Artic Moose
09-23-2004, 04:21 PM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Elizabeth Colo. USA
Posts: 4,413
RE: Artic Moose
Congrats on the moose AlaskaMagnum. Looks like you'll be eating good this fall. I was up there in AK this fall and brought one of those monsters down myself. My lucky star finally found me and smiled down upon me and I got a good one too! I got a pic. posted here about 10 days ago.
Did you go with friends, or with an outfitter? And were there any size restrictions on the moose? Did you have far to pack it out?
Did you go with friends, or with an outfitter? And were there any size restrictions on the moose? Did you have far to pack it out?
09-23-2004, 06:34 PM
#12
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,148
RE: Artic Moose
Howler,
A friend of mine from Wasilla and myself did this. We planned everything and only hired an air taxi by the hour. Total cost of the trip was about $1,600 per person. The area was restricted to 50" or 4-brow tine bulls, but I had a "any moose" tag, so I could have even shot a cow. The bull would still have been legal as it does have four brow tines on one side. I just took it to the processor and it weighs in at 570 lbs of bone-in meat, so I figure I will get back about 400 lbs of meat.
We never packed an animal. We had a small raft and shot everything close to the river. We made sure we hunted up river and then lined the raft up if we got something. It was much better than hiking miles with 100 lb moose quarters on your back.
We wound up with four caribou and a bull moose, but we lost most of the caribou to grizzlies. I could have shot two different grizzlies but I have a tag for Kodiak Island this spring and I really did not want to burn my "one bear per regulatory year" on a 7-foot mountain grizzly. Next time I will not hesitate.
A friend of mine from Wasilla and myself did this. We planned everything and only hired an air taxi by the hour. Total cost of the trip was about $1,600 per person. The area was restricted to 50" or 4-brow tine bulls, but I had a "any moose" tag, so I could have even shot a cow. The bull would still have been legal as it does have four brow tines on one side. I just took it to the processor and it weighs in at 570 lbs of bone-in meat, so I figure I will get back about 400 lbs of meat.
We never packed an animal. We had a small raft and shot everything close to the river. We made sure we hunted up river and then lined the raft up if we got something. It was much better than hiking miles with 100 lb moose quarters on your back.
We wound up with four caribou and a bull moose, but we lost most of the caribou to grizzlies. I could have shot two different grizzlies but I have a tag for Kodiak Island this spring and I really did not want to burn my "one bear per regulatory year" on a 7-foot mountain grizzly. Next time I will not hesitate.
09-23-2004, 09:09 PM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Elizabeth Colo. USA
Posts: 4,413
RE: Artic Moose
Yip, After helping our guide pack my moose a bit over a mile, it makes sense to shoot every thing that size close to water.
I ended up with 638# of boneless meat at the locker in Anhcorage. We ate both tenderloins and most of one backstrap at spike camp. My buddy had a griz tag, but the only griz we saw was from the airplanes on the way from spike camp back to the lodge. We are looking into a griz hunt on the Kodiak or the Afognak Islands. My buddy did also get a real nice caribou on our hunt and we saw several black bear, but just didn't get a shot opportunity. Also saw one wolf, but too late in the eve. and too far from camp to do any thing about.
I make custom predator calls and actually deleivered one to a guy in Wasilla while I was up there. You don't happen to know anyone around there that collects predator calls do ya?
I ended up with 638# of boneless meat at the locker in Anhcorage. We ate both tenderloins and most of one backstrap at spike camp. My buddy had a griz tag, but the only griz we saw was from the airplanes on the way from spike camp back to the lodge. We are looking into a griz hunt on the Kodiak or the Afognak Islands. My buddy did also get a real nice caribou on our hunt and we saw several black bear, but just didn't get a shot opportunity. Also saw one wolf, but too late in the eve. and too far from camp to do any thing about.
I make custom predator calls and actually deleivered one to a guy in Wasilla while I was up there. You don't happen to know anyone around there that collects predator calls do ya?
09-23-2004, 10:17 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,148
RE: Artic Moose
Nope,
I don't know anyone in Wasilla who is a predator call kind of guy.
I will be hunting Afognak this May, the 17th through the 25th. We plan on using a Zodiac with a 15 hp outboard and cruise the shorelines and glass for the big browns. The Native Land Use Fee for the brown bear hunts is NOT cheap, but since I don't have to hire a guide, my hunt will still be 1/10th the cost of a non-resident. Ask me the beginning of June and I will let you know how the bear hunting went.
I don't know anyone in Wasilla who is a predator call kind of guy.
I will be hunting Afognak this May, the 17th through the 25th. We plan on using a Zodiac with a 15 hp outboard and cruise the shorelines and glass for the big browns. The Native Land Use Fee for the brown bear hunts is NOT cheap, but since I don't have to hire a guide, my hunt will still be 1/10th the cost of a non-resident. Ask me the beginning of June and I will let you know how the bear hunting went.
09-26-2004, 05:57 PM
#16
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Alaska, USA
Posts: 38
RE: Artic Moose
AkMag, I have hunted Kodiak several times, and unless those are the only dates you are able to go, I would recommend going the last week of April through the first week of May. Hunting towards the end of May greatly increases the chances that the bears will be rubbed. Good luck either way. It's always fun hunting those giant Brown Bears. I posted a picture of my mounted bear on the Taxidermy forum, check it out... Good Hunting
09-26-2004, 07:59 PM
#17
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,148
RE: Artic Moose
Kodi,
My typo, my tickets are in April, not May. The season ends May 15th.
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My typo, my tickets are in April, not May. The season ends May 15th.
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Hip-O Taxidermy
A full service taxidermy studio, equipped with the...
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NWT Outfitters
N.W.T. Outfitters Ltd. is owned and operated by Er...
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At the Boar?s Den we specialize in trophy boars, a...
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Illinois Upland Championship Series
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10-01-2004, 07:54 PM
#19
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,148
RE: Artic Moose
The Swift A Frame shoots very well out of my gun. I can get 1.5 inch groups with factory loads. They kick a little, but a pachmyer recoil pad solves that pretty well, plus I am well over 250 lbs, so the heavy loads don't bother me much.
I hit my moose quartering away. The bullet entered left side right behind the ribs and exited through the front of the chest. Completely destroyed his internal organs including liver, spleen , lungs, and heart. These are tough critters though and he started to walk to the water's edge. I put him down with another shot in the neck, when he was starting to get to the river. I had no desire to work on a dead 1100 lb moose in 3 feet of water.
I have killed a few caribou with the A-frame as well, and always get good penetration and pass through. My caribou this year was hit in the lungs, and again, it just totally destroys the tissue. A friend of mine uses the .375 Ultra Mag, and he has used the Swift A frame bullet on caribou, moose, and Bison (the lucky bastard drew a Bison tag up here)! It's a good bullet and for a guy like me who does not reload, great performance in a factory round.
I hit my moose quartering away. The bullet entered left side right behind the ribs and exited through the front of the chest. Completely destroyed his internal organs including liver, spleen , lungs, and heart. These are tough critters though and he started to walk to the water's edge. I put him down with another shot in the neck, when he was starting to get to the river. I had no desire to work on a dead 1100 lb moose in 3 feet of water.
I have killed a few caribou with the A-frame as well, and always get good penetration and pass through. My caribou this year was hit in the lungs, and again, it just totally destroys the tissue. A friend of mine uses the .375 Ultra Mag, and he has used the Swift A frame bullet on caribou, moose, and Bison (the lucky bastard drew a Bison tag up here)! It's a good bullet and for a guy like me who does not reload, great performance in a factory round.
