[taylorce1]

First off don't think you need guides to hunt Alaska, the only species of animals required a guide in Alaska are brown & grizzly bear and all sheep and mountain goat hunting. However, it is a little late to plan an Alaska hunting trip for this year. You need at least six months but a year is better to properly plan a hunting trip.

If you are looking to plan a quick hunting trip to Alaska I'd look towards Southeast Alaska. Check and see where they are offering any over the counter black bear tags. I have two buddies heading up there this September to hunt black bear, black tail, and go fishing. I've been up there twice early spring for black bear and have had a blast, got a good bear my first visit, and my buddy shot a wolf on our second.

Get an Alaskan Airlines credit card, when you get it you get one companion fare for $99 per year. Plus you can use it for purchases to get there. Last time I went my buddy and I used the companion fare and our plane tickets were $400 apiece from Denver to Petersburg Alaska. Our fishing and hunting licenses were in the neighborhood of $500 for black bear and wolf, luckily we didn't have to pay for a boat rental or lodging but that usually runs about another $2000 per person per week. So if you budget $4000-4500 per person you can spend a great week up in SE Alaska.

With the 50" rule on moose you better be darn sure you can judge them before you pull the trigger. But you can do a drop camp or float trip for far less than $12K mentioned above. It all depends on your expectations of what you want from Alaska.

Going to Canada to hunt the biggest challenge is getting all your paperwork straight to get your firearm up there and back as well as export any trophies taken. It is much easier for bow hunters than rifle hunters since you won't have to declare any firearms. You can forget about trying to bring a sidearm up there with you it won't happen.

In Canada you'll need a guide or someone who has a permit to accompany. If you are using a guide service and they are worth anything, the guide service will help you navigate the red tape of bringing a firearm into and out of the country as well as getting your trophies back home. That is the nice thing about going to Alaska over Canada is there is not customs to go through.