Interior AK Moose via Canoe

[Arcticmanak]

I am not new to moose hunting, nor to using a canoe to navigate ponds, lakes and sloughs.

Just thinking out loud here as I ponder a float hunt down a small river that presently has substantial obstructions in the form of fallen trees. A preseason trip with a couple guys and chainsaws would be in order to clear a narrow path through.

There is road or trail access at the upper and lower ends to get the gear and canoes in/out.

I've taken a moose out in two trips via canoe in another area but that was in a slough, not a stream with current.

I'm wondering if you've done it with a decent size bull, how many canoes, what size, how many hunters, etc?

It would seem that two guys with gear for 5 days or so, each with a 15+ ft canoe could get a bull out in one trip. I would rather not have to return to origin and float through the whole route again to retrieve the last load of meat and antlers.

 

[wildwilderness]

I don't have much experience with canoes in moving streams, but do have a bit with inflatable rafts. I have not tried it on a moose yet, but the easy plan was to bring a second pack raft in case there was too much weight. I don't know how that would work attached to a canoe though. rafts are easy to hook up.

If you are in a unit you can de-bone the moose, don't save the cape, and skull cap the antlers I think you should be fine....

 

[WMR]

North61 seems like the YouTube expert on this. He's done all the figuring and this question is in his wheelhouse. I don't know if he posts here or not but check out his videos for this info.

Lonnie from Far North Bushcraft in Alaska also hunts by canoe and has some good videos. He uses a large freighter canoe, so it may not be relevant to your question. Again, a YouTuber.

 

[FLAK]

Sounds like a black bear hunt/scout trip is in order.

 

[Arcticmanak]

Do you think a Stihl MS251 would be enough for a black bear?

 

[FLAK]

I lean more traditional, I'd go axe.

 

[chinook907]

I killed what you might call a 4 or 5 year old bull on a canoe trip once. We got myself, my friend, a modest camp, and the whole moose out in a 17' Grumman square stern (no motor, just paddles). Not a lot of free board, and space-wise we were pretty much shoe-horned into the seats.

It was something like 25 or 30 miles out with the moose, on a very slow river. So slow, there were several low head beaver dams that we went over coming out. We got over all of them without unloading. The ka-splash onto the downstream side each time was memorable.

My friend had done the trip many times and brought out a number of bulls, and I don't think they ever needed a second trip.

 

[Arcticmanak]

Bravo Chinook! Thank you. That sounds like quite a trip. I am pretty sure a square stern has more room than my double ended model, but that is helpful information to know.

 

[MallardSX2]

You need a lot of canoe to carry that much weight. Cant say I have ever floated out a moose but I can tell you that I wouldn't do it without an 18'er.

 

[AK_Skeeter]

I've done it with a 16 foot inflatable SOAR and with a 18 foot Old Town canoe.
The SOAR was an easy downstream float with 2 people, camp, and the moose.

The 18 foot Old Town we lined up the creek and over log jams...so no competition.
Our plan was to only go up if no one had cut out the log jams, leave them, cut them out if we were successful.
I like this approach lining upstream because we knew exactly what we were getting into on the float down to the truck.

Both trips we sawed off the skullcap so no head or hide.

 

[NoWiser]

We "easily" got a large bull out of the BWCA Wilderness with 3 guys and camp in a 16' and 17' royalex canoe. We were not outfitted with good, light equipment, either. I paddled the 16' canoe with just my pack and the moose meat. My dad and uncle had the 17' canoe with all of our gear. Paddling was easy, the 12 portages sucked. Your bulls are bigger, but I think 2 canoes would still be just fine.

 

[Chumsnagger]

An oldie but a goodie...

 

[Arcticmanak]

Don't rock the boat, don't rock the boat!
I wouldn't want to try that in any current whatsoever. That is a great picture though.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

A moose and two caribou in a 16' inflatable canoe is commonplace for us. Moves you away from traditional hardshell hulls but a lot more forgiving and versatile all over Alaska. Transporting a deflated boat around the road system is much more efficient too.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

We "easily" got a large bull out of the BWCA Wilderness with 3 guys and camp in a 16' and 17' royalex canoe. We were not outfitted with good, light equipment, either. I paddled the 16' canoe with just my pack and the moose meat. My dad and uncle had the 17' canoe with all of our gear. Paddling was easy, the 12 portages sucked. Your bulls are bigger, but I think 2 canoes would still be just fine.

12 portages, you guys must have been way in there. I went to college in ely and worked at one of the outfitters up there for a summer. the BDUB is a wonderful place!

 

[VernAK]

An old pic from my early days.....back in 60s.
That bull is a nice one and only the feet and guts were left behind.
IIRC, the motor was a 3.5 Johnson.......40 miles to go.

 

[Chumsnagger]

View attachment 273205

An old pic from my early days.....back in 60s.
That bull is a nice one and only the feet and guts were left behind.
IIRC, the motor was a 3.5 Johnson.......40 miles to go.

Thanks VernAK, that previous photo I posted was stolen from a thread you posted on another forum back in March of 2009. I’m not smart enough to link. All credit goes to VernAK for that one too!

 

[AK_Skeeter]

A couple bulls from this past season.