2020 -Solo Alaska Moose Hunt

[Herdbull]

I planned to hunt caribou this fall, but the trip fell through. So I had to scramble to find a new pilot and and in mid August I was scheduled for a moose hunt.  This would be my seventh solo moose hunt in Alaska. I went in for 18 days in September and never saw another human. It was a new area for me. I was flown into a lake up hill near timberline. I would hike generally down hill and watched the river valley from a look-out where my calling could hopefully reach the ears of bull moose that might be responsive to a cow in heat. 

[Herdbull]

[ron w]

This will be good

[Herdbull]

Looking from the lookout.

[Pine]

  Gorgeous country. 

[Herdbull]

From the hills the calling can be heard. The hope is that the  bulls will reach positive and come in to confront the bull and hopefully court the cow. This is highly related to the demeanor of the bull. This demeanor can change over night. So I usually try to call from the same locations in the morning which I called from the prior evening, which have worked for me in the past.

[Herdbull]

I had a bull come in and try to posture his way between the bull I was imitating through calling and raking, and the cow in heat I was perpetrating. After over an hour,  the bull came up to within 100 yards. As he came closer and determined approximately where the source of the moose were, I noticed it would back off and and circle. Part of the issue was the bull was afraid to be confront by me the bull. As it came close to 50 yards, it will run back if it heard me break a stick or brush a twig. I had to stop bull grunting and be less aggressive on my end. I also had to slip back and circle back my self to keep my scent and wind advantage. Eventually, I had moved to a position of no more cover and had to hide behind a last spruce. The bull slowly cautiously crept back, he was posturing his rack and started grunting. All he had to do was break across and open bowl, and I would have a twenty yard broadside shot. Instead, the bull decided to take an uphill course and ended up slightly uphill. At 40 yards he ended up out of range of my shooting. I could only watch as the bull filled his nostrills with my sent. And now real fear of man spooked him more than his fear of confronting a more mature bull.

[Herdbull]

[Herdbull]

Other bulls would turn and meet me half way , but eventfully decide it was not worth their effort to climb up and fight or challenge a bull with a cow,

[Friend]

You have to be a herd bull just to make the hunt.

Looking forward to hearing more of the adventure.

[Herdbull]

[Herdbull]

I view from camp.

[Herdbull]

For a week it rained nearly every day or some portion of it. Typical September weather. Finally I had what I wanted.... a bull bedded in the valley in sight. I watched it for 15 minutes and decided it would stay put. Just as I was getting ready to go down from the lookout, I found another bedded bull 200 yards from the first one also in view. So that sealed the deal, I shouldered my pack and down toward the landmarks I targeted. Eventually after an hour, I did find the empty bed of the second bull. I crept through the willow marsh and slipped between the spruce trees, listening. I heard the grunts of a bull close by, within 100 yards. I could hear him rake his antlers and even pound the earth making a rut pit. But in the wind, the bulls exact location was tough for me to determine. Fearing that if it moved and I would not be able to hear where it went, I started to soft cow call only. I decided not to bull grunt, based the timid reaction I got from the bull a few days earlier. The long mournful  calling worked. The bull was coming closer with deliberate  raking and grunted his way towards me and now I could hear he was now less than 50 yards away. I positioned myself on the edge of a nice shooting lane. The bull continued to advance, as I remained silent.  Finally his shape took form. There were three dead spruce trees between us. At 16 yards I peered three the dead limbs with my binoculars, and my heart sank as I finally got a look at the front of the rack and only saw two brow points. The bull was not overly wide so I figured it was the first bull that I spotted from the hill that had now moved in the general area that the second bull was in. I watched as the bull raked his antlers through the brush, grunted loud, and postured his head gear rocking back and forth as it stepped clear and walked passed me at 12 yards. Gritting my teeth, I could only stand motionless and watch as he broke the plane of my scent in the wind. The bull did not even look in my direction, but bolted away as it ran across the open swamp. This management unit requires 3 brow points  on a side to be legal if not over 50 inches wide. This bull may have been wider than 50, but I did not have time to clarify with all of the obstructions. I stayed around and called some more in case the other bull, which was my main intentions, was still in the area. It did not turn out right, but was still a very intense experience and one I'm glad I had. I pondered all this during the long hard climb back to my high elevation camp.
 

[Herdbull]

I had enough time during this trip to absorb a couple days of being socked into the tent because of heavy rain and fog, but I did end up seeing 8 bulls, and got a chance to watch 7 black bears during the hunt. I did a lot of hiking, climbing, and fought the bad weather, which caused me to lose 16 pounds during the trip. It was a good learning experience, but alas, I have to join the ranks of many hunters who return home with no fresh meat, but are rewarded with an adventure not soon forgotten. Mike

[Herdbull]

[Herdbull]

[mj seratt]

Always enjoy seeing/reading about your adventures.  Keep 'em coming.

Murray

[Pine]

Thank you for taking us along. 

[Gun]

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing

[Joe2Crow]

Great story and pics. Thanks for taking us along.