RE: Could you?
 

I'd have to pass too. I couldn't give up hunting whitetails.

RE: Could you?
 

I don't know, is there dove hunting up there? I actually enjoy that more than deer hunting, but the season is too short and it takes a few to fill the freezer.:D

Honestly, no way, I bitch about IL's winters.

RE: Could you?
 

I think the coldest I saw it this winter was about +15F and it typically bounces back and forth between 20 and 35 all winter. We did have an exceptional snow load this year; I had to shovel twice! The ocean keeps things pretty moderate along the coast. People forget that AK is a huge state with a lot of climate variation. But we do only get about 5 hours of light in the dead of winter.

RE: Could you?
 

5 hrs of light that sucks, but don't you guys also get a lot of light in the spring/summer??

RE: Could you?
 

over 15 hours right now and adding 5+ minutes a day until June 20.

RE: Could you?
 

ive never hunted white tails so i would give it up in a heart beat

RE: Could you?
 

That's a negitive ghostrider. I'd love to hunt in Alaska, and envy those who have that opportunity and/or privalage. I love the rolling hills andhardwoods of Virginia, and the whitetails that roam them.

RE: Could you?
 

deerhunter, so what do you hunt? blacktails, elk, mule deer??

RE: Could you?
 

Im with ya valor, I just can't shake the whitetail fever, it has had a hold of me for 20 yrs!

RE: Could you?
 

He is the man of magic....throwing me...off with 2 Avatars

RE: Could you?
 

BTW, what do yall think about my quote?? Is he serious??

RE: Could you?
 

I have been tempted by Alaska for the last 12 years, ever since myparents moved there. My Sister and Bro-in-law live there near them outside of Wasilla (Anchorage). I have come to the conclusion that Alaska is a great place to visit for a hunt, but I don't want to live there. Fortunately for me with family there who hunt, I don't have to hire a guide for game like grizzly, moose, sheep or goats.

Giving up whitetails is no big deal, since I am more of a novice whitetail hunter. But, I'd have to give up them, mule deer, and my favorite..Elk...so no way :)

One thing my father told me that is different up in AK than in the lower 48 is how you have to hunt there. Back here it is usually just jump in the truck, drive a little bit (stopping off at the 7-11 for some munchies on the way), and then hit your hunting haunt...oops...forgot something...run back home real quick and get it.
Up there most hunts are expeditions.There are no easy access roads. Usually you have to boat, fly, snow-mobile,trek, drive for hours, etc. just to get to your destination and pray you didn't forget anything.

For those with a sense of adventure and the money and time to pull it off, then AK offerssome fantastic opertunities. I personally can't wait until my next north slope caribou bow hunt, moose hunt with my dad, grizzly with my bro-in-law, and all the salmon & halibut I can fly home.

Oh, one other point about AK. My family says they welcome the dark of winter, because after a summer of light when the sun goes down for maybe an hour or two, theyhave runthemselves ragged and need the time to catch up on sleep. They say it is harder to get used to the light of summer than the dark of winter.

RE: Could you?
 

I did! Give up whitetail hunting to move to AK that is. Up until a year ago I was living a very good life hunting whitetail, mulies, elk, and turkey all fall and into the winter. Then a dream job opportunity came open and before I knew it my wife and I were packing our bags for Alaska. Moose have always been a critter I dreamed of hunting, now I have my chance. I did not hunt at all as a nonresident last fall, that was very hard to take. But I've spent the past year learning as much as I can and in a couple weeks I'll get my resident license. I can't wait! Something that is very different about Alaska is the access to all that remote wilderness. Best way to sum it up: it ain't cheap to get into some of that country. For example, I'm looking at driving 8 hours one way just to get to my air charter who'll fly me in 2 hours just so I can get to my starting point. When I was hunting in the lower 48, I was hunting within 10 minutes of walking out the door. It is a different ballgame up here. But when I return to the lower 48 someday, I'll bring back some wonderful memories of adventures I could never pull off anywhere else.

RE: Could you?
 

Where in the state are you acgator?

RE: Could you?
 

You're crazy Vabowman!

You say you're addicted to whitetails, though I would suspect in Alaska you'd become addicted to everything else!

Moose, Brown bear, sheep, bison, elk, caribou, black bear, wolf, sitka blacktail deer,

Everything is fun to hunt.....out east here we tend to only have 1 big game animal to go for, maybe that makes the addiction worse....but really if you have the change to live in alaska.....and hunt what did I list? 7 different big game species? in 1 year!? and often......as an AK resident you wouldnt have to wait to draw tags etc....even as a non res I think the lotteries are great.....since more animals than hunters......

and cmon a 2000lb deer(ie moose) vs. a 300 lbd deer? 70" antlers weighing maybe 50lbs alone! vs. a whitetail? c'mon, if you really believe you couldnt go without whitetails while you lived in alaska, then there is seriously someting wrong with you. You should seek medical care for that.

RE: Could you?
 

Salukipv1, Im sure it would be great to hunt those animals, but I just don't have that much interest in it. Im sure it's b/c I ve never done it, can't have too much interest in it if I can't experience it I guess. I would love to hunt there just to experience all the sights, but whitetails have my soul man, no other animal does it for me.

RE: Could you?
 

Man thats a tuff one! But I think I would go to Alaska!! Someday before I go to the Great Bowhunter in the sky I hope to see Alaska. God Willing

RE: Could you?
 

yeah i coukld

RE: Could you?
 

I'm in Anchorage, unfortunately. I'm still getting use to life in the city but I make the most of it. I'd much rather live in Seward or maybe Homer (during the non-tourist season) but Anchorage is alot closer to Alaska than the lower 48 :)

RE: Could you?
 

Pfft, I could give up deer for Alaskan critters any day. But how's the bowfishing up there??? ;)

RE: Could you?
 

Isnt Fairbanks 5-6 hrs off the coast? Yes Fairbanks had -40 and worse. I have never seen -40 here.

RE: Could you?
 

x2

RE: Could you?
 

I'll go the other way......

I wouldn't knowingly give up whitetail hunting......even if they said that was the only animal I could hunt from now on.....no matter where that was.

Ilove it that much.

RE: Could you?
 

GMMAT---I LOVE whitetail hunting, it is what I dream of on a daily basis. But to live in Alaska, and to be able to walk right out your backdoor into the least pressured habitat/most wildlife abundant soil in the US.....now that is a tough offer to refuse.

RE: Could you?
 

:D:D:D Now that's funny stuff! There's a whole lot of barren wilderness without a living or breathing mammal to be seen for hundreds of miles. Game densities in VA are probably multitudes higher than any given place in AK of the same size. It's just that we get a larger variety of game, and a lot of it has never even seen a human.

RE: Could you?
 

Depends on how good you are at shooting pike.

RE: Could you?
 

I'd do it in a second. I love to hunt. I really don't have an overriding affinity for whitetails or any other game.