Alaska Hunting
Alaska hunting can
best be described by regions. Hunting
opportunities throughout the state vary from
deer hunting Southeast Alaska's coastal
rainforest, to muskox hunting on the windswept
tundra of western Alaska, to hunting for moose
in the hills of the Interior, to high mountain
Dall sheep hunting in Southcentral, to brown
bear hunting the world-famous Kodiak bears.
If you are interested in hunting Alaska,
your task is to find the combination of the
species you want to hunt, the kind of country
you want to hunt in, and how you want to
hunt.
Southeast Alaska:
Southeast's geography and climate provide
conditions for good habitat for a variety of
big game. Sitka black-tailed deer are found
throughout the region. Black bears are
particularly abundant on Prince of Wales and
the islands in the central portion of the
region. Goats are indigenous to the coast
mountains and transplanted to Baranof Island.
Moose are not numerous in Southeast Alaska,
although reasonable populations are found on
the Yakutat Forelands, in the Haines area, and
smaller populations near Juneau, Petersburg and
Ketchikan. Wolves are found in parts of
Southeast Alaska. Much of the guided big game
hunting in this region is by boat. Boat rentals
are available in some communities for hunters
wanting to roll their own. A variety of air
charter services with float planes also provide
an important transportation alternative.
Book A Southeast
Trip Here
Southcentral Alaska:
Southcentral Alaska is more varied. Climate
ranges from wet along the coast to dry inland.
Deer are currently abundant on Kodiak Island
and are found in good numbers on the islands of
Prince William Sound. These are transplanted
deer originating from Southeast Alaska, and as
is the case in Alaska, annual abundance depends
much on winter snowpack. Kodiak and the Alaska
Peninsula are famous for their grizzly bear
populations. Moose in parts of Southcentral are
currently among the most numerous in Alaska,
especially in the Matanuska and Susitna
valleys. Good populations exist in suitable
habitat throughout the region.
There are good numbers of caribou in parts of
the region, although access is not always easy.
Dall sheep are found in the drier mountains in
the region, and mountain goats nearer the
coast, although there is some overlap. Black
bears are not as numerous as in Southeast, but
they are widespread. Wolf and wolverine are
present. In fact, wolves tend to be numerous
where there are good numbers of moose and
caribou. Waterfowl hunting can be quite good
here, although the effective season is short as
birds are moving south. Bird hunters will be
pleased to see growing ruffed grouse
populations from recent transplants to the
Matanuska and Susitna valleys and to the Kenai
Peninsula. Book
A Southcentral Trip Here
Arctic, Interior, and Western Alaska:
Moose and caribou are the most visible big game
in Interior, Arctic and Western Alaska. This
region encompasses the huge area drained by the
Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and draining into
the Bering Sea, Kotzebue Sound and the Arctic
Ocean. This is relatively dry country, and
habitats vary from the forested Interior to the
western and arctic treeless tundra. Caribou
exist in more or less discrete herds, and some
of these herds are huge. Moose are most
abundant in western Alaska, but are found in
good numbers throughout the region, except on
the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, where they are just
becoming established. There are black and
grizzly bears throughout the region, but bear
populations here are not as dense as in the
coastal regions.
There are populations of wild bison,
transplanted earlier in the century from
Montana. Dall sheep are found in most of the
mountain ranges. Muskox, almost wiped out from
Alaska in the late 1800's. are now present in
good numbers in some areas of coastal western
and arctic Alaska. Wolves are also numerous in
places in this region. It is not uncommon to
hear wolves howling on fall evening while
sitting around the hunting campfire. Wolverine
are distributed across the region. Waterfowl
hunting is locally good, but again, only for a
short time. Waterfowl begin moving out of the
Interior as early as mid-August, several weeks
before the beginning of the hunting season.
Book An Arctic,
Interior, or Western Alaska Trip
Here
Hunting Big Game in Alaska:
Alaska has 12 species of big game animals
spread across 365,000,000 acres - an area
one-fifth the size of the entire United States.
Big game densities are generally much lower
than you are probably used to in more southern
states. Many big game species in Alaska make
long movements between seasonal ranges. The
key to successful big game hunting in Alaska
is in doing your homework to determine both
the best areas and times to hunt the species
you are seeking.
For example, in many
lowland areas moose are abundant all summer
feeding in roadside ponds and sloughs, but
begin moving up to less accessible higher
elevations in early September, just when most
areas open to fall moose hunting. The choice
of hunting location in relation to moose
movements at that particular time of year can
make all the difference between coming home
with a moose or not.
Caribou have even
more pronounced seasonal movements. Caribou
hunters traditionally experience feast or
famine depending upon whether they are hunting
where caribou are moving through, or in an
area away from the herd's location. Doing your
homework with local area biologists and air
taxi operators can make the difference between
success and failure.
Book A Southeast
Trip Here
More Hunting
Information:
The Anchorage ADF&G Wildlife Office has an
automated telephone that provides information
about a variety of wildlife and hunting related
topics. The main access number for this system
is (907) 267–2347. You can break out of
the automated system to speak to a real person
during normal state office hours if you don't
find what you need.
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