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alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
I’m used to the numbers we get from buck season.
That’s a lot of protein!
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.

A few years back we shot 15 of them, and got almost as much meat as we did off the one moose we had killed a few months earlier, hahaha.
 
I’ve never hunted deer outside of my state. It’s not much of a sport for me, just grab my rifle and walk out to the apple trees. And, I never harvest more than two a year.
Quail, dove, and duck is a different story. I love working with the dogs. But, it is a time killer. You have to keep the dogs worked, and I keep telling myself I’ll do it…. But then money has to be made. :::sigh:::

I wish I could just go to Alaska and spend a few weeks hunting.
You have it very good up there. And it sounds like your living right.
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
I’ve never hunted deer outside of my state. It’s not much of a sport for me, just grab my rifle and walk out to the apple trees. And, I never harvest more than two a year.
Quail, dove, and duck is a different story. I love working with the dogs. But, it is a time killer. You have to keep the dogs worked, and I keep telling myself I’ll do it…. But then money has to be made. :::sigh:::

I wish I could just go to Alaska and spend a few weeks hunting.
You have it very good up there. And it sounds like your living right.
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.

We definitely have it good when it comes to hunting opportunities, but I assure you, that doesn’t mean it’s “easy” haha. No fences and endless wilderness make it a challenge sometimes, especially logistically. Sometimes it goes swimmingly when you least expect it, other times you should by all accounts have everything on your side for success and get skunked.

The only thing you can be sure of out there is that you can never be sure of anything.
 
Aug 1, 2012
4,587
5,131
Haha, I wish! Bulls are all you can get in most units with over the counter (free and available to everyone) tags. There are drawings for cow tags in many units but they draw at less than 1% most of the tags.

Between my Dad and I (he’s almost 80) we’ve drawn a cow tag once.
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.

To the question of cow vs moose, they are entirely different in how you harvest as well as how hard it is to process. My average time for skinning and quartering was about 3:1 cow vs moose. Moose is easy (but heavy) whereas a cow has a thicker hide and a harvestable skirt steak which is a bear to get right.
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
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.

To the question of cow vs moose, they are entirely different in how you harvest as well as how hard it is to process. My average time for skinning and quartering was about 3:1 cow vs moose. Moose is easy (but heavy) whereas a cow has a thicker hide and a harvestable skirt steak which is a bear to get right.
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.

All that revenue makes it pretty tough for a resident to draw a kodiak bear tag, as tons of them are gobbled up by non-resident applicants. Honestly don’t know why anyone would want one anyway. They make garbage table fare. I mean yeah, they’re huge, but its not like any other bear can’t kill you just as easily.

Whatever, to each their own I suppose. All they’ve ever done is ruin my deer/elk hunts haha.
 

germinal

Lurker
Mar 18, 2021
41
251
Sweden
1. A young bull having a spike or fork antler on at least one side.

2. A mature bull with a rack spread of at least 50 inches (or more).

3. Any bull that has at least three brow tines on at least one side. (Some units require 4 brow tines).

Counting tines I'm used to but I sure understand you want some margin on that spread! :) Maybe there's some shenanigans you can do with a scope if distance is known.

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!
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
Counting tines I'm used to but I sure understand you want some margin on that spread! :) Maybe there's some shenanigans you can do with a scope if distance is known.

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!
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.

And yeah, the scenery out there ain’t half bad ?

2F3B5F78-563D-47AF-A5D8-7DBC2A5AEA6D.jpeg
 

Brendan

Lifer
May 16, 2021
1,412
7,533
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
This thread is fascinating to me, welcome back AK Piper, I'm still pretty new to the forum but have lurked long enough to remember when you first joined and always enjoy your posts.
Have definitely wondered where you were upto the last few months but figured it was doing some cool manly taking care of life business out in Alaska.
Well done on the new job at the bowling alley by the way ..
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
This thread is fascinating to me, welcome back AK Piper, I'm still pretty new to the forum but have lurked long enough to remember when you first joined and always enjoy your posts.
Have definitely wondered where you were upto the last few months but figured it was doing some cool manly taking care of life business out in Alaska.
Well done on the new job at the bowling alley by the way ..
Haha yep, super manly stuff like changing diapers and picking out shower tile patterns :ROFLMAO:
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I just remembered when a Moose came right into the front yard where we were staying. We were at the Growling Bear Inn. I was just sitting outside my room and this huge Moose came within maybe 50 yards. He looked at me and I looked at him. I swear he could tell I wasn't a hunter. It was a majestic looking animal. I had no idea if he was going to attack me so I had my hand on the handle of my room just in case. I mean what the hell would I know about a Moose. I had no idea if they were friendly or freaking mean. I wanted to go pet him but I knew better as I didn't know anything about them. This was back in 1997 way before cameras in cell phones.
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
I just remembered when a Moose came right into the front yard where we were staying. We were at the Growling Bear Inn. I was just sitting outside my room and this huge Moose came within maybe 50 yards. He looked at me and I looked at him. I swear he could tell I wasn't a hunter. It was a majestic looking animal. I had no idea if he was going to attack me so I had my hand on the handle of my room just in case. I mean what the hell would I know about a Moose. I had no idea if they were friendly or freaking mean. I wanted to go pet him but I knew better as I didn't know anything about them. This was back in 1997 way before cameras in cell phones.
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.

 
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mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
3,976
11,065
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
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.
 
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alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,245
Alaska
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.

I've been hunting moose for 25 years and I've never once had one charge me in the bush. Only close calls I've ever had were with moose in urban areas.
 
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hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
The draw tags are just for special conveniences, like any bull, or units close to/in town.

I'm surprised you need tag for close to town since my understanding is the moose closer to town are the ones that didn't win the rut and are more prone to drug usage so they end up backing up traffic begging on the freeway ramps or turning to crime and breaking and entering like the crackheads around here.
 
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jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,568
27,074
Carmel Valley, CA
And where is that?

Please put your location in your Profile, as people are forgetful.
Why:
That will save questions in the future as to where you live when you later mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc. In many instances that saves time for those who read your posts.
How:
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. Just country if you must.