Question: How do I get
there? Scroll Down !
Answer:
Fly directly from your home to
Fairbanks Alaska and spend the night in the Best western
hotel. The next morning (as early as possible) have breakfast
and catch the hotel shuttle bus to Wrights air by 8am to the
airport. Sign up to Anaktuvik Pass village with secretary by
wrights air charter and on to the main camp by chartering our
designated flying service. You are responsible for all
charter costs to and from Anaktuvik Pass which is about
$380.00 per person, roundtrip from Fairbanks. Here we will
meet you and transport you to our lodge by super cub plane.
The point of outfitting is when you arrive at our main lodge.
Once you arrive at the main
lodge you will be given a short tour, meet the crew, assigned
a Guide and camp to hunt in, and then you can start to unpack,
and repack. You will leave your traveling clothes at the main
camp, and wear one of your sets of hunting clothes. You will
sight your rifle at our range to make sure the highly trained
baggage handlers didn’t drop your rifle case to many times, on
your commercial flight. After this is done you will purchase
you license and tags, complete the paperwork required by the
State of Alaska, and make your final hunt payment. You may be
flown out to your spike camp the same day, weather permitting,
or you may need to spend the night at main camp. Usually your
guide will already be at the spike camp getting everything
ready for your arrival.
Upon your arrival at the spike
camp, your guide will explain the daily routine, and answer
any questions you will have. You will start hunting the
following morning. We check on each camp every 2-3 days and
bring in additional food and supplies as required. Once you
have taken your animal, you will be flown back to the main
camp to get a shower and relax. Your skin will be fleshed and
salted and prepared for shipping. After you have heard all the
hunting stories you can handle, or at the end of your hunt, we
will call the airlines and make your reservations for your
return home.
Question:
What items are
furnished?
Answer:
All camping equipment, food, pads, cots, boats, motors and
bush airplanes used during the hunt. All licenses and tags
will be purchased when you arrive in base camp.
Question:
What services are furnished?
Answer:
You will be personally guided by a licensed
guide. All field care of your skins will be handled by your
guide. You will be staying in the main lodge or a comfortable
tent camps with cots, stoves and lanterns.
Question: What can I expect
for weather?
Answer:
Mild wind and clear skies
most of the time. Rain and snow 10% of the time. Temperature
is usually 50-80 degrees in early August-mid August during the
day . Mid August-end of August 45-65 degrees during day and
near freezing at night. Sept 1st--Sept15th 35-50 degrees with
nights down to freezing and light snow.. You will be sitting
for long periods of time (12-14 hours per day) glassing for
bears, 4-6 hours per day glassing for Caribou. Warm layered
clothing is required. Like I have said for years, if we had
white sandy beaches and warm weather in the Arctic, there
would be condos there instead of Grizzly bears and Caribou.
Plan for the worst weather you have ever hunted in, then if
the weather is nice you get the prize for good weather.
Question:
When do we start
hunting?
Answer:
You will start hunting the day following your arrival in spike
camp. It is illegal to shoot any big game animal the same day
you are flying. Our hunting area is approximately 3050 square
miles in size, including over 50 miles of Park Boundary of
Gates of Arctic National Park. 5 major river drainages and 13
small streams with char and grayling. The Siksikpuk River on
which our base camp is located. supports an excellent Grizzly
bear population, we plan to take only 2-4 hunters per Hunt and
the rest will fly out to a spike camp. We also try to harvest
only mature animals, which helps to maintain an excellent
Grizzly bear population. Our camps are located near good
vantage points, where you will be able to glass valleys,
streams and hillsides.
Question:
What kind of
sleeping bag do I need?
Answer:
You do need to bring a good sleeping bag no goose down filled
only synthetics good down to 20 degrees. We furnish, pads and
cots for all clients. If you are very tall or heavy and want
to bring your favorite Pad, please feel free to do so. We will
still have one of ours available.
Question: What should I pack
my gear in?
Answer:
Please bring only small/medium duffel bags. The perfect bag is
Cabela’s Super Cub duffel bag. Please, no suitcases or 6 foot
long duffel with wheels on them, commuter airlines charge for
over 50#, and now your gun case counts as one piece of
baggage. Our super cubs are 1 passenger aircraft, with 50# of
baggage, including your gun case. You will only need two sets
of hunting clothes, plus your traveling clothes. If your gear
requires an extra flight, there will be an additional $300.00
charge.
Question:
How much walking is involved in the
hunt?
Answer:
All hunting is done, by walking from spike camps. This is
strictly a fair chase hunt. Please be capable
of walking three miles daily in ankle-fit hip boots. Your
guide will always carry his own rifle while hunting.
Question:
Should I bring
binoculars?
Answer:
Yes, you should bring the best binoculars that you have
or can afford. Most guides will be carrying 10X40 Zeiss, Leica
or Swarovski. Any good 8X30 or 10X40 will be a big advantage
to your hunt. Many clients are excellent spotters, and you
will be setting for hours looking through your binoculars.
Just make sure they are waterproof, because believe me, Alaska
weather will test your gear.
Question:
Do I need to bring
a spotting scope?
Answer:
No, every guide will be carrying a good spotting scope and
tripod. This will save you about 5-7# in gear weight.
Question:
What is your
success rate?
Answer:
Our success rate last season was 100% on Caribou and Grizzly
bears and 75% on Brown bear. Usually someone holds out
looking for that giant. If any guide tells you he is 100%
every year, you should be 100% sure, you don’t want to hunt
with him. Since 1971 we have run at 98% success on Grizzly
and Caribou and 85% on Brown Bear.
Question: How much should I
tip my guide?
Answer:
This is probably the hardest question I have to answer. I have
received tips ranging from $200-$2,000 a hunt for getting the
client a nice trophy, to zero for getting a client a super
trophy. One man sent his sons on a bear hunt and they took 2
bears in 2 days. He told them to tip the guide 10% of the hunt
price, that came to $2200.00 tip. I paid the guide $2000.00 in
wages, so you can see the guide had a good hunt, as well as
the clients. I pay my guides very well to keep them coming
back year after year, and they are expected to provide you
with a very high quality hunting experience. It’s the
additional effort the guide puts forth to ensure you have a
great hunt, that you should be tipping for. The average is
probably about $400 on a bear hunt, and $300.00 on a caribou
hunt. Some clients tip the packers, cook, pilots, as well as
your personal guide. The tipping amount is up to you, and I
don’t want you to think I am telling you that a big tip is
required or expected.
Question:
Do you guarantee
the taking of an animal?
Answer:
No, Alaska state law prohibits guaranteeing success, on any
given hunt or trip. But We are the only guide in Alaska that I
know of that will let you extend your hunt for free for
another 5 days or come back at no charge if you don’t have an
opportunity to take a Bull Caribou or Grizzly Bear on our
fully guided 1x1 hunts in the Brooks range.
Question:
What are Ankle-fit
hip boots and where can I get them?
Answer:
Ankle fit hip boots are hip boots with a tight fitting ankle.
This tighter fit keeps the boots from moving up and down when
you walk. By not rubbing on your heel, there is less chance
for blisters. You can purchase these from Cabela’s, they call
them contour ankle fit. They come in both insulated and non
insulated, and with regular boot sole or air-bob soles. I
recommend non insulated ones with the air-bob soles. I buy
mine one size larger than I normally wear and then buy 2 pair
of felt insoles. I place an insole in each boot. The insoles
give you and extra padding for walking on river gravel, and
also absorb moisture. I change the insoles daily.
Question:
What kind of shape
do I need to be in?
Answer:
The best shape possible. You do not need to be a marathon
runner, but you need to be able to walk up to 3 miles in ankle
fit hip boots daily. When bear hunting we often are glassing
areas 1-2 miles away. If a bear is spotted, that you want, you
need to be able to get close enough for a shot. The only time
when this is critical, is right before dark when there may not
be enough time to poke along at a snails pace. Usually you
will have enough time to work into place at a normal walk,
unless a bear is traveling and you are trying to cut him off.
Most of our spike camps are within 1 mile of a good lookout or
vantage point.
To get in shape, I recommend
climbing stairs or hills. Walking on flat ground doesn’t help
you as much as you think. If you have a pack frame, put it on
and start climbing. After a couple of days, add a couple of
gallon milk jugs full of water. Climb the hills or stairs and
when you get to the top, you can dump the water and start back
down. Coming down hills or stairs with lots of weight in your
pack is very hard on your knees. Work your way up to where you
can climb with 5 gallons of water or 40#. That is more than
you will need, but you will think the 20# load o your hunt, is
really light then.
Question:
Do I need a camera?
Answer:
Yes, every hunter should bring a camera and extra film to take
home pictures of their adventure of hunting in Alaska. I
recommend a small waterproof digital camera. A built in
telephoto lens is nice and at least one extra set of
batteries. Also each guide carries a digital camera and we
will be glad to download yhere pictures on disk for you to
take home. The one comment I get often is that “I wish I had
taken more pictures”. Alaska is a cameraman’s, dream come
true.
Question: Do I need to bring
fishing tackle?
Answer: We
have a good selection of spinning rod and reels and a couple
of fly rods at the lodge for you to use. We also have a good
selection of lures and flies. If you want to fish with a fly
rod bring a few extra flies and leaders 8-10lb tippets.
RECOMMENDED FLIES: An
assortment of bunny leeches, egg-sucking leeches, wooly
buggers and flesh flies tied on # 4 and # 2 hooks should be in
every angler's fly box. Black, purple, olive and dark red are
the preferred colors, but throw a couple of loud color ones
(chartreuse or hot pink) in your box also if you can. Egg
patterns, lots of them, are also a must, and they
should be orange, red and hot pink, tied on # 8 & 10 hooks.
Spawn sack flies like the Babine Special, the Alaskan Omelette,
and the Polar Shrimp, on white or tan with bright orange, pink
or red, and tied on # 4 & 6 hooks are also hot producers.
These flies will work on just about everything that swims in
Alaska.
Question:
What caliber do you
recommend?
Answer: I
recommend at least a 270 or larger for Caribou and 300mag or
338 for Bears. More Grizzly bears are taken with a 300mag -
larger Brown Bears 338 caliber, and more Caribou are taken
with a 30-06. If you are buying a new rifle to hunt Alaska,
get a 338 mag. The 338 is a perfect rifle for everything in
Alaska. Good bonded bullets such as Nozlers, Swift or Barnes
are the best.
The guides carry from 270-338 calibers
depending on the hunt. Pre 64 model 70's very popular, with a
fiberglass stock. My rifle is light weight, has a 20 ½”
barrel, and a 1.5–5 power Leupold VarXIII scope. I shoot only
Nozler bullets in Federal factory loads.
Your scope is actually more important
than your rifle. Bring only a good waterproof scope, that will
not fog up in the rain. Lens covers are a must. You will not
need anything larger than a 2X7 or 3X9 power scope. Please no
6X20 power scopes, we are not shooting prairie dogs
The stainless steel
actions and fiberglass stocks are the best for Alaska, because
your rifle is going to be wet 40% of the time. Trust me.
Question:
What kind of pack
should I bring?
Answer:
You should bring at least a very large good day pack with a
hip belt, or better yet would be a framed pack with a good hip
belt. You will be carrying your camera, extra shells, rain
gear, a jacket, your lunch and snacks, plus your water bottle.
Then add about 5# of misc. stuff you will probably never use,
but like to carry just in case.
The best
frame pack on the market is sold by Barney’s Sports Chalet in
Anchorage. It is a well built, with heavy duty shoulder straps
and hip belt. This is what 95% of all the guides use. I buy
these frames for my packers who regularly are packing 100# of
Caribou meat or more each trip.
Question:
How much ammo
should I bring?
Answer:
Bring 2 boxes of the exact same ammo that you have sighted
your rifle in with at home. Sight your rifle in 3” high at 100
yards. Then you can hold on the animal out to 300 yards. Very
seldom do we ever take a shot over 200yards. Usually the
average shot is 150 yards. Please shoot your rifle at least 50
times before you come and get use to it, and know where it
shoots. I had one hunter who came on a bear hunt who had never
shot his rifle once, only had it bore sighted at the gun shop
where he bought it. Another hunter said he had his wife sight
in his 338 for him. He had never shot his rifle either until
he arrived at camp.
You
should practice shooting kneeling, sitting, and a little
offhand.