# Alaska Caribou



## mtnrunner260 (Feb 15, 2010)

Here is a write up of our adventure this year.
My dad, brother, uncle, cousin and I went up for 10 days in mid August to chase caribou on the North Slope of the Brooks.
We flew into Fairbanks, rented a truck, bought our tags, got some stove fuel and headed north.
We arrived at the Arrowhead Outfitters camp to see Howard(owner) and a group from Texas having a shouting match. Not very encouraging.
We got everything ready for our fly out the next morning. We flew into a lake 20 miles west of the Haul Road nicknamed Bo Tucker. Got camp set up and started glassing. We didn't see crap. The next day we covered some ground and glassed from the small hills. 2 grizzlies and 3 caribou were spotted. Cow/calf and young bull. More of the same the next day. On our 3rd day of hunting we decided it was time to ask for a move. "Weather" prevented Howard from getting us that day so we headed back out and still didn't find any Caribou.
Well the next day we got picked up and dropped off at Finn lake 22 miles east of the haul road replacing a group who just left. It was encouraging in that we actually saw caribou on the flight in. Well the next day my brother and cousin got bulls. The day after I got mine. Then it was my uncles turn followed by my dad. It was really good that we all got one. The tundra was pretty rough on the two old guys. It is different from anything from anything Utah has to offer. The locals likened it to walking on basketballs.

As for the gear that we found the best up there. Tall leather boots with gaiters worked to keep our feet dry. This included stream crossing and standing water in the tundra. Defiantly don't go cheap on the boots. Having a puffy jacket was awesome. It got below freezing most nights. Rain gear isn't a place to skimp either. My uncle was the only one with Sitka or Kuiu and he now has some. The Kifaru Sawtooth shelter was awesome in that you could keep your boots on inside and stand up.

The outfitter review is mixed. Howard did the least required for sure but it was enough for us. We talked to several groups who did not get a caribou but I can saw that if you weren't going to cover lots of miles on the tundra is wasn't going to happen. Other years guys get them out the front door of their tent but nothing had made them move yet. There was an early freeze before we came so there were absolutely zero mosquitoes. Really lucky there.

It was the trip of a lifetime for me and I really enjoyed it. We made lasting memories and were succesful.
I'll try to upload some pics later.
If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Nice writeup.

That tundra is miserable to walk on... I thought it was more like hiking over a heavy wet sponge. I broke through in one spot and went up past my belt in the muck, it was alarmingly spooky (had I had a pack with meat, I might have gone all the way under... who knows?). Between that and the maze that is muskeg, man its rough terrain. 

Cool you guys got some, that antler bone is strange stuff compared to deer / elk antlers.

got picts?


-DallanC


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Glad to hear you guys tagged out, that is a pretty impressive feat for that large a group. The haul road hunt has been very odd the past several years, and success has been iffy. Caribou undergo major migration route shifts every few decades and nobody really knows why. It looks like the herd in that region is doing just that. 

I will say I'm pretty jealous of your success as I've had several unsuccessful 'bou hunts. Arrowhead has a really good rep, and although I've never hunted with them I'd be curious what specifically you felt wasn't satisfactory.


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## SidVicious (Aug 19, 2014)

Love the story! I've been thinking about doing a do it yourself drop hunt. Do you think that is feasible, or is an outfitter the way to go? It seems way cheaper to have someone just fly you out and not use an outfitter.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

SidVicious said:


> Love the story! I've been thinking about doing a do it yourself drop hunt. Do you think that is feasible, or is an outfitter the way to go? It seems way cheaper to have someone just fly you out and not use an outfitter.


Theres pro's and cons with both ways. When I did it we just got a float plane flight out and DIY. We got lucky and caribou moved through, others that flew out with us (but left at a different lake) didnt even see a caribou.

-DallanC


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

From my understanding, a nonresident can have two bull tags, if I am wrong please correct me. Did every person in your group have two tags and only fill one per person?


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Congrats! Caribou taste any different than elk or deer?


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## mtnrunner260 (Feb 15, 2010)

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/show...ad-outfitters-review-(Stay-far-Away-from-them)

Here's a couple thoughts from others about Arrowhead. I wouldn't say our experience was that bad.

You can have 5 tags up there. We each had 2 and a couple wolf tags spread among us.
I think we could have each got 2 if we'd been in a location with caribou the whole time. We really focused on getting one for everyone before moving on to anybodies second.

Caribou is sweeter than elk. I really enjoyed it. It was good on the tundra and good at home.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

Interesting post. I am finding a few more the same opinion. 
So is there a outfitter that anyone here has used and recommends.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

35whelen said:


> Congrats! Caribou taste any different than elk or deer?


Very different, but really good... of course that could have been due to the first meat after eating dehydrated stuff for too long :mrgreen:

Nah seriously, its really good stuff.

-DallanC


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## McFinnigan (Jan 29, 2016)

Pictures or it didn't happen


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mtnrunner260 (Feb 15, 2010)

Wish I didn't have to resize these down to postage stamp size.


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## mtnrunner260 (Feb 15, 2010)




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## SidVicious (Aug 19, 2014)

Awesome Bull!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

That is a very nice 'bou!


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## LanceS4803 (Mar 5, 2014)

Hoopermat said:


> Interesting post. I am finding a few more the same opinion.
> So is there a outfitter that anyone here has used and recommends.


Same question.

The photos of the bulls on page 2 are fantastic.
Congratulations!


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