Alaska: Heli hunting on Brownbears

[CoElkHunter]

Well worth looking into. Although it would be hard to compete with a half warm package of Mountain House freeze dried chili….

Or a good cold mustard sardine burrito under a tarp in a driving rain. But they might charge extra for that. LOL

 

[JimP]

Or a good cold mustard sardine burrito under a tarp in a driving rain. But they might charge extra for that. LOL

You haven't lived until you are 5 miles from the trailhead and your partner says that he had lunch covered. Then he pulls out a package of Fig Newtons and a piss warm can of Pepsi

 

[BRICKBURN]

You haven't lived until you are 5 miles from the trailhead and your partner says that he had lunch covered. Then he pulls out a package of Fig Newtons and a piss warm can of Pepsi

He would not have lived for sure.

 

[Sabre]

Yes, operating costs across the board have gone up. Of course Alaska is going to be more expensive than many easier locations. But pretending that overhead/operating costs are the reason why brown bear/grizzly hunts are so expensive is silly. If that were true, their black bear hunts would also cost almost the same.

They are so expensive because almost everyone wants one, and because outfitters realized they could charge much more and still get enough clients to pay themselves well for less hunts.

That is the reason why grizzly, elk, mule deer, and whitetail hunt prices have gone up so drastically. Although there are supposedly less hunters overall, the hunters that are still hunting are hunting more hours, they are often more educated than in the past, and many more want to travel to get more species. Influenced by endless supply of hunting shows telling them it's the best ever.

I have had many outfitters tell me essentially the same thing, phrased slightly differently from each one. "Why would I take 10 guys for $5,000 each when I can take 5 guys for $10,000 each and make the same money with less work and less animals out of the herd."

It's supply and demand, plain and simple. If all of the wealthy people suddenly decided they didn't need another bull elk tomorrow, you would see prices for elk hunts drop drastically to working person's prices and the outfitter would take more people at a lower price per animal to make the same wages.

 

[CBH Australia]

A sad truth is that one can hunt the same species in Europe and kill just as big a bear for a half the cost of an Alaskan brown bear.

These are free range animals, though admittedly the wilderness factor is not the same. In Europe the hunter will likely have to cope with a lovely claret and chateaubriand at the end of the day rather than a can of Denny Moore lovingly prepared by an ever more fragrant guide. But sometimes the savings are worth the sacrifice.

I can understand everyone’s point of view on this but wondered if more tags allow operators to reduce costs with increased demand when the bear are being culled so the population are there.

To your point on hunting Europe for someone like me who would say 50-100k is definitely Once in a lifetime if were commit and I have watched YouTube. Sitting it out in a tent would be hard. The hike would be hard, and the cold would be horrible.

So for me hunting a big bear and having a bit of comfort I could live with . A big bear, any bear and any country would be better than no bear for me. But for some only an Alaskan Bear will do.

I can understand everyone’s point that but some might be able to budget 100k each year for hunting and many can’t but some will fulfil a lifetime dream of taking that once in a lifetime hunt and bring home their prize whatever that might be.

 

[flatwater bill]

Although the percentage of hunters in the US has fallen (nearing 4% in some polls) the absolute number of hunters is still very high. Worldometer lists the US pop as 347 million, other sources as high as 370 million. So 4.4% is still a huge number. Many large private ranches in the West have been purchased by the elite. (Both Jimmy Kimmel and Kanye West have purchase ranches near me) A local F&G office tells me that 95% of large ranches in Idaho have leased out hunting rights. So the pressure on public lands has skyrocketed. Demand for hunts and tags has changed dramatically in the last 36 months. I see rarely see a reason for govt agencies to shoot animals that would be in high demand by hunters. But then, Sen Kennedy said yesterday that the Biden Admin gave $1.6 billion in Covid stimulus checks to people that were dead. So shooting the goats in Olympic Park or the Bears in Alaska or the Yellowstone Bison amounts to a small potatoes by comparison.......FWB

 

[RedTag]

It's hard to believe, but in Alaska the F+G Department shot 170 brown bears from a helicopter to bring about a spray reduction.
Happened in the last 18 months in Unit 17 (northwest of the Peninsula).
For some time now, 2 brownies per year have even been permitted there.
These hunts should then become cheaper, shouldn't they (note for the good guys: not from a helicopter, of course)?
Biologists estimate that 30 moose/calves are killed each year.
Nobody knows why they are not hunted more intensively.
It reads like a Munchausen story.
No information in the hunting magazines and no howls from the NGOs.
But it seems to be true ;go to the relevant Alaska hunting forums.
An April fools joke in wintertime?
I still don't believe it, maybe an AH member from Alaska can contribute?
Foxi

The price of guided hunting in Alaska is obscene. It has turned into a rich man’s adventure. The cost of air taxi alone (not even a guided hunt) has become priced out of reach for any one of ordinary means. I have been an Alaskan resident and hunter for many years and I say without hesitation that the quality of fish and game management in this state is questionable at best. Our numbers are way down on salmon, caribou, moose, sheep, pretty much everything. Environmental factors surely contribute but overharvest has been a major issue. Predator control is a valid concept, but having state agents killing bears by the hundreds from a helicopter while the state is simultaneously selling the “opportunity” to hunt the same animals (with extremely expensive guides being required for non residents) and the whole thing reeks of mismanagement. The Fairbanks area had A LOT of moose a couple decades ago, to the point moose/car collisions were getting problematic. I would see moose along the road almost daily. Then the state decided on a winter hunt for cow moose (about 15 years ago if I recall correctly) which killed way too many. I only rarely see cow and calf moose around here anymore and have personally not seen a bull within 100 miles in several years. The numbers have not recovered and our recent winters have been extremely hard on these animals. They are built for cold but the recent trends of mid winter warmth bringing heavy snow and freezing rain has been very hard on the calves. Caribou are not doing better. Look around the state at the Mulchatna herd, Nelchina herd, Fortymile herd… all way down, and in some cases critically. Really a few years ago the harvest quota for the Fortymile herd was 10,000 but this year is well below 1,000. Are we to believe this is all the work of bears and wolves?

 

[1dirthawker]

It's supply and demand, plain and simple. If all of the wealthy people suddenly decided they didn't need another bull elk tomorrow, you would see prices for elk hunts drop drastically to working person's prices and the outfitter would take more people at a lower price per animal to make the same wages.

yeah, pretty much it is supply and demand. that said, there is only so many places to put hunters where we hunt. so i guess you could put twice as many guys there, but you would be doubling up on the area. and would be putting twice the pressure on that area, etc. costs really went up during the biden admin due to fuel costs, etc. we had a $7000 surcharge (extra cost) for the fuel costs needed for the boat. as prices went up on fuel, food, airfare, etc (inflation) hunt costs went up as well.

there are only so many spaces for brown bear hunters and they are taken up every season. i have zero input into the costs of the hunts that i guide for, but, they have steadily increased along with the costs of everything else.

 

[Certus]

No one allows access without $$$ these days.

 

[Foxi]

I would like to read the annual tax return of an outfitter in Alaska as well as in Africa.
So that I learn to understand their whining about the costs they have
The prices in Alaska and the Yukon are largely the result of the suppliers.
One outfitter once complained that he had no income for half the year. When I told him he should try working the rest of the time like the rest of us, he got angry.
But that's the market, supply and demand.
Boat and horse hunts are expensive, but there are other ways.
Nobody can make me believe the big costs that a outfitter has, when I send a guest with a young guide to the Alaska Range with a mountaineering tent and astronaut food.
If a moose hunt on horseback in Alaska or Yukon costs me USD 30,000!!! and more until the trophy hangs at home, then you should shoot your own moose.
With all the price increases that are easy to follow, it is an absurd development.
Sorry for off topic.
Foxi

 

[WAB]

A good friend built a lodge on the Holitna 40 or so years ago. He did so by hauling in a saw mill, cutting trees and building. He then worked his ass off guiding fishermen and hunters, finally selling the lodge five years ago. His trips weren’t cheap, and he made money, but I’d wager that he would have been further ahead financially with a middle class job in the lower 48. You guys talk like these folks are getting rich off of you. I assure you, they are not. They deserve to earn a living just like you do.

 

[gbflyer]

If a person thinks a Alaska bear hunt is too expensive, there are two options:

One, become a resident, maintain residency, and pay the Piper along with the rest of us. Where I live I can walk out my door and kill multiple black bear a year and one brown bear every 4 regulatory years if I so desire. It also costs my household of 3 a minimum of $2000 for an overnighter to go to McDonalds and see a movie. Not looking for pity, my choice, just the way it is.

Two, simply don’t go. Like a poster above said, the pool of hunters willing to pay the tariff seems to be deep. Good guides are booked 2-3 years in advance.

 

[CoElkHunter]

If a person thinks a Alaska bear hunt is too expensive, there are two options:

One, become a resident, maintain residency, and pay the Piper along with the rest of us. Where I live I can walk out my door and kill multiple black bear a year and one brown bear every 4 regulatory years if I so desire. It also costs my household of 3 a minimum of $2000 for an overnighter to go to McDonalds and see a movie. Not looking for pity, my choice, just the way it is.

Two, simply don’t go. Like a poster above said, the pool of hunters willing to pay the tariff seems to be deep. Good guides are booked 2-3 years in advance.

Wait a minute. $2000us? to stay in a motel, eat at McDonalds and see a movie? Does that include airfare? LOL

 

[CoElkHunter]

You haven't lived until you are 5 miles from the trailhead and your partner says that he had lunch covered. Then he pulls out a package of Fig Newtons and a piss warm can of Pepsi

Well, other than the sardine burrito caper which happened on a hunting trip, trying to cook a bag of dried beans over a small backpacker style stove at 9000ft after dark on a summer pack/fishing trip because we had NO other food, your adventure ranks right up there. Both of MY nightmares involved my father in law who stated "I'll bring the food", before the trips. And I have more. LOL I'm thinking about starting a thread, "AH's, believe it or not Adventure thread"? LOL

 

[gbflyer]

Wait a minute. $2000us? to stay in a motel, eat at McDonalds and see a movie? Does that include airfare? LOL

Yes it does. There is no road out of where I live. It’s a 20 minute flight, $400 P/P round trip….

 

[JimP]

My ideal home

 

[steve white]

Well, other than the sardine burrito caper which happened on a hunting trip, trying to cook a bag of dried beans over a small backpacker style stove at 9000ft after dark on a summer pack/fishing trip because we had NO other food, your adventure ranks right up there. Both of MY nightmares involved my father in law who stated "I'll bring the food", before the trips. And I have more. LOL I'm thinking about starting a thread, "AH's, believe it or not Adventure thread"? LOL

Do it!

 

[JimP]

Well, other than the sardine burrito caper which happened on a hunting trip, trying to cook a bag of dried beans over a small backpacker style stove at 9000ft after dark on a summer pack/fishing trip because we had NO other food, your adventure ranks right up there. Both of MY nightmares involved my father in law who stated "I'll bring the food", before the trips. And I have more. LOL I'm thinking about starting a thread, "AH's, believe it or not Adventure thread"? LOL

I went to Lake Powell once and since I was working in Hanksville the friend who was bringing a boat down said that he had lunch covered.

The menu that day was horseradish sandwiches. Two pieces of bread some lettuce and horseradish.

You'd think that I'd learn. Anymore I always have some homemade elk jerky when I head out on a adventure

 

[CoElkHunter]

I went to Lake Powell once and since I was working in Hanksville the friend who was bringing a boat down said that he had lunch covered.

The menu that day was horseradish sandwiches. Two pieces of bread some lettuce and horseradish.

You'd think that I'd learn. Anymore I always have some homemade elk jerky when I head out on a adventure

+1. After the dried beans fiasco I was traumatized. Since then I always have enough trail mix, jerky, fruit cups, etc. in my pack to survive a couple of days. Several plastic bottles of water too. They’re a little heavy but they won’t leak even if frozen and there’s no substitute unless you carry a water filter. Even then, if the water sources are frozen the filter won’t help.

 

[Tbitty]

If a person thinks a Alaska bear hunt is too expensive, there are two options:

One, become a resident, maintain residency

There's part of the reason why AK brown bear hunts are expensive- non-residents must go with a guide. There's no such thing as a DIY hunt. Add the expenses of travel to remote areas, and the price gets real high real quick.