Booking with Renfros for 2022....Which dates are best?????

[Matt79]

Guys,

As the title states, A buddy and I are getting ready to book with Renfros for 2022 for a DYI drop camp hunt. We will be rifle hunting. For all the guys that have hunted with him, or just Alaska in general, what is the best 10-12 day window if you had a choice. We are looking for the best dates that will fall in line with big bulls coming to calls, not far from our camp hopefully!

All feed back will be greatly appreciated, thanks guys!

 

[FLAK]

I went on a BB hunt with them in '11 and saw several Bulls, 2 shooters for sure. This was the last week of Sept., first of Oct.

 

[Russp17]

You will want the latest dates possible I would think around sept 16-18 going in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AKDoc]

Good choice sir.

Regarding dates, as you probably know already, there are several factors to consider, but in the end mother-nature holds the cards.

First, rut is hard to predict, but the later you put-in, the greater likelihood you will be in the field during rut.

Second, as rut develops the dominant bulls (biggest bulls) take the cows, and at that point it is hard to call them to you at distance because a dominant bull does not want to leave his cows unattended...there are other bulls on deck and ready to step-in if he turns his back.

Third, as the rut is progressed, you will definitely be able to call satellite bulls to you pretty easily, i.e., these are bulls who have been chased off by the dominant ones. Satellite bulls are not the dominant bulls...they are typically smaller. We were in the field the last two weeks of September this year, and I called in a dozen different satellite bulls. The largest was probably in the mid forties. It was the latest that we have gone into the field.

I have reached a point in my life where I prefer to call them to me, as opposed to spot and stalk a mile or more away from camp. Therefore, given the above, I like to time myself to (hopefully) get into the field just before or just when the rut is starting, and stay there as it progresses. The chances of calling in a larger bull have been better in early rut for me, and the chances of taking home a meat bull have been endless in later rut. For me, that means going into the field a few days before the end of the second week, and being there for two weeks.

 

[william schmaltz]

The one hunt I did in western AK after Sept 20th we couldn’t call in anything over 50. Saw several big bulls in the vicinity flying in and could see them from the ground with cows; they just had no reason to leave their cows. Called in 5 small bulls that trip and got lucky and intercepted a big bull moving through not responding to calls. I wanted to avoid the full moon and go in after the 20th this year, but a good friend who has been out there for 12 seasons talked me out of it (full moon was the 14th I believe). He had the same experience getting big bulls he knew were there to leave their cows late in the season. I think Western AK is a special case because there are SO MANY MOOSE. The bulls gather their cows early, get the far away from other bulls, and know they can’t let their guard down.

We called in 4 bulls over 50 inches in 2 days this year with VERY limited calling. One night we could locate at least 5 bulls grunting/raking and 2 cows. That was the 16th. The earliest I’ve called in a large bull was on the 5th. I will be going in on the 10th or 11th from now on. Take it with a grain of salt, I’ve only been on a handful of moose hunts. Some guys may chime in with other experiences, but they also may hunt 1000 miles away and at an area with much different daylight hours, moose density, etc.

 

[Scottf270]

Hunted with Papa Bear Adventures this year. We went in on September 8th. We were done by the 12th. I won't say the bulls were rocking, but we heard raking and "glunking".
Maybe like whitetails, the "pre rut" provides better action than the true rut lockdown phase.

 

[Thess87]

Hunted with Papa Bear Adventures this year. We went in on the September 8th. We were done by the 12th. I won't say the bulls were rocking, but we heard raking and "glunking".
Maybe like whitetails, the "pre rut" provides better action than the true rut lockdown phase.

Was with renfros the same time period and this was exactly my thinking. Disclaimer I’ve only been once but I don’t see it being much different.

 

[Stid2677]

This article has some good info on the moose rut.

The Science Behind the Moose Rut - Hunting Tips

Vic Van Ballenberghe shares insights and tips on the science behind the moose rut and what he has learned over the years.

www.tokairservice.com

 

[307bowhunter]

We hunted with Renfro in 2018, has a great time and killed some nice bulls. we went from 9/16-9/28. We were told by the pilots and the hanger staff that the rut was just starting and it would get better with time. We shot both bulls on 9-23. Not sure how you do it but feel free to contact me if you have any questions about you hunt.

Good Luck

 

[elkguy]

307,

I tried to pm you, I don’t think I can pm since I’m new and post count is t high enough.

I see that you hunted with Renfro’s. I’m thinking about booking with them for the 2022 season. What did you think of their operation? Would you use them again?
Thank you sir

 

[307bowhunter]

307,

I tried to pm you, I don’t think I can pm since I’m new and post count is t high enough.

I see that you hunted with Renfro’s. I’m thinking about booking with them for the 2022 season. What did you think of their operation? Would you use them again?
Thank you sir

Their operation was first class. I would absolutely use them again. It was a different hunt than we are used to though. It was more like a whitetail hunt than an elk or mule deer. It's a lot of sitting lots of calling and a few short walks. I couldn't figure out how to PM either but there is a lot of information I can share with you.

 

[elkguy]

307,
Would you mind shooting me an email? [email protected]

 

[live2huntelk]

Their operation was first class. I would absolutely use them again. It was a different hunt than we are used to though. It was more like a whitetail hunt than an elk or mule deer. It's a lot of sitting lots of calling and a few short walks. I couldn't figure out how to PM either but there is a lot of information I can share with you.

307, I would be interested in talking with you about Renfro's as well....

 

[wyodog]

Good choice sir.

Regarding dates, as you probably know already, there are several factors to consider, but in the end mother-nature holds the cards.

First, rut is hard to predict, but the later you put-in, the greater likelihood you will be in the field during rut.

Second, as rut develops the dominant bulls (biggest bulls) take the cows, and at that point it is hard to call them to you at distance because a dominant bull does not want to leave his cows unattended...there are other bulls on deck and ready to step-in if he turns his back.

Third, as the rut is progressed, you will definitely be able to call satellite bulls to you pretty easily, i.e., these are bulls who have been chased off by the dominant ones. Satellite bulls are not the dominant bulls...they are typically smaller. We were in the field the last two weeks of September this year, and I called in a dozen different satellite bulls. The largest was probably in the mid forties. It was the latest that we have gone into the field.

I have reached a point in my life where I prefer to call them to me, as opposed to spot and stalk a mile or more away from camp. Therefore, given the above, I like to time myself to (hopefully) get into the field just before or just when the rut is starting, and stay there as it progresses. The chances of calling in a larger bull have been better in early rut for me, and the chances of taking home a meat bull have been endless in later rut. For me, that means going into the field a few days before the end of the second week, and being there for two weeks.

 

[wyodog]

I agree with the above post. I went on this hunt in September of this year. We started our hunt on the 18th. We tagged out on the 11th day (cant hunt first day so 10 day hunt is 11-12 days). We saw the biggest bulls on the first evening while glassing. The bigger bulls were with cows and we mostly called smaller bulls in. I shoot my bull across a lake and we did not call to him at all. On the last day we finally called in a shooter bull and my friend made a great shot.

On average the bulls taken the week prior were bigger than the bulls taken during our week. Take it for what it's worth each year can be different weather conditions play a big part. We had the best responce yo calling on the coldest days. We called in 18 moose on our hunt.

 

[ReinsuranceShooter]

My brother and I are booked for 2021 for the 2nd half of September. The information I gathered is consistent with the above as respects it is tough to time the rut. I was told though that the 2018 hunt was brutal for some given it was unseasonably warm through September. As such I went with the later half so I don’t have to worry as much about that. Knowing my luck we will freeze our calls off.

 

[Matt79]

Well we are booked with Renfros and decided on Sept 11-23rd of 2022. We ended up booking through outdoor international, Kyle was great to deal with and very informative.

 

[AKDoc]

You made a good choice with Renfro sir...I'm doing the 11th thru the 25th next year, which will be our seventh year in a row with Renfro. It's always been a great adventure.

 

[ReinsuranceShooter]

Congrats skull. Lots of awesome folks here to help out if you have questions.. I am a year ahead of you. AKdoc, mcseal2, and kevin dill (as well as others) are great folks around this subject.

 

[Matt79]

What time frame will you be there skull?