Alaska for an Upland Hunter

[RowdyGSP]

Looking at moving to interior Alaska sometime around a year from now. Quit my job and head on up there. I'm wondering if any of you northern folks have insight you could PM me in terms of what a guy could do for work in places like Tok, Delta Junction, McGrath, Healy or Chicken. Basically anywhere that isn't a big city. I'm at the point I'm ready to just head up there able to live for several months on the money I have saved while I look for a job. Is Alaska any place for a chukar hunter with an old chukar dog and a tired 12 ga. auto?

[orhunter]

Wow! This is a shocker! What is pushing you away from where you are?

[RowdyGSP]

Nothing at all, I like Idaho a lot. My particular area of Sandpoint is pretty touristy and is growing really, really rapidly. I've also conisidered moving to central Idaho, but I just figure while I have the freedom of living wherever I want since I'm a bachelor, why not exercise that freedom. I've always had a strong interest in interior Alaska. Figure I'm 31 years old and as good a time as any to move there.

[AverageGuy]

Nothing at all, I like Idaho a lot. My particular area of Sandpoint is pretty touristy and is growing really, really rapidly. I've also conisidered moving to central Idaho, but I just figure while I have the freedom of living wherever I want since I'm a bachelor, why not exercise that freedom. I've always had a strong interest in interior Alaska. Figure I'm 31 years old and as good a time as any to move there.

Awesome! The opportunities/advantages to hunt big game while you are young and a resident will yield a lifetime of adventure and memories. Not to mention the trapping if you buy a snowmobile and trailer (I would budget for that as it would seem to be a must to take advantage of the experiences you are after). PM DuckDon, he lives and hunts in Alaska.

[orhunter]

I can understand the get out of town while you can thing. The way Idaho is growing the future isn't bright. Everyone with any common sense is moving out of Oregon with Idaho as their destination. I was in Bend/Redmond over the weekend, what a dump it has become with the never ending growth and that what comes along with it. People, people, people....cars, cars, cars. Prineville will be next.

You'll have to start investing in rifles.

[RowdyGSP]

I can understand the get out of town while you can thing. The way Idaho is growing the future isn't bright. Everyone with any common sense is moving out of Oregon with Idaho as their destination. I was in Bend/Redmond over the weekend, what a dump it has become with the never ending growth and that what comes along with it. People, people, people....cars, cars, cars. Prineville will be next.

You'll have to start investing in rifles.

Yeah I would complain about all the growth in Idaho, but then I would be a hypocrite. Bend/Redmond are a joke. I really liked my 3 years living in Prineville, but you are right it will become the next Redmond in no time. And yeah North Dakota really appeals to me as well and doesn't have the growth issue, but you know, like I said I'm a 31 year old bachelor and why not Alaska? Something tells me I'll love it there.

[Fun Dog]

All those places are pretty small with limited employment opportunities, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. All are good locations for bird hunting. Tok and Delta might be the best places for employment. Fairbanks and Chugiak have excellent NAVHDA groups with dedicated dog trainers and bird hunters.

[RowdyGSP]

Yeah I figured the smaller, the harder employment would be to find, which is why I'm not leaving Fairbanks out of the question. Definitely more realistic work there. I guess I could always live outside of Fairbanks and commute in for work. Live somewhere like North Pole and commute in. Also not ruling out coastal Alaska. In terms of work. But not a big metropolis like Anchorage. Somewhere like Valdez or Cordova.

[orhunter]

Bird hunter turned fishing guide might be a choice?

[mtlhdr]

Best of luck Eric. Alaska has fascinated me since I was a little boy. I wrote a 4th grade report titled "Alaska: The Land of the Midnight Sun." I spent a week fishing the Excursion Inlet a few years ago at it was everything I hoped it would be. I hope to share a similar trip with my boys some day when they are older. Go for it!

[Fun Dog]

There are a lot of smaller communities around Fairbanks that are in commuting distance. Salcha, Fox, Ester, Two Rivers to name a few. Cold in the winter, hot in the summer. Long bird hunting seasons.

[AlaskaMagnum]

Looking at moving to interior Alaska sometime around a year from now. Quit my job and head on up there. I'm wondering if any of you northern folks have insight you could PM me in terms of what a guy could do for work in places like Tok, Delta Junction, McGrath, Healy or Chicken. Basically anywhere that isn't a big city. I'm at the point I'm ready to just head up there able to live for several months on the money I have saved while I look for a job. Is Alaska any place for a chukar hunter with an old chukar dog and a tired 12 ga. auto?

I lived there for a long time. There are no real industries in the town's you speak about. If you're a teacher, plumber, etc. I suspect you could find a job.

Hunting up there is tough. The subsistence hunters get all the tags for the road accessible game. You will never qualify for a subsistence hunt. You will have to find a way to get off the road system to hunt. It's not hard, but a little pricey. An Argo, boat, or plane helps. I did a lot of fly in hunting and I had a jet boat.

Upland hunting is good, but the season is short. Ruffed and spruce grouse, sharptails ( usually a drive) and ptarmigan are there. There's not a lot of competition, but there's not a ton of game anywhere up there. It's hard to come by.

Duck hunting is good but the season is so short. I always wanted to get a harlequin duck but never managed. You need to adjust your thinking. Up there you don't get to hunt every weekend so you better plan the time off and do it in one shot.

[RowdyGSP]

Alaska Magnum thank you for your first-hand input. That's kind of what I figured and also what I had heard about the big game hunting. I do quite a bit of trapping here in Idaho and was going to get a snowmachine for trapping up there during the winter. The big game I have also talked with a few people about and they said kind of the same thing you did. You can definitely hunt big game but it's a little bit spendy. I'm okay with that, especially if I had a hunting buddy to split the cost of a big game trip or three with. I've actually already got a job offer for the spring of 2020 to go up there and go back to framing houses in the Glennallen area. Not quite the interior I don't think, but also not the coast. From what I hear from some guys up there who bird hunt there are grouse and sharptails around that area and I might have to drive a bit for ptarmigan. Duck hunting a few hours away during the early season. I'm keeping my options open and still looking for work in other areas. But that contractor I talked with said I have a job in the framing industry if I want to come on up. Overall, talking with him I got a good feeling about him and the area. Still keeping my options open though and going to keep looking.

[Duckdon]

Looking at moving to interior Alaska sometime around a year from now. Quit my job and head on up there. I'm wondering if any of you northern folks have insight you could PM me in terms of what a guy could do for work in places like Tok, Delta Junction, McGrath, Healy or Chicken. Basically anywhere that isn't a big city. I'm at the point I'm ready to just head up there able to live for several months on the money I have saved while I look for a job. Is Alaska any place for a chukar hunter with an old chukar dog and a tired 12 ga. auto?

I lived there for a long time. There are no real industries in the town's you speak about. If you're a teacher, plumber, etc. I suspect you could find a job.

Hunting up there is tough. The subsistence hunters get all the tags for the road accessible game. You will never qualify for a subsistence hunt. You will have to find a way to get off the road system to hunt. It's not hard, but a little pricey. An Argo, boat, or plane helps. I did a lot of fly in hunting and I had a jet boat.

Upland hunting is good, but the season is short. Ruffed and spruce grouse, sharptails ( usually a drive) and ptarmigan are there. There's not a lot of competition, but there's not a ton of game anywhere up there. It's hard to come by.

Duck hunting is good but the season is so short. I always wanted to get a harlequin duck but never managed. You need to adjust your thinking. Up there you don't get to hunt every weekend so you better plan the time off and do it in one shot.

Well, I guess that's one persons take. Accessibility can be challenging but hunting is pretty good. Duck season is September until late December. Upland, Mid August until the following April. Harlequins are simple, just need to go hunt where they live. Cost to hunt is high and transportation very challanging. I suggest you get a job before you arrive. Jobs are very limmited in the outlying communities.

Don and Crew.

[AlaskaMagnum]

Well, I guess that's one persons take. Accessibility can be challenging but hunting is pretty good. Duck season is September until late December. Upland, Mid August until the following April. Harlequins are simple, just need to go hunt where they live. Cost to hunt is high and transportation very challanging. I suggest you get a job before you arrive. Jobs are very limmited in the outlying communities.

Don and Crew.

I guess for clarification, by short I am not specifically talking about the actual season's dates, but more like freeze up, weather, short daylight hours, etc. I guess you could go hunting in the dark at -30, but I usually quit when conditions were like that.