Q.
Where and when do I get my big game tags ?
A.
Online at Alaska department of fish and game or once you arrive in Anchorage at
any sporting goods store, Fred Myer, Walmart etc…….
If
your hunt starts from a smaller town or village, please don’t wait until
you get there. They might be out of tags and you would have to fly back to Anchorage
to buy them.
If you buy your tags online, please
buy them well in advance of your hunt.
Q.
How about my Alaska non resident hunting license ?
A.
Online or in Anchorage.
Q. Where do I
need to get too, to start my hunt ?
A.
Either Iliamna, Whittier, Kodiak or Possibly Seward.
Q.
What airline do I fly to Iliamna and how much does it cost ?
A.
Iliamna air taxi, RT cost of $380 per person. 907-571-1248
Q.
Once in Iliamna, what next ?
A. Our pilots
will meet you at the airport.
If for some reason
(weather) you are not met at the airport, you may call Terry holiday at 571-1650
or John Beachler at 571-1525.
Terry or his pilots
will be flying all our clients out to the field.
We
also have a blue Toyota 4- Runner with the keys in it.
Our
(in the field pilots) use that truck whenever they come to town so please never
take the Toyota for more than 30 minutes at a time.
Terry
or John will have a place for you to stay in case the weathers to bad for you
to fly. The price to stay in town is about $115 a day and includes transportation,
3 meals and a room. This is a extra expense you need to be prepared for.
Q.
How much does it cost to fly from Iliamna to base camp ?
A.
$450 per person. The flight is about a hour long.
Q.
How much gear should I bring ?
A. 70
lbs.
1 gun
1
duffle bag
1 back pack
You
do not need more than that.
Q.
What does base camp consist of ?
A. In
most cases, base camp is used as a staging area to begin your hunt from.
Most
of the time, you will travel straight out to your guide, in spike camp, the same
day you arrive in base camp.
When the weather
is bad, either at the beginning or the end of your hunt, you may stay the night
at base camp. Base camp consists of two 12 x 20 ft tents. One for the guides and
one for a cook tent.
The cook tent has a wood
stove, cooking stove, several tables, 12-12 chairs and lanterns.
Base
camp also has eight 10 x 10 clients tents with two cots, a table, lantern and
a heater.
There is a out house and several storage
tents as well.
At least one super cub is based
and tied down at base camp at all times.
A satellite
phone is always in base camp. For bad weather, a DVD player will probably be available
as well.
Q. Once in base camp, what next
?
A. You will fill out a contract between
yourself, the state and the registered guide. Which registered guide signs your
contract will depend on which area you’ll be hunting.
Also,
the remainder of the price of your hunt will be due at this time.
Please,
cash, money orders or travelers checks only. No personal checks will be excepted.
You
will also shoot your gun to make sure it is sighted in.
Q.
After finishing in base camp, what next ?
A.
You will load up into a super cub on tundra tires and fly out to where you’ll
be hunting from.
In most cases, your guide will
already be out there with the camp already set up.
Q.
What will the daily routine be while hunting ?
A.
Unlike in some places in the world, in Alaska, walking time is wasted time in
most cases. Most of the time you will spend glassing and spotting for your trophy.
You can’t be watching if you’re not
in your binoculars looking.
The worst thing
you could do is walk all over spreading your scent around. Only after a couple
days of watching minimum is it time to go looking over the other side of the mountain.
Q.
What is a spike camp and what does it consist of ?
A.
A spike camp is a even more remote spot to hunt from than base camp. Usually,
only a super cub can land there.
Spike camp
consists of 1 or 2 bomb shelter tents. A bomb shelter tent is a $1000 tent which
will take a 90 mph wind and the rain fly goes all the way to the ground on all
four sides. These tents are made for Alaska’s weather and are probably the
toughest tents ever made.
On a 1x1 hunt, there
is plenty of room for you, your guide and all your gear. On a 2x1 hunt, there
will be 2 tents. These tents are 8 ft x 8 ft, you can stand in them in the middle
and are very comfortable for two people and gear. 3 people can sleep in the comfortably.
Q.
What will we be eating in spike camp ?
A.
You will have more to eat than any normal person can handle.
The
main meal of the day will be a freeze dried meal. If you haven’t tried them,
you will be very surprised. They are very good and you’ll have a different
option for dinner most every night.
Let me explain
why we eat freeze dried meals. Our operation is know for hunting hard, from day
light to dark. It’s our responsibility to be out in the field hunting during
all day light hours. You don’t want your guide cooking and doing dishes and
wasting valuable hunting time with nonsense. Believe me, when it’s dark you’ll
want to get your sleep.
Along with your freeze
dried you’ll have a lot of other options to eat. Pancakes, eggs, bread, cup-a-soup,
crackers, sausage, candy, way more stuff than you’ll ever eat.
Q.
Once we spot a trophy, what next ?
A.
According to where it is, the guide will decide whether or not to go after it.
Sometimes if the wind isn’t right, it’s better to wait. Both the clients
and guides gear should be with you and ready to go at all times.
Q.
What is the average shot on a trophy ?
A.
25 to 300 yards. Less than 300 yards for a Brown / Grizzly bear.
Q.
What caliber rifle is right for Alaska ?
A.
On most of our hunts a 300 win. Mag is minimum and a 375 h and h mag is maximum.
Or anything in between.
Q. Once we get
the trophy down, what then ?
A. Your guide will
skin and quarter it and pack it either back to spike camp or to where a plane
can pick it up. If you are able to help either holding parts while skinning or
packing it would be appreciated, but you are not obligated to do so. If you are
hunting more than one species, it would be in your best interest to help. The
quicker the guide gets done, the quicker you’ll be hunting something else.
Example
: A Moose is a minimum of 8 packs of 100 to 150 lbs. It could easily take your
guide 2 to 3 days to pack it by himself. We may have a packer available although
most kids today seem to be lazy and completely worthless in a hunting camp, working
as packers.
Our last several years we’ve
had nothing but sissy’s and cry baby’s as packers that refused to do
anything.
It will take a lot of convincing to
ever hire another packer.
Q. How about
the hide work ?
A. Your guide will flesh
your hide,turn the lips, ears and nose and get the feet down to the last knuckle.
Do the pads on bears and get the skull cap off the skull with your antlers. Then
he will salt and re salt your hide. When it leaves our camp it will be in good
enough shape to take home and throw in your garage for a year and it will not
spoil. To our knowledge, we have never had a hide spoil in more than 30 years.
Q.
How often will the plane check on us. ?
A.
Every 3 to 4 days, at least. Bear hunting is different, glassing gets bears and
moving (most of the time), is not needed. On bear hunts, you’ll be checked
on at least once, but probably more, during your hunt.
Q.
How do I pay for additional trophies that I’ve taken on a trophy fee ?
A.
Cash or travelers checks.
Q. When I’ve
taken my trophy, can I leave early ?
A.
Yes, you can come back to base camp and we’ll call the pilots.
Q.
Will my meat and trophy be taken back to town ?
A.
Yes.
Q. Do I have to keep my meat ?
A.
No, you can transfer it to us and we’ll keep it or give it away.
Q.
What animals might I see on my hunt ?
A.
Brown / Grizzly or Black bear, Moose, Caribou, Red fox, Cross fox, Silver fox,
Wolf, Wolverine, Porcupine, Otter, Beaver, Weasel, Hawks, Eagles, Ptarmigan, Squirrel,
Geese, Hares, Ducks, Swans, Grouse, Lynx, Deer and on some hunts Whales.
