Grunting Bulls, 65 Inch Spreads, and 1,500 Pounds on the Hoof!
Alaska Moose hunting is a lot more than most individuals bargain for. Apart from being one of the most impressive big game species on the earth, they are gigantic animals, weighing up to 1800 pounds, and standing around seven feet at the shoulder. Racks can go 80 inches, although 60 inches is considered very respectable. Simply seeing one of these magnificent animals up close is worth all the effort it can take to hunt them. Most of this effort comes from the wet, nasty, marsh type country they inhabit. Regardless of whether the bulls are in the foothills, or the swamps, the country is likely to be choked with alder, willow, and every other imaginable obstacle, not to mention the water, and the ever present mud that lives to suck the hip boots right off your feet.
Our moose hunting is currently focused from late August through September 20th and occasionally the 25th within Game Management Units 19 C and 16 B with the predominant method of hunting being a spot and stalk approach, rather than calling. Calling is fun, and it is great if you are in an area with 50 yard visibility, but we prefer to hunt more open country where bulls can be spotted at considerable distances and a well thought out stalk planned and executed. Of course we will make use of calling for all it’s worth when we get into the later September hunts!
If you are a rifle hunter we suggest decent caliber rifles, such as .338 Win. Magnum, and up, using high quality bullets, such as Winchester Fail Safe, or Swift A-Frames, or the Barnes X bullets. Although moose are not notoriously difficult to put down, it is expedient to put then down swiftly, and on the spot, if possible.
