At Ram Aviation, we’ve been giving people this once in a lifetime feeling for 25 years. We fly hunters into the wild for an unbelievable hunting adventure along the Arctic Circle. While you’re out there, you’ll see moose and caribou, grizzlies and wolves. And, if you’re like most of our hunters, you’ll bring home a great trophy and a boatload of pictures. But the trophy & the pictures don’t come close to the memories of what will likely be the biggest adventure of your life.
The feeling when you first touchdown on a gravel river bar in the middle of the arctic wilderness is like none you’ll ever have again…
The air is crisp and so clear that the mountains look like you could throw a rock and hit them – and yet so big as to inspire awe. The river, low this time of year, is as clear as the air.
As you get your gear off the plane you can hardly take the smile off your face. And then the plane takes off and you are alone. Alone in the Alaska wilderness, hundreds of miles from the nearest village. And you will never feel that free again.
Safety First
For the last 25+ years, we been dropping hunters off and picking them up again and we’ve never had an accident. This tells you that we’re serious about the safety of our hunters. It’s also why we tell you that your flights in and out are subject to acceptable flying conditions. We won’t fly if it puts you or our pilots in danger, so it’s possible that you might have to sit out the weather on either end of the trip.
When planning your hunt, keep the weather in mind. Besides making your hunting more challenging, poor weather may disrupt your flying plans. Allow time on both ends of your schedule for potential weather disruptions; how much time depends on the normal frequency of bad weather for the area at that time of year. WE HIGHLY SUGGEST when purchasing your commercial airline flights, on the back-end of your hunt, purchase the “flexible” tickets. Yes, we realize they are a bit more money when you initially purchase them … but could save you hundreds of dollars in change fees if you get weathered in!
If a delay in your pickup will cause a major inconvenience, schedule your pick up a day or two earlier – or clear your schedule so you don’t run into unforeseen issues. Similarly, don’t even think about pressuring a pilot who thinks the weather is not good enough. Being on time is not worth the risk of dying. Think of it this way: is your boss or family going to be more inconvenienced by you being a day or two late, or by you getting killed?
Note: If you are not an experienced Alaskan pilot, you should not consider using your own plane for hunting in Alaska. Alaska’s weather is frequently bad during the prime hunting seasons — strong winds, heavy rain, snow, and fog are common in most areas. Also, many landing strips are small, shallow lakes or simply a short area temporarily cleared of enough brush to land a “bush” plane. Don’t risk it.
We Know Where to Find the Animals You’re Looking For
We have a very great record of dropping hunters right where the animals are. Prior to any of our unguided caribou hunters showing up in Kotzebue, we fly the area so we know where the caribou are, what migration patterns they are taking and where they are headed. With this knowledge and the conversations with our unguided caribou hunters as to their wants and goals of the hunt, we place our hunters in the best hunting spots. It’s not unusual for our unguided caribou hunters to step out of their tent and discover a herd of caribou walking right past (or even through!) their camp. While nothing is guaranteed, it’s highly unusual for our hunters not to find their game.
