2019 Alaska Flyout Caribou Hunt

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  • MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    If you don't mind me asking, what does a trip like this run? and how much less than a guided hunt. This trip may not be in my near future but when my boys are older, a trip with us three would be on my bucket list for sure.

    If you and your boys did a bowhunt off the Dalton Highway north of Fairbanks, it could be done for about $3500 per person, but understand that you would be stalking caribou in the open, with no cover, and it's tough to get a shot at them (I think the AK bowhunters practice out to 60 or 80 yards, way past my comfort zone). You would also have company from other bowhunters.

    If you use a bush pilot service like I do, plan on adding another $4K per person in flight costs. A once in a lifetime adventure isn't cheap, and this is a costly trip, but well worth it in my mind.

    Here's a notional list of costs that you might incur:

    Roundtrip airfare to Alaska $800
    Excess Baggage Fees $200
    Non-resident AK hunting license $160
    Non-resident AK caribou tag $650
    Rental Car/Truck in AK $800
    Rental Car/Truck Gas $200
    Hotel Rooms in AK $400
    Camp Food/Gear $300
    Food in AK Before/After Hunt $200
    Bush Flight Service $4,000
    Satellite Phone Rental $150

    A guided hunt would likely run you another $5K or so per person for caribou, much higher for moose.
     

    antco

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 28, 2010
    7,044
    Calvert, MD
    My checking account just started laughing at me. But thanks for sharing the pictures, the storyline, and the logistics/operations costs behind the scenes.

    I do wish I had made the time to go on a guided hunt while living in Washington last year. I didn’t live where long enough to settle in and really act on opportunities outside of work/career.
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    My checking account just started laughing at me. But thanks for sharing the pictures, the storyline, and the logistics/operations costs behind the scenes.

    I do wish I had made the time to go on a guided hunt while living in Washington last year. I didn’t live where long enough to settle in and really act on opportunities outside of work/career.

    It does cost a lot, but if you're able to be thrifty in other areas it helps make room to set cash aside. Maybe think of saving $1,000 a year, and in a few years you have the bucks to go?

    I drive a 1994 Mazda pickup and a 2009 Mazda6 car; the bow I use in Md I bought back in 2001; and the rifle I use in AK I bought back in 2006. I don't have any house payments or car payments, and earn a really good salary. I put 1,000 miles on my road bike preparing for this hunt; it's a road bike I bought back in 1994 when I was racing bicycles. I wish I had the fiscal discipline when I was younger, that I have now.
     

    antco

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 28, 2010
    7,044
    Calvert, MD
    It does cost a lot, but if you're able to be thrifty in other areas it helps make room to set cash aside. Maybe think of saving $1,000 a year, and in a few years you have the bucks to go?

    I drive a 1994 Mazda pickup and a 2009 Mazda6 car; the bow I use in Md I bought back in 2001; and the rifle I use in AK I bought back in 2006. I don't have any house payments or car payments, and earn a really good salary. I put 1,000 miles on my road bike preparing for this hunt; it's a road bike I bought back in 1994 when I was racing bicycles. I wish I had the fiscal discipline when I was younger, that I have now.

    <sarcasm>But but but but this is America where I need the latest iPhone and a car older than two years old needs to be traded in... for another German car. </sarcasm>

    My checking account is laughing at me but my other accounts are looking at me sideways like a keen mother warning her toddler “Don’t you do it...!” I do carry a mortgage (moved here from WA and bought nine months ago), but no other debts. Two young children and a wife who stays at home with them creates smaller opportunities for big “wants”, and household chores and upgrades are the big target for the next few years. I just bought an expensive dump trailer to help add efficiency and speed to the yard debris removal and property upgrade process here. My pickup truck is provided by my employer, and my wife’s 2014 or 2015 Hyundai hasn’t passed 30,000 miles yet. So, plenty of life left in that as long as it doesn’t get wrecked.

    A hunt in Alaska certainly is on the 30 year bucket list. I’ll likely start smaller with some Idaho/Washington/Montana/Texas hunts first through. Eventually. I’m in no hurry. And I don’t like cold weather.
     

    willtill

    The Dude Abides
    MDS Supporter
    May 15, 2007
    24,314
    The country is so picturesque, a fancy camera isn't needed. I use a little Nikon Coolpix 10 Megapixel camera that I bought back in 2009 that fits in my shirt pocket. I just take lots of pics and delete the ones that don't come out well. I am not a skilled photographer, but have improved a little with practice.

    Lol. I have and use the same camera. :)
     

    BigCountry14

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 17, 2013
    1,668
    Just curious, have you ever shipped back all of the meat or do you always leave it with family. I really want to do this at some point, but I always have a hard time figuring out how much the actual cost would be with shipping everything back.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    Just curious, have you ever shipped back all of the meat or do you always leave it with family. I really want to do this at some point, but I always have a hard time figuring out how much the actual cost would be with shipping everything back.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

    I have so much family in Alaska, I never bring back for than 10 or 15 pounds of meat for myself. If you stayed at a hotel that had a freezer before flying home, putting it in cold storage boxes (about $14 each at Fred Meyer, Sportsman's Warehouse, or Carr's), freezing it, taping up the boxes well, and taking it home as checked baggage would probably be the cheapest way, as long as you fly Alaska Airlines - some of the other airlines aren't as up to speed on transporting meat, and I have heard they charge more to do it.

    You could also take it to a meat processor in Anchorage and have them freeze it and ship it to you (if they would do it), but that would likely cost more.
     

    antco

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 28, 2010
    7,044
    Calvert, MD
    Speaking of Alaska Airlines: Best airline I’ve ever flown on. I eventually began flying them exclusively last year until I couldn’t. I wish they had a bigger presence on the east coast.
     

    engineerbrian

    JMB fan club
    Sep 3, 2010
    10,148
    Fredneck
    I have so much family in Alaska, I never bring back for than 10 or 15 pounds of meat for myself. If you stayed at a hotel that had a freezer before flying home, putting it in cold storage boxes (about $14 each at Fred Meyer, Sportsman's Warehouse, or Carr's), freezing it, taping up the boxes well, and taking it home as checked baggage would probably be the cheapest way, as long as you fly Alaska Airlines - some of the other airlines aren't as up to speed on transporting meat, and I have heard they charge more to do it.

    You could also take it to a meat processor in Anchorage and have them freeze it and ship it to you (if they would do it), but that would likely cost more.

    Thanks for sharing. I love reading about your Alaskan hunts

    As for shipping the meat, when I fished in Alaska last year our group came home with 424 pounds of fish as checked luggage. Just factor the cost of extra checked bags into your budget and your good to go.
     

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