**2019 Moose Hunt** DIY Float Trip

[asttbe]

I'm usually checked out of "to be continued" threads long before this. This one has me checking back constantly

[ATXArcher]

Great story. Can’t wait for the next chapter!


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[ShockValue]

Just landed at DFW from DCA. Taxiing and looking for and update...I look up and the guy across from me has the Green Screen up on his phone. Says he was looking for the next installment too!

[slicktricker]

Epic... can see this turning out well for yo u.

[Mtltx]

Just landed at DFW from DCA. Taxiing and looking for and update...I look up and the guy across from me has the Green Screen up on his phone. Says he was looking for the next installment too!

That’s pretty cool

[Quackerbox]

Reeedonk-u-lous!!!!

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[Seay]

Man!

At least let us in on WHEN the next post will come in!


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[rut-ro]

And he’s still got three more days of updates

[Tex_Cattleman]

What would you charge for someone to sponsor this thread??!?

This is one of the coolest things I've read in 18 years of TBH.
And to think I "hunt".

[Sticks&Strings]

Dang you and the suspense, lol!

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[GarGuy]

Someone gonna have to air drop another raft in there.

[diamond10x]

There’s a moment where it’s completely silent. No steps, the bull is standing still somewhere off down that trail in the willows. I can’t see him but my dad is locked on him not moving. Finally I hear another step and so I turn to set up to where this bull should step out on this trail into the meadow. I’m standing sort of in a spruce resting on the paddle. I hear a few more steps, while my dad turns and puts his hands over his head like antlers and gives me the thumbs up along with a gun motion and pulling the trigger and the okay symbol. My adrenaline really starts to kick into high gear and I just about knock off my rifle resting on top of my paddle. All this bull has to do is take just a few more steps and as soon as there is a clear shot of vitals this .338 win mag is gonna start screamin’. Hear one more step. I can make out a palm through the brush. Two more steps and it’s finally going to happen. The bull is just standing there looking up the hill right at the spot I had been raking from, the exact tree. He stands and stares for about what seems an eternity and gives out two grunts. I want to grunt back back I can’t give away my location because if he takes a step and sees me he’s probably going to bolt out of there. The bull turns around real quick and starts walking back up the trail he came down. My heart sinks a little and I panic. I let out a grunt. He stops and starts straight up the hill towards the spot I had been raking. Luckily not right towards me cause then he’d probably have run over my dad or seen him and taken off. Turn back to the left aiming kind of back up hill ready for as soon as this bull clears these few birch and one big spruce he’ll be in the open enough to get a shot.

Well wouldn’t you know it it starts to drizzle as he’s working his way up to the raking location. He hangs up behind the spruce so I can’t see any part of him. I’m scouring this tree through my scope to see if I can find a hole to sneak a round in there. Way too thick and not a chance it’ll work. The bull is hung up and I’m too nervous to grunt and get him to step out in fear of picking me off. The wind starts to pick up as well as the drizzle. Now the wind is blowing in my face instead of from my right to left. It has to work out now. Still in this standoff, again. Wouldn’t you know it the wind swirls again and blows straight at him. Not three seconds goes by and that bull is off the hill, and over the next one. I’m sick. So close. Meet up with my dad and we’re both defeated knowing tomorrow is Friday and our last chance. We head back to camp and the whole way back in replaying it all in my head, thinking of everything we could have done differently. About dragging my gun barrel in the dirt the whole way back. We reach the tent just as it starts to actually rain and not drizzle.


Red x= glassing spot with my dad under tarp
Yellow x= calling/raking spot
Blue ->, x= bulls path
Purple x= my position I moved to after I heard the steps

Day 14

Last day of the season. The pressure is on. We wake up early to head back to that same spot and hunt all day rain or shine. We rake and grunt. Rake some more. Rake and grunt. Even pull out the cow party calling, getting desperate, as it gets later in the day. None of it works and we’re out of time. The rain has shot the last 6 days. All we can do is chalk it up as we did our best. You can’t take what Alaska isn’t ready to give up yet, it has to be on her terms.

Day 15

Now begins the daunting task of getting these rafts, our gear, the one moose, and ourselves 70 miles down the river to the pick up. Saturday morning we wake up the earliest we have this whole trip. It’s going to take a while to get the rafts all loaded up. We have to load them strategically to where the meat isn’t touching anything and has good airflow all the while is covered enough to not allow any water to get to it from either rain or splashing from the paddles. It also has to be tied down because the goal is to make it through the canyon section of river today.

The rain has finally past and it’s partly sunny for us. Go figure, the season is now over. It might be partly sunny but the wind is a constant 30mph and blowing straight up river. Our work is cut out for us for sure. We push off in the rafts about 9 am and plan to paddle til about 7pm. The river is up about a foot or so from all of the rain over the last week, which I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It could have made the river flow faster or slower. All I know is we have to constantly paddle because as soon as you stop, the wind stops the raft and about pushes it back up river. We are able to luckily make it to the canyon section of the river at about 5:30pm. We make the decision to make it through this 10 mile section and then camp, surely we should be able to get through it by 7:30. Five mph through this section of class ii should easily be possible.

We turn round the last bend of the meandering section of the river and each take a big gulp, strap on our life jackets, and grab a hold tight. With the water up so high these rapids are in full force. None of us have really any whitewater experience other than reading up a little on how to navigate them in a large raft. Keep the nose down river and don’t be digging the paddles down deep in the water and avoid getting sucked into any holes and crashing into rocks. This section of river is full of haystacks, holes, pour overs, and reactionary waves. The white knuckling begins. You can imagine the pucker factor here that we’re all experiencing at this point.

It’s now 7:30pm, the sun is gone, and the temperature is dropping fast. By now I’m guessing it’s probably mid to upper 30’s? My dad checks the gps and we think we’ve gone probably about 5 miles from the start of the rapids. We’re moving even slower. We start looking for a place to camp. Come to a shore line and beach the rafts on the bank and look for a flat spot. No luck we’re just going to have to pitch the tipi on an incline and deal with it. It’s one night. Of course all of our gear is sipping wet from being in the bottom of the raft. We get the tipi up and scratch the bear fence we don’t have time and it’s not worth the hassle for one night. Get the stove together and get a fire lit. The problem with birch is it doesn’t burn all that hot or very long like oak and mesquite. We’re feeding that little stove as much as we can trying to warm ourselves up a little bit. By now the temperature has dropped below freezing and there’s ice on everything that has any little bit of moisture on it. Tonight’s sleep is going to be miserable. About the time we al crawl into our bags there’s a pack of wolves that starts to sound off up on the ridge above us. Oh great,we could be in for a surprise. They howl back and forth talking to each other for a few min then head off down river. We’re relieved as that is up wind of us and we can hopefully get some sleep. If anyone has ever heard wolves howl, it’s honestly a scary sound. It’ll make the hair on your neck stand up that’s a fact. I’m honestly much more scared of a pack of wolves than any grizzly bear. They’re calculated killers.

Day 16 and 17

I will finish up tomorrow, the adventure continues


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[Stuck]

Looking forward to tomorrow. You think y’all would be up to do the trip again next year? I have no intention of packing a bull a mile, dealing with grizzlies and wolves, navigating rapids or living out of a teepee for 17 days when it’s freezing and raining, but if everyone here threw in a couple of bucks we could fund the next trip. But we’re going to need the story relayed a little faster. I know I’ve gotten at least $2 worth of entertainment from it.

[Mountaineer]

This is awesome. I’ve hunted moose in Maine before and saw how huge they are up close.

The pic of your dad packing out that set of antlers is priceless.



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[Quackerbox]

before he hit the ground i hear my brother yell “he’s down, he’s down!!!” jump out of the timber and run across to where my brother was sitting at our glassing spot. He meets me in the middle and tackles me to the ground and we’re beyond excited! This is what we came for. We knew he was big but not sure exactly how big, just that my dad had got his first moose, and my brother and i had called in and spotted it for him. It takes my dad about 10-15 min to make it back over to where we’re at. In this country there is no getting anywhere fast. He makes it over and he’s speechless. He doesn’t have a word to say other than ,”i love you boys,” with tears in his eyes as he hugs us.

.

and this right here is what its all about men!!!