We did the unguided caribou hunt out of Kotzebue, Alaska and couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Our main goal was spending time together….Dad, sons and son-in-law. In addition, we are all die-hard hunters and we were all able to fill our tags. The whole trip was very organized by the outfitter. Not only did she answer a lot of questions leading up to the hunt, she made sure everything was in order when we arrived and then all the way through the trip. We couldn’t have asked for more.
The float plane ride out with Mike was amazing and since my son is training to be a helicopter pilot, he quickly bombarded Mike with lots of questions and it didn’t take long to find out he has over 22,000 hours of flight experience…..we were in great hands. The flight alone was worth the trip.
The tents, cots and gear were brand new, we had tons of food and we were in a perfect spot on a lake and river. The warm weather made the hunt a challenge and kept the caribou from doing a lot of moving but we hunted hard and covered lots of miles, killing two of our four bulls at the very end of the hunt, three soggy, nasty miles from camp. What a blast!
My only regret is that I got nervous at the end and shot a small bull and then in the last few hours of the hunt my son-in-law shot a really great bull and he was accompanied by another big bull that just danced around out on the tundra after the other bull was down…I guess he knew I was tagged out. Overall it was an awesome experience and we are already planning our return trip! Oh, and did I mention the fishing was great? We caught lots of grayling and lake trout to top it all off.
