AK Jeff

Keep in mind that driving won't likely save you a lot of money. Gas in Canada is heavily taxed, and you'll have to pay for Canadian firearms permits as well. If you rotate drivers and only take pee breaks it'll still take you the better part of a week of driving round trip. That said it is a scenic drive, and the Alcan is generally in decent shape. Just watch out for the frost heaves in the Yukon.

Here's an idea of what bush flights cost.

http://fortymileair.com/pricing.htm

$1795 base rate per hunter for moose, plus $900 per moose if you're successful. That has your budget pretty maxed out (assuming it's $3k/person) and it doesn't include the $500 in licenses you'll have to buy.

Be careful about trying to trade hunts. Alaska has strict laws about bartering hunts as compensation for people that aren't licensed guides. It's still an option, but you have to keep really good records of how costs are split to show that you didn't "compensate" somebody that isn't licensed.

joemontana

thanks for the info jeff.i guess didnt ralize to be dropped off by a plane was so expensive.we had planned on driving so if we got lucky u wouldnt get killed by the freight of moose being flown back.if someone would tade a hunt there would be no money exchane i would just like to swap like i do with buddies around here i take freinds on my place and they take me but i dont see this happing for alaska but it would be nice.we enjoy taking guys out with us for their first elk during the rrut its just as good as shooting it yourself.i just luv being in the backcountry packing in on horse and aint a slole around getting the elk is iceing on the cake. thanks for info . joe

aaalaska

OK most of the info has been right on, but if you and a friend drive up, it should not be that long, expensive yes gas in Canada is outrageous ,here it's over3.40 now.I have driven from the east coast by myself in less than a week, once from Billings in two and a half days,and with a friend we made Seattle from here in 2 days.
For someone like you, looking to DIY as much as possible ,you might look into applying for some of the draw hunts near the road system, if your lucky enough to draw you could have a good hunt, without the hunting pressure that goes along with hunting near the road, but be prepared ,a large bull moose is a formidable packing job if you are very far from transportation.
One more note swapping hunts can lead to problems here, unless the person your dealing with is a guide here, no one that isn't a guide can accept anything for services, and a swapped hunt would cross that line, as I understand it.
Alex

joemontana

well im learning alot about alaska. sounds like best way to go is the float trip which sounds like it would be a great trip.what i dont understand is i checked on a feww drops for this and a 8 to 10 day hunt sounds good but thats a long time with only 50lbs of gear how do u get that low on weight with food,camp and clothes .does any one have a list of what they pack.what size raft would you rent to carry you and your buddy and 2 moose if you got that lucky. With fortymile air sounds great but i guess u get flown in then they do a fly by and drop your gear off then u float till u hit your vehicle do i understand this right.im a horse man when it comes to hunting but rafting im limited on knowledge besides floating the blackfoot and flyfishing. the pristine adventure thing what exactly does that entail i have never seen a place that plans your hunt how does that work whats it include besides a map no disrespect im just trying to learn. thanks a lot for all of yalls info.

salukipv1

Do tell...

How many guys went each time?

How many animals were taken amongst all of you guys?

Pygmy

Trip #1 in 1989.... Two guys..two bull moose and a bull
caribou... ( float trip)

Trip #2, 1991... Floatplane drop...5 guys... 3 bull caribou and 1 black bear...

Trip #3, 1996.. Floatplane drop... 5 guys...1 bull caribou, 2 cow caribou, 1 black bear and 1 bull moose..

Trip #4 , 1999... Supercub drop... 4 guys, 8 bull caribou...

Trip # 5, 2001... Supercub drop...4 guys...6 bull caribou, 1 cow caribou...

We took all of our own gear and supplies on the first four hunts with the exception of the rafts on the float hunt, which we rented from the air taxi provider...

In 2001, we did an unguided, outfitted hunt, where the air taxi provider also provided the camp and food....

salukipv1

You guys seemed to do quite well!

You prefer the plane trips over the float trips? or just how it's worked out over the years?

Have considered possibly doing a trip like that for moose and maybe caribou. Probably 2 guys, maybe 3/4 though if it came together.

AK Jeff

Like Larry's website says you get...

http://www.pristineventures.com/adve...t-planner.html

Your Hunt Planner Includes:

• An exclusive area to hunt away from crowds, which will be chosen to suit your skill level.
• Complete topographical map coverage (1:63,360 scale) of your hunt area printed on waterproof map paper, which includes satellite images of the Put-In and Take-Out location.
• Economical and competent bush service with air charter reservations made by us.
• Hunt Planner CD, which has numerous resources, including raft rental video instructions, product features video, multimedia presentations (Powerpoint), and scores of additional resources to help develop realistic goals while hunting Alaska.
• Detailed Hunt Plan that describes and outlines your area selection and logistical plans, which also includes all the supporting resources and detailed instructions for direction before, during, and after your big game hunt, which offer resources for game meat donations, shipping antlers and meat home from Alaska, independent research tools, and much more!
• Raft Rental reservations (if applicable)
• Project Bloodtrail: Field Care of Alaska Big Game DVD DVD
• 30-min VHS on How To ID A Legal Bull Moose (ADFG video)
• Float Hunting Alaska (volume I) DVD, which is a 2-hr documentary on How-To Float Hunt Alaska
• Wilderness Taxidermy DVD (3-disc set), covers everything sport hunters must know about field taxidermy, sealing, transporting, and exporting trophy parts inside and outside Alaska. Nearly 3 hours of How-to instruction and Float Draggin' Alaska!
• 20-page booklet on “What-To-Expect” from your adventure, which covers all the good and bad aspects of hunting in today’s Alaska

Trust me, Larry's advice is fantastic. Hunting Alaska is far different than hunting Montana (which I've done many, many times). Logistics, and understanding where and how to hunt moose are paramount. Alaska is huge, and there is a vast amount of public land, but what many people don't understand is that a lot of the state is effectively void of game. Keep in mind that Alaska is four times the size of Montana, and the moose population is about the same as Montana's elk population. However, unlike Montana's elk which tend to live in herds in rather concentrated areas, moose are solitary animals that spread out over huge areas. Even great moose country usually only has 1 or 2 moose per square mile, and most of that square mile is dense forest, brush, and riparian jungles. Larry flies a lot and keeps tabs on where the good areas are that receive limited pressure as opposed to areas with poor moose populations or excessive hunting pressure. There are a lot of air charters out there that could care less about your success. They'll gladly charge you an arm and a leg to drop you somewhere that either has few moose and/or a pile of other hunters. Whether you ever come back is of little concern to them because they have a mile long waiting list of ignorant outsiders who think there's a 60" bull behind every tree in AK. Larry utilizes quality charters that actually care about their reputation, and some won't even book you unless you book through him in order to keep areas from getting overhunted. Tactics for successful moose hunting are also very different than hunting elk in Montana. Here's a link to Larry's moose hunt last fall with two other guys. Note that all three of them took bulls, even though they were in close proximity to another group of hunters that didn't get a single one. That's proof that knowing what you're doing is extremely valuable. Just getting out into the woods is only about 10% of the battle.

http://www.pristineventures.com/foru...eHunt2010.html

Just for the record I'm not compensated by Larry at all for promoting his service. I've just known him for years, I've hunted with him, I've bought all kinds of his gear, and I've learned a heck of a lot from him. He's a stand up guy that does a tremendous amount of work to see to it that his clients are well prepared, have an enjoyable trip, and ultimately have a good chance for success. Just don't ask him for advice on how to drink whiskey. He's pretty weak in that department. His fee might seem like a lot for logistics, but considering it's very likely the difference between success and failure on what is invariably an expensive hunt, even DIY, it's really pretty minimal.

Pygmy

Float trips have thier advantages and disadvantages..One of the disadvantages is that they make meat care more problematical...

Meat keeps surprisingly well if it is put in meat bags, allowed to form a crust, hung in the shade and kept dry..This is more difficult to do on a float hunt when you are making and breaking camp often and jostling the meat bags around..

There are also some hazards associated with float trips, such as death by drowning......

The float trip was a wonderful adventure, but after doing one, I decided I would rather hunt from a fixed camp in a good spot...

joemontana

thanks i will definitly check this pristine out. would you do a float or drop camp type hunt in a good area.the float looks like you cover a lot more area than you could out of one spot.does his fee cover both of us that would hunt or does each of us have to buy the info. it sounds like his advice basicly covers everything u would need to do for your hunt except actually hunting which would be really good info since a person has no idea what u r getting into till u have done this hunt a time or two. does that sum his sevices up.