Adak Island caribou Hunt,Any one done it??

[QDM4SURE]

I was wondering if anyone has gone on a do it yourself caribou hunt on adak Island.
I recently spoke to a n Uncle that had been hunting the mulchatna herd and gave up on that herd and two years ago began to hunt adak island.His idea of hunting is not the same as mine.So I was wondering if any of you guys been on a hunt there and would share a little insight.

[strangerinastrangeland]

How does yer Uncle hunt differently than you?

Different rules? Morals? Needs ? Meat not horns?

How can we best stear you right???

[Bill S.]

Its become pretty much of a meat hunt, although there used to be some good bulls down there. Its 1300 round trip from Anchorage. There are lots of threads concerning Adak here, just search for them.

[CGSwimmer25]

Judging by your last thread when to referred to Alaskans as "meat gathers" I take it you are looking for more of a trophy hunt, right? I am currently planning an Adak Caribou hunt and as Bill S. said, it seems like it has turned into a meat hunt. Im sure there are still good bulls on the island but due to the mistakes of some ignorant hunters in the past, the herd has taken a hit. If your looking for a trophy hunt I'm sure many on this forum would suggest looking up services up North targeting the Arctic Caribou herd.

[QDM4SURE]

Get It Straight

Judging by your last thread when to referred to Alaskans as "meat gathers" I take it you are looking for more of a trophy hunt, right? I am currently planning an Adak Caribou hunt and as Bill S. said, it seems like it has turned into a meat hunt. Im sure there are still good bulls on the island but due to the mistakes of some ignorant hunters in the past, the herd has taken a hit. If your looking for a trophy hunt I'm sure many on this forum would suggest looking up services up North targeting the Arctic Caribou herd.

I did not refer to Alaskans as meat gathers,a local told me Quote,Im a meat gatherer,I hunt for food.I dont hunt for recreation.That was my reference.
I was asking archers if they new a quality hunt.

[Leechclan]

I just stumbled across this forum as I was surfing today. Unfortunately, my trip happened a long time ago. So my information is rather dated. I was stationed on Adak in 1973/4. I was lucky enough during my stay to go on one hunt and took two females. I was hunting the meat for four families. Believe it or not, all I had to do to go on this hunt was to sign-up with our Special Services group. Eleven of us went as a group for a week. A Navy tug took us from the main part of the island to an area where the isthmus begins. There was a couple of Quonset huts there maintained by two people with a couple of horses. As it turns out this area is where the caribou came through to the rutting grounds. We would walk a short distance to the top of a hill overlooking a large expanse of a valley. We waited and waited. After a few days, a few of us got impatient and started walking towards the end of the island. I think it was 16 miles through tundra. Good thing I was only 25 at the time. It was one of the hardest treks I ever took. We saw nothing all day and stayed in an old sentry survival shack over night. The Navy had stocked it with some supplies, so we had something to eat and drink. During the walk back the next day, we did see a herd off in the distance. Too far for a shot. Our week was over, the weather had been great, but no one ever got off a shot. Bad for getting the animals to move. When the Tug came to get us, they were short two people for the next week's hunt. So I had the tugmaster call back to my boss to extend my leave for another week. Since my boss was one of the families I was hunting for, he gave me the extra week.

It started to snow the second night and the animals started to move. We lined ourselves up along the top of this hill. I was the first in line with specific instructions to let the herd pass before I took my first shot, so that they would run towards the remaining hunters (I knew none of these guys). The herd sensed that we were there and instead of going in front of me, they went behind me by about 30 yards. Pretty close, huh? I was buried in a hole in the tundra. After they passed me and as they continued up the rise behind me, I started to turn around and ready myself for a shot. It was at that time, the idiots I was with started shooting. Fortunately, the hill was in the way and they missed me. They also turned the herd to run directly at me. They did not follow the directions they had given me. Almost in self defense, I took both of my Caribou. They kept running and the rest of the hunters did not get another shot. I field dressed them there. Because it was near sunset, the wranglers would not bring the horses out to get the carcasses, so I covered them with a pound of pepper each and left them for the night. The next morning I was met with about thirty eagles surrounding the carcasses; the entrails were nowhere to be found. The eagles and foxes had cleaned it all up. It was eerie walking in amongst all of these very large intimidating birds. They did not budge until the horses came. The rest of the hunters eventually got something during that trip. The four families were thrilled with the meat and I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I kept the skins for over thirty years before my wife finally made me get rid of them. They shed. I am sorry I do not remember exactly what weeks of the year we were there, but I believe it was late Sept or early Oct. I now live in Florida, doing some consulting in Chicago. Never got to hunt much again, so it is with very fond memories that I have of my Adak experience. Hope this helps a little. I know the Navy is there no longer, so I do not know how you would get to that part of the island. It would be a tough trek from the main part. Thanks for letting me relive this memory today. I do not get to tell this story often. Good Luck. Nate, former Adak resident.

[AK Ray]

Use the search function and you will come up with some good information on several prior posts.

[shphtr]

Highly recommend you check the archivies since things have changed a lot from "the good ole days" according to posts from recent hunters.

[WIsam]

I started a few threads about Adak a month or so ago. From what I've gathered, plan on rain and wind. Alaska Air runs two weekly flights, I think they are on Thurs and Sun. The weather can be bad, so factor in a few extra days in case you're flight is delayed.

[AkHunter45]

I've got a friend that's hunted at least 3 times on Adak, I think he and his son's killed 2 caribou out of those 3 hunts and they were both very small. That's a mighty long ways to go for a meat 'bou IMO. I'd look elsewhere for a big bodied, big racked caribou bull.