Alaska Moose Hunting Tent

[TheCougar]

I am going on a 2018 Alaska moose hunt. I am trying to figure out a sleep system for 2-3 guys with gear. Right now I have an MSR Hubba Hubba 2 Man and an REI kingdom 8 tent. My outfitter limits to 50lbs per person, so weight will be an issue if we choose not to pay extra for a gear flight. The MSR is pretty light, but it is cramped. The REI is huge and heavy. What are my other options? I'd like to not spend an arm and a leg on another tent... one more thing: my sleeping bag is down, so keeping it dry is pretty much a life or death matter.

For guys who have done Alaska in September/October, what did you use and why?

 

[colonel00]

Only 50lbs/person? That seems kinda light but whatever. How long will it take them to get three moose out of the field?

And for how many days? That will matter too.

50lbs/person sounds like a sheep loadout, not moose. Who are you flying with and where out of?

 

[hodgeman]

50 pounds a person for a moose hunt is pretty stingy...that's mountain hunting / backpacking loads, not a moose camp.

It may be me, but I associate moose camp with big tents, big meals and a generally relaxed hunt...not a sufferfest.

Just curious why you're flying out in a cub? Recovering a moose will take a bigger plane unless you want to pay for a dozen flights to backhaul.

 

[luke moffat]

Generally that 50 pound weight limit doesn't count your rifle and what you are wearing. My wife and I in 2012 brought enough food for 17 days (the entire length of the sheep hunt). That was 51 pounds of food. That left 49 pounds for other gear. That other gear included a bear fence, an extra shelter, a liter of vodka, and camp chairs. By all accounts pretty comfy really. Just gotta be aware of weight certainly and wear a lot of clothes and cram all your pockets full of the weight dense stuff like ammo and cliff bars.

Good luck!

 

[Tastybearmeat]

You're going to get wet. A 6 man tipi with a stove would be great. I have a 4 man SO and really like it. Get the liner. Condensation can be pretty bad after 4-5 days of rain

 

[Snipershirt]

Just curious, you mentioned an outfitter...is this a guided hunt?

 

[TheCougar]

It is through 40 Mile Air. It is not a guided hunt, but they are dropping us off and picking us up. Apparently this is some kind of FAA regulation based on the aircraft. I agree it seems pretty stingy, and I don't know if it includes the rifle. I have heard they are very strict about it... you can read about it right on their website. We are hunting for 9 days. I backpack hunt, so I don't mind packing light, but there are somethings I just can't compromise on... the other option is to cough up another $900 and they will shuttle 200lbs of gear (round trip I think).

 

[Beendare]

Scenarios like this are where those Tipis with a UL stove shine.....as i don't think you will find a better weight vs utility shelter.

As others have said, you WILL be wet...and at 50# you won't have a lot of dry clothing options to change in to...so drying your gear is an essential consideration, IMO.

 

[Stid2677]

i have done cub hunts with 40 mile, I would recommend paying for the gear load. You will enjoy your hunt much more with a nice camp. As Luke said anything you can put in your pockets don't count. It is a cub thing, can't have more than 50lbs in the cargo bay, it moves the center of gavity too fat aft.

 

[Snipershirt]

What Stid and others have said....^^^^^

 

[bowuntr]

Pay for a gear load.... I will be on my 5th hunt with 40 mile this September. Almost impossible to do a 9 day moose hunt with 50#. Some normal gear is considered survival gear in Alaska, like your tent, sleeping bag, rain gear... quite different from a backpack hunt. I use a Cabelas Alaskan 4 man four season tent for 2 guys... the tent weighs 25-30#. BTW, 40 mile hasn't taken reservations for 2018 yet. Ed F

 

[Kevin Dill]

The guys advising you to pay for an extra gear flight are giving you good advice. Every moose hunt I've been on had at least 70-80 pounds of gear per man and trust me...that's not a lot of excess for 10 days of moose hunting. Sure you can do it on 50 pounds but you will be extremely minimal on everything and have no room for excess stuff. No thick pad. No ultralight cot. No extra food of any weight. No extra footwear. No salt for capes. No extra changes of clothes. It's going to be tight. Real tight.

Without regard to budget, for 3 guys I would advise a Kifaru 8 or 12-man tipi to house everyone, plus a woodstove. Your gear IS going to get wet and a stove lets you dry things out. Alternately you could have every guy provide their own shelter which isn't such a bad idea. The main thing I can't stand about that is crawling in and out of a tent for 10-12 days. You can call me what you like, but I will walk into my shelter and stand up to dress or undress. I don't go that far to be roughing it to the point of sawing my toothbrush handle or having no camera.

Keep in mind you can buy gear (good gear) and get most of your money out of it after the hunt if you wish.

 

[luke moffat]

Agree...with paying for the gear load if you aren't used to backpacking. But 100 pounds of gear for 2 people not counting rifles and what you can cram in your pockets and still yield quite a comfy camp...even if 30 pounds of it is food. If you got the extra stratch for sure get the gear load, cause if you don't have comfy lightweight gear its a LOT cheaper to use the gear you have and bring in an extra gear load.

 

[450]

40-Mile Air will put your gear on the scale so fudging is hard. Great outfit but strictly by the book.

 

[colonel00]

40-Mile Air will put your gear on the scale so fudging is hard. Great outfit but strictly by the book.

That's actually good to here. There are places to cut corners and bend rules, aircraft safety is not one of them. I'd rather be pissed at my transporter for having to leave an extra pair of socks behind versus having something much worse occur.

 

[GKPrice]

Only 50lbs/person? That seems kinda light but whatever. How long will it take them to get three moose out of the field?

And for how many days? That will matter too.

50lbs/person sounds like a sheep loadout, not moose. Who are you flying with and where out of?

3 of us did that sort of hunt from Soldotna in '97, 50 lbs was it and the 2 brothers who owned the service didn't drink so had no sympathy for that either - We discovered "platypus" containers so we had I don't know how many stuffed into our hip boots and still we ran out (when a typhoon grounded aircraft and we were 2 1/2 days late getting out - Caribou back strap over an open fire on sticks was darn good too) My advice is pay for the extra gear/food shuttle and enjoy your trip a whole bunch more - it's no insult and you'll be glad you did it

 

[GKPrice]

The guys advising you to pay for an extra gear flight are giving you good advice. Every moose hunt I've been on had at least 70-80 pounds of gear per man and trust me...that's not a lot of excess for 10 days of moose hunting. Sure you can do it on 50 pounds but you will be extremely minimal on everything and have no room for excess stuff. No thick pad. No ultralight cot. No extra food of any weight. No extra footwear. No salt for capes. No extra changes of clothes. It's going to be tight. Real tight.

Without regard to budget, for 3 guys I would advise a Kifaru 8 or 12-man tipi to house everyone, plus a woodstove. Your gear IS going to get wet and a stove lets you dry things out. Alternately you could have every guy provide their own shelter which isn't such a bad idea. The main thing I can't stand about that is crawling in and out of a tent for 10-12 days. You can call me what you like, but I will walk into my shelter and stand up to dress or undress. I don't go that far to be roughing it to the point of sawing my toothbrush handle or having no camera.

Keep in mind you can buy gear (good gear) and get most of your money out of it after the hunt if you wish.

^^^^^ +++ on the woodstove ! ^^^^^^^^

 

[VernAK]

Been hunting with 40 Mile for decades and above advice is good.

Your rifle is not part of the 50#
Buy the gear load!
We use Tipi and stove as well as a Sawtooth.

 

[TheCougar]

So why a tipi? The REI tent I have is brand new and in great shape and easily fits 3-4 guys and gear... what does a tipi give you over a more traditional tent? and on a related note, can I retrofit my tent to accept a wood stove? Who does does that sort of work? Sounds like a good idea and it will pay dividends when camping with the kids later.

 

[colonel00]

In wet environments, many folks prefer a floorless shelter as you can walk right in wearing wet clothes and muddy boots instead of trying to keep all that outside the tent. Reverse that the next morning. With a stove, you can have your wet clothes hanging in the tipi and drying instead of piled in a vestibule. Tipis an also be easier to setup on less than ideal ground whereas a floored tent usually needs a pretty pristine patch of real estate to accommodate the entire footprint of the tent. I'm sure there are other reasons as well.