Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

**2019 Moose Hunt** DIY Float Trip

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Originally posted by solocam_aggie View Post


    Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


    [emoji23][emoji23]

    Comment


      Originally posted by solocam_aggie View Post


      Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
      LOL! Pretty much nails it.

      Comment


        Great thread. Love these stories. Congratulations on a great bull.

        Comment


          LOL at Tyrone!

          Comment


            Originally posted by solocam_aggie View Post


            Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
            LMFAO!!!!! Couldn’t have said it any better.

            Comment


              I'm with you Tyrone!

              Comment


                I personally think Diamond10x should be temporarily banned until he finishes the story and posts it all at once or he can at least post a portion overy 2 hours.


                Comment


                  Lets start a guess as to what all of this cost before he tells us. I may be way over or way under but I'm thinking easily 20K.

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Killer View Post
                    What do u think the hams weighed? 150lbs ?
                    What kind of packs and frame did y’all use?
                    Makes me want to go back to Alaska and another float hunt!
                    Congratulations to your dad on a great bull!
                    The pics and story bring it to life.
                    The old saying “ the fun ends and the work begins once a moose hits the ground” is very true!
                    If I remember correctly about 130-140 is what the scale said when we got back.

                    Each of us run exo’s and all had 5500 bags which was enough for all our stuff besides other odds and ends needed for a float.

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by Atfulldraw View Post
                      amazing.

                      Your dad is a king - did I miss how old he is?

                      I want to make sure I have plenty of time to do this before it gets too late.
                      54 haha you have plenty of time especially if you have some young bucks with you to do all the heavy lifting.

                      Comment


                        Originally posted by Smoothing Iron View Post
                        This is epic! I would also be interested to learn more about cost and logistics for something like this once you have the time.

                        Quick question, did you guys use onX as your main GPS throughout the trip? I’m trying to decide between using onX or buying a dedicated unit.
                        We had both. We have a Montana 650 we’ve had for a while that we would use along with onx. Also had an inreach as well for communication. Used onx the most as that is where we had a lot of our spots marked.

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by deep n the heat View Post
                          What is the reason y’all left the hooves on the quarters? I would want to lighten the load as much as possible.
                          We left the hooves on to help with the handling of the quarters. Just to put into perspective those hind quarters are over 6ft tall with the hoof still attached. When they are that big and awkward anything that gives you any leverage or another hand hold helps. Also helps when hanging so they aren’t swinging around rubbing or getting stuck to other bags.

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by solocam_aggie View Post


                            Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
                            This is pretty funny right here.

                            Comment


                              Float on a few more miles and we are coming up on a hanging valley on our right that’s about a 500ft elevation climb that I had marked previously before we left as an area that looked good, I’m positive there’s got to be a good bull in that valley. Only problem is it seems a little tricky to get to and it’s a mile off the river. At this point we’re on top of the world but beat from the previous days work. I’m craving this adventure and wanting even more. Dad and brother are a little reluctant of trying to hunt this valley but are on board because it’s now my turn to fill a tag. There’s about a mile where the river is close to this valley making it no more than a mile hike. We look carefully all the way and there’s just no where to beach the rafts easily enough to be able to get all of our gear and meat to a camping spot without risking an accident. It’s just not the right time for hunting this place with already having 1 moose down. I’m a little bummed because for some reason I have an infatuation of hunting this valley, in my mind it offers everything I could have imagined and wanted. Just gonna have to wait and get back to this valley another time. We float on.

                              Check my onx for my other points I had marked and there is a series of lakes I want to hunt that are about a 1/4 mile from the bank but are along a strait in the river, with possibly what looks like high banks and no bars. As we approach we find a small bar about 30 yards long with fresh bull tracks and raked birch and nibbled willows. We stop and check it out. Hot dang there’s a good camping spot right off the bank in the timber, with the perfect fallen tree to hang our meat! To top it off, fresh black bear tracks and scat all along the bar. It’s about 7:30 now and we need to hurry up and get everything unloaded and put up. Brother and I take care of getting the meat hung while dad takes care of the tipi and bear fence. Over dinner we decide that in the morning we need to make a meat rack to get all of the trimmings laid out on to air them out good and make sure each piece is salvaged.


                              Day 9

                              Wake up a little after daylight and brush our teeth and visit the cat hole up from camp. On the way there, come across some new Moose tracks and sign. Apparently he must have smelt the bull we had and came in or just so happened to be walking down the trail. Apparently it’s common that once you have one bull down and in camp that it can bring in others to investigate, smelling another bull in their area. We all start to think the hunting on this river just keeps getting better.

                              Grab our saws and get to work on the meat rack. Same deal as the meat cache before but this time cleaning the spruce trunks completely and adding a lot more so as to almost make it into a table. This way we can lay each individual piece on there without it falling off onto the ground. This takes us about 2 hours and then we start to take each bag of trimmings as well as the straps and loins, get them laid out and sprayed down good with citric acid to help battle bacteria and possible fly eggs. In this wet and humid environment it’s important to do everything you can to combat any bacteria building up on the meat and it needs to dry out good. By now it’s around 4 or 5 and we’re itching to get back to hunting.

                              Grab our packs and head down the moose trail headed toward the lakes we want to hunt. We notice it’s all uphill but at a slow climb, but all solid ground for the most part. This will make any pack out much easier than the last being down hill and solid footing much easier than the last. As we start to get closer to the lakes we start coming up on raked trees and willows that have been stripped of all their leaves recently from browsing. All of a sudden we come upon several trees that are about 10-15 feet apart and they are absolutely demolished. The ground is tore up and there’s branches flung everywhere. Oh man, we all look at each other and at once ,” this bull is p*****!” Perfect! Exactly what we want to find. We continue on another 200 yards to the lake and get set up. Ready on high alert that it could all be going down at any moment. I’m pumped cause it’s my turn now and I’m bound and determined to punch another tag. I set up closer down by the lake in a spot I can watch about 80% of the lake and the surrounding hills. My brother gets back behind me about 100 yards almost to the top of the hill to start raking. He goes through a 30 minute session and we wait and watch. It’s now about 7:30 and starts to drizzle. Ugh this is not good but as long as it doesn’t pick up we will be okay. We wait some more and it’s not picking up. About 7:45 we decide let’s rake again and get out of here in case the rain picks up we need to go tend to the meat we have out on the rack. My brother rakes and we high tail it back to camp. We take a different trail back, more direct. On the way we come up to a small meadow and smack dab in the middle is a wallow. It even has fresh urine still puddles up. Heck yeah this is looking better and better. Get back to camp about 8:45 or so and get the meat rebagged and hang it up. Just in time for it to start puking rain. The plan the next day is to get the meat laid back out in the morning and hunt all day.

                              Red x= my glassing spot
                              Yellow x= brothers calling spot

                              Camp and our hunt area

                              Day 10

                              We wake up to the storm still over us and it still puking rain. Similar to our Texas storms when it’s about like a cow peein’ on a flat rock. Great. Hopefully we aren’t going to lose a whole day of hunting when the season is winding down, closing on the 20th. While eating breakfast we notice water is starting to run under our half floor and pool a bit. We put our rain gear on and dig a small channel around the back of the tipi to divert the water to keep our stuff dry. By now it’s about 9 am and there is no way we can hunt in this weather. So we get the stove lit and start drying stuff out in the tipi while we BS and day dream about a bull that is in the area. What if he’s bigger than the one my dad just got?

                              As the talk continues we decide it’s time to officially measure my dads bull. Put our jackets on and get the tape. Well our estimates were close. We guessed 65” and he’s a tad over 64. My dad knows he’s big but not exactly how big. All along I’ve been thinking he’s a booner but not positive. Now I have a good idea he’s got to make the books.

                              As luck would have it the rain never let up this day and we spent the day stuck in the tent.

                              Day 11

                              Wake up to cloudy skies but it’s not raining anymore.






                              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                              Comment


                                Ohhh here we go day 11!

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X