Alaska Caribou Hunting Plus Wolf, Waterfowl and Sitka Blacktailed Deer
Although hunting for bear, moose or Dall sheep in Alaska may grab the headlines, there are several other species that provide excellent hunting opportunities.
Caribou is another sought after Alaska big game species. Caribou hunting typically involves being flown from a city or lodge into more mountainous or remote locations, after which hunters hop on horses in search of their prey. Hunters can cover more ground on horseback as compared to foot travel, which is critical to searching for caribou that can cover large distances. In addition, horses make packing meat, hides or racks from a kill much easier. This is critical, because caribou meat ages much quicker than most other big game. Caribou hunting with the use of a bush tractor, with hunters following on horseback, has been gaining popularity of late. Hunters typically require a high-powered rifle with an equally good spotting scope to take down caribou from 300 yards away.
Sitka blacktailed deer are found in the coastal rainforests of Alaska. They inhabit forested areas during the spring and summer months and the beaches in winter when snow cover is lower. Sitka deer hunting season usually begins at the end of September and continues through December, with both gun and bow seasons.
Perhaps the most common furbearing animal associated with Alaska is the wolf. It ranges throughout all of Alaska, although they are found less often in the coastal areas. They have densities as high as one wolf per 25 square miles in some areas, but wolf hunting is often strictly limited, as wolves are vital to the overall ecosystem, and their numbers vary greatly depending on weather and other conditions. Recent debates have questioned the practice of aerial wolf-hinting, in which they can be shot from planes or helicopters.
The wolverine, a relative of the mink and weasel, is highly valued for its dense fur and is the subject of some folklore in native culture due to its solitary, wide-ranging habits - the wolverine travels up to 40 miles per day. Once common, but now nearly absent from the lower 48 states, wolverine population is closely controlled by bag limits and season.
Alaska also allows the hunting of waterfowl and migratory birds, such as ducks, geese, swans, snipe, and cranes. All waterfowl hunters must carry a current Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp and, for non-residents, an Alaska Waterfowl Conservation Stamp. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game provides a copy of Alaska waterfowl regulations for interested hunters.
Hunting for other waterfowl, such as sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans is limited, typically due to low reproductive rates. Hunting for Trumpeter swans is not allowed. Other rewarding hunts can be stalking for "hooting" blue grouse males in April and May, spruce goose, which is a "snow roosting" bird, in September and October or ptarmigan hunting in the frozen tundra in September or even March, when hunters don snowshoes in pursuit of their prey and may use snares to trap them.
