As Good as it Gets - My Deltana Trophy Moose Hunt
Deltana Client Testimonial
Among other things I’ve always wanted to get a big moose , not just a moose but a big moose. Over the years I’ve kept track of where the really big ones were coming from. One area that I had in mind was in a very remote part of the Alaskan Yukon River Valley. While on a Dall sheep in the Brooks range, with Ralph Miller of Deltana Outfitters,I learned that He hunted moose in that general area and had been taking big bulls on a regular basis. The following January I ran into Ralph at the FNWS convention in Reno and asked how their moose season had gone,playing it cool. He said fair. They just happened to have a few pictures in their booth, from that fall, of some huge bulls taken from their Yukon camp. One was 72″ several were 65″to 68″, these were the kind of moose I wanted to hunt ! Ralph said the big boy was mounted down town at the Animal Artistry taxidermy studio so we went to look.
As we entered the studio there were plenty of trophy mounts but that 72 1/2″ monster bull moose really stood out. He was a huge thick horned monster. Ralph had one spot left for 2003 and my wife said it was ok so I took it. Even though I had 8 months I started getting my stuff gathered and ready. I chose a favorite rifle of mine for the trip, a model 70 classic that I had rebored to 338-06. My loads were 210 Barnes XLC’s @ 2800 fps shooting 1″ groups. I had 1 in 9 twist put in that barrel and it really made the Barnes bullets shoot.
The time to leave finally arrived and I was very proud of myself for getting my gear crammed into the tiny duffel bag Ralph said I had to use .I don’t think it’s ever been done by any human before or since! Jim Wiedner, Ralph’s partner, met me on the gravel bar as planned. Billy Molls, who had been my guide on previously successful Dall sheep and Caribou hunts, was also waiting with the canoe loaded. I climbed in with my gear and we took off for a 10 mile run up river to our camp spot.
The northern lights were really at their as we finished setting up our tent. The next morning we left in the dark heading up river to a spot Billy wanted to glass from. We hadn’t even set up the spotting scope yet when we saw a nice bull about 500 yards off. He had really big paddles and lots of points, 4 brow tines on each side, a really pretty bull , but “only” 60″. Being the first 5 minutes of the hunt Billy said we could do better so we just watched for awhile. About 30 minutes latter we spotted another bull 700 yards out, he was much bigger at around 65″ with lots of points, clearly a keeper. While planning a stalk Billy spotted yet another bull about 3/4 of a mile away. This one was in the low to mid 70’s ,a real trophy. Even though he was a long way off we decided to try for him. It was a tough decision because the 65″er was more of a sure thing. It was early afternoon before we got into position to hunt the big one. We thought we would have a good chance to call him out in the evening. About that time a light breeze started blowing out of the north, in an hour it was 20 mph,in 2 hours it was 30mph and cold. We called the bull until dark but the wind made it a futile attempt.
Back at camp the wind blew all night and was still at it in the morning, the temperature had really dropped, it was very cold. We hunted the area for 5 more days and the wind just kept blowing. We could hear a few bulls raking brush and some grunts in answer to our calls but that cold north wind had driven them deep into the thickets and they would not come out. We did see 58″bull that we could have taken but 58″s was not what we came here for. Time was running out, the river was freezing up due to the freak Artic wind, the bulls were not showing themselves because of it and the realization was upon us ,that due to mother nature I very likely was going home without my trophy moose. Everyone knows that feeling in your gut and when you’re tired it can over power you into just giving up if you let it. We didn’t let it. Billy said he would stay to the last minute even if the river froze solid and we had to walk out, I said AMEN Brother.!! We decided to pack up and move camp about 15 miles up another fork of the river.
It would be an all day project as we would have to drag the canoe through miles of shallows and ice. We also would loose a precious day of hunting but something had to be done to change our luck as the wind just would not let up.
After along hard day we made camp and climbed a little knoll just as the sun was hitting the hills. We immediately spotted a small bull crossing the river behind us. While watching him we caught a glimpse of a big antler in the spruce across the river. Running to the river we jumped in the canoe and crossed to his side and started calling. He would rake and grunt but wouldn’t come out and the wind and light were such that we couldn’t go in after him. We had to give up on him for the night but at least we had something happening and looked forward to morning.
The next day broke clear, cold and windy and just like the rest we called and glassed with no luck. Then late in the afternoon we spotted a big bull traveling in a strip of thick spruce heading into a thicket of birch on the outside bend of the river where we had seen the smaller bull the day before. With sundown approaching we had to move fast. Since calling had not been working we decided to change the rules. I ran down to the river where I could see and Billy circled around in an attempt to drive him out so I might get a shot. A couple of cows we hadn’t seen came out but no bull. I thought great now the best bull we’ve seen in 7 days has snuck out on us and we are out of luck and time. Just then all Hell broke loose. Billy had gotten right on top of him before he jumped up. That bull was breaking off 6″ diameter birch trees as he charged trough that thick stuff. He was breaking ice, logs ,trees ,brush ,everything in his path was coming down. I could see the tops of trees going down as he came straight at me. For 100 yards he came and for the last 30 I could see his body, head down, hind quarters powering and propelling him forward, loosing footing with his front end but still pushing with his back. All the trees and brush he was pushing over were tripping him up but he kept coming as hard as he could , he was ,I mean , getting out of there!
When he hit the river bank in front of me at 60 yards he turned and I shot him in the shoulder trying to keep him out of the river. At the shot He turned to face me and I put another barnes into the heart. He then turned back the way he had come and I got one into the other shoulder and down he went. After a long hunt it was over , a beautiful 64″ trophy bull 13 points on one side and 16 on the other.
We caped and quartered him by head lamps and crawled into our bags at 12:01 midnight. Like an old timer used to tell me, persistence has it’s pay check. The next day we loaded the camp and moose in the canoe and headed 20 plus miles down river to Deltana’s base camp. The ice was really starting to build up so our trip was slow, we made it with little time to spare. The wind never did let up.
In this area Billy had never gone 4 days without getting a 60″ plus bull and that was only because his hunters were passing on 60″ moose. I’m glad it was me that broke his record because success under tough conditions is never forgotten. As you might guess after 3 successful hunts, sheep, caribou, and now moose I highly recommend Deltana Outfitters for Alaska big game. If you are looking for a great hunt with great people give Ralph a call at 907-895-5006 this is as good as it gets.
KayakCountry - All things Kayak » As Good as it Gets - posted by a Deltana client
[…] "kayak" - Google News wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWhile watching him we caught a glimpse of a big antler in the spruce across the river. Running to the river we jumped in the canoe and crossed to his side and started calling. He would rake and grunt but wouldn’t come out and the wind … […]