hornchaser2011
FNG
While we were gone the pilot stopped in and dropped off 3 jugs of water.
The weather got really bad that night and we saw 50 mph winds and sideways rain. Dad got bad cramping from the alder death march and dehydration so we just focused on rehydrating and waiting for the weather to break. After 3 days of this and no moose sightings we messaged the pilot to see if he could move us to the float. He messaged back the next day saying that now the float was no good and he saw two "trophy class bulls in our area when he came to drop off the water and we would be making a huge mistake by leaving". At this point I had a hard time believing anything the pilot said but it looked like we weren't gonna float so my as well stay here.
A couple days later (sept 8) I did glass a large bull moose a long way (2 miles) across the canyon up high in a drainage. The wind was perfect and the big bull never moved for 2 days but there was no way just me and dad could have packed that bull back without risking meat spoilage. I messaged the pilot and asked if there was any way he could land on one of the many flat ridges above the bull and he answered simply "no".
The one exciting day of moose hunting we had was on sept 14, the rut was definitely on. We saw 4 different small bulls, (nothing close to 50 inches) that day and all were pushing cows. One thing we noticed is that every cow was going in the same direction, down hill. The next day we were excited, the rut was on and it was just a matter of luck to see a big bull. We went to the same spot and had the same wind and nothing... Went to same spot next day and nothing...
I was concerned that because we were up so high in the mountains (4-5 miles above treeline) that the moose had left and gone down as soon as the rut started. All the research I did suggests that this is what they do. I messaged the pilot asking if he had seen this in his 20 years of flying/hunting there and if so could we move down lower just to have a chance at being successful. When he didn't ignore my messages he would respond with "be patient" or "keep hunting hard". It was very obvious at this point that the pilot had very little interest in us being successful.
The rest of the trip turned out to be a camping trip as we didn't see any moose after sept 14. We spent a total of 16 nights on the ridge. After I got out of the bush I had the opportunity to talk to two other groups who hunted with the same guy and there were both more disappointed than I was.
Locals in the village told me the moose do spend the summers in the high country but come down low to the rivers as soon as the rut starts and they were killing the big bulls on the river out of boats by sept 15-20.
Before the trip the pilot told me his average success rate was around 50% harvest on bulls. He admitted that amongst the 10 licensed hunters this year there were 3 bulls killed, which I bet is more in line with his average. I only got verification of one bull.
All in all we still had a great adventure but it could have been much better. I'm not disappointed about not getting a moose, as any time your pursuing a trophy class animal you better be ok with tag soup. I'm also not looking for pity as I knew it was a gamble going with a lesser known outfit but wanted to let other hunters know that they should be really careful. I've learned my lesson and would never go back to Alaska moose hunting unless it was with a well known highly reputable outfit even if that means paying more or waiting longer. The bottom line is there are alot of other really cool hunts you can go on for the same or less money and you don't have to travel as far.
If anyone wants to know who I went with PM me. Also if you had a good experience with a transporter or outfitter I would appreciate it if you PM me that info.
The weather got really bad that night and we saw 50 mph winds and sideways rain. Dad got bad cramping from the alder death march and dehydration so we just focused on rehydrating and waiting for the weather to break. After 3 days of this and no moose sightings we messaged the pilot to see if he could move us to the float. He messaged back the next day saying that now the float was no good and he saw two "trophy class bulls in our area when he came to drop off the water and we would be making a huge mistake by leaving". At this point I had a hard time believing anything the pilot said but it looked like we weren't gonna float so my as well stay here.
A couple days later (sept 8) I did glass a large bull moose a long way (2 miles) across the canyon up high in a drainage. The wind was perfect and the big bull never moved for 2 days but there was no way just me and dad could have packed that bull back without risking meat spoilage. I messaged the pilot and asked if there was any way he could land on one of the many flat ridges above the bull and he answered simply "no".
The one exciting day of moose hunting we had was on sept 14, the rut was definitely on. We saw 4 different small bulls, (nothing close to 50 inches) that day and all were pushing cows. One thing we noticed is that every cow was going in the same direction, down hill. The next day we were excited, the rut was on and it was just a matter of luck to see a big bull. We went to the same spot and had the same wind and nothing... Went to same spot next day and nothing...
I was concerned that because we were up so high in the mountains (4-5 miles above treeline) that the moose had left and gone down as soon as the rut started. All the research I did suggests that this is what they do. I messaged the pilot asking if he had seen this in his 20 years of flying/hunting there and if so could we move down lower just to have a chance at being successful. When he didn't ignore my messages he would respond with "be patient" or "keep hunting hard". It was very obvious at this point that the pilot had very little interest in us being successful.
The rest of the trip turned out to be a camping trip as we didn't see any moose after sept 14. We spent a total of 16 nights on the ridge. After I got out of the bush I had the opportunity to talk to two other groups who hunted with the same guy and there were both more disappointed than I was.
Locals in the village told me the moose do spend the summers in the high country but come down low to the rivers as soon as the rut starts and they were killing the big bulls on the river out of boats by sept 15-20.
Before the trip the pilot told me his average success rate was around 50% harvest on bulls. He admitted that amongst the 10 licensed hunters this year there were 3 bulls killed, which I bet is more in line with his average. I only got verification of one bull.
All in all we still had a great adventure but it could have been much better. I'm not disappointed about not getting a moose, as any time your pursuing a trophy class animal you better be ok with tag soup. I'm also not looking for pity as I knew it was a gamble going with a lesser known outfit but wanted to let other hunters know that they should be really careful. I've learned my lesson and would never go back to Alaska moose hunting unless it was with a well known highly reputable outfit even if that means paying more or waiting longer. The bottom line is there are alot of other really cool hunts you can go on for the same or less money and you don't have to travel as far.
If anyone wants to know who I went with PM me. Also if you had a good experience with a transporter or outfitter I would appreciate it if you PM me that info.
