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I don't know what to expect on this hunt, but I bet it will be loads of fun, and an entirely new hunting experience from anything I've done before. I'm more "spread" than "points" oriented. I haven't believed in "records" for about fifty years. I never "score" anything. I know what appeals to me. I have a number in mind when I hunt; 50" kudu, 40" Oryx, 40" Dall's sheep, 40" cape buffalo, 30" mule deer, etc. I think for moose, 50" used to be my number when I was young. I've never hunted them, but now I think 60" is a good expectation for the money I'm spending. What I find humorous is the outfitter/guide mentality expressed by some that advertise that if you would be satisfied with a 40" moose/anything" on the last day of a ten day hunt, you should be satisfied with that 40" moose/anything on the first day of your hunt. Excuse me? I'm paying $15,000 +/- for a top-shelf hunt, in a prime hunting area, with people who suggest they are the best in the world at providing their hunters with opportunities on top-class game, and you think I should pull the trigger on the first legal animal we see?????????? Not likely! I usually go in with what may be unrealistic expectations; a trophy that even takes the guide's breath away. By Day-5 of a ten day hunt, if I'm unsuccessful, I've had a chance to glass some game and have a better understanding for what's possible. My benchmark drops some. By Day-8 I like to be done. I've never been dissatisfied with a trophy. When I pull the trigger I've already made my decision that I'll be happy with the trophy in front of me. For my money I want to see big moose in "big" country and a few unexpected surprises thrown in, and I'll be one happy hunter. I may end up with a 50" moose, but I'll have 70" memories. | |||
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I wouldn't be too worried about getting a small bull; you want a nice bull, and I've seen super nice bulls in 55-58 inch range. Us locals usually don't want to go too far back in, probably why we shoot mostly smaller bulls. I have a moose camp downriver 22 miles but after a couple nights on a cot, I'm back sleeping in my own bed; hunting around the house. A guide will get you further back in, and most of them have nice bulls general location in their heads. You could always go into a new area green and be happy with any spike or 3 year old bull you see; like most us locals do. Just fresh meat for us anyway. | |||
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Zhurh You are living most hunter's dream! I'm just thrilled to get eight to ten days worth of that experience. | |||
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Back to the boots question. If there was room I'd take some insulated rubber boots also. You can get some with felt liners (make sure they're wool not mystery fiber) or muck boots. The muck boots come in a winter version and they'll keep you dry and warm for about $130.00. They aren't as nice to walk in as good insulated hiking boots though-hence my suggestion of two pairs of boots plus the waders. have fun!! | |||
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Footwear--Won't you be hunting before September 25th? A lot of Alaska moose hunters wear hipboots. The brush is often wet in the morning and you often cross wet ground or small streams even when it's not. Rain pants are noisy and hot. Hipboot give you some air circulation around your legs. Locations--The Copper River Delta has produced some very big bulls. The Boone&Crockett Number 1 came from the area North of Tok. The Alaska Range produced an 80+ inch moose with wide palms and great mass a few years ago. Western Alaska has produced some giants. In the 1920s and 1930s the Kenai Peninsula had what everyone thought were the biggest bulls in Alaska. So...big moose can be found pretty much anywhere, but the big bulls go away fast with even light hunting pressure. They are pretty easy to kill once you locate them. Alaskan bull moose are very vulnerable to hunting. Often, they stand there and look at you until you are very close. Antler spread--I tell people this: You see a guy 6'4" go by and he looks big. He's the equivalent of the 60 inch moose. Then, a guy 6'8" goes by. He's the 70 inch moose. Then, a guy 7' goes by and makes the other 2 guys look small. He's the 80 inch moose. Not many guys are 7' and there's only a couple of 80 inch bulls in the B&C records. A 40 inch bull? He's about like a guy 5'5"!!! Or a two-year old whitetail with 4 or 5 short points. The B&C #1 head hangs in the Anchorage Fish&Game office. It has a 65" spread. I saw the Alaska Range 80" bull--he made the B&C bull look small. But the B&C bull scored high due to exceptionally wide and long palms despite an unexceptional spread. Good luck on your hunt but let those 40" bulls grow up. You can shoot one of those in Newfoundland, Montana, Idaho or Wyoming. | |||
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Kensco, Oh, I ain't going anywhere from here along the Yukon; Luv this country & freedom I have. The funny thing is that hunting & fishing is no where near the fun it use to be back east when I was younger. It's not age, only 57; but when you live in rural Ak; it's all about fresh meat & getting the net in for the first pulse. Probably seems crazy, but how it is for me. You'll get a decent bull, learn a little more about hunting in Alaska, and see some unreal country. When others say access is what you are paying for, they are right. I've done a few drop off fly-ins, 7-10 day $1800 and you're on your own. We got moose but only in low 50's. The guides do alot of flying around and locate all the nice bulls that are in the areas they hunt; at least that's how I see it. You'll kill a nice bull; and be thanking the guide when it's all over with, ha. I've seen quite a few bulls in Idaho & Ontario years ago doing hunting & fishing trips. The average bulls I see in Ak are always bigger and that chance of getting a 62 incher is light years greater. Where we live, there are quite a few natural licks and they really draw the moose. There'll be a big bull at one lick I plan on spending some time at and only a mile behind my house. The Indians use to kill bulls back there 25 years back, now none ever go back there hunting. They prefer to shoot cows along the road; (what a pisser). I'll get down moose camp for a few days, but here it seems the big bulls gather up the cows and run them up high around 12-15th Sept. I also plan on hunting our summit mid season; that 30-378 will make those 1000 yard shots. Good luck with your moose hunt; have a good time . | |||
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Kensco. I have taken several large moose including a 62 incher that scores well above the BC all time minimum. I have also taken two other 60 inchers. The difference between the three is that big one has wide and tall palms. It also has exceptional mass. A truly big moose is like many other trophy critters it will look extremely big. The area that you are going has big moose. However, the things that you should look for are the width of the palms and the height of the palms which are really good in that area. When you are in camp make sure that you measure the height of different palms so you get a very good idea of this concept. In some ways, big moose are just as hard to judge as mass and base size on dall sheep. You should look at least 10 big moose racks before you go out into the field. I know that you are coming from OZ and someday I will go down there an pop one of those big Buffaloes. You should look at the moose at Sportman's Warehouse, and the big ones that are at Fish and Game before you get to the Overlys. You could stop at some of the road houses on the way out there and just get a sense of size. This will give you a perspective of what is a 60 incher and what is a 55 incher. Otherwise, four or five days in the hunt which might be wet and tough you might settle for a 55 incher with a passle of browtines but a lack of palm mass, width and height. Someday, when I am retired in about 8 years*41 now* you better be kickin so I can get the low down on those asiatic buffalo as my wife really wants to go to Ozzie Land. Best, Thomas Thomas Kennedy | |||
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Thanks for the tips on judging big moose. When I look at mounts such as at Cabela's, etc. The rack never looks as big as I think it should. Maybe it's the size of the animal itself. I do know what you are talking about when you say you see a big one and it jumps out at you. I've had a few of those experiences. In the last ten years, and hunting animals I don't normally see, I find the guides judgement to be what I rely on. I've been amazed how they can come within a half inch once we put a tape on it. I thought about hunting buffalo here and stag in New Zealand, but the prices have been prohibitive. Hunting cape buffalo in Zimbabwe has elimenated my interest in Australian buffalo, and I can hunt trophy elk in the States for half of what New Zealand wants for a similar animal. I think you would find Australia very interesting though. We've been here a year and will stay one more. Last month we were swimming with whale-shark and manta rays in Exmouth. Flying to rigs you see whale streaming up the coast. Australia has a lot going for it. | |||
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Down to the fine tuning now. All the money is paid. I'm looking at ammunition for the 300WSM. I've narrowed it down to three 180 gr. Federal rounds. My choices are the: 1. Barnes MRX 2. The Nosler Partition 3. Barnes Triple-Shock X Bullet From top to bottom the advantages are: Less drop Less drift More energy down range More velocity down range Has anyonw had experience with the MRX? They look to be hard to come by. | |||
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The boy and I have killed 16-17 moose over the years with same 7 mag, 160 nosler partitions. Now most were spikes but even the 54 incher dropped on the spot, and we always find the bullet inside the hide on back side. Expends all that energy in the moose; never have had any walk off. Actually, moose go down easy. I just ordered 400 rounds each for 270, 7 mag, and 338 mag. I got them from midway as mid south was out of stock. I figured maybe better get some noslers if they were out of stock due to fire. It's been raining alot this past few weeks but about to change I do believe; 80 nx week. I know where a few small bulls are and one in the 50's; around a natural mineral lick. There'll be a few 60's taken around the house but mostly younger bulls; which is fine by me nowadays. Good luck Kensco and hope you enjoy yourself and kill a dandy. | |||
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Just got back from Alaska. We stayed at Coast International Inn. It is adjacent to the airport at the end of Lake Spenard, the floatplane lake. You can walk out the door, cross Aviation Drive and you are touching the planes. I believe it was $144 a night. Not fancy, but clean. We enjoyed the food in the resturant, but would have preferred a larger beer selection. Butch | |||
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The 60 rounds of MRX ammo has arrived in Dallas. I'll get one or two chances at the range before stepping on the plane to Anchorage. Now my biggest worry is whether I can still fit in my sleeping bag. I'm not in the greatest shape of my life, but it is too late to do much about that. I think I stay in fairly good shape for my age year-round. Too much action and stress at work to give thought full-time to the hunt. It will be nice to get in the bush and forget the real world for a while. I haven't made up my mind whether to buy a black bear tag or not. I'll buy a few wolf tags. I have no interest in shooting a wolverine. I'm just ready to touch-down in Alaska, get to the mountains, relax a little, saddle-up, and hunt. | |||
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Good deal, no phones, no noise, just hard hunting. It's starting to cool off, had our first frost yesterday; common to wake up to snow in moose season. Make sure you have a snowshoe squealer in your pocket, easy to call in yearling wolves but I can't get the adults to fall for it. I always lose 10 lbs at moose camp, a good thing. Blk bear are pests around here, I had 8 different bear come into my camera using buttered popcorn (they like that better than anything) & fish a few weeks back. The wife enjoyed the picts so much she wishes we had cell coverage so she could monitor a couple cameras from the house, ha ha. You'd think the state would give you an award for shooting a grizz rather than charging you for a tag; bears are really hitting our caribou & moose hard. Speaking of wolverine. Once about 10 years back, was on a fly in out Innoko River. I had called a bull in, shot it. While we were taking off the quarters, another bull appeared across the lake. I gave a couple calls and continued to cut on that first moose. The second bull walked all the way around that lake to my calls and my buddy shot him. These two moose weren't 100 yards apart dead on the ground. So as we were cutting on the one moose, a wolverine jumped up on the gut pile of the other moose. He kept showing us his teeth as he ate away; like he was ready to come over and chase us off, ha. It was so funny, I didn't even consider shooting him. Wolverine make super nice winter hats. Good luck on the hunt and have a great time. Our first season starts on Tuesday. I'm finishing up permachinking logs (have the wife even helping me.) Hope to spend some time behind house, several small bulls and one in upper 50s back there; been seeing them all Summer. Hope you get a dandy Bull. | |||
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Zhurh, if I read anymore of your posts before the 4th I'm liable to throw the keys on the desk and tell them to take this job and shove-it. No phones, no noise, lose ten pounds, see loads of game........I can't stand it much longer. I've got to have some of that. | |||
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Seriously, I don't usually see game everywhere I go; so much land; kinda low density per Square mile;;; BUt when you do get into them you do see game. The guide will get you into the game, don't worry about that. They know what's going on where they hunt better than everybody else out there. Not to get off subject, but the Taylor highway, 200 mile dirt road from Eagle to Tok got washed out in July. Was open for 2 days and got washed out again. So my truck is at airport in Fairbanks but I was able to bring 3 truckloads of canned goods, paper towels, and all the supplies you can't afford to fly into our community back stored in Tok. I just know they won't open road until 8 sept and screw up my moose hunting. At least I'll be able to make a couple runs to tok, road hunt. I killed my bull road hunting to tok last year; maybe again. No more from me until I see your picts posted on here, have a great time here in Ak. | |||
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What about northern Newfoundland and Quebec? It is my understanding that they currently boast very large numbers of mature moose. Captain Finlander | |||
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I held the last range session today. Those Federal 180 gr MRX can shoot in my 300WSM. Today I was down to selecting two of three boxes for the hunt from the original four I bought. I shot two rounds from each box. Each two-shot group at 100 yards eclipsed each other. The work was in a steady rain with about a 10 mph wind. I'm confident. When I finished I was 3" high at 100 yards, just where I wanted to be. I think the hard part is going to be getting all the gear I've laid-out put into two bags. It doesn't take much when you have waders, sleeping bag, boots, soft gun case, heavy coat, etc. to load one bag. | |||
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Do we have an update on this... Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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