Winter Bou on the Haul Rd

[gonhunting247]

Luke or Nick,
Does that trapping/furbearer rule apply to NR too?

 

[Nick Muche]

I sure hope it does

 

[luke moffat]

Luke or Nick,
Does that trapping/furbearer rule apply to NR too?

No clue....being a life long Alaskan I rarely look into the non-res rules.

 

[gonhunting247]

Me too and thanks

 

[TEmbry]

Good luck again Nick... Cracking up on the rifle comment. I too have forgotten how to shoot one. I shot my deer rifle for the first time in like 4-5 years over the holidays just to get it out of the safe and wipe the dust off it... I'd be lying if I said it didn't startle me the first time I pulled the trigger. That thing is much louder than my Mathews. Lol

 

[Nick Muche]

I own 4 rifles and they are all dialed in, nice scopes, etc... Anymore, they mainly just collect dust. In fact, on the way to AK, I was told I couldn't take any ammo through Canada so I gave all of what I had away to HuntMan when I stopped by him on our way through. I should probably buy some more before long.

 

[60x]

Have a great hunt!!! Looking forward to some pics

 

[Nick Muche]

We had a great trip. The weather was outstanding and the snow was DEEP. We found a group of 35-40 Caribou early on Saturday morning just out of Coldfoot. A super long loop up the hill and around/above them took about 4 hours through all the snow. I peeked up over a small rise and saw one cow bedded about 100 yards away, looked below and saw the back of another at 68 yards. I decided to see if they would head our way. They did not, so I tried to move down a bit, by the time I realized that I should go UP instead of down, it was too late. The snow was chest deep or more in certain drifted areas and I couldn't get above them. They ended up moving off.

Two hours later, we saw two wolves, right before the pass, around 1000 yards out. That was pretty cool.

In the pass we found two sheep, got some great photos of them.

After the pass, we found 6 lone cows near a small lake. I made a 45 minute stalk to get ahead of them. Peaked up, and they were on a steady trot in my direction around 500 yards away.... Then a trooper flew over them about 75 feet off the ground, away they went... He landed, checked our credentials and moved on. I think that would have been my best chance.

On the way back, we found a group of 8 or 9 in the same location as the first group, so... Since we came to hunt, up we went again, through the snow... There was no way to get close and they ended up going over the top.

I guess the main herd is out near Chandler (sp) and Big Lake right now... Not many within sight of the road from what we could tell... Sign was prevelent where we did see them and if you looked, you couldn't miss it...

We had a great time and it was fun to finally put a stalk on some. Had the snow not been so deep I am confident I would have been able to get within bow range, I'll go back up in a few weeks to try again.

Pics tonight...

 

[Yellowknife]

Were you using snowshoes Nick? I've had decent luck and a lot of fun stalking caribou on snowshoes, but if it's too deep sometimes you just can't win.

Yk

 

[Nick Muche]

I was not using them. The snow was not crusted over very well and 99% powder and DEEP, I think it may have made it worse, no?

 

[Yellowknife]

I was not using them. The snow was not crusted over very well and 99% powder and DEEP, I think it may have made it worse, no?

I've never had snowshoes make it worse, but the little dinky ones don't always help a whole lot.

My hunting snowshoes are pretty big @ 10x36, and float on even the lightest of crusts. I have a variety of sizes in my collection, but those big shoes have put meat in the freezer a few times for me. Used them this weekend in the White Mts and had no problem walking over waist deep snow down in the trees.

Yk

 

[Nick Muche]

I'd agree to a certain extent. They may have likely worked well during the beginning of a stalk. I would have had to take them off to reduce noise in order to close the distance for a shot with my bow, would have been up sh*t's creek either way

What kind are you using? I just have a pair of MSR, not sure on the exact size but I will check. They seem quite noisy when using them walking our dogs this winter, I'd like to get a quiet pair that I could use bowhunting.

 

[luke moffat]

I've never had snowshoes make it worse, but the little dinky ones don't always help a whole lot.

My hunting snowshoes are pretty big @ 10x36, and float on even the lightest of crusts. I have a variety of sizes in my collection, but those big shoes have put meat in the freezer a few times for me. Used them this weekend in the White Mts and had no problem walking over waist deep snow down in the trees.

Yk

That is the size I use as well. According to the websites you buy these snowshoes off of (Tubbs or Atlas for example) I'm supposedly grossly over sized given my weight, but I have never felt that my shoes were too big deep snow and often wish for larger ones at times.

 

[Nick Muche]

http://tubbssnowshoes.com/snowshoes/mountaineer-m?ref=040&size=30 - These work?

 

[luke moffat]

They could for sure, but I prefer the 36" or even longer in true powder fluff.

Personally for just a bit of use every winter I would bet these would work just fine, if you are planning to spend a lot of time in snowshoes then a better set like some MSR Denalis or something something of that nature.

But you could get something like these that get pretty decent reviews given their price for about $75 shipped with the right coupon code.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/re...829y/?filterString=s~snowshoe/&colorFamily=99

 

[Yellowknife]

My big shoes are GV's (a canadian brand). I've also got some MSR's that I like, but they can't compete in real deep snow, even with the tails attached.

Noise is entirely dependent on snow conditions IME. In soft snow I can put on a pretty silent sneak. Certainly quieter than trying to wade through it. On hard crusted snow though, any of them are going to be loud. On my caribou hunt last year, you could literally hear walking on the crust from 1/2 mile away (Luke can vouch for that ). In that instance, I basically ended up running a fast interception stalk to get within rifle range of the escape route. Huffing and puffing and postholing my way would have been a total non-starter, so it was really my only option at the time. Old school wood and rawhide might be quieter on crust, but I've never tested them with that in mind.

Yk

 

[luke moffat]

HAHA....squeak squeak squeak squeak.....the squeaky snowshoe man still got it done!!!

 

[Yellowknife]

But you could get something like these that get pretty decent reviews given their price for about $75 shipped with the right coupon code.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/re...829y/?filterString=s~snowshoe/&colorFamily=99

One of the pairs of shoes in my collection are Redfeathers with similar bindings. Believe me, they are in-expensive for a reason. The "live action tail for greater speed and mobility" is an interesting bit of marketing speak that really means "we used the cheapest binding attachment possible".

By not having a free pivoting binding, the tails lift of the ground with every step. That's sorta ok for trail use, but off trail it makes it harder for the tips to clear the snow, and you have to lift the entire wt of the shoe every step. Might be a little better with the long models than the short ones I have, but certainly less than ideal. There is a reason all of the higher end models are free pivot. Also vinyl decking for "extreme durability"... just isn't.

All kinda depends on how much you use snowshoes I guess.

Yk

 

[luke moffat]

One of the pairs of shoes in my collection are Redfeathers with similar bindings. Believe me, they are in-expensive for a reason. The "live action tail for greater speed and mobility" is an interesting bit of marketing speak that really means "we used the cheapest binding attachment possible".

By not having a free pivoting binding, the tails lift of the ground with every step. That's sorta ok for trail use, but off trail it makes it harder for the tips to clear the snow, and you have to lift the entire wt of the shoe every step. Might be a little better with the long models than the short ones I have, but certainly less than ideal. There is a reason all of the higher end models are free pivot. Also vinyl decking for "extreme durability"... just isn't.

All kinda depends on how much you use snowshoes I guess.

Yk

That was kinda my point...for an occasional stalk off the haul road they'll be ok. If wanting to do mroe than that then obviously pay more.

I think I paid around $225 for the pair I got:

http://atlassnowshoe.com/snowshoes/10-series

The 35". The raised heel bar is handy one going on long uphills but not 100% needed either. The binding are far superior to the Yukon Charlies or the Redfeathers, but just depends on how much you'll use it and vs. how much you wanna spend. The ones I have are far from top o' line but they work for me and as much as I use 'em.

 

[Yellowknife]

Yeah... that wasn't supposed to be directed at you Luke. Just general info for people that haven't done a ton of snowshoeing. Like most things, you get what you pay for and the amount of usage needs to be figured in. No point in a set of $200+ shoes if you only use them once a year.

Another inexpensive one I like for moderate use is the old magnesium military shoes. I just really dislike the military bindings, and good quality replacements are hard to find any more.

Yk