Nick87
Well-known member
What are we talking about here? Moose tag?
Any interest in an actual hunting thread ?
- Thread starter CRJR45
- Start date
CRJR45
Well-known member
Yes , rifle non resident
Nick87
Well-known member
Dream hunt for me. Looking forward to following along on this one.
Caseknife
Well-known member
Yes, we need a hunting story and all the prep related.
My thoughts on bear spray in the wind, the bear will not like it just as you won't, and if your eyes are closed and you are rolling on the ground, you won't know if the bear is about to eat you, less stress
Have fun, has always been a dream of mine since reading some of Andy Russell's books in the 70's.
Personally, I would think of befriending @BearFoot, he and his son have that Alaska moose hunting figured out
My thoughts on bear spray in the wind, the bear will not like it just as you won't, and if your eyes are closed and you are rolling on the ground, you won't know if the bear is about to eat you, less stress
Have fun, has always been a dream of mine since reading some of Andy Russell's books in the 70's.
Personally, I would think of befriending @BearFoot, he and his son have that Alaska moose hunting figured out
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Little Canyon Creek
Active member
Honestly, I wouldn't bother with any traps. We had a lot of our stuff in a plastic tote that fit in one of our vestibules. The squirrel didn't ever bother our boots or my camp crocs. But they are small enough that they fit under the vestibule, and this one was always sniffing around and causing mischief. Our acquaintances did warn us that they like to chew on cork, so you wanted to keep your trekking poles handles away from where they could chew on them (they learned this the hard way).
And yeah, high wind would be a challenge with bear spray. But think about the odds of having a bear encounter, and then multiply that by the odds of having a bear charging at you from the upwind side of a gale force wind. You are taking what is already a low odds proposition and making it even more improbable that you would encounter this scenario. And if you are in that situation, there isn't anything that says that you can't use your rifle for defense. The best bear defense is to practice careful decision making to keep yourself out of bad situations. If you are being careful and are still unlucky enough to have a situation with a bear, rely on the bear spray for >95% of bear defense scenarios possible and then your rifle for the other situations which bear spray may have a problem. If you do that, odds are really high you will be okay. If hunters were falling left and right to bear attacks, there wouldn't be such a demand to go hunt Alaska as there is.
And if you are still debating between a handgun and bear spray, you should buy a bear spray cannister and find an empty field to touch it off. I can't remember reading about anybody doing this, but I think it is good advice for something you are potentially going to depend on. I think a lot of the online debate between handguns and bear spray, which often seems theoretical and abstract, would go away if people advocating for handguns tested a bear spray cannister in an empty field. They are impressive. Just make sure you carefully wash your hands afterwards. I found this out the hard way after once picking up a fallen cannister on a trail in the Madisons and then got it in my eyes and on my face after rubbing them. It was not a fun experience, but offered further proof that a bear would not be having a good time if some of in their eyes and face.
cgasner1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2016
- Messages
- 3,927
I used bird shot in my 22. Kinda limp wrists and don’t like recoil but I can out run about anyone that just took a round of bird shot to the leg
Cap’n Crunch
Well-known member
Please oh please bring back the good old days of HT when stories were many and the joking was lite and laughable.
It has been a F$$&# crazy season on here so far!
I will be waiting.
It has been a F$$&# crazy season on here so far!
I will be waiting.
mdhunter61
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2010
- Messages
- 442
Alaska's more than twice the size of Texas...can you be slightly more specific on the area you will be hunting?
If you have lots of rain gear, bring a quality set with some tape for repair. Don't bring any of the cheap stuff that gets torn when you walk through alders or other brush. Southeast AK can get really wet.
I did quite a few remote AK hunts, always brought a bear fence out to remote camp. Sometimes I set it up, many times I did not. Once you get a look at your camping spot, you will have a better idea if you want to set it up.
Bring an empty Gatorade or sports drink bottle to keep in the tent, with the lid. Pissing in a bottle in a tent is highly preferable to going outside when it's dark, raining sideways, and windy.
Bring a book, we almost always had one or two really bad weather days where we were tent bound.
Good luck.
CRJR45
Well-known member
DM'ed you .
My raingear is Kuiu , Guide , Yukon and Chugach , plus some Helly Hansoms parkas and pants ? I'll get a bear fence , thank you .
