Every year since I have moved to Alaska I have made it a priority to set time aside to go out moose hunting. It is a BIG deal here. One moose is enough to feed my wife and I for a year and that is me eating it every day and that is exactly what I plan to do. Yum.
The first week of hunting this year was a lot of hiking up mountains, trudging through brush, riding bitch on a wheeler (which basically means I was the passenger on a four wheeler. No offense to the ladies out there), sitting..and waiting...and waiting... with minimal results. It isn't catching. It is hunting. Good things come to those who wait.
One of the days was quite exciting. In the morning I didn't take a 30 yard shot on a legal bull, which I wasn't sure was legal. My friend scared it right up on me unknowingly. It was so worked up it ran right up to me and didn't even see me standing alone in the middle of the swamp. I looked down my barrel and just couldn't take the shot. I wasn't sure if he was legal. Later I would found out he was, but I made the right call. I wasn't sure, so I didn't shoot.
A Legal Bull
- In many parts of Alaska a legal bull consists of a male moose with antlers spread at least 50" apart, four brow tines on one side, or has a spike or fork for one antler. Just to clarify what a "legal bull" means. I could see how some outsiders wouldn't get what I was talking about.
Earlier that day I was nearly charged by a cow moose. I was hiking through a thick patch of forest trying to drive the moose out into the open on the other side of a creek. I took moments to scrape a caribou shoulder blade on a tree to simulate a bull moose cleaning his antlers. This can, if one is around, bring a bull in completely pissed off and ready to fight. This is not what happened to me. A cow moose showed up on the game trail I was on about 70ft further down it. She was not happy when she showed up. I was not as advertised. After a 2 minute staring contest her ears went back, her head went down, and she started coming right at me. I said to myself as I clutched my rifle, "I'm going to have to shoot a cow...Hey moose...HEY MOOSE". But with some quick thinking and American ninja warrior reflexes I jumped behind a spruce tree, into a creek, and high tailed it out of there. It is a cool experience to have... after I survived it and wasn't hurt.
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However, I got my moose a few days later. After over a week of countless miles on my hip boots the moment of reckoning came. I fired, scoped the hell out of my brow (it was a bleeder too), and got over to the 60" rack attached to a massive bull. I knew I would have another year without buying meat at the store. It is a good feeling providing for one's self. Then the realization that now the real work begins weighs pretty heavy on your mind. Hours of skinning/cutting, loading up wheelers, cutting trails, and winching one four wheeler or the other out of some sort of snag. That is just getting the beast meat home.
Scoped -
When you are an idiot and do two things while firing a rifle. 1) You don't hold it tight enough into your shoulder. 2) Putting your face way too stupidly close to the scope when trying to property fire a 220 grain 30-06 round at about 350 yards. Take a close look at my brow in the picture.Lucky for you guys out there I wiped the blood off my face before the picture on my sleeve. Classy guy right here. Thanks to Team Boom for all the sympathy and pointing / laughing at me. I deserved it.
Now for the past few days I have put on my butcher hat. It is nice cutting your own steaks and roasts. Collecting trimmings and odd shaped pieces for my meat grinder. I have 6 gallon bags stuffed full at this point ready for the grinder. Ya buddy! Did you know a moose's liver will fill a sink? It will. The heart isn't small either. We soaked the heart in coke-a-cola, soy sauce, and wasabi for two days, cut it into strips, bashed it thin with a mallet, and smoked it. It was amazingly awesome.
Now it is back to playing shows now that I know my meat supply will be strong until the next year. It is a very Alaskan thing to do, to be prepared. Just think of me if the black death or something pops up and I have to remove myself from society, locked in my cabin, and eating steak. It doesn't get any better. I will be glad when I am finally all done cutting up moose. I have a few more pieces that are going to be hanging in a cool garage for a little while longer. After then it will be all done and ready to consume. Yum yum!!!!
