Moose hunt gear questions:

[mcseal2]

Sorry guys, I've had to much time in the tractor unloading hay this week to think up more questions.

Do any of you consider a hatchet worthwhile to pack? I will be taking an 18" Wyoming saw and I have a Gransfers Bruks outdoor axe I was thinking of taking too. We will have a tipi with a wood stove but don't plan to use the stove unless we need to before tagging out. Even if we use the stove I'm thinking the smaller wood that works best with the stove can be handled with a saw and decent fixed blade or just broke over my knee. I'm thinking the axe is an item I could leave home.

Second question is how often do moose have to be shot from standing, and what do you use for a rifle rest? I have Stoney Point shooting sticks that go tall enough for me to shoot from standing I'm planning to take. I figure I better not plan on finding a tree to rest on when I need one. My trekking poles work well to shoot from sitting or kneeling, but aren't quite tall enough for standing. I'm shooting the 22 off the standing sticks practicing a couple times a week now and shooting pretty well. I usually shoot from my optics tripod if I have time since I pack it anyway, but I'm not planning on taking a spotter or tripod this trip to save weight.

Thanks everyone. Our September 17th departure date and the end of me bothering you with questions (for a while at least) is approaching!

 

[Kevin Dill]

I love my axe and it always goes. I use a saw to drop dead trees and cut them into unsplit rounds. Then I use the axe (G-B Small Forest) to split the rounds into stovewood. BUT...I could get by without it. I just happen to be very much a traditionalist, and a backwoods moose camp in Alaska is going to have an axe if I can make it happen. I don't suggest you rely on hand-breaking spruce unless you are willing to put up with scratches and sticky spruce pitch on your hands/gloves. Anyway...I can make a bunch of beautiful stove wood in a short time with my saw and small axe.

I don't ever shoot off a rest....but then you know why that is.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Trying to haul sticks through willows and alders will drive you crazy. I would plan on leaning on a tree, taking a knee, or shooting offhand.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

damn dill...i'm diggin your style. I'm sure you're overflowing with rep points.

Mcseal, the only thing i would suggest for your moose hunt is expect the unexpected. Your moose will surprise you with his entrance in most scenarios. For this reason alone, I personally prefer to keep gadgetry to a very strict minimum. If an item doesn't serve multiple uses, it better be a food source or it doesn't make the cut.

For a moose hunt most guys are thinking about every tool to give an advantage, meanwhile every ounce becomes tends pounds of excess logistical cargo. My professional brain wants to encourage you to leave the shooting sticks and anything else that you wont use with 3 seconds to make a shot.

lessen your load carriage and bring ONLY a few luxury items. Example, if you bring a hatchet, leave the shooting stick, pipe and slippers...

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks everyone, sounds like I'm overthinking things as usual. I think Kevin cost me a little weight, I have that axe too and it's easier and more efficient to use than the smaller one I was thinking of taking. I love that axe, we did the same thing with the folding bow saw and small forest axe on our fishing trip to Canada a few years back. It's just big enough to use 2 handed while still being handy one handed.

I'm still trying to trim the gear list down to a minimum. I'm at 105lbs now including everything I will be wearing, carrying, food, and my half of camp gear including the tipi and stove. My food list is 25lbs now with 12 days of food but I can take some lighter items to improve that. I will be under the max for the outfitter since we are bringing our own tent instead of renting his unless we end up in an area where a boat motor is an asset and fuel needs to come from our 100lbs/man. There are things I can still drop off the list I'm sure. It is always tougher to know what to take on the first time into an area especially when I don't know exactly where we will be dropped.

Thanks again.

 

[VernAK]

I'm reading Larry's post and chuckling as we agree with Kevin's style. Kevin is obviously younger than I but I'm always
amazed at how much gear and technique we agree on.....I have the same axe. I've had that axe so sharp that I've done some moose
skinning with it.

Larry is right about too much gear and gadgets. Many of these things just hinder
your readiness or ability to move quickly and quietly. Your best opportunity for a bull
may happen when least expected and there isn't time to scurry around looking for shooting
sticks and contraptions.....just grab your rifle and git er done! I'm a rifle hunter and I don't carry
a range finder.....prefer not to carry a day pack when hunting within a mile of camp.

I've got an extensive inventory of gadgets that have never helped produce a moose or butcher one.

 

[brown4christ]

Don't apologize for asking more questions. It gives the rest of us an excuse to think more about our upcoming hunt and talk about it with those that are anticipating it as much we are!!
That being said...I agree with the others in regards to eliminating unnecessary gear and gadgets. We found ourselves leaving about 90% of what we started our hunt with at the tent later in the hunt.
All we used last season was a couple of Silky saws(pro ultra accel 240 curved blade) for all our wood and processing all the bone on the moose. They worked amazing! However, we were in an area by a rivers edge that had a lot of dry deadfall willow and alders so we didn't have to chop up wood. Like you I'm not sure what the area will be like this year. The axe will work great if you can stay under your weight restriction.

 

[diamond10x]

Some of the saws you guys take along, do y’all use them for cutting the skull cap off? What are the saws y’all use for that puspose as I have been trying to find one with a long enough handle that I won’t be mashing my knuckles into the antlers every stroke.

 

[brown4christ]

The Silky pro ultra accel 240 curved is 11 " closed and 19.88 open. It took the cap off no problem. It worked awesome on ribs, chest, skull etc. It's extremely sharp and durable. My hunting partner brought a couple of other styles and a smaller version of the silky. All of them failed(broke the blades or were to short).

 

[Yellowknife]

Second question is how often do moose have to be shot from standing, and what do you use for a rifle rest?

The majority of moose I have shot and seen shot were from standing. They most of them live in the brush, and getting lower can be often be tough. I've gotten a couple off the knee and one or two off a tree, but the bulk of moose were collected with off hand shots. Ranges tend to be close and moose are BIG targets, so that helps.

Sticks would be something I really wouldn't want to drag through the brush. Keep it simple.

On that note... some people can be obsessed with ranging critters before they are shot. With the chest depth on a moose, it's only rarely needed. If it's close, shoot it. If it's a little further, hold higher on the lungs and shoot it. The margin for error is healthy, and you can range it after it's dead.

 

[cnelk]

Tip

Wear as much gear/clothes as you can when you board the float plane i.e. Supercub.
[For sure you will be wearing your hippers]

The pilot will stow the other gear as needed for balance as he already knows where the passenger weight will be.
Pilots dont like big duffles. Have a few small ones he can pack back in the fuselage and at your feet.

 

[mobilefamily]

The hatchet I took on a 2015 Bethel based moose hunt was the single most appreciated tool of the trip. I highly recommend that you take one.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Vern....I always respect my elders.

 

[Trial153]

I carried a Gransfor Bruks Hunters axe for a while, used it to break game and split wood. Fantastic tool. I left it with a guide after a hunt after he used it and commented how how much nicer it was then the plastic/fiber glass handle short axe he had. I bet he is still using the GF today.
I replaced it with an GF outdoor axe, jury is still out on it as it's quite a bit smaller and lighter...about half the weight of the Hunters Axe. In any event in think some kind of axe is must in a moose camp.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks everyone. Looks like the axe is going, sticks are not. I can always cut sticks if I decide they will be helpful for something. It wouldn't be the first time I've done that after forgetting mine coyote or deer hunting. I'll switch my practice sessions to more offhand shooting and less from a rest. I've always been decent at offhand and practiced it, I just try not to use it any more than necessary on game. I got a rabbit from the wife's garden at about 60yds offhand yesterday with the 22 mag and moose are a lot bigger than rabbits!

My GB small forest axe is 34oz and my GB Outdoor axe is 21oz just in case anyone reading this is axe shopping. The small forest has a heavier head and is more of a small axe, the Outdoor I'd call more of a long handled hatchet. The small forest is probably the better tool if you would use it very much on larger jobs, the heavier head makes the axe do more of the work.