Alaska DIY Moose RECAP 2020

[Robinhood21]

Wow... where to begin?

This hunt has been a dream of mine ever since I was old enough to even like hunting. Years would go by and dad and I would say to each other, "someday", but nothing ever materialized. You start to wonder if it will actually happen. Finally May of 2017 it hit me, set a date & GO! So that's exactly what we did. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about the hunt, let alone obsess about it.

Through the next few years, gear was slowly accumulated and a lot of research was done. Somewhere in there my uncle got word about the trip and wanted in.... Absolutely, the more the merrier!

September hit, we got our Covid tests back negative and we were off and rolling.

After a night in Anchorage and the best halibut sandwich I've ever had at Humpy's, we were off to our final destination to meet up with our pilot.

 

[Robinhood21]

We arrived at our pilots house on the 3rd and the season didn't start until the 5th. It would give us a half day to set up camp and hopefully get a little bit of scouting in on the first day. I showed my Pilot which areas I had picked out. I was really hoping my first choice area would be vacant but he already knew a camp was in that area. Totally bummed because I did most of my research in that area so we flew over my 2nd choice spot and it too was taken. So we flew over to a 3rd spot and once again there was already a tent pitched. So off to a spot where I had zero maps saved on my phone and zero research done but there was nobody around and it really did look like a great area.

We got camp set up and went out for an hour that evening but didn't spot a moose. We had a plan the next morning and got up high to do some glassing... this is where reality checked in. The terrain we were in was so deceiving. We had no clue about the alder and willow but we found out real fast how difficult it can be getting through it. We ended up spotting a couple cows in the valley that morning and went to check out another spot. Once again our eyes were opened on how difficult it can be to get from point A to point B, Especially without saved maps.

We drew straws that night to see what the pecking order was. Uncle Pete shoots 1st, Dad 2nd, and Me 3rd. We were optimistic all 3 of us would take down bulls.



HUNT DAY 1:
Opening morning we got up high and spotted what looked like to be a big bull down in the valley. He was headed one way and we tried to cut him off, and eventually did. We had him at 186 yards but could only see his antlers just over the rise! Unfortunately the wind swirled and he bolted the other way. I was definitely a little deflated knowing that opportunities like that don't come around every day. Dad ended up seeing a good bull in range that evening too but couldn't determine if he was legal or not (50" 4 brow unit). He showed me a video and to me it sure looked legal. He did the right thing though as he wasn't sure.



Our pilot sent us a message that evening saying to prepare for a pretty nasty storm.

HUNT DAY 2:
Day 2 was spent ALL DAY in our tent due to heavy rain and 60mph winds. It wasn't so bad as the company was good and we had plenty of instant coffee packets to go around. We were VERY optimistic for the next day as we saw 2 probable shooters the day before and thought once the storm cleared up, moose would be doing moosey things.

HUNT DAY 3:
When we woke early the next morning the rain was still coming down pretty hard. So we slept in another hour and things had lightened up a little. I was ready to roll & waiting on the 2 old guys so I decided to go down to the lake to filter some water. I looked across the lake and saw a white paddle making it's way through the willow! BIG BULL!!!

I ran back to the tent and said "BIG BULL BY THE LAKE, HURRY UP!"

I then ran back to the lake & laid my pack down with my rifle on top.

The bull heads to the edge of the lake and starts raking some willows.

Rangefinder: 360 yards

Measured him on the reticle: LEGAL!!

Dope Chart: 3.75MOA

I dialed my scope and look back and see my Uncle and Father standing there. I waved my uncle over. He settle down and was on him but the bull was quartering hard to. He finally turned broadside, I stopped him with a cow call and told my uncle "SHOOT HIM NOW!"

BOOM! Perfect shot right behind the shoulder!.. then he runs into the water...

 

[Robinhood21]

... the bull stands in the water for a couple seconds and starts walking again. My uncle asked if he should shoot again I said to hold on, he might walk back on shore. Sure enough he starts walking up to shore and we're all whispering out loud, "come on, keep going, keep going." He makes it up to shore and my uncle put 2 more in him from my 300 RUM shooting 200 grain Accubond reloads.

The bull drops and I almost lose it! I just about tackled my uncle to the ground. "This hunt is a success" I thought to myself, "no matter what else happens, we did it!"

We had rented a raft from our pilot so we rowed our way over to him to see exactly what we had. I'm not going to lie, I was sick to my stomach the whole way there. Even though I had measured him on my scope reticle there was that little bit of fear that it wasn't a legal bull. After we got to him and lifted his head, there was no doubt he was a legal bull... a freakin' STUD! Atleast to me he was. We all stood there for a few minutes just admiring the monster animals body size, and mass.

62"




It took us 3.5 hours to quarter and get all the meat & luckily NO packing out. We moved the meat across the lake and away from the carcass.



That night we ate like kings...



I tell you what, it's hard to beat moose tenderloin with instant mashed potatoes. It was absolutely incredible!

 

[Robinhood21]

The views were undescribable.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Right on!! Congrats and thanks for sharing

 

[KChunter71]

That’s a awesome job Robinhood.

 

[SaltySailor]

That's a wall-mounter for sure!

 

[jdmaxwell]

Great job
Congratulations to you and your family

 

[NUGGET]

FFS let the man finish the story!


And I'm gonna say something right now, it's about a man who came from Austria.with a dream

Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Let me finish.

He became a champion, and a movie star...

Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Let me finish. He became a champion, and a movie star...

Arnold Schwarzenegger!

God damn it, let me fini.. They ruined the story... they ruined the story

 

[Robinhood21]

My father was up next and we were feeling really good about our chances of all 3 of us tagging out. 2 actual days of hunting and we probably should have had 2 bulls down.

HUNT DAY 4:
Dad and I went out as my Uncle Peter stayed behind so he could take care of the skull and assist the pilot for when he came to pick up meat. We got set up on a good vantage point overlooking a huge valley. After doing some raking and bull grunts I glassed up a bull about 1/2 mile away. He didn't look big through my binos but he looked to be headed our way. Sure enough dad found him again about 600 yards away. Giving it just the eyeball test he didn't look to be a shooter but attempted to measure him in my reticle anyways. He gave us a heck of a display as he moseyed around us for the next 25 minutes or so. My calculations came out to anywhere from 45-48". We hunted that evening but there were no moose sightings.



HUNT DAY 5: All 3 of us went to the same vantage point as the day before and spotted a cow and a calf way back in the valley early that morning. It looked amazing back there but knew it would be one heck of a trek if we decided to head that way. No moose were spotted the rest of the day but that evening we saw a large brown bear boar headed straight to my uncles moose carcass.

HUNT DAY 6: The brown bear had his way the moose carcass and looked pretty round as he walked away to his bed that morning. He had buried his prize and was off to snooze the rest of the day I'm sure. That morning no moose were spotted. We decided to hunt the valley over that evening. My father and uncle stayed low and I went high to see if I could glass something up. Nothing until about 45 minutes before dark, I was able to get on the other side of the ridge I was on and glass over into the valley that we had previously been hunting. I spotted a cow and she kept looking behind her. Sure enough, a huge bull stepped out. We had a plan for the next day.

HUNT DAY 7: We would work our way down the valley where I spotted the bull and cow the night before. Set up and call on a good vantage point and after a 2-3 hours move forward. Instead of going back to camp for lunch, we stayed out there all day and kept pressing forward. The whole day resulted in 0 moose until about 45 minutes before dark again. We were all standing and talking when I looked up and spotted a moose. I threw the binos up and sure enough, HUGE BULL about 1/2 mile away. Then, ANOTHER HUGE BULL right there with him. After being a little deflated from the previous 2 days that really got us amped up! Our plan for the next morning we would go back to the same spot hoping that our calling from the previous day would have brought them closer.

HUNT DAY 8: That morning we were set up in our spot again looking down the valley and within 30 minutes I found one of the huge bulls in the same spot we spotted them the night before. Excited to see the big bull again but at the same time a little bummed because they weren't responding to our calls. We watched him for about 20 minutes before he dissapeared into the thick willow & alder. I looked at dad and said, if we want to kill another huge bull we've got to go get him. We knew it would be tough going but we were desperate! We got fueled up and set out after them. Not having a map saved in that area would really hurt us in this moment. We went through alder that was like walls and crossed streams up to our waste. We finally looked at eachother and we all knew, this wasn't working. Even if we made it to where we needed to be there was no way we would be packing a moose out of that hell hole. Maybe there was another way if I would have had a map or more time.

HUNT DAY 9: That morning we hunted the other valley with zero moose sightings. We packed up camp and started rowing. I knew there was another valley around the bend but had no clue what it was like. I wondered if the hunt was pretty much over...

 

[Robinhood21]

STILL HUNT DAY 9: We get to our new campsite about 1.5 miles from the last and this new valley is completely different! A lot more open and easier to walk around it appeared. I could get used to this! Dad made some cow calls and a few bull grunts after we got camp set up. We were sitting around making coffee and ramen noodles before we went out for the evening and I look to the north of me and there's a BULL coming down the side of the mountain!!! He must have heard dads calls. Crazy because we couldn't have been more than 600 yards from him when we were rowing the boat to the new spot.

I (yell) whisper loudly to my father and uncle, "THERE'S A BULL COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!" Dad grabs his gun, I've got my crocs on and we race down to the lake shore. The bull is coming right into us! I've got my reticle on him and get 51", do it again, 48", do it again, 49". Damn! Might be 50" but WAY too close for comfort.





And just like that we knew we were in a good spot and just knowing it could happen at any time kept our light lit! That evening we went out and didn't spot a moose but hopes were high!

HUNT DAY 10: Rain in the forecast all day long but for the most part we had been pretty fortunate with weather for the majority of the hunt. That morning turned up no moose but that evening we spotted a big bull but he was about a mile away and too late in the evening to go after. We were all pretty wet by the time we got back that night. We dried up, had dinner and before we went to bed I told dad that the trip was a success with Uncle Pete's bull but I wanted dad to bring one back to Kansas.

 

[Tbone58]

Great story! Great experience! Great memories!

 

[wsking]

Congratulations on the bull and the adventure!

 

[Robinhood21]

HUNT DAY 11 (LAST DAY): The rain had beat us down from the day before so we didn't exactly get out of bed too early. We each took our time making coffee and 1 by 1 went outside to use the restroom. We were all getting dressed inside when my father went out to do his business. 10 seconds later he unzipped the tent and I remember his eyes the size of saucers saying "THERE'S A BIG BULL OUTSIDE!"

I threw on my waders and wading boots (didn't even tie them) and snuck out the tent door. Sure enough there he was looking right at us! I put the gun up over the vestibule and got the reticle on him. I ranged him and got 302 yards. Measured him with the reticle and came up with 19 MOA. 19 x3 = 57"

"He's legal Dad!" I whispered.

"You sure?" he asked.

"YES!!!" I said.

The bull turns like he's walking away.

BOOOOM!!! The bull drops!

"YOU DROPPED HIM" I shouted!!! And right then and there I cried as I hugged my father.



I had put my heart and soul into this hunt. For the last few years this hunt had meant more than it probably should have to me. But I wanted this for them just as much as I wanted it for myself! I was absolutely elated! We were bringing an Alaska Bull Moose back to Kansas. Exactly what my father and I used to talk about all the time, we made it happen, and it felt great! I couldn't be happier for my uncle and father. I doubt they ever do this trip again so for them to shoot 2 stud bulls makes it so sweet!

But me on the other hand... Alaska has touched my soul, it's part of me now and I've got unfinished business, and I will be back!

61"

 

[JPD350]

Awesome and congrats!! you also got some great photos.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Congratulations on one heck of a hunt! Well done. Memories to last a lifetime.

 

[guyhaz]

Thanks for sharing...that's one heck of a hunt you guys had.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Hell of a hunt and story! Thanks for letting us follow along and congratulations on a very successful hunt!

 

[Lukedog]

Great read! Congrats on the 2 stud bulls!

 

[KNASH]

Bucket list hunt for sure. If you take me next time, I'll let you shoot first!