Alaska DIY Moose RECAP 2024 - "HUMBLED & PURE GRIT"

[Robinhood21]

Now sitting at my desk at work and the last 2 weeks seems like a blur.



After my cousin and I finished our 2022 DIY moose hunt we were eager to get back out there. For the most part, everything went our way that hunt and we were ready to try to replicate our success. Our pilots wife asked if we wanted on the books for 2023 and as much as I would have liked to, I said 2024 was probably a better idea. I got her a deposit right away and we were counting down the days. Two years seems like a long time but man did it fly by!



I had a spot picked out that I was really wanting to hunt the previous two times out there but the spot was always occupied by the time we flew out so naturally, that was my first choice spot. When we met our pilot, he asked where I wanted to hunt and I told him and to my surprise he said that as of the day before, the spot was still vacant. We flew overhead and it was right there waiting for us. I was ecstatic!



We got camp set up, aired up our raft and filtered enough water that would last half of our trip. We hiked to the highest spot we could find that evening and started glassing. I don’t know if you could think up a better looking valley then the one we were overlooking. It screamed moose with it’s terrain features. We ended up seeing an absolute monster a long ways away across the lake but couldn’t believe how high up the mountain he was. Way up there and would be an impossible feat to go after with nothing but thick alder between him and the lake. We also spotted 2 cows and 5 caribou before dark.



The temps were higher this trip compared to the previous two.. about 7 degrees warmer on average. I figured that would have a major impact on movement during daylight hours.

 

[Robinhood21]

HUNT DAY 1:
My cousin got a pretty nasty blister that first day hiking so the next morning we rowed across the lake (where the big bull was the day before) and hunted an "easier to get to" spot. His season was on and I had a few days before I could hunt. We thought spending a few days here raking might just bring the big dude in. A hard frost was a nice surprise that morning but mid day temps climbed to mid 60s. We ended up seeing a black bear that day with no other animals spotted.



HUNT DAY 2:
9:00 am rolled around, "The Magic Hour" as we call it and Cousin spots a big bull at 880yds! We had been raking the previous day and that morning so we thought he was coming in and interested. He stood there for what seemed like forever then he started moving to the east away from us and just then the sun crested over the mountain tops. We were almost blinded and could not see him moving through the willow and alder. My initial thought was try to work around him and cut him off or try to get high but the wind was all wrong. We ultimately decided to just hold off as we thought he would stick around as early in the hunt it was. We thought for sure we would get another crack at him.

HUNT DAY 3:
With rain coming all day, we thought it might help get the moose moving. That was not the case, as no animals were spotted this day. We were really hoping we could capitalize on that bull the day before for my cousin. Non-resident season starts tomorrow... I'm up to bat.



HUNT DAY 4:

Heavy rains that morning caused us to be tented up for the first half of the day. Things cleared and my cousins blister wasn't giving him any trouble so we set out to the high spot we glassed on the first day there. Right away I glassed a bedded small bull and then a wondering brown bear. My cousin, being a resident, said he would rather shoot a bear this trip then a moose so we went after him. Erie feeling getting down on a brown bears level and putting on a stalk! Not being able to see everything like when we were on the knob made it challenging! We slowly worked to where we thought the bear would be but couldn't lay eyes on him. We just set up shop right there and started glassing again for moose. I ended up spotting a couple bulls together. One small bull and one bull that looked like he was borderline. We did not pursue.

"There he is!", cousin spots the brown bear feeding up a small hill behind us. We got set up on him and cousin makes the shot! The bear rolls over behind the hill. We couldn't tell where the shot was. He was on his back looking around... once in a while we would see his head pop up. He got back up and slowly moved our way a little more. I can't remember the last time I shook that hard... it was uncontrollable! Broadside again, cousin makes the second shot and he bolts over the hill. Stunned with what just happened, we said we would come back in the morning hoping he was laying just on the other side.

 

[Robinhood21]

HUNT DAY 5:

We woke early and made our trek to the glassing knob. Before looking for the bear we glassed for an hour or so. The bugs were as bad as I've ever seen that morning. The picture doesn't do it justice.



We trekked down to the spot where we last saw the bear and cautiously peeked over the edge. No bear and a giant willow patch that followed the creek... crap. We were not thrilled about looking in the thick stuff but we did our due diligence and unfortunately came up empty. I felt bad for my cousin as I knew how much he wanted to take a bear this trip... maybe we'll get another shot at one. That evening we spotting another black bear.

HUNT DAY 6:

We went across the lake again this morning and spotted a caribou first thing then out popped a mama brown bear with 3 little furball cubs. So cool! We watched them all morning gorging themselves on blueberries and got as close as 700yds... too close if you ask me HAHA! Two cows, 10 caribou way up the mountain, another sow with a single cub and two small bulls spotted throughout the day.

Around 6:30, we spotted a brown bear boar way at the top of the mountain and he was working his way down. At the time, we didn't think anything of it. 9:00 came around and my cousin spotted the bear 400 yds behind us. Over the course of 2.5 hours he made his way all the way down and was close!! The wind was terrible for a stalk but we tried to cut him off before he caught our wind. Unfortunately the next time we saw him he was hightailing it the other way. They just seem to move effortlessly out there and cover ground way faster then we can. Close call once again!



HUNT DAY 7:

New spot tried out this morning but we were fogged in for the first half of the day. When the fog burned off that morning we spotted a big brown bear boar again in close to the spot we hunted the previous day. We were disappointment we didn't hunt over there but that's the way it goes. Just a cow and a small bull was seen the rest of the day.

 

[Robinhood21]

HUNT DAY 8:

Fog again this morning but we ended up seeing a couple black bears and 2 Caribou. That evening we pushed a little further down the valley and ended up seeing 2 small bulls. 1 of them we raked and grunted into 175 yards. It was encouraging to see the way he responded to the call. Weather was cooling down and sightings seemed to pick up a bit.



HUNT DAY 9:

After being in this location for the past 9.5 days we decided to make the executive decision and try to move to the spot we hunted in 2022. Two days prior I messaged my pilot to see if he knew of anybody was hunting there and he replied "NOT YET". The first half of the day was very calm and cool so we decided to start the 6 mile row over to our old spot. Spirits were high as we reminisced about our 2022 hunt and how we could possibly pull off another 2 bull hunt in the next 5.5 days.



We got about 2/3 of the way there and I saw something off colored on the shoreline. I threw up the binos and my heart sank... there was a camp there. Dejected, we rowed over to the shoreline to try to gather our thoughts. We decided to go back but a few miles up the shoreline of our camp that we had been at. I saw a clearing that looked like it went up to a nice glassing spot to look over a big area. Almost there my cousin spots a black bear just a couple hundred yards away.

We quietly made our way to shore, tied up the raft, grabbed only our rifles and headed up the hill to look for the bear. We made it up and ultimately realized that we had probably spooked the bear while coming to shore. We decided to try to make it to the closest knob to see if it looked like a good spot to set up for moose. We crested a hill, then the next, then another... you just couldn't see much ground without another rolling hill being in the way. My cousin and I looked at each other and we both said lets get out of here and find another spot.

Then my cousin looks over my shoulder and says, "IS THAT A BULL?!"

I threw up my binos and said, "oh my gosh... LET'S GO!"

 

[Robinhood21]

The bull was about 1200 yards away, adrenaline took over and we quickly made our way to his direction. We finally got to a high spot where we thought we could spot him... NOTHING.

Out of breath we stood, watched and listened for about 5 minutes. I belted out a cow call and a few grunts... NOTHING. It started to rain and the wind picked up just a bit. Out of desperation I cow called again and let out a few more bull grunts. Just as I was going to say, let's get out of here, my cousin says, "THERE HE IS!" Looking in our direction then started raking some alders.

I ranged him then measured him on the reticle. "He's legal" I said, "I'm going to take the shot."

He turned broadside... BOOM!

I racked another one in... BOOM!

The bull gets behind some willows and I panic. He's only steps from going into some thick alders. I find him in my scope again and I see him crumble!

Wide eyed I look at my cousin and we celebrate! If there's anything I've learned from my moose hunts it's that it can happen anytime. 2:30 pm in the afternoon after chasing a black bear.

Now realizing our whole camp is still in the raft with nothing set up we decide to hightail it back to the lake, set up the tent and throw everything inside. No time for getting anything else setup.

It was then we realized how far from the lake we were. This pack out was going to be brutal! Huge bodied bull and taped out wider then expected. He's got an odd horn growth coming out of his forehead if you look close enough.





We spent until dark getting him worked up and the meat moved a little ways from the carcass. Now we've got to get back to camp. We were pretty well soaked and drained by now and not familiar with the area. There were a lot of rolling hills, drainages, ponds & alder thickets. All I've got to say is thank God I set a track on my basemaps when we walked back in there. It was difficult to operate in the rain because the touch screen and wetness doesn't go together but we finally crawled into camp well after dark, wet, cold and admittedly, a little scared.

The next day it rained all day again. We broke the packout in 4 sections moving all the meat a quarter of the way at a time. We got half way and again crawled into the tent that night cold and wet. Warm dry clothes never felt so good! Luckily the next day was a nice day, we were dry and got most everything else dry. We finished up packing out the moose that evening and was so glad to get that over with. Going back and forth we tallied 15 miles. (7.5 with meat on our backs)



Our pilot was to pick up the meat the next day. The weather was calling for downpours the day after and heavy winds the next... With work we knew we couldn't get stuck out there any longer then we had planned so we ultimately called it a trip.

 

[Robinhood21]

I've got to give my cousin a huge shout out. I really don't know if I could ask for a better hunting partner. We can laugh and have the best time no matter the conditions or how the hunt is going. So selfless, positive, right there with me the entire time and is strong as an ox. He told me he redeemed himself this trip as last trip I spotted both bulls and he wanted to return the favor this trip. Well he certainly did and plenty more. I know this won't be our last adventure together and I owe him big time!

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Congrats! Great bull!

 

[Grizz208]

Congrats! Sounds like an amazing trip!

 

[rookieforever33]

Congratulations

 

[kodiak725]

Congratulations!

 

[RyanT26]

Well done. Enjoyed the write up!

 

[HoytHntr4]

Congratulations on the bull and great write up!

 

[CRJR45]

Yee-Haw , great trip , thanks for sharing , again .

 

[Murphy]

Man that's awesome, congrats on the bull!

 

[JJOutdoors]

Awesome write up. A bull like that is on many bucket lists. Big congrats.

 

[PeasantCommoner]

That sounds like such a fun adventure. Congratulations.

 

[keller]

Sounds like an adventure congrats!!