'05 ?

[Moosie]

Looks like Moosie is heading back up to chase Moose/ 'Bou again in '05 unless something changes. I was Darn Sure I'd be in Africa or Chasing Mnt Goats or dall sheep way before I head back up but I have some 'BOU revenge to do on the Elusive Bull 'Bou I wil also be looking for another Baby moose.

T-BONE will be joining me and 2 other guys that don't post on the Board.

LBG, We're Flying North of were you're at but If we have any layover at all I hope you can make it to the Airport so I can buy you lunch or something. 18 months, Right around the corner

T-bone, ya ready yet ?

 

[Pygmy]

Moosie...there is a guy named Milo who posts on the Alaska Hunting Forum on www.outdoorsdirectory.com. he lives in Alaska and has hunted out of Kotzebue...He a straight shooter...I got drunk with him last time I was in Anchorage in '02....

Anyway, he told me that there are not a lot of air services in the Kotz area and there are a couple that you want to avoid...I'll see if I can get his email to you so you can check in with him...

He and his Brother hunted there last year and got a moose and some pretty nice bull 'bou...

 

[Moosie]

The guy I'm getting hooked up with is a Local. He's jsut providing us with the Means to get up here and the Place to go. We're flying out of KOZ to Noatak and taking a Jet boat from there.

It's a Self guided deal.

I would like to drop that gy a Lne though sometime.

 

[nmtaxi]

Cool, Moosie. I'm heading up there in Sept. for a moose/bou float hunt. 5 months to go!!! It seems like a long time, but I'm sure by the time it comes around, I still won't have done half the crap I should of to get ready. I'll be hunting by Aniak, in western AK.

 

[Moosie]

Dan, First off Welcome to Moosie's.

2nd off. Who are you going with, What are you paying and what are you after and How long are you going and what are your Weight restrictions ?

(First of a Couple questions I have )

 

[nmtaxi]

Moosie, thanks for the welcome. I booked with Adventures in the Wild. Aniak Air Guides are the ones flying us in. It's a 14 day, 50 mile float trip. Moose is the main target, but we'll also be looking for caribou and black bear. There's supposedly a pretty good caribou herd in the area at that time. It's costing $2900, and we're allowed 100 pounds of gear a piece. They are supplying most of the camping equipment and raft.

 

[Moosie]

14 day ? How long is the Moose season ? It's only 9 days right ?

I've heard of Aniak.

If you need a Detailed List of what I took last year lemme know. I have it in Excel and It is probably the Best list that you'll find *WINK WINK*

Could you do me a Favor ? Keep track of ALL your Costs. What ya paid for the Plane ticket, the Hotel Stays, food, tags, etc. I'm jsut wondering because your $2,900 sounds good but wondering what your Final $ is. i'm guessing easily 6k ?

I'm Stoked for you !!! A float trip would be cool !!!!

 

[nmtaxi]

The non-res hunting season is from sept. 5th thru the 20th. I'll be out there from the 7th and get picked up the day after the season ends. I'm keeping track.
What's really costing me is all the gear I have to buy. I think it's going to cost me between 5 and 6k. Right off the bat, you have to ad a thousand for the tags, and a thousand for plane tickets. But I'm a taxidermist (part-time), so I'll save on that end.
I'd like to see your list, and I'll be sure to keep track of the money I spend.

 

[Moosie]

I'd send you the List but your Email is Blocked. I can Go into the registrey (I jsut happen to have that right ) but don't know if you want me emailing it to that Addy.

Email me [email protected] and I'll reply with the list.

You don't need to spend all that much (6k) unless you really want too, Even if you're buying ALL top of the line stuff. You should get fully outfitted for less then that. Unless you're buying a New gun too

 

[nmtaxi]

What's the point of going on a trip like this if I can't buy a new gun. We can't all win one at a raffle.LOL

 

[Moosie]

LOL.. Either you've been doing some Back reading or you've been following e for some time now

You have mail, Lemme know what ya think.

Food, YAH, We brought too much. I can tell you (I learned from ElkGunner here) that Peanut butter and Tortilla shells are the BEST/Fastest/tasties food you'll get and Eat up there.

We also used Crystal light instead of jsutthe Water. Way better to me. I'd drink Grapefruit crystal in the Morning with Lemonade in the Evening, Almost like a Change of Treats

 

[Pygmy]

Dan...Float trips are fun and also you get to fish in the bargain...It's a good way to hunt moose but meat care can be a pain in the butt... I did a float in '89 for moose and caribou on the Mulchatna, back before it became so crowded...

Ideally, you'll float until you find a place with lots of game and do most of your hunting from a more or less fixed camp...That way you're not making and breaking camp so often and wasting valuable hunting time..

100 pounds is quite a lot of gear, somewhat depending on what the outfitter provides... I can help with some gear recommendations also, although I'm sure Moosie has it all covered...

Are you buying tags for everything..??


In any case, it will be quite an adventure...

 

[nmtaxi]

Moosie, I've been on MM for a while, so I saw all your postings on your moose hunt. Thanks for the lists. They'll be useful.

Pygmy, that's our plan. We're going to try to just make a few camps, and hunt each one a few days. The meat care and hide care is going to be a pain.

I'm buying all the tags they'll let me: moose, caribou, black bear, wolf and wolverine. Surely I'll be able to kill something off that list. LOL.

If either of you have recommendations are far as hip waders go, that would be helpful. Some people tell me that rubber waders are the way to go, and some say to go with a wading shoe, and neoprene waders.

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Good deal. I'm still going to Africa next year, I think. I'll try not to kill everything there before you go, Moosie.

 

[T Bone]

Not quite ready yet.....But very excited.

For gear, I'll need to get some new rain gear, and hippers. I should have eveything else.

Need to scrape up some $. Tried to sell my 5 year old on Ebay but the reserve wasn't met....(just kidding there folks)

Still considering taking the bow, but will likely take the rifle. I have 18 months to chew on that.

I have one question: let's say I poke a 60" bull and I want a shoulder mount. Is it better (cheaper)to freeze the cape in AK and ship it home, or have it taxidermied in AK and ship later?

Anyone have a ball park idea on costs for shipping frozen cape, antlers vs. taxidermy in AK and shipped?

 

[Moosie]

DAN, You saw my postings on MM.com and you still came over and Registered ?!?! WOW, You must have seen through my Chit stirring posts

Hip Waders... I'm an AK Expert, I went there once So I'll kick in My .02 worth.

My dad and Myself together spent about 6-7 counting New Digi batteries, Tents, Stoves, the works. If my Wife asks, that numer is Hundreds, not thousands .. 'k (Now knowing what I know we spent Way to much for things not so Needed. ) But it's not like we're not putting it all to use here in Idaho either ) Anyways, I was tight on Weight and LBG offered to load my his Hippers up there. I thought Cool. Not only can I save $50 (Whats $50 at that point though right... Sure Hindsight.. 20/20 HEHE) but I don't need to ship some. NOW, I'm not dissing the Idea or the Generosity from LBG but the Waders I borrowed were a Little Dried out. Had some Dry rot and Leaked like a Sive... Below is a Picture of them :

Even after I got into the Field and Got the Special Camo Ducktape My footsies didn't fair well.

NOW, All that being said, I wore them Every day. When I go to AK next year I will bring a Pair of new $50 hippers and Wear them Exclusivley. I will have the Boot part I can Just slip into and not worry about the Lace up Bootie for them. Too much work, Not enough Benifit. Actually I see more of a Hassle with "0" benifit.

T-Bone, I'm going to look into Frog Toggs (Do a search on them in Google, I'm buying a pair this year and Going to hit the Idaho Hills with them. I'll decide from there what to do. We're going to be in Bigger tents with Stoves that can Dry out stuff a little so we'll see

Also, ther reason your 5 year lold didn't sell is you set the Reserve WAY to high. Instead of posting it at $50, next time drop the 0 and start with $5.

Tyson, Don't be a PU$$, bring the BOW, use my 300 as a Backup. I've seen you shoot. If anyone should have a Little Stick and string it's you bud....

If you're board, Go back and Look at some of the Topics From Last year and Some Comments. Some guys had alot of good comments. I'm guessing We'll get all the Same questions answered again though.

 

[Pygmy]

T-Bone....Leave the damn bow home...I know of lots of guys who took BOTH a bow and a rifle and every ONE of them ended up shooting thier game with a rifle...If you want to bowhunt, fine...Take your bow and carry a .44 mag or sling a light shotgun for backup... You'll STILL probably end up borrowing Moosie's rifle to kill your game..

As far as footwear goes, I've had great luck with Cabela's Ankle fit hippers...I'm still using the ones I bought for my '96 Alaska trip..Take a pair of regular goretex hunting boots to switch to if the terrain permits...

We've always salted our capes and brought them back as excess baggage on the airline...

Another option would be parcel post...The last two years we've sent our antlers back parcel post....It's by far the cheapest way...If you tape up the points you can ship a pair of split caribou antlers for about $25...Moose antlers may be a problem, because they're oversize...It might still be cheaper than paying the airline's extra baggae fee, though..They are starting to ding you pretty good to ship antlers.

 

[T Bone]

I'll take the .300 win stoked with Hornady 190's or 200 grn Partitions. I'd prefer to take a stainless rifle, but the only rifle I have in stainless is a .270. It would probably kill a moose just fine, but since I have the option I'll take the bigger stick.

 

[nmtaxi]

Those are some sweet waders Moosie!!! Think I can borrow those? They look like they got a few more trips left in them.

 

[Moosie]

Tbone.. Then I'm leaving my rifle at home and "ONLY" Bringing my bow if you
re not....(No pistol either)

Dan, they probably have a couple more trips in them.. BUT I "Accidentally" left them in the Garbage when I got back to civilization

BW...Although I'm not Disagreeing with ya, I probably need to clarify a Bit. Our tents that I had up there was Plenty. We had a Tent that fit 2 people and we had a Tarp set up. I would have that setup again. We also brought a 2nd smaller tent for a Shelter that we never set up. Partially because we didn't see and rain while I was there in the 13 days we were out I'm not sure how wierd that is but probably no-one that hunts AK ever stayed that dry.

The Reason I meansioned the Bigger tents is We're renting BIG WALL tents with Wood Floors and Stoves. Going up the river in a Jet boat will allow us to pack in a bit more. So Our setup is Alot different with lots less restrictions.

As far as the List, I will break stuff out and Say what Helped me the Most and Stuff I didn't use. Probably won't be till later this Summer. Just in time for Sims but way in time for Tbone.....