2016 SLDMTN Alaska Hunting Season

SLDMTN

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I'll be adding to this thread over the course of the year as things progress through the seasons.

Well 2016 has kicked off with promise to top my 2015 season, it'll be hard to do but I think it's possible. After getting skunked on the draw, I got a surprise call from ADF&G notifying me that I was drawn for an emergency permit near my house. It's hit or miss whether they even open that tag. The release is based off of car/moose accidents or problem moose bothering neighborhoods. This spring it was car/moose encounters that prompted the opening.

This was going to be an interesting pursuit considering how much of the hunt area was private land. I haven't "road hunted" since I was really young and riding in the middle seat next to my Dad but that's what land access issues had me doing.

The first night I hunted the area, I had a moose cross the road directly in front of me. Even if I wasn't interested in poking it with an arrow, I almost hit the animal. This is exactly why the hunt was taking place....

Slamming the truck into park, I jumped out with my bow in one hand and binos in the other. As I was hustling to catch up, another driver slowed down and asked if I was gonna kill that stupid moose. I laughed and yelled back, "I hope so!!!"

After a quick check with the binos to ensure it was a cow (that's what my tag was for) and not a shed bull, I ranged it at 40 yards. The moose was still quartering away from me when I drew back and whistled at it.

Whistling didn't even make it look back let alone stop, I tried a few other sounds and it finally got curious enough to take a peek.

Squeezing the release, my arrow whipped off the rest and found some fur. The shot was a little far back but the quartering angle kept me feeling pretty confident. I could hear hooves stomping on the dry leaves for just short time, followed by a crash, and then silence. I marked my watch at 7:00 PM and gave it some time.

Working by headlamps, we found blood, then my arrow, then the moose not 50 yards from the shot. Woohoo! My first bow kill and I was pumped! The freezer would be full again!

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It was the easiest pack I have had in a long time. We gutted her, split at the third rib and carried each half to the tarped bed of my truck. A quick drive home had me showered and in bed with the meat hung before 11:00. Four hours from thwack to the sack, I can handle that!

The next day we began processing.

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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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With the moose processed and spring coming into full swing, I kept busy hiking to stay in shape.

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This last weekend, I found some time to chase early season black bears out on the blue water. We didn't get on any bears this trip but we had a blast. Here's some pics to make the post relevant.

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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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Moose Burgers and Shrimp boiled in Denali Red!!
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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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Enjoy! I hope to have more stories before too long.
 
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4 hours 'thwack to sack' is pretty dang good! Congrats on a quick full freezer! Sweet pics too. That moose burger with shrimp looks pretty tasty...
 
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Well done man!!! Here's to an excellent 2016 for all of us. I got a Grizzly bear last week, so looking promising for me as well!!!
 
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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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4 hours 'thwack to sack' is pretty dang good! Congrats on a quick full freezer! Sweet pics too. That moose burger with shrimp looks pretty tasty...

Thanks! The food was awesome, especially coming in from a cold wet day.

Well done man!!! Here's to an excellent 2016 for all of us. I got a Grizzly bear last week, so looking promising for me as well!!!

Come on now, you can't say something like that and not post pics!

Awesome Man!!! Congrats on a great start!

Thank you! Hopefully you get your gear situation sorted out before August.

Great pictures looking to follow along with you all year

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Thanks, hopefully I can keep the momentum rolling.
 

realunlucky

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Found all three video interesting having only been on the ocean once. Looked like it was a prefect glass calm day and those shrimp were huge. I need more Alaskan adventures such an amazing place to live

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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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Found all three video interesting having only been on the ocean once. Looked like it was a prefect glass calm day and those shrimp were huge. I need more Alaskan adventures such an amazing place to live.

Friday night it was blowing almost 30 mph in gusts. Seas were near 3-4 ft going across one of the passages. Saturday was hit and miss with the weather. Every five minutes it seemed to change. Sunday was AMAZING! The kind of day you never want to end.
 
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SLDMTN

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Someone is awake!
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And the plug is out.
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Earliest I've had a fur ball on my stand. More to come later this week ;)
 
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SLDMTN

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I'll just leave this here. For reference I'm 6'2" without the boots. I'll add more pictures later. Smaller bear but a beautiful hide still.

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Burning the candle at both ends tonight.....
 
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SLDMTN

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Mr. Bear does not like Ravens messing with his food!
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SLDMTN

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The Tide bottle is just shy of 9' to the bottom of it. He can't quite reach it so I'm guessing 6-7' bear.
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Mr. Bear also does not like having his picture taken too many times.....
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Chomp Chomp Chomp
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RIP Trail camera......

I'm very diligent about wearing rubber gloves and not mixing scents. Apparently not diligent enough......
 
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