AK Moose 2024

[Yukon Cornelius]

We’re booked for 2026. Started researching in 2021, calling around in ‘22 and in to ‘23, and shored up the plans for ‘26 just before the new year. Can’t wait to experience AK with my Dad. Will be the trip of a lifetime no doubt.


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What unit you planning?

 

[nick2021]

Agree with you....trying to do the DIY while I can still physically do so....last year, went to 13D (draw hunt), drop in....nada....this time, going again further up north with over the counter tag. Learned a LOT last year first time out hunting....will be better prepared this time around. Best of luck.

 

[joshveldhaus]

Good luck on your hunt, make sure to post a follow-up after!

 

[Patrick Finney]

I have been following this forum for about six months, and I can say it has been invaluable. Wish I had found it earlier. I am planning a DIY AK moose hunt for 2025, and I really appreciate all the advice and info guys have been sharing--especially the AK residents. Really helps out those of us from the lower 48. I will be hunting with a longbow as I am a fanatical traditional bowhunter. I understand the limitations and lower chances for success. My question for the group:

What sidearm would you recommend a guy carry while bowhunting? I am leaning towards a .44 magnum, but I know much of it comes down to personal preference. I know this can be a very contentious issue (I looked at old threads on here), but I just wanted to see what guys have found worked for them. I will also be carrying bear spray. Thanks in advance.

 

[AKBorn]

I have been following this forum for about six months, and I can say it has been invaluable. Wish I had found it earlier. I am planning a DIY AK moose hunt for 2025, and I really appreciate all the advice and info guys have been sharing--especially the AK residents. Really helps out those of us from the lower 48. I will be hunting with a longbow as I am a fanatical traditional bowhunter. I understand the limitations and lower chances for success. My question for the group:

What sidearm would you recommend a guy carry while bowhunting? I am leaning towards a .44 magnum, but I know much of it comes down to personal preference. I know this can be a very contentious issue (I looked at old threads on here), but I just wanted to see what guys have found worked for them. I will also be carrying bear spray. Thanks in advance.

I vaguely knew a couple of guys who hunted the 40 Mile country with longbows, and they have been pretty successful over the years. Best of luck to you, that's a challenging way to hunt for sure.

I carried a S&W Model 629 in .44 Mag on my Alaska hunts, in a chest holster, loaded with Buffalo Bore 305 grain hardcast. Thankfully never had to use it.

 

[Yellowknife]

What sidearm would you recommend a guy carry while bowhunting? I am leaning towards a .44 magnum, but I know much of it comes down to personal preference. I know this can be a very contentious issue (I looked at old threads on here), but I just wanted to see what guys have found worked for them. I will also be carrying bear spray. Thanks in advance.

.44 was the standard in AK for decades, but judging by what I see in the shops and in the field, are now being substantially out sold by the 10mm. It’s hard to even find a good revolver on the shelf anymore. Neither one gets used on bears often enough to establish any real track record.

Like lots of people up here, I’ve got both. Carry the 10mm when I need to be able to work, as it’s flatter, lighter and takes up less space. Might be a consideration with a bow? The .44 with 320’s still gets carried on coastal salmon streams at times. Although I’ve stared down bears with both of them many times, I’ve never had to pull the trigger, and odds are strong you won’t either.

 

[VernAK]

.44 was the standard in AK for decades, but judging by what I see in the shops and in the field, are now being substantially out sold by the 10mm. It’s hard to even find a good revolver on the shelf anymore. Neither one gets used on bears often enough to establish any real track record.

Like lots of people up here, I’ve got both. Carry the 10mm when I need to be able to work, as it’s flatter, lighter and takes up less space. Might be a consideration with a bow? The .44 with 320’s still gets carried on coastal salmon streams at times. Although I’ve stared down bears with both of them many times, I’ve never had to pull the trigger, and odds are strong you won’t either.

I've hunted Alaska moose for a half century but I am not a bow hunter. John Havard on this site is a very successful long bow hunter and a great guy that you may want to chat with.

I've watched the Handgun for bears issue evolve from 44s to Casull to 10MM and now it's all 460 Rowland in this area.

 

[AKDoc]

...What sidearm would you recommend a guy carry while bowhunting? I am leaning towards a .44 magnum, but I know much of it comes down to personal preference. I know this can be a very contentious issue (I looked at old threads on here), but I just wanted to see what guys have found worked for them. I will also be carrying bear spray. Thanks in advance.

As shared by others...I first started carrying a 44mag when I first moved up here nearly forty-years ago, and then a 454 Casull. I handload, so I loaded hard cast bullets for each of those.

About ten years ago I switched over to a 10mm that I carry in a chest-holster loaded with Buffalo-bore OTC ammunition...and I've never looked back. The 10mm is a comfortable all-day carry, even under my pfd on remote 10-day floats. I've had it drawn a couple of times when bluff-charged by a grizzly, but thankfully it ended well for me and the bears.

Edit: I was responding at the same time as you Vern...good points you make. I should note to the OP that I also am not a bowhunter. I'll add that my son in law is a devoted longbow hunter up here, and he carries a 10mm and bear-spray.

 

[John Havard]

Patrick, you will have an awesome time with your longbow.

Through the years I've run through just about every type of pistol to carry while bowhunting. Where I've hunted it's almost entirely spot and stalk, so the probability of being surprised by a bear is somewhat less (but certainly not zero) than if you are hunting in thick woods. Over the past 4 decades I've carried 44 magnums, 454 Casulls, 500 S&W magnums (might as well carry a rifle since it weighs about as much), 480 Ruger (the sweet spot in my opinion for bear revolvers), 460 Rowland 1911's, and most lately I've been carrying 10mm pistols loaded with heavy (200-220 grain) hard cast bullets. My preference after all those years and experiences lies with a 10mm properly loaded or a 1911 in 45 Super or 460 Rowland properly loaded. Carrying a heavy bulky pistol on the belt of your backpack is a pain. And while a 10mm or 1911 isn't necessarily light it gives you a few more opportunities to make a CNS hit if heaven forbid it's needed.

The most important time to be carrying is when you are approaching your meat cache for the next load back to camp. Make darn sure you stash your meat bags in an area that you can see from a distance as you approach and make some noise as you approach.

Good luck.

 

[Yellowknife]

The most important time to be carrying is when you are approaching your meat cache for the next load back to camp. Make darn sure you stash your meat bags in an area that you can see from a distance as you approach and make some noise as you approach.

This is where some of my most interesting bear encounters have occurred. They tend to die in the thick stuff where visibility is low.

I've messed with the .460 Rowland as have several people I know. Reliability is pretty low and takes a lot of polishing and tuning to get right. One guy I work with even had an XD version blow up on him with a slightly hot load. I went back to the 10mm. Unless you just like fiddling with guns, I'd avoid that one.

45 Supers have been pretty easy to get going if you have a .45 already. Usually just a spring change with the right gun.

 

[Patrick Finney]

Thanks for all the advice--I really appreciate it. I was leaning towards a revolver simply because that's what I have the most experience with. But the 10 MM keeps coming up on this forum and others so I will definitely be looking into it. Less weight and bulk is music to my ears.

John--Thanks for chiming in. I will probably be picking your brain as longbow hunter as I get closer to my trip. Good luck to everyone going this year.

 

[AKDoc]

...The most important time to be carrying is when you are approaching your meat cache for the next load back to camp. Make darn sure you stash your meat bags in an area that you can see from a distance as you approach and make some noise as you approach.

^^^Excellent point sir. I am continuously wearing my chest holster with pistol when butchering and when transporting meat loads back and forth from the kill site to the meat-pole in camp. I've never had a problem, but I have seen several times when a bear came a day or two later and completely buried the carcass...looked like someone used a D-7!

...I'm also wearing my pistol when I'm doing my morning business...seriously lol!!

 

[Yellowknife]

Shoot. My 2022 moose was 50 yds from the outhouse tree at first light. Truth is I don't bother bringing a pistol for moose hunts because the rifle is never out of reach!

If I was hunting with a trad bow, I'd carry iron though. Only makes sense.

 

[Calicoastie]

Moose or bear. What can you shoot? Carry that. I run a 454 in the woods. Wife carries a 44mag.
A gun you can shoot does you more good then a gun you can't.

 

[WMR]

We’ve taken XDM 10mm’s in the past and may again. Reliable, easy to shoot and fairly inexpensive. BB hard cast 220’s for us. I like having a handgun in a chest rig but to be fair, it’s one of the first items I’d leave behind if gear weight had to be trimmed.

If I were a bow hunter, I’d carry a sidearm, but would absolutely want a long gun in camp. We’ve seen big bears near camp each time and NO handgun would give me real peace of mind. I’d sooner have almost any rifle (or 12ga shotgun) if things really got serious.

 

[AKBorn]

We’ve taken XDM 10mm’s in the past and may again. Reliable, easy to shoot and fairly inexpensive. BB hard cast 220’s for us. I like having a handgun in a chest rig but to be fair, it’s one of the first items I’d leave behind if gear weight had to be trimmed.

If I were a bow hunter, I’d carry a sidearm, but would absolutely want a long gun in camp. We’ve seen big bears near camp each time and NO handgun would give me real peace of mind. I’d sooner have almost any rifle (or 12ga shotgun) if things really got serious.

I always carried my .44, but seems quite a few guys carry the 10mm these days. A couple have mentioned that they had to tweak their 10mm in order to handle the 220 BB's smoothly (I think it was a stronger mag spring and perhaps tweaking the ejector as well, I can't recall exactly).

 

[WMR]

I’m sort of a casual handgunner snd don’t claim expert status. The yardstick I use is: What’s the most power I can get in a portable package and still shoot well. Something like 3 rapid hits on a 6in plate at 30 feet. Only hits count and speed matters. Noisy misses will just get you killed.

 

[Fortboy22]

Is a 5 round, 44 special revolver too 'small' or underpowered for a AK backcountry carry gun?

 

[wyosam]

I always carried my .44, but seems quite a few guys carry the 10mm these days. A couple have mentioned that they had to tweak their 10mm in order to handle the 220 BB's smoothly (I think it was a stronger mag spring and perhaps tweaking the ejector as well, I can't recall exactly).

I experimented with hotter 220’s in my Glock, fiddled with springs and all. In the end went back to 200s, or 190 copper solids. Dependability trumps all else, and I think the chance of the 220 over 200 (or even lighter, as long as it’s something that will penetrate deep) being the difference are astronomically low.


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[JMonty]

Is a 5 round, 44 special revolver too 'small' or underpowered for a AK backcountry carry gun?

It's not too small, no. It'll put down most, if not all, large game in Alaska depending on shot placement.

Just make sure to use sufficient rounds. A lot of people will pack 300+ grain in case they encounter a big grizzly, but a well placed shot with 240+ grain rounds will likely do the trick. Just be aware of what you will likely encounter where you intend to be.