Mike I am kinda set on Alaska for this trip. But Newfoundland is on the radar also. Have a couple friends that have done that trip and we’re a 100%.
Waggler, I understand that all edible meat has to come out. Also been watching some really good meat care videos from Larry Bartlett. Good stuff.
Viking, thank you for all that info to consider. I’ll look into the air taxis, never been one to pay an outfitter or a guide. I like to do the “hunt” on my own and figure the animal out by my decisions.
Good to know info on the bad winter last year I will take that into account. I’ve got some great gear I’ve accumulated over the years on my backcountry elk hunts. All my gear is ultra lite so maybe I could get by with some new heavier stuff for the moose hunt. I’ll will research what works. Sounds like you’re well traveled and must have a lot of memories in the field!! Good for you. Memories is all we have at the end.
Positive attitude is one of my strong points.. thank you for your time much appreciated!
John

Don't forget a satellite phone or an Inreach device. Maybe two.

For sure.

I've done different kinds of moose hunts. Fly-in to remote lakes, floating remote rivers, canoe portage trips (boy, was I dumb then), walking off the road system (dumb then too), and ATVing off the road system. Most of my moose hunting the last 15 years has been done by the latter method.

The most important rule of moose hunting is never shoot a moose more than a half-mile or so from camp or a water pickup point. A second rule is never put more than one moose down at a time. Even with three of you, don't be caught trying to butcher two at once, it's a good way to ruin meat.

Get a moose-calling CD and listen to it, try to imitate the sounds you hear. Don't be embarrassed at your own calls. My moose call (cow in heat) is the goofiest sounding call anyone has ever heard...but it works. I've called in and shot some nice bulls. If you're going in September, one or all of you should definitely learn to call. I've never been able to sneak up on a moose, so I try to bring them to. me.

I've hunted moose in two general types of country: heavy timber, and rolling tundra-covered hills with trees or brush in the draws. In the heavy timber, calling is the only method that ever worked for me. In tundra country, you can hunt with the spot and stalk method.

If I were young, fit, and prepared to walk my wheels off, I'd locate a small lake in tundra country with at least one good hill beside it, hire a Beaver to fly us there, and spend a week or so, climbing hills (you want the elevation for spotting) and calling. You might take a small inflatable raft so one or two of you could row out in the lake and scan the surrounding hills.

If you're old and decrepit like me, I'd look for an outfitter (not a guide) who rents moose hunting camps on a river, with a boat and motor provided. I've heard of such camps, but never hunted out of one of them.

I love floating rivers, but haven't had a great deal of hunting success that way. You wind up spending a lot of the day, usually during prime hunting hours, making and breaking camp. The only times I had success on a float hunt was when we stopped for a few days at one spot to focus on hunting.

Most air taxis I've flown with don't like to dump more than one party on a lake, though they can't guarantee someone else won't show up. You might start picking the brains of some air taxi operators for advice and to book your hunt. I'd start with Rust's Flying Service in Anchorage.

Jim

Jim, some great advice there! I appreciate you taking the time to give it. I like the idea of a drop off ridge top with lakes around it. And the raft. I will call Rusts today. I checked out their website last night.
Thanks again!!
John

Just a couple of logistical points .
If you get dropped on the top of a ridge, you will have to pack any moose back to that ridge top to get it out of there. Better to get in there by float plane and hike up to the ridge to glass and then exfiltrate from the lake level.

You could also look for some place with alternate landing spots for a Cub on wheels

The problem with a Supercub is they won't hold much gear or meat. When I've flown in that way to such "alternate landing spots" (short, rocky strips whose outlines can barely be traced from the air and not at all from the ground), the pilot limited me to one backpack.

In unit 18 trips are booked out years in advance and papa bear adventures has so many people wanting to hunt they do a lottery, next one is for 2025, and unguided drop off running 11,000 a person right now.

The other outfitter is Renfros, they are about 11k a person as well. Here is their link. https://renfrosalaskanadventures.com/adventures/hunting/

Bottom line hunting in Western Alaska is not going to be cheap!

Eleven grand for an outfitter? That's absurd! They'd better include three meals a day, served by bikini-clad waitresses.

I never spent half that much for an Alaska hunt. Heck, you could do a weeklong, 3-5 species hunt in Africa for less than that.

Jim

James thats what happens when they are booked up 2 years in advance and run a lottery for clients every year to see who is lucky enough to get to pay it. It wasn't long ago you could do it for 3 grand. The old owners of PapaBear were great and also worked well with locals. Seems times have changed.

I can’t afford the more popular air taxis. And I think you are right James,11k to drop you off and bring you and hopefully an animal out is absurd. BUT people gladly pay it obviously. The cheapest air taxi I have found so far is 7 grand. Im still looking. I did call Rusts aviation today
They are the only place I’ve found that charges by the hour
I think that may be the way to go.

James renfros is selling their guided hunts for 35K now

Those prices are insane. I can't even imagine spending that kind of money on a guided hunt for moose, let alone a drop hunt.
In theory, you are simply renting a plane and pilot.
Speaking only for my neck of the woods, a year or so ago, a Beaver was up to $750.00 an hour. They can cover roughly 100 miles, in an hour. That meant $3k, if you pushed out for the full hour, round trip.
They can haul 3 hunters and a reasonable amount of gear, so $1500.00 to get to camp.
A moose or two, will require an extra trip back, unless you can score an even cheaper 206, (or similar), for the returning hunters.

I've always paid by the hour. You don't pay for a meat haul unless you're successful that way. If they're mostly charging per person now, things have changed.

I haven't flown with them for years, but would probably go with Rust's if I went again. I don't think they would drop you in an area with other hunters or no moose. There are other reputable air taxis in Anchorage, but I forget their names. The only bad experience I had was with Talon Air in Soldotna, which charged us a lump-sum for a "guaranteed" caribou hunt, and dropped us off where we saw no caribou for a week. He wouldn't refund even part of our money. Never go for a "guaranteed" hunt.

I spent less than 35 k on two back-to-back guided week-long safaris in South Africa and Zambia and took eleven different species in 2016. No thank you to paying that much for one moose. To me, a moose is walking meat.

Elkjunkie, you may be able to take an air taxi out of Anchorage for less than out of Dillingham or Bethel, taking into consideration the saving of commercial airfare beyond Anchorage to those towns.

Jim

I used Craig Elg with Regal Air but Sarah and him sold to a new operator and his rates are sky high. Craig actually scoped out a small pond that I saw near an area I wanted to hunt and said he could land on it. Good people.

I contacted Rusts air service. They will take you where you want to go but need to know that before they can quote you a price. This sounds like what I am looking for. Like you said that way you are only paying more if successful. Now to find a general area!! Any suggestions on an area to look at?? I plan to call the local biologist or fish and game and see if they will point me in the right direction. Thanks
John

In my search a lot of the good honest ones have sold out. But I’m still looking. There’s a reasonable service out there somewhere! And I hope to find it. Thanks
John

I think you need to decide first the general area you want to hunt. Then look for a flight service in that area.

If you decide to hunt the eastern part of the state I would contact McMahan Flying Service in Gakona. They have three Cubs and charge 210$ per hour, None of the nonsense "package deals". Harley McMahan is very likely the best Cub driver in the state......IMO and others. Harley has done thousands of hours of flying for ADFG over the years and knows the country and probably has a good idea on game populations.

https://www.alaskabids.us/alaska-contractors/contractor-5211170-MCMAHAN-GUIDE-FLYIN.htm


Don't let the size of the Cub put you off. It is by far the workhorse of rural Alaska and will get you in and OUT of more skinny places than other planes. Getting OUT of a spot is far more critical as far as load, elevation, length of take off area (not to say runway) and weather than getting into a spot.

As I mentioned above a float plane might be a better plan....whether it's a Cub or Beaver or 206. I have loaded a 206 on wheels with all my winter gear and food and flown to a spot with an actual runway and switched to a Cub on skis and still got my whole load in the Cub. The Cub will lift just about anything you can put in it as long as you have the distance for the take off roll.

Loading any plane is a bulk vs density equation. You will be better off packing your stuff in small, dense packages than loading a rigid frame pack with various gear or putting stuff in cardboard boxes. Soft sided things like cloth bags that allow you to squeeze them into small spaces are desired.

Remember too that a larger plane has to achieve a higher speed to take off and maintain a higher airspeed when landing. That is where the Cub shines. Depending on the load and the wind a Cub will stall right in the vicinity of 37 knots while a 206 will be closer to 50 kts. Takeoff roll with the Cub is around half of that of the 206.

So WHERE you want to hunt may very well dictate the type of plane available to you and that, of course will impact your costs. I would concentrate on the WHERE first and then the HOW.

Today or tomorrow, I'm going to spend, hopefully, 10 or 20 bucks to harvest a moose. People are insane, but I'll take their money.

I had old Hank Rust drop me off in February of 1973. He never came back to pick me up. Of course I didn't ask him to.
If Hank's sons are anything like he was, I would say they will be reputable.

Over the years I have seen several groups have "issues" with Ketchum's out of Lake Hood. I'd avoid them.
I do know a couple of the guys who fly for Regal and K2. I have flown with them and never questioned their skills. As far as the business itself I can't say.

Willow Air operates out of here during the moose season with a couple Beavers on floats and also out of Willow, AK. I suspect they may be out of your budget range though. I do think they do drop offs and may even provide some gear.