Moving to Alaska what to bring for hunting

[Longtrek86]

I will be moving to Alaska next week and I'm seeking advice about what to bring. Was ready for a change in career direction and found the perfect job in a remote village not connected by any roads. I love the outdoors and recently got into hunting so Alaska is perfect for me (I have never been, so hopefully the statement turns out to be true).

Rifle- I have a 30-06 and this should be fine for big game. Should I also bring a .22? Semi auto or bolt? Is ammo impossible to come by?

I do not have a shotgun and have never been duck hunting (not many ducks where I live in the desert). Is it worthwhile?

Fishing- should I buy a salmon pole and gear and mail it to myself or buy it in Alaska?

Handgun- I see many threads on this subject for bears. I do not like recoil, will not practice if I got a 500 S&W. Given that, would a 44 mag strike a good balance between recoil / bear stopping power?

What do you do for winter clothes? Where do you get them? Anything that is "must have"?

Any other tips of what I should bring? I will not be bringing an automobile will only take what I can pack and mail.

[4merguide]

I love the outdoors and recently got into hunting so Alaska is perfect for me

Well that may be yet to be seen.......lol.

You might want to wait until you get up here to get a lot of your gear when you find out exactly what it is you need. For instance, do you know what "bunny boots" are? if not then you may just want to wait. A lot of gear you may buy down there may not really do that well up here......BUT your 06' should do you fine....lol. Never hurts to have a 22 and scatter gun either.

Good luck with the move...!!!

[willphish4food]

I will be moving to Alaska next week and I'm seeking advice about what to bring. Was ready for a change in career direction and found the perfect job in a remote village not connected by any roads. I love the outdoors and recently got into hunting so Alaska is perfect for me (I have never been, so hopefully the statement turns out to be true).

Rifle- I have a 30-06 and this should be fine for big game. Should I also bring a .22? Semi auto or bolt? Is ammo impossible to come by?

I do not have a shotgun and have never been duck hunting (not many ducks where I live in the desert). Is it worthwhile?

Fishing- should I buy a salmon pole and gear and mail it to myself or buy it in Alaska?

Handgun- I see many threads on this subject for bears. I do not like recoil, will not practice if I got a 500 S&W. Given that, would a 44 mag strike a good balance between recoil / bear stopping power?

What do you do for winter clothes? Where do you get them? Anything that is "must have"?

Any other tips of what I should bring? I will not be bringing an automobile will only take what I can pack and mail.

.06 is a fine gun, ammo is readily available. .22 ammo next to impossible to find in Alaska now; buy several thousand rounds and bring them with you. Another option is .17 HMR; relatively cheap ammo and available. Also a shotgun will do most of what a .22 will, and ammo is readily available.
Buy your fishing gear in Alaska, in Anchorage, Wasilla or another main town. The shops will mostly be carrying gear that works, and the sales staff can help with your selection. Smaller specialty shops generally have more knowledgeable staff, and often the prices are decent too. If you already have fishing gear, your bass/walleye combo will likely be fine for all salmon but kings... rods in the 8-15# or 10-20# class, 7-8' are great. 8 wt. for fly rod will cover all species but kings, 6 wt will be nicer to use for most trout fishing.
.44 Mag has saved a lot of lives.
Winter clothes are available by mail order, craigslist, any stores in Anchorage. Lots of bush residents will do their shopping on trips to Anchorage, and mail order is very big. Postal rates to bush are subsidized and aren't out of the world.
Bring lots of trade beads and bright cloth. Just kidding! Bring a good attitude, and be ready to share. Cabin fever relievers; winters are long. DVD and good movie selection is a good idea.

[Brian M]

Can you give us an idea of the region of the state you'll be in? The ideal gear in Arctic Village is different than the ideal gear in Dillingham which is different than the ideal gear in Elfin Cove. Alaska covers a wide range of climates and hunting/fishing opportunities - in some places a salmon pole will be worthless, as there are no salmon. In other places it'll be as necessary to your dinner as your frying pan.

[4merguide]

Alaska covers a wide range of climates and hunting/fishing opportunities

Indeed.....think rain forest to Arctic desert.

[cod]

Can you give us an idea of the region of the state you'll be in? The ideal gear in Arctic Village is different than the ideal gear in Dillingham which is different than the ideal gear in Elfin Cove. Alaska covers a wide range of climates and hunting/fishing opportunities - in some places a salmon pole will be worthless, as there are no salmon. In other places it'll be as necessary to your dinner as your frying pan.

I was about to post the same question. Where are u relocating TO? There are a couple places up here u won't need to bring your cheese grater for getting that nice 'shave ice' from the wall of your igloo.

[limon32]

Polypropylene and fleece and indispensable up here. I really like cabelas and REI brand clothes and anchorage has both stores.

There are endless threads debating hand guns and bears, te wife and I both carry .44 mags and shotguns depending on what we're doing. I also keep a big supply of poly socks, wool socks or wool blend socks. Definitely get some bunny boots in anchorage as a previous poster mentioned. An assortment of waterproof gloves too!


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[LuJon]

Need to know where you are headed to. Saying "I'm moving to alaska, what do I need" is akin to a foreigner saying "I'm moving to America, what do I need?"

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[Longtrek86]

Moving to Fort Yukon.

I never considered a .17, looks like that is a good choice. I'll look into getting some bunny boots. Don't think I will be in Anchorage anytime soon so will have to buy in Fairbanks or order online. Is there a specific brand/ store you recommend?

[AGL4now]

Here is the Super TOP secret about what you REALLY need..........I can't tell you as it is a secret, BUT if you get fully dressed and get in the shower then turn the water on ICE cold, with violent pounding relentless pulsating shower head for 1/2 hour you should be able to figure out what you truly need to hunt in Alaska.

[sep]

Fairbanks has several stores to buy what you need. For general outdoor clothing, Big Ray's has pretty good selection. Sportsmans Warehouse, Prospector, Frontier Sporting Goods, REI (which is new here), Beaver Sports and others in no particular order.

Like the others have posted, an 06, a 12 gauge and a 22 will cover a lot of territory up here. Nothing wrong with carrying a 44 magnum for bear defense in those situations where you aren't carrying the 06. I prefer cast lead bullets for the 44 such as those offered by Federal (300 grain Cast Core), Garrett, Buffalo Bore or the Backpacker ammo rolled right here in Alaska. All of these are fairly scarce right now so if you can but several boxes down there and bring them up with you, you'll be set. 30-06 and 12 gauge ammo is relatively plentiful so you shouldn't have too much problem buying them locally.

Please brace yourself for higher prices than you are accustomed to seeing. Things are more expensive up here. Right now, 22 ammo is as scarce as hen's teeth. I don't know specifically what calibers the folks in Ft Yukon are using but I would think you would be the most popular guy in the village if you showed up with as much 22 ammo as you can carry.

[AGL4now]

"Beaver Sports".....................

[logman 49]

Bring $$$$

[AGL4now]

AMEN to that.

Bring $$$$

[BrownBear]

...seeking advice about what to bring....

When I moved up here in the 1970's I went looking for advice and got lots of it. Mostly WRONG!

Here's the advice I wish I had received:

Bring what you have and don't sell a single thing.

I got rid of all sorts of guns I heard weren't "Alaskan" enough. Then got up here and learned my advisers had been eating a steady diet of moose nuggets.

Spent the next 10 or 15 years trying to replace the stuff I sold on bad advice. Sure I picked up some real "Alaskan" guns once I got up here, but I sure took a beating selling stuff too fast and too low, then buying replacements too slow and too high.