kybuck20032001

I was thinking about flying to alaska and renting a car and caribou hunting. any advice were this old hillbilly might find a few caribou.
thanks

John/Alaska

The haul road is an option as well as the 40 Mile herd up the steese or the taylor. Those are about it now for a drive & bang hunt for a non resident. Check with your rental car company to see if they will allow you to drive their vehicle on any of the roads mentioned. It is a doable hunt as many do just that.

kybuck20032001

what is a good time to go on this hunt. I appreciate the help

John/Alaska

I prefer late august into mid sept. The animals are in good shape and its usually cool which means easier meat care and less bugs. Much after mid sept and you'll be hitting the rut which you do not want to hunt as the meat can be close to inedible due to theurine induced flavor that it takes on. The late aug to mid sept weatherwise can mean almost anything from 60 dgree days to below zero ones and/or snow or all of the above. If hunting the haul road you'll need to be aware of the 5 mile corridor. Inside 5 miles is bow only and to hike the 5 miles to the gun area will be a real test as the tundra is nasty to hike on. I mainly hunt the 40 mile herd as I live in the area but that herd is subject to quick season closures as the herd is under quota restrictions making it difficult for a non resident trying to hunt late.

salukipv1

sounds tough/bad odds to me, a DIY Alaskan Caribou hunt? I'd go guided in canada as a first choice.....I haven't researched it extensively but alaska/caribou seems like a very tough hunt, compared tos ome canadian bou hunts I've seen/heard of.

5 miles from the haul road seems like a super long way, maybe a float trip or drop camp in that case, otherwise bow from the road is more the route I'd take.

kybuck20032001

i like toughing it, makes the reward better. But I think it will be a hard hunt for me, because I have never even been to alaska. But I have hunted about everywhere else. Been thinking of one day moving up there for a few years, thanks for any and all help.

caribouhunter1

well you could always get a bow certifcation and then you could bow hunt on the haul road. you dont have to be 5 miles for that just one step if i remember right. but from fairbanks its about a 6 hour drive till you can start to se animals i believe i havent been up there yet just what people have told me. well good luck and happy hunting

kybuck20032001

is the bow only area a hunt that may have success. I love to bowhunt, but don't want to have to fight other people for an animal
thanks for info

AK Jeff

Of course you have a chance of success in the Dalton Corridor. That's why so many people do that hunt. You'll be guaranteed to see other people though. Hiking a few miles off the road decreases the crowds dramatically, but hauling game across the tundra is miserable. There's plenty of caribou in the Central Arctic Herd, but something that should be noted is that they are arguably the most educated caribou in the world. The season on them is 10 months long and they get chased around something fierce. Don't expect them to be like the remote caribou you see on TV that have never seen a human and are essentially unafraid. They're usually as skittish as the deer or elk that I've hunted in the lower 48.

AK Jeff

Loadsmasher

Make sure you, have a 50 and 60 yard pin setup, if you do hike it out.