2017 SLDMTN Alaska Hunting Season

SLDMTN

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New year, new thread, same shenanigans from Alaska.

A buddy and I called in a wolf a couple years ago during a halfhearted attempt for coyotes. Long story short, we were undergunned and ill prepared for anything of that size or shot distance. However, the encounter really peaked my interest in dog hunting. Last winter I tried a few times but didn't connect. This winter I've really tried to make it happen again. It's been a steep learning curve with lots of time invested and no success thus far.

Last weekend, I hiked up into a valley that wolves have been known to travel through. After a minute or so of calling, I caught movement across a small snow covered clearing between thick patches of brush. It was definitely dogs, three of them running nose to tail in my general direction. They appeared smaller even before I pulled my glass for a better look and confirmed it was three coyotes. Disappointed and excited all in the same thought, not wolves but at least I'd called something in! I kept calling and waited for them to poke their heads over the closest ridge. After 45 minutes, nothing showed...

I got impatient and slowly stalked down into a gulley towards where I had last seen them. Jumping a moose got my heart ripping so I posted up behind a small spruce tree and called again. After 10 minutes and no movement, I worked my way further down into the bottom. As I was about to post up for more calling, I got busted. All three of them were cutting diagonally uphill at 100 yards until they saw me. The coyotes split, I dropped to my butt and started calling immediately. All three dogs stopped running and turned at 300 yards. Propping my gun up on my knees, I put the crosshairs on the clearest shot and squeezed off. The shot felt good but I flat missed. I could tell immediately by the way the dog took off. Frustrated I tried a hail mary as they were running.

I hiked down and cut their tracks just to be sure I hadn't wounded one. No blood on the pure white snow :mad:

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Out of time, I hiked back out to my truck. I've had a wicked flu bug / cold that doesn't seem to want to leave lately. Of course it seemed amplified due to my frustration.
 
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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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This weekend I was fortunate enough to get a green light from my better half to go hunting again. We've been really busy with family/kids activities lately so I was pumped. My caribou tag got punched last fall but my Dad and brother in law still had tags to fill.

We left my house early and made the drive out to the old stomping grounds. It was a calm, clear morning but it wasn't very warm. The thermometer was reading -20F as we unloaded. After topping off the snowmachines and checking things over, we left shortly after sunrise. It's a few miles to get out of treeline which can take a few minutes or a few hours. This trip, it was closer to an hour. The hills had overflow from natural springs that made the trail nasty. It took some creative routes and ferrying sleds but we made it over the top.

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Typically in this area, the caribou tend to roam between a few usual spots. As we checked the lakes and drainages for fresh tracks, I saw some dark shapes on a small rise. Game on! Our tags are for any caribou which makes life easy for selection. My Dad and brother in law shed a few layers and took off after them working through low spots and brush patches. It was tough to watch as I stayed back with my nephews. I don't mind not being the shooter but I hate not being in on the stalk. Their stalk was easy until about 300 yards, no cover beyond that. Just as they were getting good rests, one of the herd spotted them. The caribou got uneasy and started to move. Before they got out of range, my brother in law took a chance. It paid off and he dropped a cow with a round from his .300 WM.

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I fired up my machine and ran out to ferry them back to their machines. We broke a good trail out to the downed caribou and got everything moved closer. When it's that cold outside, it's amazing how much faster you can break an animal down and haul it out. After the knife work was done, we scrubbed the meat with snow and got any unwanted mess off. We put the meat in game bags, wrapped it in tarps and loaded it in the pack sled. The trip out was uneventful, even coming down through the overflow areas which was a relief. We made it to the trucks and headed home as the sun was starting to set.

The arctic meat chiller.

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Even found a dead head while we were out.

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We still have my Dad's tags left to fill which hopefully we can get done this coming weekend. Regardless, I'm excited of the coming seasons through the year.

Gear Note: I wore my Kryptek Aegis kit while I was out. It kept me warm all day at -20F temps and worked really well. Very happy with that purchase so far. I know I look cold but I'm actually quite toasty.

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SLDMTN

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Quick little video I threw together from the hunt.

[video=youtube;J2Q7Q9W8rl8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Q7Q9W8rl8[/video]
 
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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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Well, time for an update. I got the stand finished so my daughter and I can both lay down and I can get her in a sleeping bag to stay warm through the night. That should make both of our lives way better on those long nights. Bonus, I didn't fall out of the tree getting the platform built. My Dad helped get the initial framework up and I finished the next weekend. It looks pretty hillbilly but it should work great.

Before I could get out on the trail to the stand I had to replace the two front tires on my Grandma's wheeler for her. I wasn't looking forward to it honestly. Pneumatic tire machines are awesome but I didn't have one, it was all manual for me. Luckily my Grandpa's bead breaker was still out there. It worked slick and I used tire spoons to finish the job. Some Murphy's tire compound to seat the beads, wrapped it up nicely. Except for when the beads set and it shot the Murphy's all over me and the garage.

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I did some deadfall clearing and made a back wall to the barrel. It'll keep the bears funneling in where I want them to and hopefully give me better shooting angles this year.

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jwb300

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Nice one - following along with interest again this year! Hope you can get one of them grizzlydogs!
 

colonel00

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Following along as well. Looking forward to chatting at the packraft rondy as well as I think you are going to make it.

Hunting bears over bait is such a strange experience. My father and I had the chance to do it 2 years ago thanks to Jeremy here on the forum. Sadly, it was stupid hot, like 90's near Fairbanks in May and nothing was moving. There's just something weird about sitting in a tree stand til after midnight and it's still light outside. Still, such a cool and different way to hunt and I swear every squirrel rustling in the leaves started to look like a bear :)
 
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SLDMTN

SLDMTN

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Hunting bears over bait is such a strange experience. My father and I had the chance to do it 2 years ago thanks to Jeremy here on the forum. Sadly, it was stupid hot, like 90's near Fairbanks in May and nothing was moving. There's just something weird about sitting in a tree stand til after midnight and it's still light outside. Still, such a cool and different way to hunt and I swear every squirrel rustling in the leaves started to look like a bear :)

Those stinking squirrels, they're definitely plotting against hunters...

After finishing the stand yesterday, I was headed out the trail and smelled something definitely dead. I smelled a little something peculiar on the way in but the wind was blowing differently. This time, rotting flesh, no mistaking that smell! Sure enough, dead animals. I say animals and that's a bit of an understatement. A trapper had dumped all of their carcasses right off the side of my trail, JACKPOT! It takes a bit of a strange ranger to look at things in that light I suppose or peculiar circumstances at the very least :D

I ran back to Palmer last night, grabbed my wheeler trailer and went back out today. I loaded all of the carcasses up and headed back into the stand. So, so nasty. The flies had started to boil on them and decomp had set in. It's pretty crazy that the bears hadn't found them yet but I'm feeling real good about my odds now!

[video=youtube;x5CvxZZ3yY4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5CvxZZ3yY4[/video]

Always carry spare Nitrile gloves. Never can tell when a sharp bone will rip one and get the ooze on you....

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SLDMTN

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I managed to make life very busy this year with kids activities, yard work, and side jobs which has resulted in me slacking on keeping this year updated as it rolls along.


The last two years in a row, I have had bears on the stand very early into the bait season which opens April 15th. However, this year was very slow until June 1. It struck me as odd because I know there are a ton of bears in the area. My one piece of mind was knowing that everyone else baiting in the same general area, was having a slow start as well. I attribute most of it to the cold spring that we had this year.

This little sow was the first bear to show up, she had really nice hair and a very pretty color.

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My daughter doesn’t care how big the bear is, she wants one. So we drug our gear into the stand and got settled in for long cold nights.

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Sleeping 13’ off the ground while waiting for bears is where it’s at! It is no longer a test of your cold endurance and my back doesn’t get all stoved up from sitting still for 12 hours straight.

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SLDMTN

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Baiting was slow and the only thing showing up were bugs and hawk owls….a couple built their nest in very close proximity to my tree stand this year. Curiosity got the best of me and I wandered around looking for it, which wasn’t the smartest. Apparently I found it because one of the owls attacked me while the other cheered from a neighboring tree. It full on dive bombed me, talons out and hammered me in the back of the head. It was a mixture of confusion and anger while I tried to make sense of what happened. Realizing I was right next to the nest I retreated to where I thought I would be safe. Well, the other one hammered me from a different angle as I was keeping an eye on the first.

Luckily, a bleeding scalp and bruised pride was the worst of the damages. I can say when you’re on full alert looking for grizzlies at an active bait stand and something attacks your from behind, I’m thankful my daughter was asleep. She would have learned a whole new vocabulary and gotten to watch Dad get his ass kicked by two birds…

Recovering from aggressive owls, we took a break from baiting for some packraft fishing.

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SLDMTN

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The following weekend, we were back after it looking for bears and the visitors kept getting BIGGER!

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Then Mom and two brand new little cubs showed up.

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We sat the stand again but no one wanted to stop by for a visit. With the rain starting to fall, we packed our gear and headed home.
 
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SLDMTN

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This last weekend I had to play wedding date for my wife in an out of town wedding. The weather cooperated, we had a great time and were even able to slip out for a hike up a nearby trail.

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His and hers pack beers were a welcomed treat at the top.

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We’ll be headed back out to the stand this weekend barring any unforeseen issues. I can’t wait to see who shows up…
 
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luke moffat

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Some great pics man!!! Really enjoyed them! Keep updating this thread. Enjoy seeing your adventures.
 

Jdog

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Very cool. Miss living in AK--it's magical as spring begins to take hold.

I cannot wait to return.

Your daughter is cute as a button--very cool to involve her so early.

Great thread.
 
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SLDMTN

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Very cool. Miss living in AK--it's magical as spring begins to take hold.

I cannot wait to return.

Your daughter is cute as a button--very cool to involve her so early.

Great thread.

Thanks man! My daughters are going to give me heartburn as they get older. They're too cute for my well being.
 
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SLDMTN

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That's a priceless face on that little girl. She watched three grizzlies come in and then three more! The first three were all 2-3 year old and small, they got all sketched out and spooked the other bears as well. The monster boar we've been watching stayed out in the woods but stood up before he left. What a stinkin monster! Aubrey looked at me and said, "Best night of my life! I can't stop shaking!!"

What a cool thing to experience with her. Even if we don't kill a bear, I am COMPLETELY happy with how this baiting season turned out.

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Screen shot of the three stooges I got on film.

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