2024 AK Moose Prep

[wyosam]

Didn’t draw anything, and don’t have transporter money. So a buddy and I will be trying to out-stupid the competition. Guess I better start training.


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[Robinhood21]

^^^helpful suggestion

When it comes to field butchering a moose, I became a gutless guy many moose ago...I always pull the liver and heart at the very end after quarters and all meat has been removed and bagged.

Edit: Hmmm...that didn't sound quite right...reworded, I use the "gutless method"

I've been a "gutless" guy myself. Also been doing the "rib roll" method but if we're fortunate enough to down a moose close to the lake, we will be bringing ribs back on the bone. From what I've witnessed, moose ribs on the bone are incredible!

 

[Robinhood21]

I sold all my bigger rifles, thinking a 30-06 would always be fine. It might be, but it didn’t feel that way last time. Bears love me much more than I love them. I’m probably going a bit bigger this time.

It's funny you say that because when I first started thinking about getting a rifle for moose hunting I had my mind set on 300WSM or 300Win. The idea of a 300RUM came to... I chuckled to myself and didn't think I needed anything that big (which really, you don't) But.... I also know there are some really really big bears up there. I ended up going 300RUM. The rifle has taken 3 of the 4 bulls we've shot up there and is easier to shoot then one might think. My uncle and cousin who don't really shoot rifles much used it and they had no problem handling the rifle.

 

[Robinhood21]

Are you going DIY?

Yes. I'm not against guided hunts but I can tell you, doing this DIY is so fulfilling after doing all the research and prep. Also, my wallet won't allow me to do a guided hunt... which I'm perfectly fine with.

Guided doesn't always mean more successful. We met 2 guys going on a guided hunt in the area we hunted in 2022. They came home to a "lodge" every night and was fed breakfast and dinner everyday. We saw them at the airport when the hunt was over. You could tell they were frustrated and both came home empty handed. We showed them the bulls we shot and one of the guys jaw hit the floor and the other guy didn't care to even look. I know who they went with and know what they paid (big dollars).

In no way am I writing this to boast about how sucessful we were, just showing that it can be done and you aren't at the mercy of the guide. No matter what happens on a DIY hunt, the outcome is on you with no one else to blame.

 

[Robinhood21]

It's planning season! Rolling with a solid hunting buddy for early Sept. Trying to fit, well we are going to, fit this hunt in between harvest and fall work. Current dilemma is which tent to bring on a diy moose float. River system is on the smaller side of things, probably doing some float dragging in spots.

2 different teepee options. 8 man massive thing or go with the much smaller Peax setup. Both will be hot tents, just have a larger stove for the 8 person setup.

Question is if there is realistically enough room on the river banks, gravel bars to setup that large of a tent? Or do you just need to be strategic in camp selection with a lot of pre scouting.

Other than that, flights are booked. Guns sighted in. Switched to penzoil for my trucks so I've got a nice selection of yellow 1 gal moose calls. Just gotta name the raft.

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I've never float hunted, so I can't help you there but man does it sound like a good time! Good luck to you guys!

 

[SaltySailor]

I've been a "gutless" guy myself. Also been doing the "rib roll" method but if we're fortunate enough to down a moose close to the lake, we will be bringing ribs back on the bone. From what I've witnessed, moose ribs on the bone are incredible!

Yeah its nice, but the unit I hunt requires taking the ribs out. It takes me 10-15 mins to yank the guts out - I just get em out of the way and the body is a lot easier to flop around - well, maybe easy isn't the right word for a moose

 

[AKBorn]

It's planning season! Rolling with a solid hunting buddy for early Sept. Trying to fit, well we are going to, fit this hunt in between harvest and fall work. Current dilemma is which tent to bring on a diy moose float. River system is on the smaller side of things, probably doing some float dragging in spots.

2 different teepee options. 8 man massive thing or go with the much smaller Peax setup. Both will be hot tents, just have a larger stove for the 8 person setup.

Question is if there is realistically enough room on the river banks, gravel bars to setup that large of a tent? Or do you just need to be strategic in camp selection with a lot of pre scouting.

Other than that, flights are booked. Guns sighted in. Switched to penzoil for my trucks so I've got a nice selection of yellow 1 gal moose calls. Just gotta name the raft.

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If you think you might be doing a lot of dragging the raft, and are unsure about room on banks for the larger tent, sounds like the smaller one might make more sense...

 

[nick2021]

Not sure how it would go for a float hunt.....I can tell you this though....I got the peax tipi for just myself (I believe it says it was rated for four people) and I had plenty of room (I think if you were gonna put more than two people in there it'd be REAL tight if you plan on keeping gear inside)....but stand-up room was a different matter. When you have a stove in the tipi, netting shelf up top, and walking sticks set in place to hang stuff, it takes away from the room. That said, it was solid during the moose hunt...we had one night of bad winds that it help up very well. Also, be careful of the placement of the tipi pole in relation to the stove....didn't see this addressed in the setup videos and my pole "bent" from the stove heat. I felt it was far enough....but I guess it wasn't lol Luckily, the tipi still held up for the rest of the hunt despite the bent pole.....peax won't warranty it so it will cost you $100-$120 if you need it replaced.

It's planning season! Rolling with a solid hunting buddy for early Sept. Trying to fit, well we are going to, fit this hunt in between harvest and fall work. Current dilemma is which tent to bring on a diy moose float. River system is on the smaller side of things, probably doing some float dragging in spots.

2 different teepee options. 8 man massive thing or go with the much smaller Peax setup. Both will be hot tents, just have a larger stove for the 8 person setup.

Question is if there is realistically enough room on the river banks, gravel bars to setup that large of a tent? Or do you just need to be strategic in camp selection with a lot of pre scouting.

Other than that, flights are booked. Guns sighted in. Switched to penzoil for my trucks so I've got a nice selection of yellow 1 gal moose calls. Just gotta name the raft.

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[Versydus]

Crap that sucks on the pole bending. That's not something I would have ever thought of happening. Murphy can be a total dick at times.



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[AKDoc]

It's planning season! Rolling with a solid hunting buddy for early Sept. Trying to fit, well we are going to, fit this hunt in between harvest and fall work. Current dilemma is which tent to bring on a diy moose float. River system is on the smaller side of things, probably doing some float dragging in spots.

2 different teepee options. 8 man massive thing or go with the much smaller Peax setup. Both will be hot tents, just have a larger stove for the 8 person setup.

Question is if there is realistically enough room on the river banks, gravel bars to setup that large of a tent? Or do you just need to be strategic in camp selection with a lot of pre scouting.

Other than that, flights are booked. Guns sighted in. Switched to penzoil for my trucks so I've got a nice selection of yellow 1 gal moose calls. Just gotta name the raft.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

Sounds like a fun adventure! I'm not sure how many days you're floating nor distance you've got to cover from put-in to take-out...both of which are significant variables regarding how often you're having to move camp and find a doable (or preferable) location each time to pitch your tent.

As a quick and general answer to your question, I'd go smaller than an 8-man for two guys on a float, and give myself more flexibility of where I could pitch camp...it may or may not be a factor at all, but who knows until you're right there. The largest footprint shelter I've brought on a float is a 4-man SO, which has worked fine for two-people and gear...we go light on floats.

Bottom line for me...whatever I bring has to be reliable and do its job regardless of what Mother Nature throws my way, especially on remote trips up here.

The very best to you for a safe and wonderful adventure!

Edit: I always have several sheets of aluminum foil packed with my stove that I can use as a heat shield for the center-pole (if needed).

 

[207-12A]

It's planning season! Rolling with a solid hunting buddy for early Sept. Trying to fit, well we are going to, fit this hunt in between harvest and fall work. Current dilemma is which tent to bring on a diy moose float. River system is on the smaller side of things, probably doing some float dragging in spots.

2 different teepee options. 8 man massive thing or go with the much smaller Peax setup. Both will be hot tents, just have a larger stove for the 8 person setup.

Question is if there is realistically enough room on the river banks, gravel bars to setup that large of a tent? Or do you just need to be strategic in camp selection with a lot of pre scouting.

Other than that, flights are booked. Guns sighted in. Switched to penzoil for my trucks so I've got a nice selection of yellow 1 gal moose calls. Just gotta name the raft.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

An under talked about tool is Sentinel Hub, you can view years worth of historical satellite imagery of your target river. Wonder when the glacial melt high water usually ends? Check the last 3-5 years - it’s easy on Sentinel. You can plug in your desired hunt window and look at imagery from years back to see all kinds of insight.

Will that high pass be snow free? When does the river look mellow enough to cross? When do the alders and devils club bloom in my drainage? All pretty easy to find out. Good luck.

 

[Versydus]

AKDoc- Plan is to float 60ish miles over 10 day from the 5th to 15th of sept. Ive been running a bomb proof 4 person floored shelter for the last 3 years but the manufacture is pretty hesitant for me to chop a hole in it to put a stove jack in. Currently researching fire retardant sprays to test on it this summer. Hunting buddy and
i have spent several weeks in it over the years just not hot tented.

more planning needed... Probably be making last minute decisions while i'm standing in line to board the plane!

 

[nick2021]

How do you make that heat shield? I assume you don't wrap the pole itself....there a specific way you make the shield?

Sounds like a fun adventure! I'm not sure how many days you're floating nor distance you've got to cover from put-in to take-out...both of which are significant variables regarding how often you're having to move camp and find a doable (or preferable) location each time to pitch your tent.

As a quick and general answer to your question, I'd go smaller than an 8-man for two guys on a float, and give myself more flexibility of where I could pitch camp...it may or may not be a factor at all, but who knows until you're right there. The largest footprint shelter I've brought on a float is a 4-man SO, which has worked fine for two-people and gear...we go light on floats.

Bottom line for me...whatever I bring has to be reliable and do its job regardless of what Mother Nature throws my way, especially on remote trips up here.

The very best to you for a safe and wonderful adventure!

Edit: I always have several sheets of aluminum foil packed with my stove that I can use as a heat shield for the center-pole (if needed).

 

[AKDoc]

...more planning needed... Probably be making last minute decisions while i'm standing in line to board the plane!

Yup...count on it!

10-days for sixty-miles is good...should give you some flexibility to camp a couple of days/nights at good hunting locations along the way and call, as opposed to always moving every single day to cover a long distance to the take-out.

 

[AKDoc]

How do you make that heat shield? I assume you don't wrap the pole itself....there a specific way you make the shield?

Correct...I didn't wrap it around the pole.

I was just adapting and carefully improvising in a particular circumstance that required us to burn the stove a lot (we usually don't)...I wasn't replicating something based on a UL tested tried/true engineering model...so no details......sorry.

I'm pretty meticulous when setting-up/distancing the stove from the center-pole, which is first and foremost...probably was ok and didn't even need to mess with the foil.

 

[wyosam]

My 2024 moose prep consists mostly of undoing some of last years moose hunting related alterations to the bottom of my boat, dialing in a load for my new barrel (338-284, just breaking it in now). Also need to figure out where we’re going.

I’ve never had any issue with my SO pole- just keep it a few inches from the stove.


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[Robinhood21]

16 days worth of food is ready to go. I will ship this up to my transporter about a month before we head up there that way I have 1 less bag I have to worry about while flying.

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[Rabbit46]

Awesome! I look forward to following the rest of your prep as your departure date approaches. Thanks for starting this thread. It has been informative!

 

[GreenNDark Timber]

I'm in for 2025 but look forward to following along. I've gotten my food pretty dialed in over the years but have a few bigger gear decisions to make. Tipi vs tent, wader choice, rain gear, etc. Hope to learn some through this thread to make the decisions easier.

I did notice a lack of Reeses peanut butter cups.....you still have time to get that corrected.

 

[Robinhood21]

Awesome! I look forward to following the rest of your prep as your departure date approaches. Thanks for starting this thread. It has been informative!

I'm in for 2025 but look forward to following along. I've gotten my food pretty dialed in over the years but have a few bigger gear decisions to make. Tipi vs tent, wader choice, rain gear, etc. Hope to learn some through this thread to make the decisions easier.

I did notice a lack of Reeces peanut butter cups.....you still have time to get that corrected.

My first post on this forum was in 2017 when we decided we were doing the moose hunt and I was looking for information. I had no clue where to start but I read almost every new thread that popped up in the moose section and countless older threads trying to learn everything I could. So many great people and information on here that really helped me along the way.

I knew I could only read & watch so much, until I had to learn by real life experience and being "in it".

Funny you say that about the Reeses... previous years I only packed snickers bars (1 a day) after last trip I knew I needed to add a little variety. That's where the Butterfingers and Reeses came in