Upcoming moose hunt with Renfros….

[Matt79]

Hey guys,

My 2021 out of state hunting trip is over with, and now starting to focus on our 2022 trip. We will be doing the lake hunt with Renfros for 11 days starting sept 11th.

There will be 3 of us going and plan on bringing 2 cabelas Alaska guide tents, one of which we can put extra gear in along w one guy sleeping. We are going to rent a few things from them- camp cooking supply’s, Coleman stove, chairs and cots. We will have gps and in reaches for communication.

We had planned on mostly snacks, pb&j and peak meals for food, along w noodles and instant potatoes to eat with fresh moose after we get one down.

As far as clothing goes we planned on chest waders and wader boots, along with the Sitka and kuiu base layers, shirts and jackets we wear out west.

That is just a small summary of some stuff we planned on bringing. We are looking for advise from others that have hunted with them on what to bring (or not to bring). Anything from duffle bags and luggage that worked, to stuff for the actual hunt. Looking for any ideas and/or brands of things that worked for you.

Also, Should we be concerned about bears (black or grizzlies)? I haven’t really read much of ppl using bear fences in this area. Also, most pics I’ve seen have there outdoor kitchen close to there tent, and moose quarters aren’t really hung high or at all.

All comments and information is appreciated, we look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[bmrfish]

We went with them this year and headed back in 2022. Sounds like you have things pretty well covered.
Things we found particularly handy were 3 lightweight nylon tarps, small for out and about to get out of the rain while glassing, medium for meat, large for camp kitchen. Bow saw for wood cutting (not everyplace has wood though). Folding toilet seat was well worth the weight. Small folding shovel.
We did not have any bear trouble. Saw 2 grizzlies and one black bear all far off. Sounds like a couple of camps did have some adventures though. No bear fence for us but I might splurge for a black bear tag next trip.


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[AKDoc]

Good choice...you are going to have an adventure for sure!

What you've mentioned already is a great start. I'll add just a few things now, but there is much more...

1. As mentioned above, a folding toilet seat is always our gear list MVP every year, as is a piss-bottle to use at night!
2. A lite-weight cot sure helps create a flat sleeping surface and a better night's sleep...the tundra in western AK can make that challenging. I've used a Thermarest cot for many years and more recently a Helinox for the past two. Whichever you choose, make sure you also have a sleeping pad with a high R-value or you will be very cold at night.
3. The chest waders are a must on your hunt...good on you (make sure you have good wading boots as well). Add a pair of knee-high insulated rubber boots to your list, which will be great to wear around camp when you don't need to wear waders.
4. Hiking-sticks are a must...humping meat loads across tundra is an all together very unique and challenging experience.
5. A lite-weight chair is a must as well. Keep in mind that the legs of your chair will likely sink into the tundra the minute you sit, so have a plan to off-set that. For example, I use rebar caps on the leg bottoms of my small Helinox chair.
6. TAG bags are a good choice for the wonderful meat that you are likely to harvest. They will save you very significantly on weight and space taken in your gear bags. Get the 28x60.
7. We ALWAYS hang our meat under tented tarps on those hunts, which is easy to say, but sometimes very challenging to do given the sometimes sparsity of trees at your drop location...but it can be done. Bring a good saw and lots of cordage.
8. Water filtration is extremely important on this hunt. There will be water all around you, so no shortage there. However, you will need to have a reliable and trustworthy filtration system. We have always used a gravity filter system, and we take several extra filters because they get a work-out keeping the water healthy for us out there. Giardia is to be avoided! We use a Katadyn Base Camp, and we also always have a back-up system for water.
9. Last, I'll just say "think wet" because that will generally describe where you are going to be. Be prepared for wet ground, lots of water around you, and very likely wet and windy wx. That said, moose thrive in wet areas, and you are going to be hunting in an area with some of the highest moose densities in our state (if not the highest). It is the only GMU that allows a resident to take more than one moose. We always bring a lite inflatable raft on those lake drop hunts.

Sooooo much more, but that's good for now and others can share. Feel free to PM me...I'm always glad to help.

 

[cnelk]

This is what we took this year for our fly-in moose hunt [not Renfros] - didnt need much else

 

[cnelk]

Clothes I took - [the pilot was pleased how light we packed]

 

[z987k]

Clothes I took - [the pilot was pleased how light we packed]

That's the number one way to make a pilot happy. Pack light.

 

[cnelk]

That's the number one way to make a pilot happy. Pack light.

Yep. And small bags.

 

[JPD350]

Buy a Black bear tag because if one shows up you will want to take it out because it will make for at least two nights of no sleep lots of extra work trying to keep it out of the meat cache and he might eat one of your tenderloins, rip open your backstrap bag, eat the nut you left on a hind quarter and eat about 30 or 40 lbs of misc meat.

 

[Voyageur]

Lots of good info offered. I will second what @AKDoc said about bringing a chair. For my first moose hunt I had no chair. It was enough of a discomfort that I brought a very lightweight ground level chair this past year, basically just a back rest. It was better, but still left a lot to be desired as the two weeks unfolded. For this next fall I have already added a chair that gets me up off the ground. Really looking forward to its comfort.

 

[JPD350]

Give yourself lots of extra time on the backend of the trip to debone your meat and get it ready to transport, we gave it one day and it was a hectic one, people can get bunched up coming out of the field and everyone is running around trying to do the same thing, I ended up deboning on a tarp on the ground and did not get to the last quarter so I had to donate it.

 

[Chirogrow]

Good choice...you are going to have an adventure for sure!

What you've mentioned already is a great start. I'll add just a few things now, but there is much more...

1. As mentioned above, a folding toilet seat is always our gear list MVP every year, as is a piss-bottle to use at night!
2. A lite-weight cot sure helps create a flat sleeping surface and a better night's sleep...the tundra in western AK can make that challenging. I've used a Thermarest cot for many years and more recently a Helinox for the past two. Whichever you choose, make sure you also have a sleeping pad with a high R-value or you will be very cold at night.
3. The chest waders are a must on your hunt...good on you (make sure you have good wading boots as well). Add a pair of knee-high insulated rubber boots to your list, which will be great to wear around camp when you don't need to wear waders.
4. Hiking-sticks are a must...humping meat loads across tundra is an all together very unique and challenging experience.
5. A lite-weight chair is a must as well. Keep in mind that the legs of your chair will likely sink into the tundra the minute you sit, so have a plan to off-set that. For example, I use rebar caps on the leg bottoms of my small Helinox chair.
6. TAG bags are a good choice for the wonderful meat that you are likely to harvest. They will save you very significantly on weight and space taken in your gear bags. Get the 28x60.
7. We ALWAYS hang our meat under tented tarps on those hunts, which is easy to say, but sometimes very challenging to do given the sometimes sparsity of trees at your drop location...but it can be done. Bring a good saw and lots of cordage.
8. Water filtration is extremely important on this hunt. There will be water all around you, so no shortage there. However, you will need to have a reliable and trustworthy filtration system. We have always used a gravity filter system, and we take several extra filters because they get a work-out keeping the water healthy for us out there. Giardia is to be avoided! We use a Katadyn Base Camp, and we also always have a back-up system for water.
9. Last, I'll just say "think wet" because that will generally describe where you are going to be. Be prepared for wet ground, lots of water around you, and very likely wet and windy wx. That said, moose thrive in wet areas, and you are going to be hunting in an area with some of the highest moose densities in our state (if not the highest). It is the only GMU that allows a resident to take more than one moose. We always bring a lite inflatable raft on those lake drop hunts.

Sooooo much more, but that's good for now and others can share. Feel free to PM me...I'm always glad to help.

What type of knee high boots do you bring? I have muck boots but they are dang heavy especially considering they only let us bring 125 lbs in the field. I just booked with them after talking with you and sadly its not till 2025 but at least I'm on the books and I can't wait!!!

 

[AKDoc]

What type of knee high boots do you bring? I have muck boots but they are dang heavy especially considering they only let us bring 125 lbs in the field. I just booked with them after talking with you and sadly its not till 2025 but at least I'm on the books and I can't wait!!!

I hear you on that...and they take-up a lot of space in a gear bag. That said, I make it work the best I can. As a plan B, I also have insulated rubber shoes that I wear on my flight from ANC to BET, figuring that if I absolutely have to leave the boots in the hangar, then I'll take the rubber shoes (got to get out of those waders now and then!). So far the shoes have remained in the hangar on my hunts.

I had Mucks for several years, but I went back to LaCrosse boots and a better fit...Alphaburley Pro (800). They are excellent, but also heavy at 5.5lbs. BTW (you already know this...just emphasizing) on an extended trip in the field like that, you need to pull down the sides every night and remove the insole to let them fully dry-out over-nite. The moisture can really build-up in those conditions, and you've got to stay ahead of it.

 

[bmrfish]

Buy a Black bear tag because if one shows up you will want to take it out because it will make for at least two nights of no sleep lots of extra work trying to keep it out of the meat cache and he might eat one of your tenderloins, rip open your backstrap bag, eat the nut you left on a hind quarter and eat about 30 or 40 lbs of misc meat.

Was that you guys this year?


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[JPD350]

Yep

 

[AKDoc]

Geez...I didn't hear that story in the hangar when we came out of the field. Sorry to hear that.

I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen more bears on our lake drop moose hunts out there north of BET. The area is absolutely loaded with berries. We've seen black bears three years of the nine years we've moose hunted out there. Had a real porker one year vacuuming-up berries just 150 yards from camp, but we've taken our share of black bears on spring bear hunts...and he bolted anyway as soon as the wind swirled. We do always have a Black Bear HT in our possession just in case one comes into camp...it is so much less hassle than doing a DLP report. Never seen a grizzly on those lake drop moose hunts (we see grizzly after grizzly on our float trips to the south...been bluff-charged twice). One year we had a wolf pack near our moose camp out there...we listened to them howling through the nite for a couple of nights, but never saw one. Another year moose hunting out there I glassed a musk ox, which was really unique for me...there are a few out there.

You are going to have an adventure Matt!

 

[z987k]

Geez...I didn't hear that story in the hangar when we came out of the field. Sorry to hear that.

I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen more bears on our lake drop moose hunts out there north of BET. The area is absolutely loaded with berries. We've seen black bears three years of the nine years we've moose hunted out there. Had a real porker one year vacuuming-up berries just 150 yards from camp, but we've taken our share of black bears on spring bear hunts...and he bolted anyway as soon as the wind swirled. We do always have a Black Bear HT in our possession just in case one comes into camp...it is so much less hassle than doing a DLP report. Never seen a grizzly on those lake drop moose hunts (we see grizzly after grizzly on our float trips to the south...been bluff-charged twice). One year we had a wolf pack near our moose camp out there...we listened to them howling through the nite for a couple of nights, but never saw one. Another year moose hunting out there I glassed a musk ox, which was really unique for me...there are a few out there.

You are going to have an adventure Matt!

If I saw a black bear vacuuming berries, I'd be more interested in getting him in the freezer than a moose!

But ya, I carry a HT or reg for black, brown and wolf(if required) everywhere you go. Even if you're not hunting. They can smell the paper in your pocket and stay well clear.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Buy a Black bear tag because if one shows up you will want to take it out because it will make for at least two nights of no sleep lots of extra work trying to keep it out of the meat cache and he might eat one of your tenderloins, rip open your backstrap bag, eat the nut you left on a hind quarter and eat about 30 or 40 lbs of misc meat.

You should have finished this post with "ask me how I know". LOL Sounds like you had a sporty trip!

 

[ReinsuranceShooter]

Matt. Sent you a pm.