Customer Reviews

A Complete Guide To Float Hunting Alaska

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have lived and hunted in Alaska for 20 years. During that time, I've
learned a lot about float hunting for Alaska's big game, but I still picked up new pointers from Larry's book.

He covers many of the basics which will be invaluable to first-time Alaska hunters and a
great refresher for veteran hunters. There's help with choosing equipment, packing your
raft, hunting Alaska's big game species, care of meat and trophies, and a host of other
important topics. Larry is clearly an experienced Alaska outdoorsman. An example of the
many tips I picked up from this book is to consider using the US Mail to save money in
shipping equipment to the point from which my bush flight will leave.

To me, the big drawback of this book is the lack of specific advice in choosing a river.
There are hundreds of rivers in Alaska, but the vast majority are poor choices due to
navigability or access problems or lack of game along them. The information in this
book did me little good in discovering new rivers to float.

The bottom line though, is whether or not it is worthwhile to buy this book. In my
opinion, if you are planning a float hunt in Alaska and are interested enough to read these
reviews, you ought to buy this book! For me, it was definitely worth it for the photos and
the good new tips I picked up along the way. Good Luck!

Bruce Nelson, Producer of "Alaska Hunting Adventure: 700 Miles Alone by Backpack and Raft"

I heard of this book from Alaska Fishing & Hunting News magazine. Larry frequently writes for that publication, and his knowledge of Alaska is superb. I bought the book to judge if I should hunt in Alaska, as I heard the research aspects of getting there and hunting was difficult. His book gave me everything I needed in order to plan my trip. There has to be 300 phone numbers and over 20 detailed mapsof Alaska's hunting regions. I can't believe this book has not been made until now. If you plan to ever hunt in Alaska, you should own this book!

In spite of all the great reviews prior to this one, this book is not a complete guide to float hunting Alaska. I give the author credit for doing a lot of research and the book provides an incomplete but valuable list of phone numbers and some nice pictures. Other than that it reads like college term paper. It has a lot of words but not enough depth to plan much of anything. The maps are straight out of the hunting orders and no specifics are given on any river. There are inaccuracies throughout the book. For example, in the wildlife biology section it states mineral licks for sheep contain protein (p 97) and that sodium and magnesium are organic compounds, a different chemistry than what I learned. Some of the conclusions in the discussion of firearms and ballistics are irrational like including the 7mm(7x57?)and .308 in the list of calibers as good choices for moose and bears (brown and/or black it doesn't specify?). Besides, I hate to see sporting firearms referred to as weapons, we have enough problems with the media and anti-gun groups. If you are a novice hunter and didn't know much about the outdoors, you will find usefull information. Beyond that it covers everything from changing your socks to minimum impact camping. Unfortunately, none of it in enough detail to be of real benefit to any but the inexperienced. It would have been better to write a book on float hunting and concentrate on the basics in depth instead of trying to create the complete guide to everything in 205 short pages and missing the mark the title implies. Go to the AK Fish and Game web site and get a good floating Alaska rivers book, you will be ahead.

I was fortunate enough to meet Larry at a book signing recently. He gave a slide presentation which included many photos of his hunting experiences. The photos and advice shared that evening were enough to motivate me to buy and read his book. Once complete, I was chomping at the bit to get on an Alaskan river. The book's resources are endless, as are the maps and details of where to go and how to get there. His knowledge of Alaska's rivers and animals certainly makes him "the" hunter to write this kind of book. Wow!

After reading this title, I felt completely ready for an Alaska float Hunt. This book gave me everything I needed to know, and more. It is full of great photos and inspiring ethical practices. Larry's knowledge of wildlife and their habits is phenominal. I look forward to reading more of Larry Bartlett's title.

Well, the one "bad" review is in the obvious minority. While the first edition is not nearly as well written as the second, it is still a great read. Contrary to an academic view, I take a practical perspective to my evaluation. This book is informative and very useful to those wishing to tackle the adventure of float hunting in Alaska. Semantics may be important in the Biology classroom but a hunter in pursuit of game knows exactly what a mineral lick is and the info is useful. Larry...I'm ready for edition three!

I have known Larry on and off for the last ten years and was very excited to hear of this book. Most of my experience in hunting was for white tail in Michigan. I always dreamed of hunting big game but had no clue where to begin. This book does it all from what to bring, what to expect, and how it is done. I personally have read the book three times and learned something new each time. I am looking foward to my first float trip next year. The book list so many references that it is impossible to go wrong on planning and executing a sucessful float trip. Outstanding work.

I needed a book that would completely prepare me for my up and coming trip to Alaska. I have heard about floathunting as an effective means of finding animals as well as experiencing the beautiful Alaskan wilderness. Larry's book was very thorough and gave me all the information I needed to make the trip. His style of writing kept me interested and got me even more excited for the trip. I highly recommend this book.