The biggest member of the deer family, moose are numerous in Unit 20. With its superb habitat it’s no wonder that some of the biggest bulls in Alaska are taken there each year. Centered on Fairbanks, hunters have the advantage of many roads and trails that run through the unit. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
UNIT 20 FAMOUS FOR INTERIOR BULLS, BEARS
GMU PrOFILE
Editor’s note: From the Alaska Panhandle to the “top of the world” in Barrow/Utqiagvik, Alaska contains 26 game management units that feature land for hunting and other outdoor activities. Our Arctic adventurer Paul Atkins is breaking down some of the units he’s hunted in the past in this ongoing feature. This issue: GMU 20. BY PAUL D. ATKINS
I
’ve never hunted Game Management Unit 20, but I know plenty of people who have. There are good friends of mine who not only consistently take record-book animals, but also fill their freezers with some of the best meat on the planet. Unit 20, located in the heart of
the Alaska Interior (Fairbanks/Central Tanana), is a mecca for hunters and one of the few places where you can hunt just about every big game animal – except for goats – in Alaska. The list of available species reads like a book: Sheep, bison, moose, caribou and both black and brown bear are the big draws. From what I’ve
seen and heard, they all provide some of the best hunting in Alaska.
FAMOUS FOR BULLS AND BEARS The Forty-Mile caribou herd can be found in this unit, but like most in the state, the herd has been on the decline the last several years. Still, these hunts are pretty
aksportingjournal.com | NOVEMBER 2020
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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