Happy Monday Everyone! Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I am just putting this out there to start the research process. My 3 younger brothers and I really want to pull together an "adventure" for/with our dad. He has sacrificed so much to give us some great opportunities, carried and dragged us around the woods when we were WAY too young to be out there, helped pack out animals, bought us our first shotguns and muzzleloaders, helped us with gear, and so much more than we could ever repay him for. So, we are wanting to start saving pennies and put together a guided moose hunt for him in either Alaska or Canada. It's the type of thing he's always talked about doing, but would never do for himself, so we want to set it up for him and pay the bill and make it easy for him!
The thing is, I have no idea how to even start researching this stuff. Just punching in stuff like "guided Canadian moose hunt" into the google machine pulls up everything from high dollar outfits to websites that look older than Bill Gates himself. So, I've narrowed down my questions and put them below, hoping I can get a little narrower scope of what exactly I need to watch for.
I want this to be special, and although my other brothers will likely help pitch in, it appears as if I'm the only one who would go with him to actually hunt. It will probably be the only time he and I get to do this together, so I want to do it right, but I also don't want to have to take out a second mortgage on my house to make it happen. Help? Please?????
12/8 REVISION to answer @GotDraw? questions
Rifle Hunt. I'm an avid mid-long range shooter (confident to 800 yards easy), dad is old school "hold over his back" type hunter, never would shoot beyond about 400. Dad's bow is like 30 years old, so he will NOT be archery hunting.
Not sure about hunt type at this point, he's not really set up to backpack hunt.
Hunting ability is high (in our opinion). Spend lots of time glassing, but also not afraid to go into their beds and shake hands with them. Both of us have good equipment, though dad will need to get some upgraded glass before the trip (part of the "whole package" gift we will give him. He's always wanted some EL's!)
Dad is 50, I'm 26. Dad is an avid competitive road biker, and is arguably twice as fit as the majority of 30 year olds running around the hills every fall. He keeps up with me hiking, although he's a bit stiffer in the morning than I am! I'm a crossfitter, power lifter, runner, and spends lots of time in the mountains shed hunting and hiking and hunting. To be honest, we are by far much fitter than anyone we ever run into while out.
We aren't afraid to hunt hard, but my goal is to definitely get him a moose. He's always wanted it, but he's never treated himself. We want it to be the "whole package." Planning on a 10 ish day hunt, and as cool as Alaska would be, not at all opposed to Canadian to save a bit of $$$, as long as we can still have a once in a lifetime experience together.
I am just putting this out there to start the research process. My 3 younger brothers and I really want to pull together an "adventure" for/with our dad. He has sacrificed so much to give us some great opportunities, carried and dragged us around the woods when we were WAY too young to be out there, helped pack out animals, bought us our first shotguns and muzzleloaders, helped us with gear, and so much more than we could ever repay him for. So, we are wanting to start saving pennies and put together a guided moose hunt for him in either Alaska or Canada. It's the type of thing he's always talked about doing, but would never do for himself, so we want to set it up for him and pay the bill and make it easy for him!
The thing is, I have no idea how to even start researching this stuff. Just punching in stuff like "guided Canadian moose hunt" into the google machine pulls up everything from high dollar outfits to websites that look older than Bill Gates himself. So, I've narrowed down my questions and put them below, hoping I can get a little narrower scope of what exactly I need to watch for.
- For those of you who have done this before, maybe multiple times, who did you book with, and how did you vet them out?
- What do we need to realistically plan on for budget? I know you can spend anything from $5,000 to $50,000 and potentially more, but how much do we really need to be prepared to fork over?
- How early do we need to plan on booking?
- For those who have done both Canadian and Alaskan, it appears we could go to Canada for less money. Can we still expect some giant bulls in Canada, or will they be similar to his 40" Utah Shiras he killed a couple years back?
I want this to be special, and although my other brothers will likely help pitch in, it appears as if I'm the only one who would go with him to actually hunt. It will probably be the only time he and I get to do this together, so I want to do it right, but I also don't want to have to take out a second mortgage on my house to make it happen. Help? Please?????
12/8 REVISION to answer @GotDraw? questions
Rifle Hunt. I'm an avid mid-long range shooter (confident to 800 yards easy), dad is old school "hold over his back" type hunter, never would shoot beyond about 400. Dad's bow is like 30 years old, so he will NOT be archery hunting.
Not sure about hunt type at this point, he's not really set up to backpack hunt.
Hunting ability is high (in our opinion). Spend lots of time glassing, but also not afraid to go into their beds and shake hands with them. Both of us have good equipment, though dad will need to get some upgraded glass before the trip (part of the "whole package" gift we will give him. He's always wanted some EL's!)
Dad is 50, I'm 26. Dad is an avid competitive road biker, and is arguably twice as fit as the majority of 30 year olds running around the hills every fall. He keeps up with me hiking, although he's a bit stiffer in the morning than I am! I'm a crossfitter, power lifter, runner, and spends lots of time in the mountains shed hunting and hiking and hunting. To be honest, we are by far much fitter than anyone we ever run into while out.
We aren't afraid to hunt hard, but my goal is to definitely get him a moose. He's always wanted it, but he's never treated himself. We want it to be the "whole package." Planning on a 10 ish day hunt, and as cool as Alaska would be, not at all opposed to Canadian to save a bit of $$$, as long as we can still have a once in a lifetime experience together.
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