up in the right place at the right time. Be prepared for meat care in warm temperatures if you go before the latter part of August and keep in mind that there aren't exactly any meat lockers available. All in all the drive is beautiful, you'll see some immense wilderness, and you can have an enjoyable hunt if you do your homework and do more than just road hunt.

Also, as Justice4all and FarNorth pointed out, when the bulls start to rut, usually in early September, their meat will become downright disgusting. Before then it's delicious, but once they start to rut they get nasty.

Good luck,

AK Jeff