DIY Alaksa Caribou Hunts. Who has done it?

I am starting some research for a DIY Caribou hunt next year in Alaska. I am reading every book and article as well as watching everything piece of material I can on it but nothing compares to real life experiences. If anyone here has done this and is willing to share lessons learned and offer a few tips please feel free to share here or message me. Would love any input possible. Thanks

Tag for reference, would love to hunt alaska

I did a drop camp hunt for caribou in Alaska back in the 90's with an air charter called 4W Air Service, or something like that. I looked for them online a few years ago and couldn't find anything, so I'm guessing that they are long gone. Not that it matters. I booked the hunt out of a show and didn't have a clue what I was doing. They provided the tent and gear, my buddy and I brought MRI's to eat. It was along the Mulchatna River, which had a lot of animals, but also a lot of hunters. We never ran into anybody else, but the bush planes where non stop flying over us.

First day of hunting after landing and setting up camp the day before, a group of four nice bulls worked their way down a ridge towards where I was sitting and glassing. One of them looked pretty nice, but I wasn't sure until I saw that he had double shovels. First day and I took him. The rest of the day we saw caribou walk by in small groups. The main thing to remember with caribou, is they never stop walking, so when they walk past you, they are gone forever. The second day we saw half of what we saw the first day. Then on the third day, we didn't see any. The rest of the week, we only saw a few caribou, and they where all pretty far off. My buddy could have shot several different bulls, but I think he was holding out for one bigger then mine. That was a mistake. He didn't get one.

It rains every day. Expect to be wet all the time, and for your clothes to be wet. Especially your socks. You can't bring enough to have a dry pair in the morning, so buy socks that dry out quickly, and that still keep you warm when wet. I used silk liners and wool socks. The flat tundra is like a sponge with holes in it that you fall into without knowing they are there. Make sure you have comfortable hip boots, you wear them every day, all day if you are hunting on the tundra. The small ridges are solid and where you want to be to glass. The caribou are all just walking, so they can be anywhere.

Caribou numbers are way down in some areas. Be sure to find out where there are a lot of animals. No fun not seeing anything.

Good luck.



The bugs are worse then you could ever imagine. Bring lots of 100% deet. Bring a face mask!!!!! Bring something for the itching from all the bites that you get all over your face when you lift your face mask to drink water or eat.