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Congratulations to you both! Great story and thanks for sharing.


Shew me thy ways, O LORD: teach me thy paths.
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Great adventure and reporting - congrats!


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Thank you! It was a great privilege, with long days on the tundra feeling my cup runneth over.


I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough. -- Col. Stonehill
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Yeah well don't stop dreaming now, you guys putting in for black bear or moose next? You allready know you can do it. Mb


" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
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Bear is an easy OTC tag, as is Blacktail. Moose is more difficult, although OTC is possible. I will put in for a non-res moose draw.


I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough. -- Col. Stonehill
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Here's the dirt on Bob's Kuiu experience, lest anyone believe he's a victim of buyer's remorse.

The first part of the hunt we camped on a spruce knoll. It was covered in soft, plush moss indigenous to that part of the country. We made our kitchen area between 4 spruces that had covered the ground with spruce duff, because it was cleaner and easier to sit on and keep dry. There were no cones or rocks whatsoever. I could have knelt and sat on it in shorts without any problems. Spruce duff is like hemlock duff - about the softest, driest stuff around. It was luxurious to sit on.

One day we were cooking over our MSR stoves and Bob knelt down to tend food. When he stood up the pants had torn at the knee. There was absolutely nothing on that ground to harm pants. I was astonished. As an AZ hiker, I can imagine a lot of stuff that might shred rain pants. We weren't even walking through the dwarf willows. I don't know anything about other Kuiu items, or about the company (well, I do now), but the pants are just inferior. My wife has brought home no fewer than 3 pairs of Goretex rain pants from Mountain Hardware or cheaper makers from GoodWill. Any of them were twice as good as the ones Bob had. I didn't know until reading Bob's post that Kuiu had refused to consider the warranty return.

I'll stick with my milsurp stuff.

Here's a pic of the kitchen area:

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

Bob's area was actually farther away from the spruce trunk. There were definitely no cones in play. Even if there were, the cones were old and soft. Those pants are terrible.


I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough. -- Col. Stonehill
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Here are a few more AK pics

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

Bob in WAY over his Danner's:

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

Alaska ATV:

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

Downtown Anchorage, where I've seen my personal best bull moose (not this one):

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

T-loin wrapped in bacon smile

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

Sockeye from Sitka Deer:

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]


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Great job, Desert Boys!

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Su35 and Talus,
Congrats on your Caribou hunt! I enjoyed the write-up. That 338 RCM is an excellent cartridge for that country. Back 10 yrs ago, little further down the Big Sue/ Maclaren confluence, and a helluva long ways up a smaller creek, my son and I were harassed all night by a grizzly juvenile bear over our moose kill. My 358 Winchester felt just right in my hands as I drove that bear away all night. Another canoe hunter from eagle river was charged by a different bear below our kill site.

There year prior, i have seen one grizz up there, that would rival a large coastal bear. Again, a 9.3x62 felt just right in my hands when the distance closed 20 yds.

Canoeing all that caribou and moose meat back, I had seen a guy's tent and meat pole shredded to bits. All his meat gone while he was canoeing a load. Taken by bears.

So 3 separate bear incidents by at least 3 different bears.

A handy little medium bore is hardly an unreasonable choice out in that country:

338 federal, 338-06, 338 RCM, 358 Win, 35 whelen, 9x57, 9.3x62

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Great job, congrats.


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Wow, I really enjoyed this!!!!


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Congrats on a great trip. Loved the pics and the story. Thanks for posting for us to enjoy.


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Thank you. Refreshing read and beautiful pics of the wild. Congrats to you both!


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congrats and very nice pictures ! thank you,Pete53


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WoW Jeff..... you are quite the writer my friend.... feel like being a fly on the wall reading your report...its the next best thing to being there...

this was more enjoyable reading than watching some of those "hoaky" ones you might catch on the TV, some Saturday or Sunday morning...

the trip must have cost an arm and a leg, but I bet it was worth every penny...

And thanks for the pictures.... having been up there a couple of times, Alaska's scenery is so wonderful... all one really needs to do is to know how to focus the camera...
Those pics really embellished and added to the story...

Glad you gents had a good time, and even moreso.. glad you boys took the time to share it with the rest of the campfire....

one of the best reads or threads I've seen on the campfire in quite a while.

just awesome....

cheers and best regards guys


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Originally Posted by Seafire
WoW Jeff..... you are quite the writer my friend.... feel like being a fly on the wall reading your report...its the next best thing to being there...

this was more enjoyable reading than watching some of those "hoaky" ones you might catch on the TV, some Saturday or Sunday morning...

the trip must have cost an arm and a leg, but I bet it was worth every penny...

And thanks for the pictures.... having been up there a couple of times, Alaska's scenery is so wonderful... all one really needs to do is to know how to focus the camera...
Those pics really embellished and added to the story...

Glad you gents had a good time, and even moreso.. glad you boys took the time to share it with the rest of the campfire....

one of the best reads or threads I've seen on the campfire in quite a while.

just awesome....

cheers and best regards guys


You know, it didn't cost that much (on the scale of Alaska hunting trips for the non-resident). We had lots of help in that regard. First, my sister lives there, and we stayed with her while in Anchorage. Also, there was no guide requirement for this specie. We didn't have to rent a truck, thanks to our "spare" jeep in Anchorage. Because of my property up there, and plans to build a cabin, investing a little in a local vehicle was a good idea, and I'm not factoring that cost into the hunt. Rental vehicles right now are insane. We limited our meat to 70 lbs each of boned, frozen, vacuum packed boxes. I run an AlaskaAirlines credit card year round, and those points build up fast for reducing airfare. We opted not to hire a SuperCub for the final leg of the hunt, which saved a lot. Our transport cost via jet boat for the first part of the hunt was minimal. We cooked a lot of our own food and traveled pretty light. We stayed a few nights in Lodges, but that was limited availability and off-season, so not too bad there either.

Neither of us wanted much taxidermy for our caribou, so that's a big savings. I had my hide tanned in Anchorage, and the skull cleaned for a euro-style mount I do myself. That can be a major expense otherwise. Bob kindly gave his caribou hide to my sister; she's having it tanned. I expect that to go about $350 per hide.

The only hardware I bought specifically for this hunt was a ZOLEO satellite comm and a good cot to use at my sisters, plus some rinky dink stuff. Of course, we paid baggage fees to transport our gear. All things considered, AA's baggage fees are not that much. I must also thank DennisinAZ, as he dropped off some stuff for us in Anchorage when he drove up this spring for his Kodiak job.

The reason we didn't hire a guide is solely due to the wealth of great info from friends in Alaska. We hunted Unit 13, which is gigantic. Without good info, we wouldn't know how to approach this hunt. Caribou hunting is NOT like whitetail hunting, that's for sure. It's also not like elk hunting.

Our real costs were airfare, some lodging, gas/food, tags, and a few supplies. AK big game tags are not cheap, but are worth it IMO. A guided antelope hunt here in my home state of AZ would have cost more than this hunt, I imagine. Thank God and good friends, we enjoyed a bucket list hunt without a bucket list price tag.


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I'll chime in.
When Jeff and Bob were drawn i was initially going to go and just moose hunt since I didn't draw the tag. My son wanted to come to Kodiak and goat hunt so I had to bow out. I ended up getting Covid and my son wasn't able to come up. Such is life. I'm getting ready for my own caribou hunt next week. We'll see how it goes. Flying around a couple of weeks ago I found quite a few. Hopefully they're still by I lake I can land on. Weather is changing here in Kodiak. 2 snowfalls in the foothills so far. Leaves are changing, bears everywhere, salmon about done. I wish I could have joined them. I'm scheduled into the Brooks range for 2022 and I can always hunt these "feral Reindeer" on Kodiak.

Congrats to Jeff and Bob on their trophies and meat.


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Congratulations fellas. I am impressed with the fact that desert dwellers use Tabasco on pancakes!


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Uh, that’s just for eggs. I make pancake topping from mesquite honey, butter, and cinnamon.


I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough. -- Col. Stonehill
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Jeff, try Cholula on the eggs sometime. smile
Dennis, glad you got past the Covid - full recovery?


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