DIY Alaska caribou

[440coronet]

While we were camped 2 hunters came thru on a packable float boat it had an aluminum frame that was a take-down design They said they did the trip several years in a row Had an outfitter drop them off upriver someplace they'd float hunt and camp on the way down to Kotzebue their end point They did have 2 Caribou and said that they were migrating heavier when they started and then the 70 degree weather hit

 

[Rum River]

Did the Kotzebue caribou hunt a few years ago Believe it was first week in Sept as we flew out day after Labor Day
4 of us Hired a fly service out of Kotzebue (which was an interesting city to explore in-itself) Golden Eagle outfitters I think? We flew 1.75 hours up the Noatak River and got dropped off Was to be a 5 day hunt Temperatures soared to the mid 70's and the migrating herds stalled on the tundra we could glass them at 900+ yards but stalking was pointless flat ground like walking across a peat bog they would stay 900 yards from us Too bad we didn't have a Marine sniper with a 338 Lapua with us! Saw a mom Grizzly with 2 cubs across the river, thank the lord We packed in a bunch or MRE's but we caught some late run Salmon and the largest Grayling I've ever seen every day so ate fish a-lot! Day 2 I was sitting on a large knoll glassing and getting a suntan when I heard a noise to my right coming thru the brush slowly turned my head while I upholstered the .44mag pistol and a Wolverine came past me at about 10 feet. He stopped, looked at me and then kept on going looking for food.. That was pretty exciting to say the least The moon rise was truly phenomenal every night and it stayed light til about midnight I swear we could see the old moon rover it was so close! We called in for a pickup late on Day 3 and left day 4 with no Caribou but a fantastic life experience I'll always have

In 2007 my cousin and I did a hunt very much like this one. Same general area on the Noatak, but about two weeks later in the month. Got up early the one morning to see a wolverine right in camp. I got a smallish caribou - my cousin got skunked when he held for the bullet weight he was used to using - not the one in the rifle. (We were hunting caribou with grizzly loads - just in case.) Grizzly were sighted near camp but had no problems. A side effect of doing that was that my 300 Wby with 200gr Nosler partitions whistled through my 140 yard caribou like they were full metal jackets.

 

[440coronet]

If one can arrange it truly is a most memorable trip The guide that flew us in said to save the last bullet in the pistol for yourself and he said that with a straight face!

 

[12BRanger]

An old HS buddy of mine asked me if I would be interested in an Alaska DIY caribou hunt in '21 or '22. We are looking at the 40 mile herd or on the North Slope. We are looking for transport via air or boat, but we want to get away from people. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

Anything in particular other than bring a hand cannon for bears, caribou's are deceptively quick, and it's gonna be awesome that we need to know about?

 

[Rum River]

Just an fyi.....
It's my opinion the charter pilot you go with will have better knowledge about camp placement, game location, etc than the outfitter will. The 2007 Kotzebue area trip as well as an earlier one down near Lake Iliamna in 2000 both showed that to be true. YMMV

 

[XSIVSPD]

I have never eaten caribou and I was wondering how it taste and best way to prepare it ? I want to bring all the meat pack if possible. Thanks. Marty

I really like caribou, 2nd only to moose for me. It's definitely different than deer or elk. If you hunt early in the season or take a female the meat is very good, only slightly gamey. If you're sensative to that, it's really good in Indian food. I usually will make caribou rogin josh or tikka massalla with it for my wife since she's less of a fan of it than I am. A lot of Indian food is made to be used with goat and the spices in it really hide the stronger gamey taste. Makes great sausage too.

If you're hunting during rut don't shoot a big bull, I've been around a couple that were so gamey that even the sled dogs wouldn't eat the meat lol

 

[NDAR15MAN]

Thanks for the info on how caribou tastes and float trip hunting info. I have just 3 years left to work. If I can hang in their I am going to reward myself on a float trip in Alaska or Canada. Marty

 

[bballard]

I went about 4 years ago with Northern Trophy Air. There were 4 of us in the group. The guide service was out of Kotzebue. Basically we flew to Ancorage and then caught a flight to Kotzebue. The four of us were flown out of Kotzebue (2 at a time) about an hour or so away and dropped off in prime country. I think the area was called squirrel valley in the Brooks Range. We saw caribou the same day we landed. It truly was the hunt of a life time! We had nothing but bachelor groups of bulls come by for two days. We shot 6 caribou all within 800 yards of camp....all nice bulls. Had a sow with two cubs eating our gut piles, but she minded her manners. Also saw/heard wolves. Best hunt of my life so far. We all had 300 win mags.....just because of possible bear problems. Caribou are not too hard to kill. Drop hunt cost was $2200 for the ride in and out (well worth it).

 

[VernAK]

I am also interested a caribou hunt.
I have 2 questions. Is there a way a person could do a float trip for Caribou ? I know they do it for moose. I have both knees replaced and I would like to do a pure float trip for Caribou and maybe a moose.
2nd I have never eaten caribou and I was wondering how it taste and best way to prepare it ? I want to bring all the meat pack if possible. Thanks. Marty

Yes you can float hunt for caribou. When you don't know the area or the required gear, it may be beneficial to go through Larry Bartlett of Pristine Ventures. Larry organizes float trips for hunters and has a long list of happy customers.

 

[CONChunt]

If you can afford it, a fly in hunt would be really cool. I'd love to do one for moose at some point, but I can't justify the expense since I've finally collected a river boat, atv, and utv. Even with the utv my wife and I had to pack the one in my avatar 3 miles through a marsh just to get to it, then 12 more miles back to the road. After boning we ended up with a 150lbs of meat.

150lbs of meat from one caribou?? Is that typical? Glad to hear they are good eating too.

 

[XSIVSPD]

150lbs of meat from one caribou?? Is that typical? Glad to hear they are good eating too.

He was a real big boy. Typical is around 100lbs I think

 

[338 dude]

Thanks for the info everyone. Does anyone know if we can share a rifle or does each hunter need their own?

I would want my own rifle if you have one rifle to share and your scope goes down you're both kind of screwed