Alaska Unit 13 Moose Hunt

[SpannerAK]

Pretty much only one person historically fill that a tag a year. Though the country is pretty much grizzly country, Claude over at Alpine Creek Lodge has been doing enough to encourage thinning them out that black bears have been sighted. So worse comes to worse you might have a actual shot on black bear and a wolf.

 

[RidgeRunner1018]

K1, I appreciate the words of encouragement. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my years of hunting is that luck always has a place in anyone’s success story!

I’ve started gathering up my gear. Here is what I have:
-I’m a first lite fanboy and from them I have fuse and furnace base layers, corrugate guide pants and jacket, sawbuck brush pants and SEAK rain pants. I also have a cabelas gortex rain coat.
-A good daypack from Cabelas ( my buddy has all the pack frames)
-An assortment of knives
-Binos and a spotting scope
-A pair of crispi guide gortex boots

The person I’m going with has all the camping gear for the most part so what I still need to get that I’ve thought of:
-Rubber rain gear, probably HH impertech stuff
-Gaiters
-Spare batteries for my flashlight, binos, and headlamp
-GPS, probably a Garmin inreach
-Some good waterproof gloves
-Probably a set of midweight base layers
-Lifestraw to filter water
-I’m a beer guy, so likely a case of my choice beverage to get me through the week if there’s room to bring it.

What am I missing? Again, assuming the guy I’m going with has the necessary camping gear and we’ll be gathering food before the trip.

 

[ppwack02]

The biggest thing I've picked up over the years hunting 13 is patience and glassing. You'd be surprised how many people miss bulls right under their nose. Be prepared to see a lot of sub legal bulls. I ended up harvesting a spike this year. Here are some pictures from 2020's hunt, image quality is not the best.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

I've taken a couple of bulls from 13B. One was 50 1/2" and the other a spike-fork. The trick is to reach farther than the other 90% of hunters are willing to go. Which, isn't really that difficult. Most of the hunters heading up the Denali highway are novices or stay close to the road. Enable yourself to go far and be comfortable for more than a few days and you should do fine.

 

[AkRyan]

Bring good glass and watch the mountain sides during the day. Plenty of big moose out there you just have to sit still for awhile and look. We watched 4 legal bulls for 2 days (we were bou hunting) and lots of others saw them but didn't want to hike in for them, this was right at a campground pull off also!

 

[RidgeRunner1018]

Thanks everyone. I’m getting excited for the trip! I think we’ll be spending 6-7 days in the bush and I’m willing to go as far in as needed. Right now I’ve been focused on getting comfortable with my gun and doing some hiking with a weighted pack.

 

[AKBorn]

The biggest thing I've picked up over the years hunting 13 is patience and glassing. You'd be surprised how many people miss bulls right under their nose. Be prepared to see a lot of sub legal bulls. I ended up harvesting a spike this year. Here are some pictures from 2020's hunt, image quality is not the best.

Is that one pic the McLaren River Valley? It looks similar at least...I love the view of the McLaren and the surrounding country from Mile 36 on the Denali.

 

[ppwack02]

Is that one pic the McLaren River Valley? It looks similar at least...I love the view of the McLaren and the surrounding country from Mile 36 on the Denali.

It is not, similar though.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Pretty much only one person historically fill that a tag a year. Though the country is pretty much grizzly country, Claude over at Alpine Creek Lodge has been doing enough to encourage thinning them out that black bears have been sighted. So worse comes to worse you might have a actual shot on black bear and a wolf.

I’ve taken a black bear from right off the old Seward highway at an atv parking area. Walked in, spent the night, got a black bear.

 

[crich]

Hello everyone. I was fortunate enough to draw a moose tag in Unit 13 for the 2021 season. I know these types of threads are plentiful, but I haven’t been able to come across any regarding this particular unit. Does anybody have any insights into the moose population in that unit? I’ve seen on ADFG website success rates in that area have been low the past couple years.

Another question, how helpful do you think fish and game would be if I called them and asked them this question?

OP howd your hunt go?

 

[RidgeRunner1018]

OP howd your hunt go?

Hey, thanks for asking! The hunt went well, unfortunately I did not bring home a bull. We saw bulls everyday but nothing that was legal with four browtines. We had extremely warm weather, up into the mid 50s most days which lended itself to heavy morning activity and very very slow afternoons and evenings. We did see one bull about 900 yds away that was almost definitely legal width wise, but was impractical to attempt a stalk on as the pack out would’ve been a nightmare, maybe impossible.

It was amazing to get to that part of the country though. I loved everything about Alaska and I wish I could live my life there! From the scenery to the landscapes, I was just amazed with everything I saw. It’s certainly a way of life and hunting that I could adapt to.

 

[Sourdough]

I wish I could live my life there!

I homesteaded in the "Clearwater Country", at the very end of the Federal Homesteading Act, program. That was more then fifty years ago. That country was still "new", as they had really only just opened access with the building of the Denali Haul Road in 1958-59'. (Now called, The Denali Highway).