My desire to hunt Alaska has always been fueled
by my hunting mentor Carl Hannwacker. I
met Carl in upstate New York when I was
30 years old, before I ever started hunting.
Listening to Carl’s stories about the 6 times
he was in Alaska imprinted an image in my
head that fueled my desire to see it for myself.
I’ve twice been to Alaska for Brown Bear
and once for Moose. I was fortunate enough
to harvest animals on all three hunts.
Dealing with the conditions on an Alaskan
hunt can make the rewards of harvesting
an animal that much greater.
Although
humbled by these experiences, I also felt that
there was so much more of Alaska to see.
NOW THE HUNT BEGINS
Our first leg of the trip was for Caribou in Deadhorse,
Alaska. One thing to consider when hunting in Alaska
is the need to be flexible with your plans. We intended
to hunt Caribou in the Mountain areas in the end of
August. The Mountains would provide more cover for
us to spot and stalk with our bows. Unfortunately, the
weather, which can be the determining factor of when
and how you hunt, had turned colder. The Caribou
had moved down from the mountains. The Caribou
were seen on the tundra so we made the decision to
be dropped on a remote lake hoping to intersect the
Caribou on their migration.
Fast forward to 2012.
In speaking with my producer Rob Snider, we discussed
my idea of a month long hunt in Alaska for four
species in four different locations. The idea for these
self-guided hunts was to show a cost effective way for
everyone to hunt Alaska. We chose four species on
my bucket list; Caribou, Moose, Spot and Stalk Black
Bear and Mountain Goat, and began researching. The
idea was to do all of these hunts Archery, but with the
understanding that a firearm may be necessary.
The requirements for filming television in Alaska
almost ended the trip before it started - the logistics
of moving cameraman along with hunters, the filming
permits, volume of equipment, people and additional
supplies needed. With the assistance of Alaskan
officials in each of the four areas, the paperwork
process slowly moved forward and was successfully
secured, so that we could air our footage on television.
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