Alaska Moose Bowhunt 2018

[Herdbull]

This year was the first year in 30 years that I would be hunting moose in Alaska with another person in camp with me. My good friend Brian Wessel from Tall Tines Traditional Archery hunted with me this year. Another first would be hunting the same location two years in a row. I’ve killed bull moose in four different mountain ranges in Alaska, so hunting a very familiar spot would be refreshing. Many of the scenes were familiar to Brian as well because, he watched my new “Chasing Solitude” moose hunting film many times before we went, and the final hunt in the film was taken at this location. Mike

Brian , strapped in and ready to fly high!

[Herdbull]

A caribou shed and wolf tracks greeted us after getting out of plane.

[Herdbull]

The hot weather melted the snow pack and glacier ice in the mountains, leaving the river high, siltty, and rushing too fast for us to cross. This left us both hunting the same mountain face.   

We felt a little worried for this small caribou calf and its mother separated from the herd.

[ranger 3]

Waiting and wanting more

[Herdbull]

The hot weather melted the snow pack and glacier ice in the mountains, leaving the river high, siltty, and rushing too fast for us to cross. This left us both hunting the same mountain face.   

We felt a little worried for this small caribou calf and its mother separated from the herd.

[Mike Bolin]

I've been looking forward to this Mike. Glad to see the knees held up!

[Herdbull]

I never saw Alaska with cloudless skies for eight days!

Spruce grouse were available for table fare.

[Herdbull]

Two fighter jets not only flew over head on their way west, but also cut down our valley and wrapped around a mountain peak up into a tributary. We could see the bottom of the planes as they flew sideways just a few hundred yards from us. I happened so fast I did not get a chance for photos.

Brian was impressed with the hunt so far as we called moose nearly every hour of the day.

Cow and calf in a marsh.

[Herdbull]

We called in several bull moose, but none had the 50 inch wide antler spread or three-point brow on a side required to make them legal. We hoped it would be only a matter of time before a big bull came in to our cow-in-heat calling or bull grunts.

[Herdbull]

It was exhausting at times as we ventured from camp, but always remembering that taking a moose at a greater distance would require significantly more effort. Energy was regained during brief rests during the day and of course at night.

[Herdbull]

One bull was called in from many hundreds of yards using calling, raking and antler flashing techniques.
The bull eventually found its way up the hill to us and walked 15 yards from Brian. We just could not imagine the third brow point required.... he only had two per side.

[Herdbull]

Goshawk

[Herdbull]

It is a common practice of mine to start calling in the morning at the last place we called at the evening before. On day 8 we finally got our first cloudy day, and calling in the morning brought an immediate response. It was a truly awesome bull that was very wide (clearly over 60 inches) long palms with few points on top, but had very long and heavy brow points. At least 4 brow-points per side. He came down out of the spruce on the far ridge and entered the clearing in the swamp below us.

[Herdbull]

We continued our calling and raking in an attempt to work the bulls blood hotter and match how just the sighting of him took the chill out of the air for us. He did respond, and walked hundreds of yards closer, but was still at least 300 yards away and below us. We could hear his grunts and watched him rake his antlers into small willow bushes. I felt we might be able to call him up onto the ridge we were calling from similar to what I had done with a great bull last year.

[Trenton G.]

Oh man been waiting for this!

[KAZ]

So looking forward to this Mike! Welcome back

[snakebit40]

 

[Herdbull]

After a stalemate, he was not interested in a fight or he was trying to find an easier path up to our ridge, the great bull walked away from us nearly the length of the marsh and entered the spruce tight to our hill. We quietly followed from above trying not to lose sight of him. We caught up to his retreat and found him directly below us. We grunted a couple times to get his attention. We wasn't buying it and walked back out into the open swamp and crossed it. He went back into the spruce from where he came.  We followed his course but kept our sight advantage on top of our ridge. After a while he soon broke out  back into the open and continued down toward the north end of the grassy swamp where a small pond was visible.  We moved down the ridge toward his position. As the bull entered the far end of the pond it hit me, he was going to cross the pond and go up the cut at the ridge saddle. This was the lowest and easiest place to gain elevation and get up on the ridge with us. We hurried along through the dwarf birch on the ridge to get in position before he cleared the top.

As I approached the exact place where I shot my bull last year I could see the moose palms rising up out of the pucker brush. He had crested the ridge and we were to far back. He was about 60 yards away, but the low spot in the ridge saddle swallowed him up. We grunted but got no response. We waited! Then I slowly climbed to the ridge knob to get a better look while Brian help tight in case he turned our way. After a good look and knowing he was not between us, I crested the hill to look into the opposite valley. Its funny how they can just disappear without a trace.
The huge bull graced our presents for over 30 minutes, but his images were captured  on film as well as our memories.
We reluctantly went back to the hunt.

[Sockrsblur]

 

[Herdbull]

At midday our calling again induced a response as we heard distant grunting of an approaching bull. We caught visual and realized again we would be blessed with a sub-legal bull. We raked and called and saw if we could get him to commit and climb the hill to us.