2008 AK Moose, 55", DIY

[Vek]

After four days of packing a 90-lb raft and my camp about 10 miles in off the road in a no-motorized-vehicles area, I found this guy.  55" spread.  Shot with 30-06 and 180 partitions.  Should put to rest the notion that you need more gun than that for anything on this continent...the bull went 15' after the shot. 

Particulars - moose died about 300' above and 2/3 mile from the river.  I was able to make each round trip from moose to the river in about 75 minutes.  6 pack trips after my initial trip the evening before took 8 full hours (in reality, I got off very easy with that).  Boning a moose alone is very, very hard.  Took me 8 hours to get everything off the carcass and hanging 200 yards away.  Flipping the thing over alone after boning the one side was like a World's Strongest Man event - it took everything I had. 

For weights, I carried about 700 pounds of parts off the hill.  525 pounds of boneless meat, 150 pounds of bones, and 25 of heart/liver.  Bone-in hindquarters easily bottomed my 100-lb halibut scale once I got home.  He wasn't an absolute monster, but remember that no moose is small...

The float out to the road took 4 hours, which was a bit of an anticlimax after the 4-day insertion.  I took it pretty easy getting in - if I did that hunt again, I could get my raft and camp into position in 2 days.   

[DeKuma]

Awesome.  Congratulations.
Love the pack trip count pictures.

[popeshawnpaul]

Man, you are hardcore.  Nice job.

[GoldTip]

Congrats on a hard earned trophy.

[X-Force]

Congrats. Nice work

[Sagedawg]

 Awesome pics and congrats on your bull/ Sounds like you really put in alot of time and effort on that hunt, something you always remember.


  Sage

[Alpinegus]

Awesome....Nice bull, congrates.

[bow4elk]

LOVE THIS POST!!  Congrats!!

Love guys who just get after it and make their own success and have the wits to deal with AK weather and big animals...ALONE.  Well done!!  Those trip counting pics are icing on the cake.  That would be the last thing on most guys' minds facing all that work and strife.

[huntingnut]

Nice bull. The pics are great.

[bucklucky]

You are an ANIMAL! Way to go man!! Nice bull!

[Wea300mag]

That is awesome Vek, a lot of us dream about doing something like that but don't have the balls, you actually do it.

[300wsm]

Way to go!  When two of us where cleaning mine, we thought about how hard it would be to do it by yourself.  Would have liked to have been there to see you flip it over, you probably scared all the bears away.  Nice job on the moose!

[Hunting Cowboy]

Vek, you have my highest admiration and respect! Congrats on an awesome trip and trophy!

[bowsandhose]

very very nice congrats

[MuleySniper]

Great job man! That's no small task at all! Your freezer should be full for awhile now
MS