Terms of the Hunt
What is included in a trip?
Once client arrives in the "field" and to our MMOA Base Camps, services and items furnished include:
What is NOT included in a trip?
*As defined by Alaska Fish and Game Regulations, "field" is defined as:
"an area outside of established year-round dwellings, businesses, or other developments associated with a city, town, or village; "field" does not include permanent hotels or roadhouses on the state road system or state or federally maintained airports."
Tags & Fees
| Alaska Tag & License Fees | Non Resident | Non Resident Alien |
| Hunting License | $160 | $630 |
| Fishing License (14 Days) | $105 | $105 |
| Brown Bear/Grizzly Tag | $1,000 | $1300 |
| Moose Tag | $800 | $1000 |
| Caribou Tag | $650 | $850 |
| Dall Sheep Tag | $850 | $1100 |
| Black Bear Tag | $450 | $600 |
| **Wolf Tag** | $60 | $100 |
| Wolverine Tag | $350 | $500 |
| Duck & Waterfowl Stamp | $10 | $10 |
| King Salmon Stamp | $75 | $75 |
*Prices Subject to Change Per Alaska Department of Fish and Game*
**Wolf tags are no longer needed in any of our hunt areas. Do not purchase. Contact MMOA for confirmation and details.
On all Dall Sheep, Moose, Caribou, and Brown Bear hunts, a Harvest Ticket or Registration Bear Permit are required to hunt in our areas. These are all over the counter paper tickets/permits that are free and available, but are mandatory to have to hunt these species in our area, and aid the ADFG in monitoring and managing the harvest of these species. These can also be obtained on the ADFG website once you have purchased your hunting license and locking tags.
Dall Sheep = GS000
Moose = GM000
Caribou = GC000
Fall Brown Bear = RB368
Spring Brown Bear = RB370
Traveling To Alaska
After flying commercially to Anchorage, you will need to spend the night in town before catching another flight down the Peninsula the following morning. Below is a list of recommended Hotels in town.
Recommend Accommodations in Anchorage:
The next morning you will need to head to Merrill Field Airport on the North end of Anchorage and take a Lake Clark Air commuter flight to Nelson Lagoon. Lake Clark Air services almost every village on the Peninsula with passenger and cargo service and Nelson Lagoon is one of the last and furthest villages on their route. The flight there could be a 2.5 hour direct flight with no stops, but could be as long as 4-5 hours with other stops at other villages on the way. That will be at the discretion of LCA and its pilots. You will most likely be sharing this plane with some of our other hunters in camp. Once arriving in Nelson Lagoon, a MMOA representative will meet your plane and then, tide and weather pending, you will be driven 18 miles down the Bering Sea beach by vehicle to our David River Camp.
**Arrive at Base Camp 2 days prior to start of hunt (allow for weather)
This area of the world is extremely remote and weather delays are an extremely common occurrence. Weather is the boss and rules all on the Peninsula. Patience and adaptability are key on all of our hunts. Be prepared to lose a few days during your trip; whether before, during, or after your hunt.
After flying commercially into Fairbanks, you will then have to spend the night in town and catch a Wright Air Service commuter flight up to Bettles the next day. A list of local hotels can be found below.
Accommodation options in Fairbanks include:
Wright Air Service (907) 474-0502 is located on the "East Ramp" at Fairbanks International and most all taxi, Uber, and shuttle drivers know where it is. Wright Air services Bettles twice a day with 1.5-2 hour flights, depending on the route, in Cessna Caravans. A Mountain Monarchs representative will meet you at the airport in Bettles upon your arrival and bring you to our Lodge in town.
**Arrive at Base Camp 2 days prior to start of hunt (allow for weather)
The Arctic is an extremely remote and harsh part of Alaska. Weather delays are an extremely common occurrence, due to fog, wildfire smoke, rain, wind etc. Weather is the boss and rules all in Alaska. Patience and adaptability are key on all of our hunts. Be prepared to lose a few days during your trip; whether before, during, or after your hunt.
GEAR RELATED INFORMATION
Proper and quality gear can make or break a hunt in Alaska. Alaska is also the place that tests gear to its limits. Just because gear works where you hunt does not mean it will perform well here. There is a reason almost every hunting gear company now has products with names after Alaskan places, landmarks, and the tools we use: Alaska is synonymous with tough, rugged, and proven.
NO COTTON!
We are not sponsored or paid by any brand to promote their products. We believe in using the best available gear regardless of its name. Some companies may make the best base layers but terrible rain gear. Some companies make the warmest puffy gear but their pants don't dry fast enough, etc. Buy the best gear you can afford. When you are hunkered down on the tundra or mountain in 50 mph winds and driving rain for several days, you will be glad you didn't save $100. The weatherproofing, weight, durability, packability, and how fast the gear dries, are all factors that need to be taken into consideration when choosing a product.
For more info about specific gear for your hunt, check out our Gear Lists page.
If you have any questions regarding our gear lists and what to bring, don't hesitate to reach out for more details. We are always happy to talk gear and help you get as prepared as possible for your wilderness adventure hunt with us.
Barney's Sports Chalet (907-561-5242) in Anchorage is a great source of information and products specifically tailored to Alaskan hunting. They sell most all the gear on our lists and especially a few specific items only found through them.
Other than your firearm, footwear and rain gear are probably the two most important items you will bring. On all hunts we recommend you bring a quality GoreTex (or similar) breathable rain gear jacket and pants. On all hunts BUT Dall Sheep, we also recommend you bring an additional Helly Hansen Impertech 3/4 length rain parka. This is to be worn over the top of all of your other gear and rain set when those heavy rain storms or all day deluges hit. The rubber rain gear is not good for hiking in, but will shed all of that water off of you when stationary and keep your breathable rain gear from "wetting out". Almost all quality rain gear can work for most hunters, there are alot of different brands out there. Boots, however, are very much a personal preference and different for every person. Do not skimp on whatever footwear you bring with you. Make sure they fit your feet properly and are well worn in before arriving to Alaska. Your first day of a 10 day hunt is not the time to break in your new leather boots or test if those waders fit you. We have seen many times a hunter not break in their boots or bring boots that don't fit them well and it ruins the hunt or forces them to quit because of foot pain or blisters. Be sure you buy what works best for you and supports your feet and body, and then test them out as much as you can. A quality aftermarket insole is a great way to improve the fit and function of your boot. Almost all insoles that come with the boots you buy are thin and low quality with little to no support. Consider investing in an aftermarket insole such as Superfeet or get custom made insoles from SheepFeet. Be sure you waterproof treat any lace up boot with the recommended care product for that brand.
For backpacks, we recommend the Stone Glacier or EXO packs. They have been proven in the field in many different scenarios and work the best for us.
For Dall Sheep hunts, you will need a pack at least 7000 cubic inches in volume. Our recommendations are the Stone Glacier Terminus 7000, the Stone Glacier Sky 6900, or the EXO K4 7200.
For all other hunts that are not backpack style, you will need a pack in the 4500 - 7000 cubic inch range. We recommend the Stone Glacier Col 4800, Stone Glacier Sky 5900 or 6900, or the EXO K4 5000.
Most days you will not need all of this space and you may think the pack is too big. But all of these packs can compress down to a very small size and not be too bulky. But it is nice to have the space if you need it, especially once your harvest your animal, you may be asked to carry some of your guide's personal gear so he can pack and carry out your animal. Most small day packs simply aren't big enough or can handle this load well.
For both our Arctic and Peninsula camps, you can travel to our camp with your regular luggage. However, you need to repack your gear into smaller soft sided duffels to fit in our Bush Planes. Large hard sided and wheeled luggage do not fit. Bush planes have small luggage/cargo areas and space and weight are always a concern. Several smaller bags fit better than one large bag. Once repacked, you should aim to have all your gear (minus rifle) fit in your backpack and 1 to 2 small bags, either a duffel or dry bag. We highly recommend the Stone Glacier STOL 4000 duffel bag for both its quality, weather proofing, size, and compressibility. Other options are the Yeti Panga 50L, Watershed Yukon, or the KUIU Taku or Kodiak 3000. Sealine and Sea to Summit both make quality waterproof roll top dry bags that also work well, and are highly recommended on any float or jet boat hunt. In all cases you should aim to have your gear weigh 50-70 lbs total, including your rifle. We recommend getting several sizes (3L to 20L) of lightweight dry bags to pack your clothes and gear in before packing them in your duffel and backpack. This will help with organization and to keep them dry. We highly recommend the Sea to Summit Evac Compression dry bags. Both air carriers that we utilize to get your to our Camps charge for excess baggage over 40-50 lbs, so being mindful of this is important when packing. Wright Air charges $2/lb to Bettles and Lake Clark charges $3.50/lb to Nelson. Many clients choose to mail some gear ahead of time to our camp; contact us for details.
Unless otherwise arranged, you must bring your own sleeping bag and sleeping pad for most hunts.
On all hunts that are not backpack style, we provide cots for you.
We recommend the Stone Glacier Chilkoot sleeping bags. 15 degree bags are sufficient for our Dall's Sheep hunts. We recommend the 0 degree bag for all other hunts. For all bags and hunts, we recommend you get a waterproof compression sack to keep your bag waterproof and in a packable size. Look for the Stone Glacier's medium compression sack or the Sea to Summit E-Vac Compression sack in size Medium.
For sleeping pads, we recommend the Nemo Tensor all-season sleeping pad in the Wide model. If you are over 6' tall, we recommend the Wide Tall model. The Thermarest NeoAir X-Lite is another great sleeping pad option. An inflatable pillow is an nice luxury item that doesn't add much weight or space. We recommend the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow in size Large.
We highly recommend and encourage all clients to get both a Global Rescue plan and a Ripcord Trip Cancellation Insurance for all hunts. Like most all insurances, we hope we never need them, are never used when things go well, but we are glad we have them when all plans go array.
In short, Global Rescue plans are for medical evacuation scenarios such as a life threatening accident, injury, or illness you may experience before, during, or after your hunt. They are also good for evacuation during a natural disaster, pandemic, or act of war. Regardless of your physical health condition, we always recommend each client get a plan for all members of your hunting party for the duration of your trip with us. Mountain Monarchs has a company Global Rescue plan for our staff, but you should have one as well.
A Trip Cancellation Insurance policy through Ripcord is used to insure the cost of your trip versus any unforeseen conditions or scenarios that could cause you to not be able to perform the conditions spelled out in the hunt contract. Examples include a personal or family medical emergency that wouldn't allow you to come on the trip, an accident or incident on your travels to Alaska and to our camp, business conflicts, changes to the State hunting and fishing regulations/seasons, Global pandemics etc. This plan will help you to recoup some or all the costs of your hunt/trip with us if you are not able to come and have to cancel. Mountain Monarchs policy, as written out in our hunt contract, is that all deposits are nonrefundable.
Recommended Weapons & Caliber For Your Hunt
We can not stress enough how important firearm safety and handling is at all times. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded and point it in a safe direction at all times. All firearms are to have chambers free until your guide instructs you to do otherwise. Magazines can be filled but the chamber is to remain clear.
To ensure a successful harvest, it is imperative that for you to be comfortable, confident, and knowledgable about your rifle, its optics, and the ballistics of your bullets. Practice as much as possible and know how to operate your scope if it has a turret and long range system. More times than we can count, we have had animals wounded or opportunities wasted because of an unfamiliarity in how your scope operates. The technology for long range shooting is remarkable these days and not to be ignored. However, in most of our hunting scenarios, nothing can replace the simplicity and efficacy of a Leupold 3x9 and a well placed shot with fundamental shooting techniques.
Rifles: your rifle should be equipped with a weather proof scope and dialed in 2” high at 100 yards or zeroed in at 200 yards. Synthetic stocks and Stainless Steel barrels and actions perform best in the inclement weather. If you handload, be sure all your ammo will chamber and eject properly. Practice as much as possible in all shooting positions: off sticks, prone off a pack, seated, kneeling, etc. Silhouettes are especially good practice. Be sure scope mounts and all screws are checked for tightness. A good sling is worth its weight in gold.
Recommended Calibers:
.338 Winchester mag - 250 grain minimum
.375 H&H mag - *preferred caliber* – 270 grain minimum
.375 Ruger - 270 grain minimum
.416 Rem Mag – 350 or 400 grain bullets
Bullets – Quality bullets are more important than the caliber in most cases. No Solids for Bears!!! Swift A-Frame and Barnes Triple Shock work best on the big bruins. Bring 2 boxes of shells, one to take with you out to spike camp, and the other to leave at base camp in case we need to fly you out more ammo.
Rifle: similar to our brown bear hunting recommendation, your rifle should be equipped with a weather proof scope and dialed in 2” high at 100 yards or zeroed in at 200 yards. Synthetic stocks and Stainless Steel barrels and actions perform best in the inclement weather. If you handload, be sure all your ammo will chamber and eject properly. Practice as much as possible in all shooting positions: off sticks, prone off a pack, seated, kneeling, etc. Silhouettes are especially good practice. Be sure scope mounts and all screws are checked for tightness. A good sling is worth its weight in gold. We highly recommend the heavier belted magnum calibers in a bolt action with a minimum bullet weight of 220 grains.
The .300 Winchester Mag, .300 RUM, .33 Nosler, .338 Winchester Mag, .375 H&H Mag, and .375 Ruger are all well suited for our type of shooting situations. Be sure and remove grease and oil from your action and bolt assembly!!! Check all screws for tightness. If you handload check to be sure all cartridges will chamber and eject properly.
Bullets – Quality bullets are more important than the caliber in most cases. No Solids and NO BERGER BULLETS!!! Many years and instances of poor bullet performance and wounded game tell us not to use these for Bears or Moose!!! Swift A-Frame, Barnes Triple Shock, Nosler Partition, Hornady Dangerous Game work best on these big animals. Bring 2 boxes of shells, one to take with you out to spike camp, and the other to leave at base camp in case we need to fly you out more ammo.
Rifle: Your rifle should be a light weight bolt action, scoped with good quality optics and dialed in 2 inches high at 100 yards. You should be adept at hitting targets out to 350 yards. If you handload, be sure all your ammo will chamber and eject properly. Practice as much as possible in all shooting positions. Silhouettes are especially good practice. Be sure scope mounts and all screws are checked for tightness. A good sling is worth its weight in gold.
Recommended Caliber: On Sheep and Caribou, we recommend .270 or larger calibers, with the flat shooting characteristics of the .30 caliber magnums being the most commonly used. Examples: .270 Win; .280 Rem; 7mm Mag; .28 Nosler; .300 WSM; .300 Win. Mag.; .300 RUM. etc
Bullets: Quality bullets are more important than the caliber in most cases. NO BERGER BULLETS!!! Many years and instances of poor bullet performance tell us not to use them for Alaskan game. Barnes, Hornady ELD, Swift Sirocco, & Federal all make great long range shooting bullets that perform best on the Alaskan Game. Bring 2 boxes of shells, one to take with you out to spike camp, and the other to leave at base camp in case we need to fly you out more ammo.
MISCELLANEOUS
By Alaska law, we are required to harvest and remove all edible meat from the field for all ungulate species. We take great pride and care in keeping our meat in excellent quality while transporting it back to our Base Camps. All of the meat is yours to keep or donate. If you do wish to take home meat, you should plan accordingly ahead of time. Depending on how much time we have before you fly out, we will cut up and package your meat and freeze it as best we can before your departure. You should either bring empty coolers with you or arrange to have fish boxes for the meat to travel back to Fairbanks or Anchorage. From there you can either bring it on your commercial flight as excess baggage or send it to a processor in town who can then ship to you. All of this is at the client's expense. Any meat you do not want to take home is largely donated to the village, which they greatly appreciate and we enjoy facilitating. Some meat may be kept by us for consumption by our staff. In any event of donation, a proper transfer of possession is filled out between you and whoever is receiving the meat.
At both our Base Camps (Ram Hole and David River) you will can enjoy lots hearty home cooked meals like you would expect from a Northwoods camp. We like to eat well at Camp to get you prepared to go out to the field and hunt hard. We try as best we can to eat lots of fresh game meat harvested by our clients. It is our policy at MMOA to provide you with the best food and accommodations we can in these remote parts of the world. Weather rules all and can make hunting difficult at times. We make sure you are at least fed well when the weather doesn't cooperate.
Once out to spike camp, food consists of a combination of PEAK freeze dried meals and real food. Every guide runs their camp differently and prefer different methods, and is determined by the animal being pursued and their movements, but one can expect to have 1-2 real meals a day and 1-2 freeze dried meals a day, with lots of snacks available in between. For example, on a spring bear hunt where you hunt till late in the night, you may eat a big hearty breakfast, have a sandwich for lunch midday, then eat a freeze dried dinner late before going to bed. On a moose, caribou, or fall bear hunt where it gets dark early, you may have a quick freeze dried breakfast and get out hunting quick, then bring a sandwich for lunch with you, and then eat a big meal once you get back to the tent at night. This may change each day as you and your guide find the right schedule that works for you guys depending on weather and movements.
On all sheep hunts, you will be eating PEAK freeze dried for every day, supplemented with lots of high calorie and high protein snacks throughout the day, such as bars, nuts, jerky etc. We provide all food for all of our hunts.
***If you have any dietary requirements or food allergies, PLEASE let us know several months before your hunt so we can buy the necessary food and make arrangements when shopping before the season. We can accommodate most all scenarios, as long as we know about them with plenty of advanced notice.
