What alpaca raft for moose quarters?

[jofes]

Going to be Hunting in the Togiak this fall for moose and wondering what size of raft you would use for moving a moose quarter on a lake.

Thanks.

 

[wildwilderness]

You can get a PR-49 from pristine ventures and put your moose on it

 

[thinhorn_AK]

If you want just one raft, a Kork or legend will do it. I’d skip alpacka all together for a hunting raft and get a pristine venture raft.

I have the alpacka forager which is their “hunting” raft and it’s not nearly as useful as a PR49 for moving meat. I absolutely hate my forager, I’ll trade somebody for a pr49 if they want. I’d rather just have a second pr49.

 

[jofes]

If you want just one raft, a Kork or legend will do it. I’d skip alpacka all together for a hunting raft and get a pristine venture raft.

I have the alpacka forager which is their “hunting” raft and it’s not nearly as useful as a PR49 for moving meat. I absolutely hate my forager, I’ll trade somebody for a pr49 if they want. I’d rather just have a second pr49.

I've been looking for a used one but I'm also not finding anything.

 

[AKDoc]

I have a Kork and PR-49HD (not for sale LOL). The Kork is my favorite for actual float trips, but for lake hunts I bring my PR. It's considerably lighter for weight restricted fly-ins, and it does the job just fine. I've floated moose across the lake a number of times with my PR-49HD. It's perfect for the job.

Reach out to LB at his business...he rents them: https://pristineventures.com/

 

[WMR]

Thinhorn, tell me more about your Forager. I’ve been considering one for hunting. Save me $ and talk me out if it . Thanks.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Thinhorn, tell me more about your Forager. I’ve been considering one for hunting. Save me $ and talk me out if it . Thanks.

I wanted one for a long time, I ended up getting a sweet deal on one and I don’t like it as well as my PR49. I dont particularly like the seating in the forager and I like the ability to keep the meat off the floor that the pr49 has. Apparently the forager gets more stable if you put your gear into the tubes through the cargo flap but then you have to deflate the thing to get your stuff out.

I don’t know, I’m sure a guy could make it work it just dosent seem to be as purpose built as a pr49 for the specific task of moose hunting.

The forager is absolutely lighter and more packable so there’s that.

 

[WMR]

Thanks for the info. Which raft is more stable on flat water? Based on your advice, I’ll look harder at the PR49. I’m thinking I’ll likely buy one, since rental for a 10 day hunt is about half the purchase price. The weight should be ok since we’re getting flown in a Cessna.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Thanks for the info. Which raft is more stable on flat water? Based on your advice, I’ll look harder at the PR49. I’m thinking I’ll likely buy one, since rental for a 10 day hunt is about half the purchase price. The weight should be ok since we’re getting flown in a Cessna.

Pr49 is stable with or without a load. The forager is only stable with a load.

If you’re hunting at a lake you can just jump in the pr49 and take a spin, not so much with a forager.

I hate to say it, but I’m a huge alpacka raft fan, I have 4 of them and I think the forager is the worst product they make.

 

[Elwingmd]

Multiple gritty film segments out there where they discuss the different sizes if you are looking for a visual representation.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Multiple gritty film segments out there where they discuss the different sizes if you are looking for a visual representation.

What is a “gritty film”???

 

[Elwingmd]

What is a “gritty film”???

Youtube channel run by Brian Call which some people don't like but its at least entertaining. Here is a link with an interview about the rafts:

A quick search yielded many more backpacking trip videos using the rafts

 

[VernAK]

For those that are curious; I have weighed several very large bulls over the years. A 60" bull typically yields 600+ pounds of boned out meat. The last cape I packed out weighed 82 pounds without antlers. A very large bull on the bone with cape and antlers is probably 850 pounds.

 

[AKDoc]

^^^^Vern makes a good point.

When I've floated moose across the lake in my PR-49HD, I've always done it in two loads, which has worked just fine. The payload max is around 850 lbs.

My HD is slightly heavier...with an optional floor and needed accessories it's around 25 lbs all packed up.

 

[william schmaltz]

Here’s a whole moose with boned out ribs in a Voyager. Not sure where you’d put a human here. Anything over about 20lb will compresses the floor into the water. Without a tarp, the bottom quarters would likely be fully submerged in water.

I’d listen to the guy that has used multiple rafts, above. I’d also throw anything a paid influencer has to say out the window immediately.

 

[WMR]

I’ve looked at all I can find online about the PR-49HD. I see lots of folks running it on rivers heavily loaded. For you users, how stable is it with two people aboard? I could envision paddling it down or across a small lake to access other hunting areas. I agree it looks like a good raft to move moose quarters. I’ve been in a few tippy rafts before, and that’s no fun at all.

I’d hate to take the weight penalty of a Kork or a second raft if this one would be ok for two people. Especially so, since we never know if it will be needed at all. Decisions, decisions…

 

[Larry Bartlett]

FYI we are about to have Outdoors Shows in Mat-Su and then Fairbanks. All rafts will be discounted by several hundred $$ sale. We're hoping to have those prices posted online as well for those outside the show areas.

April 12-14 Mat-Su (Wasilla)
April 19-21 Fairbank

We'll also have new accessories: Zippered Bow Bags, motor mount, Cargo netting, and custom Meat Tarp.

Hope to see some of y'all Alaskan Roksliders at the shows.

LB

 

[AKDoc]

I’ve looked at all I can find online about the PR-49HD. I see lots of folks running it on rivers heavily loaded. For you users, how stable is it with two people aboard? I could envision paddling it down or across a small lake to access other hunting areas. I agree it looks like a good raft to move moose quarters. I’ve been in a few tippy rafts before, and that’s no fun at all.

I’d hate to take the weight penalty of a Kork or a second raft if this one would be ok for two people. Especially so, since we never know if it will be needed at all. Decisions, decisions…

I've paddled my PR-49HD across lakes with two of us on board a number of times, and it has been totally solid. No worries at all, but of course I'm not pushing the wx nor white-capping water from the wind

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’ve looked at all I can find online about the PR-49HD. I see lots of folks running it on rivers heavily loaded. For you users, how stable is it with two people aboard? I could envision paddling it down or across a small lake to access other hunting areas. I agree it looks like a good raft to move moose quarters. I’ve been in a few tippy rafts before, and that’s no fun at all.

I’d hate to take the weight penalty of a Kork or a second raft if this one would be ok for two people. Especially so, since we never know if it will be needed at all. Decisions, decisions…

I’ve used a pr49 to zip around lakes many many times with 2 people. It works really well for that type of stuff.

 

[Voyageur]

We'll also have new accessories: Zippered Bow Bags, motor mount, Cargo netting, and custom Meat Tarp.

Hope to see some of y'all Alaskan Roksliders at the shows.

LB

When will the cargo netting be available on your website, Larry?
Thanks.