For Hawaii hunters
Hunting in Canada from Hawaii
Plenty of hunting at home. Zero antlered northern game. The trip is worth it.
Hawaii is the opposite problem from most of the country. You have year-round hunting, axis deer with no bag limit on some islands, mouflon and feral game. What you do not have is any antlered northern game: no moose, no elk, no bighorn, nothing of that class anywhere in the islands. To hunt those animals, a Hawaii hunter travels farther than anyone, and that is exactly why it is worth doing right when you go.
We run guided moose, elk and bighorn hunts in Alberta's Rockies on guaranteed outfitter allocations. No lottery, no points, no closed season. You book a date and you hunt. It is the longest journey of any state, so we make the target worth it: a genuine horseback mountain hunt with the tag included, our camp near Nordegg about three and a half hours from the airport.
Hunting moose from Hawaii
There is no wild moose within thousands of miles of Hawaii. It is the farthest a US hunter travels for one, which is all the more reason to make the animal count: our bulls average better than fifty inches and the trip is a real wilderness hunt, not a quick outing.
Our Alberta moose is a horseback backcountry hunt. We run a small number of one-on-one rut hunts a season, and the tag rides with the booking through our provincial allocation. It is $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus 5% GST for ten days. See the moose hunt page and the moose cost guide.
Elk and bighorn: none in the islands
Hawaii has no elk and no bighorn sheep. Your game is axis deer, mouflon and feral animals, which is fine hunting in its own right, but the antlered northern species live an ocean and a continent away.
We hunt elk and bighorn in Alberta on guaranteed allocations. Our elk rut hunt is $9,500 for ten days of bugling bulls or $7,500 for six days on the migration, and bighorn is the continent's premier ram tag at $45,000 to $100,000. Every US state with bighorn makes it a jackpot or decades of points, and guaranteed-allocation bighorn does not exist in the Lower 48. See elk and bighorn sheep.
What we hunt in Alberta
Everything on this page runs out of one operation: our horseback backcountry camp in Alberta's Rockies near Nordegg, in country where motorized vehicles are prohibited and access is by horse and on foot. We hold provincial allocations for the species below, which is what lets us hand you a tag with the hunt instead of sending you into a draw.
- Moose: premium mountain bulls averaging better than fifty inches, one-on-one, $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus GST.
- Elk: a $9,500 ten-day rut hunt for bugling bulls, or a $7,500 six-day migration hunt.
- Bighorn sheep: the premier tag on the continent, $45,000 to $100,000, on a guaranteed allocation.
- Mule and whitetail deer: the November rut, $6,500, 130 to 170 class.
- Black bear: baited hunts, $2,500 to $5,000 CAD, the most affordable guided big game in Canada.
- Wolf: a free add-on with any booked hunt, unlimited harvest, CITES permit to export.
Getting here from Hawaii
WestJet flies Calgary nonstops from Honolulu, Maui and Kona, but those are winter-seasonal and will not line up with a September through November hunt, so do not count on flying them direct in the fall. For a hunting-season trip it is a one-stop through Seattle or San Francisco. It is the longest routing of any state, so plan a travel day on each end. From the airport our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours by road.
Hawaii has strict firearm transport rules, so we walk every hunter through the paperwork. On the Canadian side it is the same for everyone: the RCMP Non-Resident Firearm Declaration and a flat CAD $25 at the border for non-restricted rifles and shotguns. See bringing firearms into Canada.
What our hunts cost from Hawaii
Here is what our hunts cost from Hawaii, in plain USD. These are our own published rates, and the figure below is the guided hunt only. Licences and tags, Alberta's 5% GST, your airfare, tips for guides and camp staff, and any taxidermy or export sit on top of it. For the full stack on any species, follow the cost guides.
| Our Alberta hunt | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Elk, migration | $7,500 USD | 6 days |
| Elk, rut | $9,500 USD | 10 days |
| Mule or whitetail deer | $6,500 USD | November rut |
| Moose, rut one-on-one | $15,500 - $17,500 USD + GST | 10 days |
| Bighorn sheep | $45,000 - $100,000 USD | Backcountry camps |
| Black bear | $2,500 - $5,000 CAD | Baited |
| Wolf | Free add-on | With any booked hunt |
For the full itemised breakdown by species, see the moose cost guide, the elk cost guide and the other cost guides.
Bringing your rifle across the border
This part is the same for every US hunter, whatever state you leave from. You fill out the RCMP Non-Resident Firearm Declaration, form 5589, pay a flat CAD $25 at the border, and have it witnessed by a border officer. That declaration acts as a temporary licence for the length of your trip and lets you buy ammunition here. It covers non-restricted rifles and shotguns, the sporting long guns you hunt with. Leave any handguns at home, and note the five-round magazine cap on semi-automatic centre-fire long guns.
We walk every hunter through the paperwork before you travel, so nothing at the border is a surprise. See bringing firearms into Canada for the full walkthrough, and do you need a guide in Canada for why the outfitter is the access, not an add-on.
Common questions
Q. Can I hunt moose in Hawaii?
No, Hawaii has no moose or any antlered northern game; the nearest wild moose is an ocean and a continent away. Our Alberta moose hunts carry the tag through an outfitter allocation with no draw.
Q. Do I need a guide to hunt in Canada as a Hawaii resident?
Yes. In Alberta a non-resident hunts big game either with a licensed outfitter-guide or an unpaid resident hunter host, and as an American your tag comes through the outfitter's allocation rather than a draw. We hold the allocations for the species we hunt.
Q. How do I get from Hawaii to your Alberta hunts for a fall hunt?
The WestJet Calgary nonstops from Honolulu, Maui and Kona are winter-seasonal, so for a September through November hunt plan on a one-stop through Seattle or San Francisco. From Calgary our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours by road.
Q. Is the trip worth it from Hawaii?
It is the longest journey of any state, so we make the target count: a ten-day horseback wilderness moose hunt with the tag included, or elk and bighorn on the same guaranteed-allocation basis. You book a date rather than enter any draw.
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Plan your hunt
Ask us about an Alberta moose, elk or bighorn hunt from Hawaii
Tell us what you are after. We reply within 1 to 2 business days with honest numbers, real dates and the outfitters we would send our own family to. It costs you nothing.