Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska The Results are Out

I'd imagine if you got out of sight of the road and trails the craziness would wind down quite a bit. I saw what looked like the 1st Mar Div and 101st Airborne headed towards Baghdad. It was seemingly bumper to bumper from Fox to Eagle Summit, many with HUGE campers doubled up with UTV trailers. I talked to a wildlife trooper and he suggested just sitting back with some beer and watch the show.

Not really, but he definitely gave me that impression.

Yep thousands of dollars in equipment, some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars.... hooting and hollering how they need to get their caribou or their family will starve to death..

The makings of reality TV.

Nothing for me this year. I had some decent luck with the draw for a couple seasons so can't complain. That was after a 25 year dry spell so maybe a little complaining!! The good part is you can hunt most game every year here without drawing. The draw does't change if but where I will hunt.

If the Steese and Taylor were my only choices I'd move to another state. Good thing its a big state with a lot of good hunting left in it. These are the good old days..

The BOG is going to need your input on crowd control for those Steese/Taylor hunts with the need to control herd growth in mnd.

I'm going to propose that Steese/Taylor hunts open only for those over 70 and they be allowed unlimited tags.

I am friends with a guy, that this seems just like him and [bleep] he would say. He has a $80K camper, $20K UTV, $180K boat, but yet he needs a moose, caribou, bear, and his limit of halibut and salmon each year or they will starve. While I could afford to miss some meals myself, he sure could! I just laugh every year at some of the crap he does. I think he buys half the crap he does to make himself look better to others. I got along better with him when he was going through his divorce 8 years ago, and had two older wheelers, and a lot older boat and was a lot more down to earth. He remarried a widow that had money, and they have cashed in tow of her investments to pay for all of his “toys”.

She have a sister? Asking for a friend. 😆

Ph uck I remember at one point I would spend $700 plus bucks in food, parts, fuel, etc to go moose hunting come back empty handed. I tell my wife I would’ve been better off buying a side of beef lol.. As a good friend says it’s all about the hunt/adventure! Come home empty handed oh well at least we had fun doing it!

I’ve heard about “armed camping trips” 😉

That's a help!

Two years ago wife and I went in on foot also, first trip up the Steese ever.. Maybe 20-30 people up there scattered along about a mile of "our" ridge, opening morning. We were the only hike-ins that day. Caribou everywhere. Shot a bull first day, got first pack-load back to the road (about a mile and half), around 2 pm. Of the 10 or so outfits in the parking lot that morning, ours was the only rig left. Everyone had limited out and were gone. Had the second load down by 8 pm.

Shot another bull 2nd day, and were back in Fbks by 10 pm. Only half a dozen people up there that day, including us. Slightly "mentored" a couple first time BG hunters from Wainwright between loads second day. By the time we got up there again they had a 2 year old double-shovel bull down not far from ours. Saw Eric again last year - that boy is hooked! . He also took a bull the first year, and again last year. Luck of the draw. He walked in both years, but I'm betting he'll have an ATV this year....

Last year I took my Rancher up, having scouted the situation - really saves the back and legs! I'm not that much into hunting off a vehicle, but will do it. Have done it.... Us old futs need all the help we can get for that kind of thing. My 70+ year old knees told me so. Still, I prefer to use power machinery only for access and hauling the take out.

"Going farther back" may or may not be a worthwhile thing, Caribou (and people) were fewer last year than year before, but we took 3 in the same place as first year, with all 5 within about 1/3 mile circle. A guy I hauled meat out for had hiked in 3 to 3 1/2 miles and took a nice bull. He said the caribou were more numerous back there, far side of next ridge, so maybe that's a good plan, if needed.. And yes - they were all being moved around by hunting pressure. We saw him again the second day and bummed a gallon of gas off him for our generator (better planning needed!). He had gone back to Fairbanks on his way home to Anchorage, and had called home. His 3 year old daughter had informed him she wanted the antlers, so he was packing back in to get them.

Kids!....

For that matter, both years there were bulls taken right there at the parking spot, one of them maybe 2 minutes before Icame off-trail unto the road 200 yards from the truck.

Fuggin idiots had been up running the ridges with their ATV's for a couple days prior to season, "scouting", which may or may not have gotten the main part of the herd to move farther away from the road. I know my opinion...

Might as well as fire a warning shot every time before the "real" one.....

Good theory on the herd moving.. But it was the federal hunters and youth hunters that got the herd hauling ass out there.. Trooper checked us I asked where the caribou were at? He said this is the tail end of the herd, the bulk of the herd is headed back to chicken/Tok.

Ironbender, she doesn’t have a sister. Lol!

Yeah, I heard that too. But a few dozen ATV's prowling all the ridges couldn't have helped either. I understand they only moved east a few miles tho- basically out of reach of us road hunters. For a time. The winter hunt seemed to go pretty well from what I've heard. The herd seemed to be a bit more scattered last year also, with the Taylor side having a bit more success than the year before in the early hunt.

The trouble with caribou, is that even they don't know what they are going to do next.

And as a friend says, "They are either coming toward you or going away, and you ain't going to catch them anyway". So the best thing to do most times is find a good spot and wait. Something will likely walk into you or you sometimes (in less pressured instances) see a spot and stalk situation. My favorite.

If you're referring to this year's winter hunt, I do believe it is going fairly well too. I have been trapping a bit up the Steese and all winter long I have been seeing caribou getting free rides to town.

I drew DS204, 3rd time in 12 years. Time to get back into shape.

Is that where your pizza oven is?

That's what we did. Walked a mile back, found a spot with good hard-cover, and waited until the others drove them past.

I really want to find an area with good spot-and-stalk hunting. I'll have to put some recon miles in this summer.

Hahaha, yup, you remember that huh?