Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Hunting Alaska - expensive?

Why is it less expensive to hunt in Canada than Alaska? Even Africa seems less expensive.

You are right about cost here. It is cheaper for Alaskans to go to Canada and shoot two muskox than fly out here to shoot just one...

Supply and demand.

Limited access here drives up costs.

Yes, I get it, the prices are quite prohibitive for many folks. Not sure that the guides would have a business if they weren't able to get people to pay these prices. I suspect that logistical costs are the bulk of their charges. My personal experience with a half dozen, maybe more guides, up here is that only a couple are charging greater prices and living large(r). Most are charging what the market will bear and just getting by each year. If you would like to know the true costs of hunting in Alaska then I'd bet that 2021-2 will determine the actual costs. Hard times will clean out the ones who were operating on the edge of profitability. Many were hit hard by our lockdowns if they didn't have a side-job to see them through the tough times.

I'd encourage you to come to Alaska to experience the sheer size and wild beauty of the Great Land. It is MASSIVE. It is inaccessible without a plane, boat, sled, ATV, or dog team. You'll never even see the least amount of this place--no matter if you live a thousand lives. Pick a place that strikes your fancy and let your guide open up a little corner of Alaska to show you something magical. You will NOT regret your time spent here...even if you end up suffering poor weather and an empty pack. It is a radically different beast to tackle. That is why we continue to challenge ourselves and people continue to spend their hard-earned dollars on high-end adventures. I hope that you find a way to make it happen for you, too.

Should you desire a top-flight experience for many species of animals I know only a couple of guides/transporters personally whose services I recommend without hesitation. Good people, good areas to hunt and professional coordination of services. And, as I like to joke with people about Alaska, "You don't need to create any drama up here. It will be provided to you free of charge!"

Cheers

IceKing is absolutely correct. And I like his comment about drama. Every time I have received offers to star on some "reality" TV show I tell them that while drama may sell TV shows, it doesn't sell hunts !

And the fact that distances, terrain, weather and logistics are formidable in Alaska, so are expenses in rural parts of the state where the game is found. $7/gal gas, $11/gallon milk, $3.50/lb potatoes and onions, propane $50 for a small 20# bottle and all that before the $700/hr charter flight to get it to hunting camp !

Well put. Been “up there” and the procurement, maintenance, and upkeep are indeed challenging.

Not to mention the weather challenges.

One of my biggest regrets was toward the end of a caribou and black bear hunt on the upper reaches of the Kuskokwim in ‘92. We were in brown bear or grizzlies every day. The outfitter who had tags would have allowed my friend and I one at $3-4K each at that time. We were actually watching a grizzly about four hundred yards from camp as he said it. We declined.

Now, they are four to five times as much.

What Iceking and Phil said.

If you have to ask you can't afford it.

Hell, I live here, and can't (often won't) afford some of the hunts I'd like to take. But then I'm primarily after meat. The "adventure" is included with the package...

The permitting system sucks.

it does right up until you look at travel cost and the cost of shipping horns back to the U.S., that's where Africa catches up real quick in costs.

Seems like most every issue of Outdoor Life in the 1960's had a story about some "Regular Joe" blue collar kinda guy who saved and skrimped and squirrelled away a little each week to be able to make a hunting trip to Alaska. Literally a once in a lifetime deal.
I don't think that happens as much anymore.

There are ways to make AK more affordable. They require a bit of inside information coupled with a fortuitous set of inside connections.

Phil is quoting 700 an hour flight time. We flew in at least three loads on a bigger plane to just get the stuff to open camps this year. That was around 2200 per flight of one hour IIRC. Ballparking.

Nothing is cheap out there. And no one is making a killing. A living yes. A killing no. Its done for the fact we love our jobs and happen to be able to pay the bills most years by doing it.

But beyond that any time you want a guided hunt its not going to be cheap.

We are talking two completely different experiences. Having enjoyed both, unsuccessful in SE Alaska with Brad Dennison, I still had a tremendous hunt. Buff in Zim appeared to be a given and one was down on day one.

I'm assuming this is tac time? 2200..is that in an otter? Still. It is pricy when you talk fly in.

Sometimes I think its cheaper for non residents. As residents, most buy atvs, boats...some buy airplanes......

My buddy charges $700/hr for his Beaver on floats (or did a few years ago, not sure now). Of course, that's whether you're in it or not (ie: if it's 1 hour each way, you get charged 2 hours).

99 IIRC. some bigger twin engine. Flying in is tough. At least the 99s can take a couple of moose and a few folks and gear all in one trip. A beaver would limit us quite a bit. Last time they had to fly moose out in a couple of trips to a larger lake, all regroup and then fly on out. Have to juggle it all the best you can. Costs for anything are high out in the bush.

Lived in Alaska over 45 years and have hunted every season season since reaching two digit age, other than taking family members out occasionally, 90-95% of my hunts are all DIY solo excursions, while this drives cost down along with omitting guide fees, It's still an expensive habit to feed and success is directly related to careful planning and making sacrifices, AND spending a ton of $$$, all this without adding up loss of pay for taking 2 weeks - month off of work

Having done this for 32 seasons now I can relate to the guides/outfitters having to charge what they do, at the end of every hunting season there isn't much left in profit and most have jobs outside of their guiding operations

Hunting in Alaska isn't expensive. That's true for both residents and nonresidents.

Hiring a bush plane is expensive. That's true for both nonresidents and residents.

Paying for a guided/outfitted hunt is expensive anywhere for anyone.

The trick is to do a DUI hunt without a bush plane. That's not an easy task. But it is doable.

DIY?

DUI is no bueno anywhere!

Ironbender:

You got me there. I must have been DUI when I wrote that post.

KC