Bowsite.com

moose hunt

sorry I haven't had time for a moose hunt recap from Alaska and now that thread is locked.I have some time for a very quick run down of the hunt We had a pretty uneventful fly in day and got set up in a rain.That evening there were a few cows feeding in the lake which was a great sign First morning we get up and cows were out and Joe let out a couple call and a bull popped out of brush by the cows.I looked him over 3x and in no way to me was that bull worth taking the risk of shooting.It was Joes decision anyway since he spotted the bull.That bull hung around a good 15 minutes before finally spooking and got with a few hundred yards in the open.My guess at that bull was just under 50" and only 3 browtines.No more bulls that day Next day we let out calls in the morning and I went back to the tent quick to clean out my coffee cup.I look over and a bull is looking around from across the lake,but Joe cant see him from where he is.I go get him,and we look it over and its only in the 40-45" range but definitely has 4 browtines.I didn't want to shoot it and told Joe if he wanted it to get his gun and take it.By the time he got out of the tent with his gun the bull had retreated back in the woods not seeing a cow for that long.We had the wind and cover so that's my assumption anyway.So after 2 days we seen one decent bull that was close tolegal and a legal bull.I'm thinking it would only get better as the rut heated up like deer hunting.Later that morning another small bull steps out across the lake that I notice when eating back at camp.I can see hes not legal is width right away.Joe had a decoy set up and I'm positive it popped out of the brush to check it out.That one didn't stick around long and didn't have the browtines needed to shoot Then we had a couple mooseless days in a row After those days, one morning I decided to paddle to far end of lake and see what was up out there which is about a mile away.Paddling up I see a couple moose in the lake feeding so I get to shore quick and sneak up closer by foot.All in all,I saw 9 moose that morning with 3 very small bulls in the group;forkhorns and spikes.I went back to camp told Joe about the moose at the other end so we started hunting that end of the lake I dropped Joe off the next morning by canoe at one side of that end of the lake while I hunted the other with a planned pick up time.Later in the morning I could hear Joe start calling a lot which was unusual,and thought I could hear a bull grunting.I listened for about a half hour waiting for a shot at any minute.Then it was all quiet again,and there was no noise for about half hour.I had about a half hour walk and half hour canoe trip to get him so I figured I'd make my way over since it was passed the pick up time by now I turned the corner to enter a beaver channel leading back to our pickup spot but as I do a bull is standing right there.I back paddle backout,but the bull saw me and headed towards the woods.I beached the canoe and watched the bull and could tell he was legal.I was looking all over for Joe thru my binos but don't see him anywhere.He always had his orange hat on and it stuck out like a sore thumb so he'd be easy to spot.At this point the bullis in the woods and thrashing some brushes and I'm sitting there waiting on a shot.Bull was probably hanging there trashing trees for about 15 minutes and then started to walk away deeper in the woods.At this point its now or never or hes gone so I take the shot as hes quartering away pretty hard at about 200 yards.My shot wasn't exactly perfect and hit his back quarter instead of the ribs and breaks his back leg.I took 2 running shots that missed before it got to the water.Now I have to paddle in to get him out of the water to finish him.After turning the corner into the marsh I can now see Joe at the backend of the marshI needed to pick him up as I was out of ammo on me.I grab Joe and we finally get the bull to go back to shore where I finish him with Joes gun.The bullet thru the antler was because Joe forgot to tell me of the hair trigger on his gun.I barely touched it when it went off the 1st 2x.I've never seen a trigger like that.I asked him why he didn't kill the bull but he never answered me nor do I even know now. Keep in mind fines are HUGE in Alaska and it was only 3 3/4" past legal.Its actually pretty scary pulling the trigger with this in mind We broke the bull down together that evening.Next morning he went hunting and I went back to finish cutting and bagging it all up.That afternoon I made 2 trips across the lake bring the meat back to camp.I was pretty beat after that with 2 mile round trip canoe ride with almost 500 lbs meat per trip Joe never saw another moose after that and they flew us out 3 days early supposedly due to weather coming and they were down tone plane after an accident on their other plane It was nice country to hunt as Alaska never disappoints.Honestly, its not a real action packed type hunt though and doubt I need to ever do it again.You basically sit and wait for them to come to the lake shore.Calling didn't seem to do a lot,but even the guides from the outfitter that flew us said it was a strange year rut wise,and the calling was way off.We had a lot of problems from a native that thought he owned the lake we were camped on.Plus, I never realized the residents could shoot any bull without restrictions.If I ever went again, it would be a float trip and further in the woods then we went,and we were probably 100 miles in from town by air.I didn't realize the locals will run their boats that far up river to hunt So theres a quick recap and sorry about the wait.I got back and then left for a mule deer hunt in Wyoming and works been crazy

Register here to reply to this topic