Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I wanted to archery elk hunt before the Alaska trip so my son and my old HS buddy hunted the first week. On Tuesday evening Sept 7, I filled my archery tag on a nice cow. We packed her out that night
I called the pilot and talked to him about when we could fly out. He said if we could be at the lake at 9am he would take us Saturday, instead of Sunday.
We arrive at our lake. Camp will be in the upper right of larger lake, near the neck of the smaller lake ( Or whatever lake you see when you turn your computer)
The landing on water is so perfect you don’t even realize you’re touching the water.
The closer we got to the lake the more rain and fog there was. We cruised to shore and I hopped out and we unloaded my gear. I was hoping Collin could get in before the fog locked him out
The first order of business was to try and find a somewhat flat spot for the SeekOutside tipi. Luckily we found a decent spot in some tussucks. Man they suck
As usual this looking to be another great write up with awesome pictures. Looking forward to the rest! I was doing the exact same thing as you on Sept. 7 with my first ever cow elk!
Beautiful setting at that lake! Curious about dealing with the tussocks in your camp. Did you find a big enough open area to set your tipi up without having to deal with them, or did you just kinda work around them? Totally agree with your assessment of them…They definitely suck!
Luckily there was a spot mostly clear of the tussocks, and just enough space for the tipi - there was actually an active bull rut pit there too - but we had no other choice.
If we had gotten a bunch of rain, it woulda been bad news as it was kinda low - but then EVERYTHING is damp in that country
We made our way back to camp, had some lunch and went over to Echo Lake and called there again.
It was nap time - so on on way back to the tipi, we saw another cow in the big lake - maybe it was the cow that was moaning earlier, but she was just out feeding - cool stuff
Back at the tipi, lounging and hanging out, we reviewed the pics and video of the bull from the morning hunt. Based on the ear and head calculations, we determined the bull was indeed a legal bull - 50"+ / 4 brow tines - we knew he didnt have 4 brow tines, but he was plenty over 50"
We decided that if he gave us another opportunity, we would take him
After about an hour of raking and glassing, we were both hungry and decided to go to the tipi and make some Mtn House - after all the tipi was only 80yds away
We were about halfway thru our Mtn Houses and we heard the distinct double 'Gluck gluck'......
We looked at each other and said "Its him - he's at Echo Lake"
Collin grabbed his rifle - which I lent him to use for the trip - a 340 Weatherby Mag.
I grabbed my binos and we snuck back over to Echo Lake edge.
It was before dark but the moose was across the lake standing in some shadows. We didn’t see him right away but then he took a couple steps and stopped and look in our direction. Standing broadside.
I told Collin - aim straight up the front leg - center mass.
Boom. The shot echoed across and I heard the bullet smack meat.
After a few minutes of taking pics, it was time to butcher.
I told Collin earlier that it’s best that only one person runs the knife and the other guy holds legs and pulls hide. It was his choice on what he wanted to do.
He thought it best for me to run the knife and he will hold/pull hide.
It took a solid 2 hours to quarter up and get meat ready to transport. There was a steady cold light rain the whole time. We didn’t know how wet were until we started packing the meat.
We decided to shuttle the meat about 100yds from the carcass.
Once all the meat was shuttled 100yds away, we then reloaded our packs and trudged thru the woods and marsh 300yds to the big lake where the plane could land.
I truly believe everyone should strap on a Alaska moose quarter and hike 300-400yds thru the shit with hip boots on to get the full Alaska moose hunting experience
Monday evening I sent an InReach message to the pilot letting him know we had a moose - all quartered up and hung at the lake - and when extraction could take place
We got a reply Tuesday morning that we could be flown out Wednesday or Thursday - Wx permitting
We had to wait for the message of when.
So we hung out and waited. The message came Tuesday evening that the pilot would arrive at 930am Wednesday morning as he had a cancellation
After the first load of meat left, Collin stayed at the meat pole, and I went back over to the camp to finish packing up and taking all the gear to the lake shore.
Here is Collin over at the meat pole loading the 2nd load and antlers. I’m standing at camp
Brad, after just killing and field processing a bull elk the other day, and then seeing that moose on the ground, my back started to hurt again and I almost got up and took a few Alieve. I could feel your pain packing out. Nicely done. Paul
Monday when we were packing the quarters, I swore that is was gonna be my last time. Definitely a young mans game
Collin says it won’t be my last time :).
I weigh 170lbs. The hind quarters probably weigh 125+, fronts 100lbs or more. Hell, just the neck meat weighed 80lbs. And that was just a big ball of jello. Totally sucky.
We didn’t see any bears, or have any bear encounters. Very fortunate for that. Especially when we had meat hanging 100yds from camp and a carcass 300yds from camp
Brad, Are you required to provide the latitude and longitude of the carcass, in case the authorities want to inspect for "wanton waste"? Great adventure....thanks for sharing. What caliber was your sidearm?
As a non-hunter, my cost was under $3000. Door to Door.
Collin's is more than that [meat flights, misc] but we havent tallied up the final figures but we stayed within our proposed budget of less than $5000 for a successful hunter
Really good stuff from start to finish Brad. Congratulations to you both on a great moose and a heck of an adventure. Loved the pics and story. Thanks for taking the time to write this up and share. Really cool!
Great adventure and write up! Really enjoyed the pictures and all of the information. I'd be tempted to try it if I had a friend like you! Awesome bull too, congratulations to you both!
Great work up there, Brad. Nice to see the video, and read the fine details of your adventure! You're a good dude, for taking Collin up there, and showing him the ropes!
Hope we get to swap stories again in person, someday soon ;^)
A great story and bull. We were up there at the same time and I connected with a smaller 40” 3 brow Bull with my 300wm. The pack loads are no joke and you know they are big but when you walk up on one they are huge. 8 loads of meat and the head here also for 1/2 mile. We are planning to do it again. I was afraid of the unknown about going to AK. We have learned a lot with our 3 trips and with research you can do this for $4500 and have a great adventure.
The back straps on the Treager tonight were better than elk back straps
Great story Great pics. I can't help but opine on the pic taken as you drove down the highway. I can't say where that pic was actually snapped, but I can assure you, I have been on that road at that precise location. Again, great adventure.
Congratulations to you and your friend Brad! Great story as always, and pics & video's! After getting a taste of moose hunting this year here in Colorado, moose in Alaska is now on my list along with Caribou.
