Once in a lifetime Hunt

[Deafirishman]

i know this isn't a elk hunting topic but thought I would bring it up and get some ideas for a once in a lifetime hunt. I am looking into doing this type of hunt within the next few years. Just starting the researching stage. Looking into costs, areas, length of hunt, laws/regulations, guided vs DIY, ideal weather conditions, etc..Lots of factors to consider when trying to decide which big game animal to pursue.

It will mostly likely be 2-3 hunters in the group. Seems to be the common factor that most guided hunts are limited to either 1 or 2 hunters but to keep the costs down, a third Hunter would greatly help with that area. I am leaning towards caribou, moose or brown bear. Archery will be my weapon of choice. What could more more satisfying and challenging than that ? Not considering a safari hunt. I'm not that rich !!

Try to keep the costs to a 'reasonable' level and don't want to go bankrupt because of it. Lol. I understand there are a lot of factors to consider in planning a hunt if this magnitude but just trying to get some general ideas and suggestions to help lead me in the right direction.

I am not getting any younger and think this would be an awesome experience. The outcome of the hunt will have a 100% success whether I harvest an animal or not.

I look forward to seeing everyone's ideas.

[six]

Well said. I've been thinking about the same thing. My son will be 11 this year. So i'm thinking in about 5 years as I'm not getting any younger either. I think I'm going to let him pick the species and method of take. I am die hard archery hunter, but he is really into his new .308.

Good luck. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this one.

[jmez]

Moose and brown bear are both expensive. You could likely do a multi species African plains game for less or around the same money as those two. Brown bear would be my pick.

[Indian Summer]

Brown bear hunt require a guide by law and they are all 1 on 1 hunts. There is no such thing as a cheap brownie hunt.

Moose and caribou in Alaska would be recommendation. Also... a guided moose hunt can be really pricey too. Upwards of 15 grand. But there's some good news too: You don't need a guide! And 2 guys is all it takes to keep the cost reasonable. Same goes for caribou up there.

There is one key to keeping costs down: Finding a transporter (bush pilot) who charges by the hour instead of flat rates. Flat rate air services charge say 2 grand per hunter for a hunt. But guys who fly for what they call charter rates charge by the hour no matter where you are going or what you are hunting. For example 40 Mile Air charges 2 grand per hunter for a caribou hunt. Flights are usually around an hour or an hour and a half. My pilot charges $950 per hour. I fly 1.25 hours so that's 2.5 hours total or $2375.... divided by two guys.

The trick to moose is knowing where you want them to drop you off. Lake hunts or ridge top drops are better than float hunts simply because rivers are roads up there and anyone else can, and will float those corridors so it's basically road hunting and competition can really cause problems. I might have a suggestion or two on where to hunt moose on your own.

Caribou on the other hand is probably the way to go for several reasons. There are a bazillion of them. They move a lot during the day in wide open country so even Ray Charles can locate game. You don't have to zero in on a specific spot to camp. Just pick a good region, say north of Kotzebue, and tell the pilot to drop you where he is able to land. The other thing about caribou is it is a high success hunt. So even though hunting and travelling in Alaska is an awesome experience and you can as you say.... be successful even if you don't kill anything... it sure is nice to fill your tags right? You have weight restrictions when flying but you could take one rifle for the group ad mostly bow hunt but if you see a monster out of reach... or just want to up your odds, you could grab the gun and seal the deal.

I'll give you a starting point for moose and bou. For moose, although he isn't a charter rate guy, I would highly suggest talking to Papa Bear Adventures out of Bethel. He can also hook you up with equipment to rent and has really good success on unguided moose hunts. For caribou talk to Golden Eagle Air. I have friends from Fairbanks and Montana hunting with him this year. Also for caribou you can call Zach at Tok Air. He used to fly for 40 Mile Air so he knows his area and there is some really good caribou hunting down there too. BUT... do NOT wait to contact these guys. Good transporters fill up fast. You will not get on the schedule with 40 Mile. They serve repeat clients first and most years their repeats fill the schedule. Contact pilots well over a year in advance. I know a couple other good ones as well who do fly by the hour.

If you do decide to go up there keep this thread alive and I'll pass on any other info I can. For example there is a truck driver from Wisconsin who will drive your entire moose or caribou back down here for $750. It doesn't get any better than that unless you want to donate the meat to locals and avoid shipping costs altogether.

Any idea what kind of budget you hope to stick with?

[Deafirishman]

Wow Joe. That's a wealth of information there. Thank you and much appreciated. It's a great starting point for me and will start narrowing down my choices here. Once I figure out what I want to go after, I will come back to this thread and put what exactly I am looking for. There will be 2 of us for sure so I know that much

You do bring up a valid point in regards to seeing a trophy off in the distance and it may be hard to close in on the deal with a bow so a rifle could be a more logical choice here. I just like the idea of being up close and personal with any game.

Any recommendations that you make and would like to contact will need to include an email address if they have one. The only reason I ask of this is because I cannot call due to my hearing loss/deafness. You can PM me more detailed information if you would like.

Again, thank you for the information.

[Lefty]

Is it the hunt/experience, location or the game thats important?
Years back a good friends family had a lodge in Alaska, they catered to the more soft outdoors man and charged a lot for all the extra services.Wiped their rears and tucked them in bed ,.. well not quite.

A buddy of mine has been going on Canadian trips instead of Alaskan because of cost. He seems to find good guides that give him hunts a bit cheaper. He made a Quebec caribou hunt that he was pleased with the quality of the hunt they had.The caribou hunt was more of a semi guided hunt. They were on a long lake systems and were given boats if they wanted and pointed in the right direction and maps with good locations, or guided.
Another buddy of mine use to meet up with a guide that placed them on good properties for waterfowl hunting, eventually they would haul up lots of hunting gear and gave the guide new gear or their slightly used gear,.. worked great for both of them
When I fished Alaska I met a local for a day of fishing,.. He wouldn't even let me pay for gas, I just helped clean fish and gave him the fish I caught,.. and we had a bunch of fish it was his families fish for the winter

[Indian Summer]

Guided cheaper than DIY? I can do an Alaskan moose hunt in a trophy unit for 5 grand door to door including all of my flights, pre shipping some gear, and getting my entire moose, 4 quarters and the whole head, back home to Pa. Caribou is even cheaper.

I did caribou in Quebec back in 96 with Ungava Adventures. Same as your buddies semi guided. It was a great hunt and I killed two nice bulls. But the price has gone through the roof. Plus there have been so many scandals in recent years with the decline of the herd resulting in loss of licenses that hunting up there is a big risk. For a sure bet you could hunt with Jack Hume Adventures... but you better start saving.

Caribou is a good way to go though. It's like hunting antelope only in an incredible location and of course the racks are a heck of a lot bigger. If you plan to gun hunt you might as well get a bear and a wolf tag too.

[Njdiverdan]

I cannot recommend Quebec at all for hunting anything due to the above mentioned scandals. I was scheduled and fully paid to go on a 2008 caribou hunt and 2 weeks before my hunt I got a call that it was cancelled. That was the last I or any of the other 180 fully paid clients heard from the outfitter. We tried everything to recover our money with zero success. Quebec REQUIRES you hunt with a licensed guide but does nothing if that guide screws you in the end. Oh well, it was a long time ago, but I have heard it has not gotten better with several other outfitters doing the same thing. Jack Hume is about the only one up there that I would remotely trust, but again you will have zero recourse if something were to happen.

-dan

[Indian Summer]

There is a lot of truth to that. But there are still a couple routes to take if you want to hunt Quebec. Jack Hume Adventures is one of them for sure. He is 100% trustworthy. But not cheap.

There is one other route you can take too. AND it's basically DIY. Very cheap believe it or not. Around 10 years ago the cost was $800 but not sure now. Mirage Outfitters has an interesting package. You drive there so no flying. It is a late season hunt. They have huge buildings where multiple groups of hunters can stay and cook their own food. The bou are making a major late season migration and can be easily found by the hundreds.

Two things to mention: First it is highly advisable to take a snowmobile. You hunt along a road. There is competition. You'll want to be able to cover enough ground to find some space to call your own. Here is the kicker: The caribou are shedding their racks right at that time. They have hunts for like a month but if you want bulls with racks you have to book the very first hunt. Otherwise they will already have shed their antlers. Repeat clients fill the books too so if you are serious you absolutely have to book well in advance.

[Indian Summer]

OK I looked up their website. Price is now $1295 and that includes meals. Not bad at all. Also which I forgot to mention they rent snowmobiles. Here are two links:

http://www.mirageaventure.com/en/hunting/index.cfm

This one has more details: http://www.mirageaventure.com/en/page/a ... ticleID=23

[huntfishtrap247]

IMO I dont think caribou should be a once in a lifetime hunt... It is not too expensive to realistically DIY in Alaska every few years if you save a little money here and there. For a once in a lifetime TROPHY I would be heading on a DIY Alaska moose hunt with a reputable transporter. Those bulls can be seriously BIG. If money wasn't an issue I would be headed after a dall sheep, but thats out of the price range for most of us, unfortunately...

[Indian Summer]

I like the way you think huntfishtrap.

If I were to use the words once in a lifetime I'd say moose is a better choice than caribou. The key word though is quality transporter. Moose requires more homework and will cost a little more. BUT... like the guy said: "Once in a lifetime" so I agree.

I think I'll be going back and forth over the next ten years between moose and caribou. To me the only things that should really be once in a lifetime are marriage and death. Too bad I can't add taxes to that!

[huntfishtrap247]

:lol: I like the way you think huntfishtrap.

If I were to use the words once in a lifetime I'd say moose is a better choice than caribou. The key word though is quality transporter. Moose requires more homework and will cost a little more. BUT... like the guy said: "Once in a lifetime" so I agree.

I think I'll be going back and forth over the next tent years between moose and caribou. To me the only things that should really be once in a lifetime are marriage and death. Too bad I can't add taxes to that!

Going back and forth between moose and bou... Let me know if you need a hunting parter! lol

[Indian Summer]

I'll keep that in mind. I'm a planning fanatic as my Headin West clients will tell you. I have detailed hunt plan galore for hunts I've never been on. This years moose hunt plan was hacked out over months and months... in 2009.

Right now I'm 2 guys deep on potential moose partners. But... you how how that goes. Everyone is in until it's time to write the check. My moose hunt is for bulls over 60 inches and runs about $4500 door to door from Pa. But it takes 2 weeks to do. So it will be 2017 before I can swing that again. Next up will be caribou. Stay tuned. Plan hunts 24/7/365!