After months of worrying if my Alaskan moose hunt was even going to happen due to Covid, September 1st found me on 3 different flights from Pennsylvania to Fairbanks, Alaska. I could go on and on with the details, but I'll fast-forward to September 5th. After hiking, glassing, cow calling, and then hiking some more
, about 1:00pm my guide and I reached the ridge above our tent camp. There we overlooked a long valley that ran east to west for a couple of miles, and nearly 1000 yards to the opposite ridge. On the first cow call from our new perch, almost instantly a big bull emerged at about 500 yards. He was moving through the head-high brush from west to east, and with the wind in his face. Billy, my guide, quickly interrupted the bulls movement as an attempt to get downwind of the cow he expected to see and smell. We made a fast decision to back up a bit and loop to the ridge line on the eastern end of the valley, effectively getting us downwind of the area the bull was heading. Once settled into our new lookout we began glassing the valley below us. With the sun poking in and out of the clouds, during one of the moments it lit up the brush below us, Billy spotted a flick of antler. The bull was bedded about 200 yards below us! After about half-an-hour he stood. Billy made one low volume cow call and the bull started towards us. Billy now had the opportunity to clearly judge him and pretty quickly told me the bull was indeed a shooter. At only 160 yards he cleared the brush and turned broadside to me. The crosshairs quickly settled behind his shoulder, and the 33 Nosler sent a 225 grain Accubond on its way. The echo was still bouncing around the valley when he tipped over. After maybe 30 seconds he struggled to get back on his feet. The brush he fell in was too high for another clear shot, but thankfully after another 20 or 30 seconds he fell again. That was it! The Accubond performed perfectly, passing through both lungs and exiting behind the off-side shoulder. As a postscript, Billy and I returned to the kill site 4 days later, thinking maybe a bear or a wolf might be working the gut pile. Sitting in the exact spot I was sitting when I shot the moose for about an hour, believe it or not, a big gray wolf suddenly appears. Again, 160 yards, and "bang"! At the angle he stood, a neck shot seemed the most logical. Needless to say, the 225 grain Accubond was a bit of overkill, but it did the job. I can only thank God for giving me the opportunity to go on such a fabulous hunt, for providing Alaska's endless beauty, and for hooking me up with such a great outfitter and guide!
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