Haha, yeah moose are huge. We hunt blacktail deer here (even smaller than whitetails) and the difference is pretty dramatic. Every time I walk up to one I’m like “that’s it?”. There’s more meat on my bloodhound, haha.
Yeah, its definitely a meat first priority for me as well, but I won’t lie, I do enjoy it quite a bit. Nothing goes to waste thats for sure.
He hasn't told you about the mosquitos and the horseflies yet.
If I knew that, I'd forgotten. Here it's hard to get a bull tag. Too many out of state hunters coming to hunt a big rack rather than for the meat. To that point, I say fill that freezer. And I also forgot to say congrats on the kid.
Yeah, we have a similar issue here with Kodiak bears. The state requires a guide for out of state hunters to go after one, and guide’s charge a fortune. The state also gets a pretty penny for the tags. Not to mention air services, taxidermists, shipping companies, etc.
Maybe there's some shenanigans you can do with a scope if distance is known.
Yeah, thankfully most bulls over 50 have three so the majority of the time you’re looking at tines. But there are certainly times u have to pass on a bull thats close but 2x2. The only system we have is 10 inches between the eyes. So u need twice that on either side of the eyes to even consider pulling the trigger.Counting tines I'm used to but I sure understand you want some margin on that spread!
On state-owned land we have a similar lottery-based system, but for hunting days instead of prey. That is restricted to small game and most commonly birds.
There's no perfect system but yours sounds like a good one, and the landscape and fauna seems like a hunters dream!
Haha yep, super manly stuff like changing diapers and picking out shower tile patterns
Don't recommend petting, haha. They are generally pretty docile in urban areas, they wander through the streets of Anchorage all the time. However, if you get to close to their personal bubble, they can stomp you to death in a heartbeat. Cows with calves are particularly aggressive. They should always be given a wide berth regardless.
I once followed an animal trail through a willow thicket in the Brooks Range, one of the larger ones that trip, and turned around a blind corner to come face to face with a moose resting smack dab in the middle of the trail. The moose and I both instinctively jumped backwards and luckily for me, the moose then took off in the opposite direction. I figure I got really lucky that day and it was about as close a call as when I got rescued drowning off The Point on Lake Michigan a few years later.
Moose in the wild are much less bold than they are around urban areas. Typically they will flee at the first sign of a human, anything remotely unrecognizable, or even an unfamiliar scent on the wind. Sometimes when they are a little stupider during the rut they'll hang around, but typically when surprised in the wild they flee instantly.
