(2025) Old guys go moose hunting too...especially with a helpful son.

[AKDoc]

PREFACE: In past years I’ve shared photos and stories in the Moose thread regarding some of my moose hunts. This year I wanted to share in the spirit of us over 60 hunters…(and those of us waaay over 60 )
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My son and I were very thankful to have another wonderful adventure together on our fly-in, remote-drop, and unguided moose hunt in western Alaska…same excellent location as our previous two-years.

Before the hunt we both reaffirmed that our two primary goals were (1) to enjoy our time together and (2) bring back meat for family and to share with friends. Both of those objectives were accomplished. We took two bulls and totally enjoyed being together on this hunt. We also had a distant third objective to tag another +60” bull, but that didn’t happen this year…no worries nor disappointments whatsoever for us…maybe next year.

We were delayed a day going in because the wind direction wasn’t quite right for the challenging tundra landing at our desired location…safety first…always. We made it in the next day just fine.

 

[AKDoc]

We always enjoy looking at the surroundings on our flight in…countless moose trails, lakes, ponds, willow thickets, and scattered areas of spruce. The entire area is perfect habitat for moose, which helps to continually remind us that the moose are all around us during the hunt…


My son was rubber-necking on final approach for a hurried photo of a big bull laying down approximately 400yds from where we set-up camp…


We unloaded the aircraft and started all the typical chores on our “no hunting/same day airborne” day…setting-up camp, getting our meat-pole constructed, etc…


Within that first hour after the pilots took off, we had several quick/brief sightings of moose as they scattered from the aircraft noise. Saw 4-bulls and 2-cows with calves. Two of the bulls were paddle-heads still together, but the other two were big guys. Saw the big bulls separately, each following a cow with a first-year calf.

 

[AKDoc]

Early morning of our first hunting day we got out of our tents at first light to a cloudless sky that quickly turned with the sunrise to a bright and sunny day…all day…and that was to be our wx pattern for the first several hunting days. As the days progressed we got a few scattered clouds, but still predominantly clear and sunny/starry skies. We also had hard freezes those first few nights, and a waning half-moon that would rise after sunset.

For those first several days we had about an hour to hunt in the morning from first shooting light until the bright sunrise, and then about an hour and a half or so in the evening after sunset until last light. Called our first bull just before sunrise on the second hunting day, but we passed on him. Lots of raking and grunting to our early morning/late evening calls, but no movement whatsoever during the daylight hours of those bright/sunny days.

I’m always humbly reminded when hunting every single year that Mother Nature deals the cards…especially here in Alaska. That’s just the way it is, and we always strive to be patient and do the best with the hand we’re dealt each day. I’m not whining…truly. We enjoyed sitting outside under the starry skies while eating our freeze-dried dinners…


One of those first few clear nights we saw the Starlink Satellite Train/Array for the very first time. I’m glad my son was with me because I had no idea what in the hell I was looking at…I’ve never seen it. It was initially a UFO/UAP moment for this old guy!

A couple of nights we caught a Northern Lights show with the moon rising. After nearly forty-years living and hunting in Alaska, I never tire of seeing the Aurora move across the nite-sky, especially when out in the field.…


As the cloud cover progressed, the sunsets were amazing…

 

[AKDoc]

The last half of our hunt were overcast skies each day and night…thank you Mother Nature!

All together we called eight bulls to us which was a lot of fun…several came within 50yds.

We heard a lot of raking and grunting in response to our calls, but we never sighted nor pulled a big guy during the hunt…very likely they were already on cows gathered during those first few nights. Actually, it was my son who was hearing a lot of raking and grunting...this was my first hunt with hearing-aids . I recently got them as a birthday gift for my wife .

My son and I both enjoy calling/watching bull behavior. Watched one bull that we called making a stink-pit within 50yds of us.

Some of the photos below aren’t the best quality, but I’m sharing them regardless…

 

[AKDoc]

We were hunting an “any bull” GMU, and we took the two biggest bulls that came to us…both just under 50”.

The first bull that we took came within 50 yds of us…we took a video and photos as we watched him...

That evening we had set-up to call about two-hundred yards from camp for a better view of a specific area on the other side of a narrow slough. As expected, that bull spooked when he circled down-wind. Fortunately, he ran directly towards our camp. After he crossed the slough and got on dry ground I did a cow call, and he immediately stopped to look back. We dropped him right there…a short distance from our camp and meat-pole (tents and tipi are visible directly above him…the meat-pole is at the base of the tall spruce to the right)…


Calling from camp a couple days later we dropped the second bull a little further out, but still relatively close as well…

The second bull had just recently gotten his ass kicked! There were numerous pointed rubs on his hide and his right eye was punctured and beginning to protrude from the socket. When we removed his hide, we saw bruising on his side and one of his knees was badly banged-up.

Nonetheless, that battered guy came immediately and directly from far away to our cow calls!

 

[AKDoc]

This little guy did a a bunch of close drive-throughs on the way to/from the kill-sites near our camp to chew on whatever he could find…


My son and I have already taken foxes years ago, so we just enjoyed watching this guy and listening to him barking at the continuous stream of camp robbers flying in/out of the kill sites.

 

[AKDoc]

I always close with gratitude for the opportunity to do each adventure…I am truly very grateful.

I’m especially thankful that my son still enjoys spending time with his 73yo dad. He hauled all our meat loads in the sled while I worked at the kill-site cutting meat, and then we worked together to hang everything on the tented meat-pole that we had built on our put-in day. He enjoys being helpful…thank you son…I need it more as I get older! This old man still carried a front quarter on my shoulder from the meat-pole up to the aircraft. I had to prove to myself that I could still do it! !!

Our last sunset before next day pick-up…


A BIG thank you to Wade Renfro, his staff and pilots. They all work so hard for us hunters! This was my twelfth-consecutive year with Renfro as my transporter. I say with gratitude and humility that I’ve done a dozen moose hunts, a couple grizzly hunts and a half-dozen remote 10-day hundred-mile fly-fishing floats using light single-person rafts…all with Renfro as my transporter…all remote fly-in’s and all unguided using our own gear. Each one is a wonderful memory and worth every penny of hard earned money for the total remote solitude of the adventure, which I highly prioritize after hunting/fishing for decades in road accessible GMU’s. (BTW…I have no business nor financial gain with Renfro…expressing sincere gratitude for his services is just the right thing to do.)

My son and I are already booked for next year…sorry I keep taking space!

The best to you all for your future hunting adventures…sincerely!

Oh, BTW…this was the first moose hunt in nearly forty-years that I never once had to wear my raincoat…crazy!

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

Nicely done story. Like the bulls too.

 

[RockAndSage]

We always enjoy looking at the surroundings on our flight in…countless moose trails, lakes, ponds, willow thickets, and scattered areas of spruce. The entire area is perfect habitat for moose, which helps to continually remind us that the moose are all around us during the hunt…
View attachment 959022

My son was rubber-necking on final approach for a hurried photo of a big bull laying down approximately 400yds from where we set-up camp…
View attachment 959024

We unloaded the aircraft and started all the typical chores on our “no hunting/same day airborne” day…setting-up camp, getting our meat-pole constructed, etc…
View attachment 959023

Within that first hour after the pilots took off, we had several quick/brief sightings of moose as they scattered from the aircraft noise. Saw 4-bulls and 2-cows with calves. Two of the bulls were paddle-heads still together, but the other two were big guys. Saw the big bulls separately, each following a cow with a first-year calf.

Man, that photo of the bull laying down really does help put into perspective how big they are.

 

[CMF]

Great write up! congrats!