My Alaskan Moose Hunt

Back when I was around 15 years old my dad set up a moose hunt for me. The plan for my Alaskan moose hunt was to have a guy named Al fly me to Blair Lakes, which are around 30 miles southwest of Eielson AFB in central Alaska, and have Al be my guide. Al was not a professional guide. He was actually a school teacher, but he knew his way around the Alaskan bush country.

With our gear packed into Al’s Super Cub, we took off and headed southwest. A Super Cub is a two-seat airplane with short take-off and landing (STOL) capability. Al had tundra tires on his aircraft so he could land on soft ground as well as sand bars and air strips. We got to the lakes and circled around looking for moose before landing to set up camp. Al spotted an enormous bull moose in the water and looked for a place to land. Having STOL capability, Al was able to land the plane in a small field around half a mile from the lake.

Al instructed me as to what we were going to do and we started over the hill to where this huge moose was. The gigantic bull was around 50 feet off shore dining on underwater grasses. As his head was under water we would move toward him. When his head came up we ducked and remained frozen. The plan was not to shoot the moose while he was in the water. The plan was to set up in a position so when the moose left the water we would be in a position so I could take it when it got on dry ground. The area was heavily wooded with Birch and Spruce trees so finding cover was not a problem.

My heart was pounding with excitement as I watched the moose. After what seemed like an eternity my inexperience got the best of me. I purposely made some noise and moved so the moose could see me. The big bull did what Al would have known it would do. Rather than casually stroll to shore he took off, running through the water at a speed I never expected. When he hit dry ground the moose vanished. I looked at Al and saw a look of disappointment on his face. If I had been more patient, I could have had a trophy with a 50+ plus rack.

We hiked back to the Super Cub and took off. Al landed at the air strip and we unpacked our gear. There were a couple of Quanset huts by the air strip and we set up camp in one of them. Part of our gear included a Folbot. My dad had bought several Folboats because of the convenience of moving them around. A Folboat is a foldable boat. One canvas bag held the frame and the other held the canvas and rubber skin. We would literally put the frame together and slip the skin around it. There were inflatable air bladders on either side to help keep the boat afloat and stable.

Al and I scouted the area and then settled down to sleep under the midnight sun. The next day we woke and had breakfast. Al got his binoculars and scanned the lake. On the other side of the lake where the bull had been was a cow moose doing the exact same thing the bull was doing. The plan was to get in the Folboat and paddle across the lake. I was in the front with Al in the back. When we got close enough to the moose for it to notice us I got my 30-06 rifle ready. When the head of the moose was under water Al would paddle. When the head came up we would freeze and glide.

When we got probably 150 yards from the moose it got spooked and walked toward shore. I don’t think the moose suspected a serious predator coming from the water, but instinct told it to get away. This time I was patient. I held up the rifle and watched the moose through the scope. I had the cross hairs on the moose the entire time. It exited the water and walked straight away. I could not shoot the moose because I could not get a lung or neck shot.

Finally the moose turned to the right and I pulled the trigger. The moose vanished and I was sure I had missed. Al paddled to shore and we got out of the Folbot to look for the moose. Within just a few minutes we found her. I had squeezed of a lucky shot and she had gone down and died almost instantly. Al congratulated me as I had an enormous grin on my face.

Now came the real work. A Super Cub is a great plan, but the capacity of what it could haul was not large enough to haul the moose meat, our gear and me. Al could haul around 500 pounds of cargo, but no more. We dressed the moose and cut the meat into manageable sized pieces and paddled back to the plane. Al flew us over to the field where we had landed the day before. We made a good number of trips to the lake and back to load the meat on to the plane. Al flew the meat back to his house and called my dad so he could pick it up as I stood guard in case a bear smelled the meat or carcass and came in for a meal.

Al made a second trip to get the rest of the moose meat, our gear and me. The moose was a young cow, but it yielded around 800 pounds of meat. Needless to say, we ate well in the months that followed. I never had a successful moose hunt after this one, but my Alaskan moose hunt was a great Alaskan adventure!

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