2015 Moose Float Hunt

[jojomoose]

Great Write Up Mike! and my guess would be 64.5"

[7mmstalker]

That is a dandy bull. My guess is 68". Interesting to notice he had only 2 x 3 brow tines, but the palms and bases look pretty massive.

[dkwarthog]

Close to 70" and that is close enough dontcha think?. Nice photos.

[sambuck12]

That's the kind of bull I dream about finding. That's at least half the reason I've spent so much time and $$$$$ to learn to fly. The other half is the scenery. My guess is 73.

[ak_cowboy]

I'm guessing 68 as well

[BlueMoose]

Nicely done Mike congrats on the hunt and the great write up. So I know how tall you are however you are standing on the down slope of the picture so that is a wash. could have made this easy but NOOOOOOO!. 142 Otter is 6ft 6 inch and a 14ft Bailer is 7ft wide so we do have a reference point although the picture of the antlers on the boat is at some what of an angle.


If in fact you are in normal otter i.e. not the 142 series I would guess that Moose is between 68-75 inches. I know not fair and not an exact but hey I am a slug,

[0321Tony]

I'm gonna guess about 72 5/8" but only because of those two points that stick out really wide. Nice bull for sure and no hesitation on that one.

Living like kings

[323]

nice bull and I'm going with 74

[Birdstrike]

Sweeeet! Thanks for the writeup. Sounds like a great trip with a good bunch of guys. I'm guessing 69".

[.338WM]

74" I'm thinking.

[Bullelkklr]

I think it is over 70". 73.50".

[gbflyer]

Honest question, not being a smarty or telling anyone how to do it:

How come you don't bone them out? You guys must be absolute pack animals to carry out all those big old bones!

[Brian M]

Honest question, not being a smarty or telling anyone how to do it:

How come you don't bone them out? You guys must be absolute pack animals to carry out all those big old bones!

Boning meat introduces bacteria and provides more accessible surface area for bacterial growth. All of that increases the possibility of meat loss due to spoilage, especially on a float hunt where keeping meat dry is more difficult. Also, sounds like the air temps were relatively warm. Lastly, in some units it is required to leave the meat of the quarters and ribs on the bone. But in short, if bacteria can't get to the meat, it can't cause spoilage.

[Bowelk]

Thanks for the write-up. Very visual and informative. 69"?

[Bushwhack Jack]

Good one Mike. I got my whole family guessing on that guy.

My guess 70"
My wife's guess 74"
My mother-in-laws guess 69"
My son's guess 75"
My daughter's guess 70"

Anxious to see who is closest.

[willphish4food]

Boning meat introduces bacteria and provides more accessible surface area for bacterial growth. All of that increases the possibility of meat loss due to spoilage, especially on a float hunt where keeping meat dry is more difficult. Also, sounds like the air temps were relatively warm. Lastly, in some units it is required to leave the meat of the quarters and ribs on the bone. But in short, if bacteria can't get to the meat, it can't cause spoilage.

In addition to bacteria, exposed meat develops a crust which must be trimmed. Less exposed meat, less trimming, less meat loss, more meat in the freezer. I personally treat every ounce of meat as important, whether I'm dealing with 700 pounds of moose meat or 50 pounds of bear; its all critical. I've seen all too many people treat moose very casually, wasting a lot, because there's still a lot of meat after waste.

[willphish4food]

Thanks for the write up, Mike! Very well done; thanks for sharing! I won't spill the beans on the width... too fun to watch the guesses!

[Michael Strahan]

Honest question, not being a smarty or telling anyone how to do it:

How come you don't bone them out? You guys must be absolute pack animals to carry out all those big old bones!

I don't know that I have ever boned out an animal before packing it, including Dall sheep. When you remove the bones, you open up a wound channel that continues to leak fluid until it is processed. You also eliminate any structure from which you can hang it. I can think of many reasons NOT to bone out a game animal, but none that support the practice of removing the bones, from a meat care perspective. It would be different if I were hunting the road system and could get the animal processed right away. But remote hunts almost never allow that convenience. We killed this bull on the 9th and he wasn't flown out of the field until the 16th. There are many challenges when you have meat in the field this long, but it works.

Brian nailed it. And ditto on the legal requirements. But we were leaving the bones in long before this became a requirement.

-Mike

[extrema]

I'm downgrading to 70 because I noticed it is standing on end on a piece of driftwood.

[Troy Hamon]

Over 70. Either that or you guys are all really short.