Alaska Moose Hunting

[actionshooter]

Awesome bull!

[RB]

Wow, nice Bull!

[ballpark]

Way to get it done    Any words of advice on something you may have forgot or needed for the trip?

[Whitpirate]

Moose and trip of a lifetime.  I'm contemplating an AK hunt in the next 4.  Damn kids, college tuition and an aging mother to take care of have me stifled for a bit.

Care to give a budget breakdown now post hunt to help verify the resources needed?

[10mmg]

Sorry for the late reply to this thread. It has been a busy fall to be sure. To answer some of the questions in the thread.......
The antlers where flown back to Anchorage to the taxidermist for the Euro mount. $750 for the Euro work. Shipping yet to be determined when it is finished. Meat was flown to Anchorage for processing. I got 530 pounds of cut and wrapped meat back. Processing/packaging for shipment was 2k. Shipping from Alaska Airlines through to Billings was $425.00. It arrived frozen solid.

This hunt was fully guided, fly in hunt and outfitted in an area known for trophy bulls. It also included the opportunity for Black and Grizzley at no extra charge. The guide cost was 35k. To say that I spent many years saving was an understatement. I to have kids, wife, and assorted life expenses. Add to that the 600 for the charter to the airport where we met the guide, the flight to Anchorage, and a couple of hotel nights. Personal hunting gear, tips, and after kill expenses I am around 48k all in. Soooo as much as I am itching to back it is not likely at that level for me. There are many great outfitters that don't get as remote as this hunt. I would say the logistics are what made this an expensive endeavor.

Things I would do different gear wise:
The area we hunted was wet. Only 1 day did it not rain. And there where creeks and rivers everywhere.  I would bring either wiggies (over the boot waders) or have waterproof liners or both. My kennetrek boots broke the seal on day 7 and my feet where soaked. I don't blame the boots as much as the environment. Anyway weight restrictions doesn't allow for boot dryers soo keeping your feet dry  is critical. It wasnt very cold but wet feet suck either way. In our case our guides had spotting scopes so I left mine at home. I did bring binos but left the tripod home. I would bring the tripod next time. Moose are big but a steady rest helps spot them. I packed one set of clothes to wear on another for back up in case I soaked my self. It felt really good to change on the last day. Plan for a dry pair of socks each day but save the weight on other clothing. Also my rifle has a 26" barrel plus the suppressor. Hacking through alders and brush with a tv antenna strapped to your back sucks. I would look at a 20" or 22" barrel next time. Shots are gonna be 400 yrds max. Bring 2 plastic water bottles and a filter that attaches to the bottle. Even in the cold and wet you burn a lot of water and filtering is critical. 

Gear I used: I was pretty much all KUIU on this trip. The Axis Hybrid and Guide Pro pants where awesome. I used the Yukon rain coat and pants. They worked great but if I lived in that environment everyday I would buy heavier duty. The pro guide vest and axis hybrid jacket worked really well. I used the vest and the strong fleece 190 for hiking and the axis jacket for sitting. When the wind kicked up and we where sitting (seemed like all we did) I put on the super pro down pants and jacket. This set is super light and super warm. They pack into the pockets of themselves and take up very little pack room but do awesome for warmth and wind prevention. They are not tough for bush whacking but they are good for sitting. My boots where the Kenetrek alaskan 400 insulated. Super comfortable and supportive. A little on the heavy side but no hot spots or blisters. Seal did break after 7 days in the bush. Not sure if it was them or me. Rifle was a Weatherby Backcountry Carbon 2.0 in 30-378 Weatherby Magnum. I was shooting custom loaded 200 grain Accubonds at 3315 fps. The scope is a Leupold VX 6 HD 3-18x50. Suppressor is a Silencerco Omega 36m. Bipod is a Spartan. Rifle shoots 1/2 moa with the 200 grain load the CDS dial works great when I stretch it out at the range. The bipod is great quality and easy on/off but the post wobbles a little and that is one more factor to deal with in a long shot. When travel weight matters I ll use it but otherwise there are more stable options IMO. Binos where Leupold Pro Guide 12x50. My dad has the swarovski range finding binos. I felt like the field of view and low light was better in the leupolds. In open country I really like the leupold binos.  I might get the 8 or 10 power if I was in the trees more. Lastly, if you are hunting in the cold and wind get the Kenai Hat from Kuiu. youll look like a nerd but it is the warmest hat I have ever used.

 The story.
Dad and I agreed a few years back that if we where ever going to go to Alaska we better stop talking and get to planning. He was closing in on 70 when we decided to get busy. We did the research and booked the outfitter. It was the tail end of COVID so many had makeup hunts and that slid us back to 2024. We signed to contract in 2022 starting a long wait to say the least. We arrived the night before in Anchorage and flew to Aniak the next morning. FYI the charter operations are not in the same building as commercial flights. Once in Aniak we had to wait a night due to weather. If fact weather is a really good test of patience in Alaska. The next day we flew into camp and a couple more shuttle flight to get gear and guides in allowed us to set up camp. It is my preference to help set up camp and be apart of the operation as much as possible so I am not just the trigger man. No shame if being the trigger man is your gig but I want to experience as much as possible and not just be catered to. After camp is set up we glassed from camp and saw moose about 3-4 miles down valley. The next morning we hike about 3/4 of a mile up hill behind camp to better survey the valley. We found the bulls from the night before. One looks to be about 65" the others looked about 50". Not a lot of rut evidence those first few days. As the greenhorn I am eager to make a stalk but I was told and would later find out that in Alaska 1 mile is 2-3 miles due to the terrain. So we waited and glassed and glassed and waited. Over the next few days we saw nearly all the wildlife Alaska has to offer. Black and grizzly bears, caribou, ptarmigan everywhere, moose, and wolverine. On day 5 dad made a stalk on a grizzles that was eating berries and moving uphill fast than dad could close the distance. By day 6 rut activity started and the bulls moved around quite a bit. The guide planned to move Dad to another camp for the final 3 days the morning of day 6. The guides told dad to be ready by 10am to fly out. At 9:30 we where standing on the grass strip talking and planning how the next camp was gonna work. I decided to grab my binos and scan the valley as we where talking. I looked up valley the opposite direction we had seen all  the moose the previous days. In one of those "did I just see what I thought I saw" moments I spotted a big bull walking away from use about 1/2 a mile up valley. I did a double take in the binos then handed them to the guide and said is that what I think it is? Well needless to say the next few minutes where are frenzy of grabbing gear and guns. I almost left camp with just my rifle thinking that I will come back for the rest later. That works in farm hunting but a bad plan in Alaska.

We move as fast across the 1/2 mile of spongy tundra, alder thickets, and scree fields as possible at each rise we pause to glass. When we arrive at the last spot we saw the bull we all expected to see him in the distance. But no he had disappeared faster than a mountain house induced fart in the wind. The Valley was crescent shaped and se we assumed he was just ahead and around the corner. We spent the next 2 hours and 2 miles pick our way up Valley looking for him. At the end of the Valley there was a huge shale slide that went 4000 feet up the mountain side. There where a couple of side chutes he could have gone out but we where close enough we felt we would have seen him. After a water break we walked back about 1/2 a mile towards camp and then climbed 300' up the hill to be able to glass from camp to the end of the valley. We glass the bottoms looking in the alders and spruce for antlers but saw nothing. To think that a massive animal could disappear like that was a tough pill to swallow. I asked the guide if he knew how to do a cow call. That was a dumb question to ask an Alaskan guide by the way. He let out a couple of really loud and long cow calls into what appeared to be an empty valley. We started glassing again. After about 45 minutes I was starting to lose hope. The wind had picked up and it was cold. I moved down hill about 20 feet and was using a small patch of alder as a wind break. I was glassing back towards camp and in front of me. After not seeing anything I turned around to see my guide and the packer get very excited and tense with lots of looking and pointing. They waved me up to them. I was expecting to see a black or grizzly bear. When I got there my guide whispered he's at 350 and he's huge. As I raised my binos up this bull moose we had been chasing filled my entire field of view. He was is full strut and swagger. Somehow we had walk right past him twice and it was his cow call curiosity that made him get up and come take a look. He was about 200 below us and 300 yards out. We scrambled up hill another 50 feet so we could close the distance without him seeing us. After moving 100 yrds closer we sat on the hill side in the wide open and let him come towards us. I found him in the scope and the guide said hes at 150. I waited for him to clear the alders and then squeezed the trigger. The cool thing about suppressor hunting is you can hear the thump of the impact. I heard that first shot hit like smaking an oil drum. I reloaded and landed 2 more shots. He then turned and fell dead. MOOSE DOWN.

We gathered our gear and hiked over to the bull. Everyone talks about how big they are but until you stand next to one you cant truly appreciate how large they really are. Pictures and backslapping all around. As we where processing the bush pilot flew over with dad on their way to his new camp. I used to think that I wanted to do a DIY moose hunt but after seeing these things on the ground and knowing a hind quarter can be 175 pounds I have never been more glad to have guides in my life. Not to mention that from the time I had the bull down to the time we had the meat ready to transport it was 2.5 hours. Those guys knew what they where doing. My pack did not not had a large enough frame for me to pack out a quarter so I was relegated to the misc meat bag. It still weighed 70 pounds but I felt like the runt of the litter. After all the meat was back to landing strip I insisted they let me use their packs to carry out the antlers. The guide and packers looked at me strange. They said I was the only client that ever hauled his own antlers. They said most guys shoot the animal then want the plane to land and pick them up. That was foreign to me, I wanted to be apart of the entire experience. It took us the bulk of the following day to get everything out to the landing strip and get it flown back.

To say that this experience was surreal was and understatement of a lifetime. I have hunted much of the lower 48 and while all hunting is unique in its own right Alaska is next level if you have never been before. Having watched endless youtube moose hunts over the years I thought I knew what to expect. It was truly unique.

Thanks to all who offered advise on this thread. I am happy to offer any advise for those planning a future hunt.

[10mmg]

Pictures

[boneaddict]

Beast

[mountainman]

 Very awesome sir!

[MADMAX]

Super cool
Trip of a lifetime
At least for me

[EnglishSetter]

Pictures

Thanks for taking us along.

Helluva experience, even if vicariously.

[JDArms1240]

Wow, that is a monster!  Congrats on a successful hunt, and to be able to go with your pops 

[HikerHunter]

Ridiculous! Man that's an awesome bull and a great story!

[redi]

Great bull. Congratulations

[pianoman9701]

Wow, what a fantastic bull. Congratulations.

[2MANY]

I want one.
How did your dad do?