Anyone done a drive up DIY Moose hunt in AK?

[Austrian Hunter]

A Yeti box will keep your meat cool for up to two weeks.  Yes the big one is $600 but it's well worth it!!  Ice in that box will hold forever!!!!! 

[elk247]

Geeze, i hadn't thought it out. I see what you were saying about the refer. Thats what i thought you meant. You have a heck of a plan. That ice maker and a false bottom in the fish holds with iced down meat on top and the melted runoff being pumped out would be the ticket.

That's genius!!

We had to do that on a black cod trip up by St. Matthews. There was no way we could make the trip (1 day) fish for 3-4 days and make it back to dutch(1day) with live fish. They start getting beat up after the 3rd day. It was a ton more work but had good results.

[KFhunter]

One 250 lb chest freezer (25 cubic feet) is equal to seven and a half 100qt yeti boxes - more if you subtract the room you need for ice.

[elk247]

I fished on an all points with a flush deck and a sane boom. That woukd be a sweet set up for your hunt. The sane boom espically, with the picking hook. Don't forget your crab pots when you tuck in those coves.

[KFhunter]

Do you know what the processing wait time is?  I'm reading upwards of 6 months wait times. 

Imagine shipping 500-600 lbs back to the lower 48 

[cohoho]

I take a small freezer every year on trips, It is one of those smaller ones from Home Depot, about three foot by two foot.  Run an inverter and your good to go and plug in at night at hotel or generator, never a problem...  Process the meat while there and have it already packaged up when you get home..

[actionshooter]

By processing wait time are you talking local butchers in AK? We are planning on doing all the cutting to save cost and shipping meat home from Anchorage is around $1 a pound via Air Cargo. I figured the meat shipping costs into our trip already so unless we run into unexpected cost we should be with a few hundred bucks of our original quote.

It is about $1 a pound to ship, add that with flying and freighting the gear, it penciled out way cheaper to drive with the trailer and a freezer.

[KFhunter]

By processing wait time are you talking local butchers in AK? We are planning on doing all the cutting to save cost and shipping meat home from Anchorage is around $1 a pound via Air Cargo. I figured the meat shipping costs into our trip already so unless we run into unexpected cost we should be with a few hundred bucks of our original quote.

Ya, cut and wrap services.  I was more looking up north.   I never had planned to use that service though but I came across it in my research.

We'd process our own during down times and such.  A larger freezer will freeze the meat better, if you jam pack a smaller freezer it'll take longer to freeze through the middle.  The power drain isn't much different from a small one to a bigger one either.

[lokidog]

Places in AK actually have these things they call meat lockers, you can freeze your cut/wrapped meat overnight.

We brought two caribou and 100 pounds of halibut back in cardboard boxes with 1" foam for insulation.  Two day (and night) drive from Anchorage to Lake Stevens, and then still had to wait about three days for the quarters to thaw enough to butcher up.  No ice, no dry ice.  It's not like you are driving in the heat of July....

 

[KFhunter]

 

yes I know,  I've used em in AK and in BC and WA too.  Very nice if your in town.

[actionshooter]

 I wouldn't even be concerned with coming home with the quarters intact if the temps aren't too high as we plan to drive straight thru from Fairbanks, switching drivers. But I want to be prepared if we decide to take a detour for some possible fishing or if some game is taken early in the trip.

[KFhunter]

I want a bunch of fish too - guess I'm greedy 

[elk247]

Fresh fish is hard to beat!

[boneaddict]

On another note I was not planning on saving the cape if I harvest a moose. I am hoping to have a euro mount done because I think they look so awesome for a bull moose. I have no issues with fleshing/spliting/salting the cape but the logistics and costs of getting the cape home then doing a shoulder mount seem a little staggering. Is anyone thinking of doing a shoulder mount if they get a moose or more leaning towards the euro or skull cap mount?

By the time I got my moose out, the cape was the LAST thing on my mind.   No Euro either.   I took an ax to the skull plate.

[dscubame]

ya I'm going do it but I already have a crew of 4 dudes going, wasn't looking for a match.com thread 



Was hoping some folks already done it and felt like sharing.

YA that.... Lets here from some of the folks that have done this trip for Moose.  There must be a bunch of you out there that would share the experience.