Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Vroomvroom on February 22, 2024, 05:15:51 PM
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Many interested in moose hunts?
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Always interested, just haven’t found any that fit my budget.
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Absolutely, according to Archie the best plan is to fly-in to a remote DIY camp with a buddy. Otherwise, the pressure from locals is greatest along roads and the pipeline. Mike Mitten and others have taken this route in AK. Guided hunts are the norm in Canada, Yukon and NW Territories. Takes planning, time and money.
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I've been once in Canada. Money is what's holding me back now.
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As an interior Alaska local... you will likely have to deal with hunter traffic if you don't have an angle. If you are coming in from out of state, you ought to spend the money to get into a place that isn't easily accessed. You'll want to do your homework. There are A LOT of 4x4 trucks, riverboats, airboats, rafts, 4 wheelers, Argos, and RV's in the mix during moose season... all looking for meat and antlers. Often, locals have their secret places close to home, but then again... does a guy really want to take his dream trip to hunt in Alaska and shoot a moose on public land behind a gas station, listening to cars drive by, in a little corner of woods that has been overlooked?
Even on the rivers, if you don't have a boat that's able to get you further than the rest of the pack (shallow running)... you may wind up competing with others. I flew out for a river float hunt in 2013, and it was a lot of fun... but over 13 days, we definitely saw more hunting parties than we saw moose. Not to discourage anyone, but times are definitely different than they were back in the day of "Bows on the Little Delta".
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That's a dream of mine, to do a back country moose hunt.
:campfire: :coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
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I have done seven Alaskan moose hunts, one float hunt and six drop camps. All the drop camps were with a selfbow and the float trip with a glass longbow. The first in 1999 ( float) and the latest last fall (2023). I am going solo again in 2025. My advice :
1. Quit dreaming and make it happen. It will only happen if YOU make it happen!
2. Make the commitment to make it happen. Commitment should not be no longer than three years, preferably two. Any longer than three years the commitment will waiver and excuses not to go when planned will be excessive. If you deviate from the committed date, it won’t happen. I only know one person who made happen after deviating from their planned date….and over 100 that didn’t make it happen. They are all still dreaming about doing it but never will. Yes, there will always be numerous good reasons to”Postpone” the moose hunt. It is ultimately your choice.
3. Get a good pilot! Do your research, check references, both successful and unsuccessful hunters.
4. Do not ask who my pilot is, I will not tell you.
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Walt, if I may ask, what are you spending for a solo drop camp?
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Am fortunate that I can hunt them every year OTC tag. They are so much fun!
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I am interested enough to keep applying. It will be DYI. DYI as in not hiring a guide. I’ll need to talk one of my athletic grandsons into coming with.
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I’m gonna go, I have a caribou hunt that I want to make happen first.
Up next is bears with Stickflingers in June however!
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8th moose trip set up for this fall in AK. Have been 4 times in AK, twice in BC, and once in Newfoundland. Moose hunting is a blast! Shooting an arrow into a rutty bull at 10 feet grunting and slobbering on himself is about as much fun as you can have with a bow in your hand.
R
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Walt, if I may ask, what are you spending for a solo drop camp?
If you get a moose and take all the meat home figure around $10K +/-. That is from my front door, solo, dropped in the bush, and back home to the front door. Having done it so many times gear is not a major cost to me. If you are a gear head you could match the the $10k in gear.
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Walt, if I may ask, what are you spending for a solo drop camp?
If you get a moose and take all the meat home figure around $10K +/-. That is from my front door, solo, dropped in the bush, and back home to the front door. Having done it so many times gear is not a major cost to me. If you are a gear head you could match the the $10k in gear.
Thanks Walt!
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I went to Bill Loves camp in BC in 1979 and got a P&y'r the first day. Went to ONT and shot a paddlehorn on my last day of my hunt and then hunted in MN in 2001 for 16 days DIY but didn't get one. You can't believe how big they are until get one down! Good luck!
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Walt is correct, you gotta make it happen, not just talk or dream about it. I set this goal many years ago and was lucky enough to draw tags and kill bulls on solo DIY hunts in NH and WY, did a guided hunt in NF but missed a bull, and got this bull on a solo fly-in wilderness hunt last fall in AK. Of course, you don’t just wake up one day and are good at tough solo wilderness hunts, you gotta learn how to do it, figure out what gear works for you, and how to survive in bad weather, and how to take care of a large dead critter WAY back from the road! Work your way up to it, until you have the skills and confidence to do it.
Ps - Monty Browning just finished a book that explains all the ins and outs of planning and conducting an AK moose hunt like those he and guys like Walt, Ryan, Mike Mitten, and others have taken - get that book, if this is something you really want to do!
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I am at maximum points for a cow moose in my home state, maybe this year I will get lucky and draw!
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I was wondering if you all thought there was much a difference in capability between a 50# vs 55# bow of the same model for something like a moose?
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Walt, I don't care what your poliot's name is, I'm just going to show up. :jumper:
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I have done seven Alaskan moose hunts, one float hunt and six drop camps. All the drop camps were with a selfbow and the float trip with a glass longbow. The first in 1999 ( float) and the latest last fall (2023). I am going solo again in 2025. My advice :
1. Quit dreaming and make it happen. It will only happen if YOU make it happen!
2. Make the commitment to make it happen. Commitment should not be no longer than three years, preferably two. Any longer than three years the commitment will waiver and excuses not to go when planned will be excessive. If you deviate from the committed date, it won’t happen. I only know one person who made happen after deviating from their planned date….and over 100 that didn’t make it happen. They are all still dreaming about doing it but never will. Yes, there will always be numerous good reasons to”Postpone” the moose hunt. It is ultimately your choice.
3. Get a good pilot! Do your research, check references, both successful and unsuccessful hunters.
4. Do not ask who my pilot is, I will not tell you.
That’s great advice. Especially #1 and 2
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I was wondering if you all thought there was much a difference in capability between a 50# vs 55# bow of the same model for something like a moose?
If there wasn't a difference there would be no fifty five pound bows made.
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I was wondering if you all thought there was much a difference in capability between a 50# vs 55# bow of the same model for something like a moose?
Most definitely. Let me put it this way, I wouldn't hesitate to hunt any big game animal on the North American continent with a 55 lb. bow. I can't say the same for a 50 lb. bow.
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My last two Bulls were shot w 43# limbs. While not pass thru, they were double lung. Just bumped up to 46# limbs. Of course shot placement is key.
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I once had a chip shot at a whitetail doe get dismal penetration from a 48#, drawing 31". Sometimes a shot goes that way, and you need all the help you can get. In Alaska, 50# is the minimum for moose, but why take chances with being under-bowed for a big hunt like that? Seems to me like it would be worth doing some extra exercise and getting proficient with the heavier bow. If I don't work out constantly with my 65# bow, I simply can't shoot it. But if I stay on top of it, it is very easy to shoot.
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There's also a huge size difference in the animals depending on where you hunt them. A big bull in some of the more southern moose areas is closer to the size of a cow moose in AK.
On a DIY type drop hunt in AK, if you are strong enough that you can pack the meat you generally don't have to worry about being strong enough to pull the bow :goldtooth:
R
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No I’d imagine not. I carried a few. But lately starting to feel my bones. We can normally pick most up here with a tracked machine. As long as the hill isn’t too steep. I know nobody however that hunts with traditional bow. And most I’ve seen coming here for a five day hunt won’t risk coming with a bow. So not familiar with what most poundage’s many use for moose. I’m only myself getting back into it after 30 years. And normally I’m guiding and have no time to hunt myself. Last few licences I’ve had, I used only the last day. They can be tough even with rifle in that length of time. But possible with bow. I did meet one guy in the early 1990’s. It was bow or nothing. He had a compound then that was 10-15 years old if I remember right. A bear came out 40 yards and he missed by 37. The limb broke. An hour later he was forced to use his friends rifle. I could tell he hardly knew how to use the bolt.
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I’m looking into an asl and was wondering if I should order 55lb or 50. Law here requires 20kg for big game. That’s 45lb only. That is pretty light I’d have to admit myself. Maybe after seeing moose hit with large calibres running off has me Leary of even my 55 lb Savanah. No doubt an arrow has to penetrate on the mark or moose will run off. It can be so dense that I see many guys cannot walk through it. Long hair on them hold a good bit of blood. Which can make tracking a wounded moose very difficult.
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Sorry if it seems like I'm advocating light poundage for Moose. I used to hunt w 75# Recurves back in my prime.
I am still building muscle from shoulder surgery two years ago. I hope to get up to 50# by fall.
Also I hunt strictly farm land for Moose. Not unusual to see Whitetails and Mule deer along with Moose in the same piece of Bush. Getting one out doesn't require packing.
My biggest Bull had to be cut in half as the quad wouldn't budge him whole. He was 985# dressed.
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No need to be sorry. Just a forum with opinions and advice. I don’t know the penetrating power of a longbow like most fellows being relatively new, getting back into it after a long hiatus. But I know moose well. I would most likely bet I’ve seen more moose shot with rifle then most. And most likely the most. Seeing dozens each fall. They can be tough, even with a rifle. A lot would scoff at seeing someone show up with a trad bow. But one thing to note about a trad bow hunter that I’ve seen is they know the risks, disadvantages with their hunting tools. They accept it may be a challenge and a kill is not gauranteed. From just grasping the feel of the bows energy, watching an arrow fly, as I’m out here on a boat for several weeks, I paced off 20 yards. That’s a far shot. Not so much due to accuracy issues. But I’d want to be close to make sure I get penetration.
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Here’s a hike I took earlier , ten days ago. Might have to scroll the picture over, as it’s large. Only half of it showing on my screen
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Nice picture gun.
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Seriously, Gun shooting moose with 45lb isn't your average guy....a good analogy, only experts shoot skeet with a .410, average guys use a 12 guage 😀
That said, though, OP, you obviously know moose and that's a big deal. You make a commitment to only shoot one when his eyes are rolled back and he's coming to your call so you need to shoot or he'll walk over you and that closeness will help. Just keep your wits and you know you can shoot a moose at 15 feet.....that makes a big difference with traditional bows.
My 2022 Alaskan bull wasn't huge, 50 inch rack and approximately 1300 lbs based on amount of boned meat. I shot him at 10 feet. Kind of like shooting an arrow into the side of a VW beetle on stilts. The big thing is just keeping your head together till the arrow is in him.
R
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50# draw limit for legal bow for moose in Alaska.
Get as close as possible, and keep control of your shot. With that said it can be difficult to because they truly are a beast you just want to look at. Especially for first timers. They exsert tremendous power and force when fighting.
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Don't wait if you have the moose hunting bug. Mike
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What’s your set up herdbull?
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Currently using 62 to 65# recurve with 750 to 800 gr 2219 aluminum tipped with two-blade single bevel Tuffhead or Cut-Throat .