2nd DIY AK Moose Hunt

[dentedr]

Sounds like a great time and a lot of the good kind of work. Thanks for sharing the story and taking the time to answer further questions.

[AndrewJ]

Looks like you had a great time. It would be impossible to do a hunt like that without a local connection. Imagine trying to do that on your own…you couldn’t.

Bush Alaska is an experience like nothing else. It’s one thing to fly in, do a hunt, and fly back out. It’s another to go with the locals, hear their stores, be inside their houses, travel in their boats, and butcher a moose back in their house. 

That unit you were in has a nonresident winter hunt from Dec to March. You can get any antlerless moose- bull, cow, calf- any size it doesn’t matter. Bulls will have shed their horns by then so they will technically be antlerless. You’d have to use your local connection and it would be a snowmachine hunt. You would have no problem keeping the meat cold. That type of hunt would be too cold for me! 

[yotebuster]

Looks awesome.  Your story made me prickle a little bit with your digging on “trophy hunters” so I’m gonna go on a rant.  I’ve killed 3 moose, a 2.5 yr old shiras, a 7.5 yr old shiras and a 7.5 yr old Canadian moose.  I would argue that the worst of them was the 2.5 yr old bull.  Your bull doesn’t exactly look young so I guess I don’t see the point of your initial rant.  If it’s to dig on guys for taking bad care of their meat then that’s fine.  If it’s to say that all hunters who shoot 60” moose are slobs about the meat and that all hunters who shoot 45” moose are somehow revered by locals and natives alike then you are wrong on that.   I hate the term “trophy hunter” because it’s used in a negative connotation like there’s something somehow wrong with enjoying a hunt and having a goal of what animal you want to shoot.  You DEFINITELY trophy hunted if you saw that many moose and elected to shoot the bull you did.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that but neither should you.  I passed 40-50 bulls on my ND moose hunt this year and set my sights on a big old smart bull.  I went round and round with him during the archery season and spent 16 amazing days in the field that I wouldn’t trade for anything.  I killed him on the second day of rifle season and the meat is fantastic and every bit of care was taken to make sure it was the best quality and the most quantity recovered.  All done by a “trophy hunter”. 

[AzRaised08]

Wow that is awesome! Congratulations and thanks for sharing your experience!

[Sam]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:40 PM, AndrewJ said:

Looks like you had a great time. It would be impossible to do a hunt like that without a local connection. Imagine trying to do that on your own…you couldn’t.

Bush Alaska is an experience like nothing else. It’s one thing to fly in, do a hunt, and fly back out. It’s another to go with the locals, hear their stores, be inside their houses, travel in their boats, and butcher a moose back in their house. 

That unit you were in has a nonresident winter hunt from Dec to March. You can get any antlerless moose- bull, cow, calf- any size it doesn’t matter. Bulls will have shed their horns by then so they will technically be antlerless. You’d have to use your local connection and it would be a snowmachine hunt. You would have no problem keeping the meat cold. That type of hunt would be too cold for me! 

I agree. And it would be impossible to do what I did without a local connection. I feel very lucky. Snow machine hunt is too could for me as well. But, as a non resident, I am not eligible to hunt during the winter hunt. Only residents are eligible for that hunt. 

[Sam]

On 12/5/2021 at 8:21 AM, yotebuster said:

Looks awesome.  Your story made me prickle a little bit with your digging on “trophy hunters” so I’m gonna go on a rant.  I’ve killed 3 moose, a 2.5 yr old shiras, a 7.5 yr old shiras and a 7.5 yr old Canadian moose.  I would argue that the worst of them was the 2.5 yr old bull.  Your bull doesn’t exactly look young so I guess I don’t see the point of your initial rant.  If it’s to dig on guys for taking bad care of their meat then that’s fine.  If it’s to say that all hunters who shoot 60” moose are slobs about the meat and that all hunters who shoot 45” moose are somehow revered by locals and natives alike then you are wrong on that.   I hate the term “trophy hunter” because it’s used in a negative connotation like there’s something somehow wrong with enjoying a hunt and having a goal of what animal you want to shoot.  You DEFINITELY trophy hunted if you saw that many moose and elected to shoot the bull you did.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that but neither should you.  I passed 40-50 bulls on my ND moose hunt this year and set my sights on a big old smart bull.  I went round and round with him during the archery season and spent 16 amazing days in the field that I wouldn’t trade for anything.  I killed him on the second day of rifle season and the meat is fantastic and every bit of care was taken to make sure it was the best quality and the most quantity recovered.  All done by a “trophy hunter”. 

Definitely not ranting and congratulations on your ND bull. Sounds like a great hunt.........I think I may have written two or three sentences about trophy hunters and guides, I am not sure that is a rant. I wasn't really singling anyone specifically, except for the slobs that leave meat to rot and only take out the antlers. I have only been up there two times. And each time, hunters and guides where ticketed for numerous violations - one of which was wasting meat. I know this happens in every state. Of course not all hunters who shoot 60 inch moose are slobs and not all 60 inch moose have bad meat, but many of the big bulls have to be hung for multiple days.  Most non residents do not have that kind of time to wait to butcher an animal. I guess I got more upset with meat rotting on pallets or the meat that was left in the field or meat that was hanging at camps in the rain; not the fact the bulls happen to be 60 plus inches. I know how hard it is to live off of the land for these folks and I am friends with them. So, yeah, seeing this anywhere is upsetting to me. And not being judged in a negative light by others that live there is important to me. Many locals do not get a moose every year. And yes, I did pass on some bulls because I knew the pack out would be very difficult. Everything worked out well for me.

I knew I would raise an eyebrow or two by using the term trophy hunter. It was the wrong term. I have passed on many small bucks or bulls in AZ, waiting for a different animal. I suppose that makes me a trophy hunter. I am not sure how old my bull was, but the meat is incredible.  Better than the last bull moose I harvested. 

[AndrewJ]

10 hours ago, Sam said:

I agree. And it would be impossible to do what I did without a local connection. I feel very lucky. Snow machine hunt is too could for me as well. But, as a non resident, I am not eligible to hunt during the winter hunt. Only residents are eligible for that hunt. 

You are eligible as a non resident. Better get your snow gear ready. 

Nonresident- one antlered bull- harvest ticket- Sep 1 to Sep 30

or

Nonresident- one antlerless moose- harvest ticket- Dec 1 to Mar 15

[Couesnut]

Where was this hunt ? what part of AK