# My Alaska Hunting Trip (pics)



## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

I got back last week from another amazing trip to Alaska to visit my brother (who lives there) and go hunting with him. We were hoping to target Dall Rams this year then moose, but plans with our pilot fell through so we just decided to do the moose instead. We had a jet boat take us a good 45-50 miles upstream and drop us off to float our raft out over the next 10 days (which actually ended up being 12 days) Weather was wetter and cooler than last year (which was good), but we still didn't have the bulls coming down from high elevation like we hoped.

The moose opener coincides with the duck opener in that area, so while I we didn't see any bulls right off the bat, we did manage a few birds: 3 harlequins and a merganser.









After a few days we moved camp to the spot I got my bull last year. While we did see quite a few cows there, we didn't see any bulls. We did, however, have quite the Grayling honey hole in front of our campsite. I managed to reel-in about 60 from our campsite and lost prob another 15 since I pinched down my barb.








Great color and size to the vast majority of them too









Here's a few pics from camp:

















The water was a frigid 43 degrees according to my watch. I can attest that it felt a lot colder than that after the fishing rod fell off our raft in 4ft of water and I had to strip down and dive in to get it! :xzicon_sm









After a couple more days of no bulls we drifted further downstream and hit a few more holes along the way


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

We spent a few nights at another spot with no bulls to be found. We did find a ground pad that I'd lost there 2 years ago  And I had a cow moose lead her calf across the river right by me... only 10 yards away! I was a bit nervous because she knew I was there the whole time and kept staring at me, but I figured as long as I didn't act threatening she'd be fine. It was very cool to be that close!

We then drifted further down and spent 3 nights at the next camp. A very "moosy" area with signs of a big bull, but he never ended up showing himself. On the first night there, 50 ducks flew upstream along the river by our campsite. I didn't mess with them because I was focused on moose. On the next night when I decided to sit on the river and duck hunt instead, 0 flew by. hahah go figure


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

We finally made our way down to our last campsite. From day 1 I was telling my bro that I couldn't wait to get here. I just had a feeling about this spot.








Unlike the other spots that we hunted on the river, this one required us to hike across half a mile of pretty rough brush and up the side of a hill. We brought sleeping bags to stay up there for the night and just glass the valley below in the evening/morning. We had planned to be out of the woods and back home this evening, but decided to take an extra day.
Here my bro is glassing the valley after we made it up the hill. About 30 min after this picture was taken, I spotted a bull lumbering in about 1000 yards out on the far side of the distant pond in the pic








My bro was calling at the time and wanted to try and call the bull in to us. I wanted to just watch him work first but we decided to try and see what he did. He was unresponsive to the call, but kept walking along a creek that brought him a bit closer. I suggested that we round the hill we were on to where the creek flows in and cut him off. We made that move but got separated in the brush. At about 125 yards the bull came out right were I thought he would and I got set up. My bro had already been busted by him so he did a few bull grunts and thrashes to keep him interested. I couldn't see where my bro was but kept whispering for him to shoot. Just as the bull started to turn out, my bro let one rip with his open-sight 30-30 and I did a quick follow up with my scoped 30-06. Bull took about 3 steps back into the brush then turned over. Turns out we didn't need the second shot (we both double-lunged him) but it was good insurance and we had already decided ahead of time that we would plan on doing that.
My brother's first after living in AK for 16 years. 35"








Pardon the "tough-guy" pose. We always take 1 like that and 1 smiling, but the smiling one didn't come out

After field dressing until well into the night (and lighting a fire too keep an eye out for bears) we hiked back up the hill and away from the meat to camp. Here you can see the morning fog rolling in








Here's a better view of the rack. We hauled the moose from the right base of the hill behind me, across the valley and the river, back to camp.









These pics were a little out of order (the rack came last as per the law there)
But here is one haul of meat:








We only had 1 frame pack so we had to take turns with it while the other person hauled meat however he could. It took 7 man-trips (4 by me and 3 by my bro) to get it all back to camp.









Here's the last hind-quarter. Even after cutting off the joint at the knee, it still weighed in at more than 90lbs!









After a long day's work, we finally got to sit down and enjoy our victory beer with some slow cooked moose-ribs









Here's the final pic of our float when we got back to the car:










It was an absolutely amazing trip. We had a few mini-adventures planned too, but due to the extra 2 days to get out of the woods, we didn't get around to them. I'd still much rather have a moose in the freezer though then a dozen hares or a handful of ducks that we would have shot in those extra couple days.


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## jayzbird (May 19, 2005)

Great story!!! What can I say but absolutely amazing....I am so jealous, you're a very lucky guy. I've always wanted to do something like that.


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## remmi (Jan 7, 2002)

Great story and beautiful pictures, did you guys do this without a guide or an outfitter?


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## mmac1318 (Feb 5, 2007)

That is awesome. Really cool story,adventure to share with your brother. I have been wanting to get there for a few years now,but money keeps holding me back. I'll get there sometime in the next couple of years. What part of Alaska were you hunting?


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## grul722 (Nov 12, 2008)

Looks like it was a great trip and the picture are amazing. Hopefully some day I will make it up there to hunt.


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## The Rev. (Apr 13, 2010)

Looks awesome and sounds like you had a great time


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## HUBBHUNTER (Aug 8, 2007)

Very cool! Thanks for the pictures and story.


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

remmi said:


> Great story and beautiful pictures, did you guys do this without a guide or an outfitter?


Thanks! We've been doing it on our own the last 4 years. Being that he lives there, he's gathered a ton of local knowledge so we've been able to manage without a guide (which significantly lowers costs). So aside from airfare and a tag, my only other real cost is food, and a few bucks in gas money to have a buddy take us upstream.



mmac1318 said:


> That is awesome. Really cool story,adventure to share with your brother. I have been wanting to get there for a few years now,but money keeps holding me back. I'll get there sometime in the next couple of years. What part of Alaska were you hunting?


We hunted outside Fairbanks.


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## BucksandDucks (May 25, 2010)

This story really makes me want to take a trip


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## GrtWhtHntr (Dec 2, 2003)

I couldn't help but grin when I seen that your brother was moose hunting with a 30-30. So many guys think they need the latest magnum to hunt deer with when the Alaskans are killing moose with the good ole 30-30. Classic! Great hunt pics and stories. Thanks for sharing.


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## 2PawsRiver (Aug 4, 2002)

Thanks for taking me along with the story and pictures....fantastic.


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## mmac1318 (Feb 5, 2007)

I am curious did you guys haul those congratulatory beers around with you the whole trip or is that pic afterwards?


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## old graybeard (Jan 19, 2006)

Sounds like a great hunt! Glad your able to enjoy it with your brother.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Awesome hunt. I realy love catching those Grayling. That place is addicting isnt it? I use to live in the petersville hills i absolutely loved it. Thanks for sharing.


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## SPITFIRE (Feb 10, 2005)

Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. A dream trip for most of us here reading this,congrates on a successfull hunt with your brother.


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## williewater99 (Sep 8, 2000)

:coolgleam Great story and pics! Thanks for sharing. A story like that gets the juices flowing!


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## Quack Wacker (Dec 20, 2006)

Now you know what to get him for Christmas. A second Frame Pack. Nice work and thanks for sharing.


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## Non Typical (Feb 17, 2009)

For those saying "one day I will go"! Why not start planing for next year? I have taken 2 while I was living there, and the op said it right, his brother found out where and how to hunt them. The cost of a one week trip is almost the same as the two week trip, so take 2!! The tag and air flight is the most expensive parts.
BTW congrats on the bull.


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

GrtWhtHntr said:


> I couldn't help but grin when I seen that your brother was moose hunting with a 30-30. So many guys think they need the latest magnum to hunt deer with when the Alaskans are killing moose with the good ole 30-30. Classic! Great hunt pics and stories. Thanks for sharing.


Exactly! I had someone here (in MI - not on this forum) scoffing at me before I left because I was planning to use a 30.06 As long as you have the right ammo and know how to use them, neither of those guns will have any problem. They both punched clean through for that matter. His 30-30 is kind of a funny sight though because he's had it since he was 12 and it's this short little brush gun



mmac1318 said:


> I am curious did you guys haul those congratulatory beers around with you the whole trip or is that pic afterwards?


Sure did, the oarsman seat on the raft is a Yeti cooler, so much of the beer (and food) stayed in there



brushbuster said:


> Awesome hunt. I realy love catching those Grayling. That place is addicting isnt it? I use to live in the petersville hills i absolutely loved it. Thanks for sharing.


For real! I cant tell you how many times I said to myself "3 more casts" then ended up fishing for another hour. 



Quack Wacker said:


> Now you know what to get him for Christmas. A second Frame Pack. Nice work and thanks for sharing.


He's got 2 and for some reason we decided to only bring 1 this year to save space. That won't happen again


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## STEINFISHSKI (Jan 30, 2001)

Awesome trip, thanks for sharing with us.


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## Duck-Hunter (Mar 31, 2005)

Looks like you boys had a blast. Glad you went after some birds! Send me some pics of the harlequin. I want to shoot one of those so bad.


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## BWHUNTR (Oct 3, 2008)

You guys are liven the dream. My thoughts of going there someday...........mostly thoughts. :lol: Congrats to you and your bro. Looks like a ton of fun to be had! Thanks for sharing, the picture are incredible.


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

Oh yeah, i almost forgot to add:
I didn't take a picture of it, but the bull had a chunk missing from one of his rear calves, with a bunch of perforations around it. It had a small infection that I had to cut out, but If I were to take a guess, it looks like he'd had a wolf make an attempt on him recently

I figured that would get a few people fired up


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## Ieatantlers (Oct 7, 2008)

Sweet trip, I am def. jealous. I am more impressed you managed to haul around beer for 12 days without drinking it. But, where are the beards man? 12 days in the bush and you come out looking baby faced!:lol:


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## The Doob (Mar 4, 2007)

Thanks for sharing, made the day go by much faster


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

Ieatantlers said:


> Sweet trip, I am def. jealous. I am more impressed you managed to haul around beer for 12 days without drinking it. But, where are the beards man? 12 days in the bush and you come out looking baby faced!:lol:


We just saved that 1 until the end... the cases of keystone didn't last.

hahaha! yeah, our old man has a sweet beard, but it skipped a generation with us.


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

Great story and pics! Thanks for sharing such an awesome experience with us!


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## aquanator (Dec 1, 2005)

I think we all want to take a trip like that some day. Thanks for sharing and congrats!!


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## limige (Sep 2, 2005)

cool trip!

i got to do an unguided moose hunt in quebec last year with my dad. had fun, different experience though. we did it more like deer hunting, using tree stands and calling them. i got to see a nice bull about like yours maybe slightly bigger, i think he had some taller points coming off the spoons but awesome no doubt. i only had a long distance head shot, i passed, didn't want to wound an animal like that and have it goto waste. honestly i thought i was going to get a better shot but didn't.

we know a local in quebec, they will get up throughout the night and make some calls. they will walk and call up and down the trail busting limbs and making some grunts. quite impressive...he's the one that got that bull to come out for me. i had a cow answer the first few days and heard some massive limbs busted but that was it. i was the only one in our group to see one.

its alot of work cutting one up and moving it. up there they have chainsaws setup with vegy oil for the bar to cut them up. put on a rainsuit and go nuts...lol quads/boats make life easier.

that raft must be rated pretty high to haul you guys, gear and a moose! how was the float, get hung up much and have to drag the raft or pretty smooth going?

does it take two people to tag one up there or can you each shoot one? it changes where you go. in quebec where we were it took two tags per moose. some areas require 3 tags.


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## Alexx (Sep 12, 2008)

Nice pics.


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## crittergitter71 (Feb 9, 2010)

Looks like an awsome trip. Sure hope to do something like that before I take the big dirt nap.


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## mrelkman (Dec 6, 2007)

Great Story, Great Pics. Thanks for sharing ! Congrats on the moose !


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

limige said:


> cool trip!
> 
> i got to do an unguided moose hunt in quebec last year with my dad. had fun, different experience though. we did it more like deer hunting, using tree stands and calling them. i got to see a nice bull about like yours maybe slightly bigger, i think he had some taller points coming off the spoons but awesome no doubt. i only had a long distance head shot, i passed, didn't want to wound an animal like that and have it goto waste. honestly i thought i was going to get a better shot but didn't.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a pretty cool trip for you too. Yeah, we did a lot of calling, but they just weren't really starting to rut yet, so we didn't get any responses. Last year my brother went back out for late season and he said it was incredible how responsive they are to the calls. Some people up there use chainsaws and veggie oil too, and we'd talked about it, but I'd personally rather just take the time and cut by hand.

The raft is a pretty heavy-duty NRS. I think it can take 1.5tons so in reality we could have potentially bagged 2, but 1 was plenty enough work. River was nice this year: water was high and most of the bad log jams were already cut out by the airboaters that head through to their mining claims upstream.

Up there they only require 1 tag per person.


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## fulldraw (Nov 20, 2002)

My wife and I where in Alaska about 4 years ago, I had the opportunity to go Salmon fishing. But I swore that I would be back and go hunting. My dream animal to hunt would be the bull Moose. 

Awesome hunt, Alaska is awesome.


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## eino (Jun 19, 2003)

Great story and pictures. I almost felt like I was there.

I have a brother that lives in Soldatna. I've been wanting to visit him. Maybe I'll go someday.

Ed


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## duckhunterr13 (Jun 3, 2008)

awesome story and beautiful pics, id love to live the "into the wild" storybook life....if you've ever seen the movie.

minus the ending of that movie of course!


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## obeRON (Dec 15, 2007)

I believe that Alaska has antler restrictions on moose for non-residents. I believe they have to be 60" or have 4 brow tines. How big was yours from last year? Sounds like a sweet trip. I am hoping to be going to alaska in the next 2 years for a DIY moose hunt.


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

eino said:


> Great story and pictures. I almost felt like I was there.
> 
> I have a brother that lives in Soldatna. I've been wanting to visit him. Maybe I'll go someday.
> 
> Ed


You definitely got to get up there man! Does he hunt too? If so, you've got almost everything you need already there.




duckhunterr13 said:


> awesome story and beautiful pics, id love to live the "into the wild" storybook life....if you've ever seen the movie.
> 
> minus the ending of that movie of course!


Heck yeah man, a bag of rice and a .22! A guy could live for a while off that 



obeRON said:


> I believe that Alaska has antler restrictions on moose for non-residents. I believe they have to be 60" or have 4 brow tines. How big was yours from last year? Sounds like a sweet trip. I am hoping to be going to alaska in the next 2 years for a DIY moose hunt.


Different areas have different restrictions. We were hunting in an any-bull area (for both Resident and Non-Resident). The one from last year was a bit smaller with a 28" spread
Good luck to you when you go on yours!


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