58" AK Bull

[billythekidrock]

You didn't happen to be the one toting the moose down I5 through Olympia yesterday around noon?

[halflife65]

Vek, every time I see one of your post you are just kicking @$$.

Great job, as always.

[tlbradford]

I love the countdown on the packouts.  Of course you should probably hold up the same amount of fingers a couple of different times, so you won't remember how hard it is the next time you are thinking about going in there.   

[Pathfinder101]

I love the countdown on the packouts.  Of course you should probably hold up the same amount of fingers a couple of different times, so you won't remember how hard it is the next time you are thinking about going in there.   

Oh, OK, now I get it.  that's why he had his hands in the air.  He was counting packouts.  I thought you were being robbed by a lemming that we couldn't see because he was standing in front of you...

[Skyvalhunter]

Congrats on another fine hunt, Vek!! Great job. Looks like a Brooks range area hunt possibly.

[NWBREW]

Congrats Vek.........I don't know what to say. You are about as hardcore as it gets and I envy you my friend. Keep it up. 

[Vek]

I'll weigh a hindquarter when we cut it up this weekend.  Generally the hinds weigh 110-140 lbs.  The other loads were a shoulder slapped on top of a side of ribs, and it felt about the same weight.  The real gorilla load wasn't pictured - that was the neck and flank meat from both sides, all in the internal frame pack shown at the back of the raft.  I don't want to know what that one weighed.  

Location must be kept quiet for now, and I'm usually pretty free with info.  For that I apologize.  

[Ray]

I love these reports. You are living a great life.

[Pathfinder101]

I love these reports. You are living a great life.

Vek is like the guy in the beer commerical they keep playing on Versus.  I can't remember the beer, but it's the guy with the beard that is supposed to be "the most interesting man in the world".  You know, the commerical where they say "If he were to punch you in the face, you would have the urge to thank him".  The one where it shows him sewing up a gash in his own shoulder and the nurses are sitting around watching....

That's Vek

[alecvg]

That is fricken awesome!  That sounds like an epic hunt!  CONGRATS!

[Moose Eyes]

That's a beauty.  Well done!

[GlennGTR]

How about a little info on your rifle, ammo and other gear that made this trip easier for youl.

[h2ofowlr]

Nice pics.  It looks like punishment packing that thing out.

[Vek]

Gear-wise, let's see...

Rifle - Remington model 7 KS in 350 remington mag.  Violent little sucker at less than 6lb, but nice to carry.  Hornady 250 spire point in front of Reloder 15.  Rest assured that you are not undergunned with anything larger than a 260 remington or so and a good bullet.  Don't bother buying and "alaska rifle".  I've killed moose with a 300WM, 30-06, and the 350RM.  The '06 dropped its moose quickest.  Not sure what to do with the 350 - it would be more useful to me if it were a 7SAUM or thereabouts. 

Tent - golite utopia 2+.  Sub-3lb, and a ton of space for a solo hunter in a freestanding tent.  Single-wall, so it will drip.  I love it.  For two I take the golite shangri-la 4.  It's a palace at just over 4 lbs. 

Glass: pentax DCF-WP 8x binocs and Pentax PF-65EDa spotter with Pentax XL-10.5 eyepiece.  Spotter view is wide and sweet at a fixed 37x, and binocs are serviceable.  Will be upgrading binocs soon (but not because I need to...)

Pack - old Dana Arcflex Alpine.  Bought from Bellingham Craigslist for $50.  If you want a cheap pack that can carry as much or more than you can, get an old Alpine or Terraplane off ebay or craigslist and spray paint the sucker olive drab.  Search the internet first for info on sizing old Dana packs - there's a 2003 or 2004 Dana product line pdf file floating around that shows how.  I had upward to 150lb of bagged meat in this one for load #2. 

Other pack (for carrying raft and quarters): Dana terraframe (no bag attached).  Best there is in external frames. 

Knives: bring one sturdy knife for heavy skinning and tendon cutting, one victorinox paring knife for boning, one mini-ceramic-crossstick sharpener.  I also uses a havalon piranta for skinning where the hide isn't as thick, like on the belly and the legs. 

Sleeping bag - Mountain Hardwear Phantom 15 down.  Solid performer.  Carry in an ultralight drybag, use drybag full of clothes for pillow.

Pad - old z-rest on top of a big agnes insulated aircore.  Comfy.  Leave the blowup mat home on a mountain hunt, though, to save weight.   

Spot2 locator - works like a champ.

Boat - Pro Pioneer by SOAR.  Gold standard for skinny-water moose transport up here.  A bit heavy at ~90 lb to carry, but it can be done (I carried mine about 9 miles overland on this hunt, bypassing a lot of slow oxbow lining and a few miles of really fast, whitewater lining). 

Stove: MSR simmerlite.  Works fine.  I don't like canister stoves, but for no real good reason.

Meat bags: TAG bags by Pristineventures.com.  None finer (kifaru included).  Tough, breathe well, ultralightweight, and clean up perfectly. 

One hot meal per day - the rest cold.  No freeze-dried - homemade hamburger helper (using browned/dried ground moose and dry veggie soup mix for veggies), lipton sides with bagged tuna/chicken/crab as applicable and the like.  Each meal gets a couple tablespoon dollop of olive oil to help sleep warm.  Logan bread, trail mix from costco, cheese, hard dry sausage, and rykrisp/wasa or pilot bread rounds out the food.  Make the logan bread with slow-digesting sweeteners like brown rice syrup or agave nectar.