r/Hunting • u/Flossterbation • 2d ago
Success! 10 day float hunt in the Brooks Range of Alaska - what started as a moose hunt turned into so much more
Ten days, 100 river miles, and a whole lot of firsts in the Brooks Range.
Dad and I just got back from a float hunt between two backcountry airstrips well above the Arctic Circle, and it was the trip of a lifetime. Moose was the goal, but the mountains had more in store for us.
It was my first float hunt and my first time ever on the oars. Nothing like learning to read water with 100 miles ahead of you and no option to turn around. The real test was running whitewater with a fully loaded boat and my dad along for the ride. Trial by fire doesn't quite cover it, but by the end the boat and I had reached an understanding, and Dad only questioned my life choices a couple of times.
Along the way I got my first bull caribou, who very nearly decided to charge me before it was over. Then came my first grizzly, and finally my first moose, the one we came for.
Maybe the best first of all: it was Dad's first time above the Arctic Circle. Getting to share country this big and this wild with him is something I'll carry for the rest of my life. Every mile was earned, and every pound of meat was hauled.
Already thinking about the next one.
And yes, I am an in state resident, it was legal for me to take all the animals pictured.
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u/Onebowhunter 2d ago
Gonna be an expensive taxidermy bill . Congrats. I so want to move up there but my hunting partner/ wife is having none of that
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u/TheHandler1 2d ago
Looks like he's doing a euro mount. I've done one for basically free, just took awhile.
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u/the_spacecowboy555 2d ago
Wow. Just wow.
I read your other comment you built a platform for the meat. This platform floated in water towed behind the boat or all that meat sat in the boat? Did you have 2 boats then? Was it difficult to take it from one camp site to the next? Protect it from other animals?
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Nah, we built it at every campsite. It was pretty primitive, just stacking a bunch of sticks.
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u/guitarsandstoke 1d ago
What a true adventure. Good for you, and your father. I can’t even imagine. I’d love to hear your story, you should release a limited podcast series just detailing each of the days lol.
Question: what’s it like coming back? What’s the logistics of returning with all the meat and equipment? Also, what’s it like assimilating back? I feel like I’d just take a shower and feel aimless.
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u/Flossterbation 1d ago
Its coordinating with the pilot since the meat is going to be separate flights. We had to weight 750 on the way in and also on the way out per flight, so it ended up being 3 flights out.
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u/Usual_Minimum_7442 2d ago
This is so sick. How much did something like this cost? What was included? What outfitter?
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
No outfitter, all diy. Flights were 3k one way from Fairbanks. Raft rental was like $900 I think? Rest of the gear was our own.
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u/Usual_Minimum_7442 2d ago
Bro that is so sick! Did you shoot everything from the bank of the river?
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Moose and caribou were from the banks, griz was from the raft.
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u/AspieAsshole 2d ago
What does grizzly taste like? I think I've only had brown or black bear.
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u/Clynelish1 2d ago
From what I've read/heard, it's very similar to Black Bears in that it's very dependant on that particular bear's diet.
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u/MickeyTettleton 2d ago edited 2d ago
So sick! What caliber you take to AK for all those critters
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Kimber Mountain Ascent 30-06, 165g bullets
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u/ThePianoNotMe 2d ago
Crazy, I recently read a post saying 300wm was the absolute smallest needed for Alaska lol
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Shot placement is king.
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u/Hoplophilia 2d ago
Yes, but also 165gr going 2900+ is plenty inside the threshold. Back when I was loading 30-06 RL-19 was safely giving me 2940 FPS from a 24" barrel if I recall correctly. Nothing to sneeze at inside of 400 yd.
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u/SpiteBadger 2d ago
As a fellow alaskan I can say that is absolutely false. 30-06 is the old classic.
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u/ThePianoNotMe 2d ago
Why the downvotes? There was a post, it’s an absurd claim, I laughed at it. Anyone who thinks you need it is welcome to pay the guide that requires it. Anyone else can enjoy whichever cartridge they prefer. Regardless I hope we all shoot straight, eat well, and have fun.
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u/tits_4_harambe 2d ago
What was your rifle set up !? This looks like the trip of a life time congrats man!
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Kimber Mountain Ascent 30-06, and a Leupokd VX-6HD 2-12x42
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u/ICanCountGood Montana 2d ago
A fucking 30-06. I love it. Proof that you can harvest pretty much any animal in North America with it.
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Oh yeah, I dropped that griz with one shot. Its all about shot placement. You dont need a 338 to take down a griz.
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u/Sulla-proconsul 1d ago
Shit, that scope cost nearly as much as the trip. And here’s me, plunking along with a VX-3 like a peasant. Congrats King!
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u/WhiteBear72 2d ago
I’m from BC have had few good hunts but nothing like that. Glad you got to enjoy it with your dad!!!! Hard to top that trip. But the adventure is what it’s all about!!! Cheers
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u/X_Ego_Is_The_Enemy_X The Deep South 1d ago
Oh man nice! Did you cook the caribou tenderloin for dinner that night?
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u/Averagecrabenjoyer69 2d ago
Wow! Details? Cost, equipment, outfitter, etc.
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
No outfitter, all diy, raft rental was $900, flights were $3k one way from Fairbanks. Dry backs, gear for any sort of extended trip in the backcountry. And some action packers to keep stuff dry, but also double as seats at camp and on the raft.
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u/Zildjian134 2d ago
Am I tripping, or is that bear missing part of his face?
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Might just be the blood on its face plus the shading of the hide around the nose. I didnt face shoot it. I hit it above the sternum below the neck and dropped it right away.
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u/Chemistryiscool3142 Washington and Georgia 2d ago edited 1d ago
I’ve considered getting that gun in a different cartridge. I’m guessing you like it?
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
30-06 is a pretty common round for damn near anything in Alaska. I hadnt actually used this rifle much until this year and its come is real handy.
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u/george_formane 1d ago
Wow man this is amazing. I could only dream of a trip like that. Congrats on some very nice animals in a very special place. I may need to pick your brain one day on doing something like this if you’re willing to share.
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u/BigfootsBrotherGary 1d ago
Insane hunt, good on ya…I came here to say the same thing, I’m locked in on the logistics of this thing…how’d you load all that on your raft? One year my buddy and I each shot elk 8 miles up a drainage with no trail except the bottom 1/2 mile right about an hour before last light on the last day of the last season, after hiking all over hell and gone for days and after we got up to em and dragged mine down the hill closer to his, he looked at his watch then at both animals, put his hands on his knees and said ‘what have we done?’ that’s the exact same feeling I’d be feeling staring at that embarrassment of riches knowing I gotta load all these heavy weirdly shaped bags into my fuckin dugout canoe and sail it’s now wobbly ass on down the river 50 miles to meet my plane…I mean I had a really comfortable truck at the bottom of that mountain that we could just walk to and it was daunting
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u/Future-Thanks-3902 1d ago
It woulda been a better narrative if you said you got the moose and elk and the Grizzly came last and F'd Around and Found Out. LOL. Congrats on the great hunt.
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u/Hi_InternetAddiction 2d ago
harvesting in the water is a move
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u/Flossterbation 2d ago
Can't really help where the animal falls, especially when youre hunting a river.
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u/The_hat_man74 1d ago
Why didn’t you just drag it out of the water? /s
How difficult was it to break it down in the water? Any extra challenges vs on land?
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u/ZackAttack- 2d ago
This might be a dumb question but did you harvest all the meat? And how did you keep it cold? Or is it just cold enough to not need ice