Detailed Moose Hunt Packing List

[Frankie 2 Times]

I'm heading out for a 12 day moose hunt in the Brookes Mountains. This is a horseback hunt in the m`ountains and hip boots are not needed. Looking for those who know what to bring in terms of my own personal gear and clothing. I've been known to over pack andf trying to get a better understanding of what I really need. The trip is taking place from Sept 6-18. Thanks.

Frank

[Michael Strahan]

I'm heading out for a 12 day moose hunt in the Brookes Mountains. This is a horseback hunt in the m`ountains and hip boots are not needed. Looking for those who know what to bring in terms of my own personal gear and clothing. I've been known to over pack andf trying to get a better understanding of what I really need. The trip is taking place from Sept 6-18. Thanks.

Frank

Frank,

Is this a guided hunt, or an outfitted drop-off hunt? You mentioned the "Brookes Mountains"; do you mean the Brooks Range? If so, I was not aware anyone was using horses up that way. Who is the outfitter / guide?

As to the gear, you should have received a detailed gear list from your outfitter. If you didn't, you need to ask for one! One of the most common mistakes hunters make here is over-packing. Weed out the unneccessary stuff now, or your guide will later!

-Mike

[Frankie 2 Times]

Should have specificed. Its a guided hunt in GMU 12 and 20, southwest of Tok in the Alaska Range. My outfitter (Bill Burwell, Ram Creek Outfitters) has an equipment list posted on his site, but it seems to be more geared towards the sheep hunters. He is a sheep hunter at heart but also takes moose and grizzly. He is out in the field right now and I wanted to get a jump start on gathering gear before he returns. I do have a habit of over packing. So I might as well get it right while I am at home. Any help you that can get me started aheadof time would be greatly appreciated. I think I have most everything, just too much. Also, any soggestions on gear makes/brand/models would be appreciated as well.

F2T

[Erik in AK]

F2T,
Try not to overpack...it will irritate your outfitter (no matter how much he smiles and says "no problem" on the outside)

My suggestions

Toiletries: Baby wipes, tooth brush/paste, medication, spare eyeglasses and/or contact lens supplies, sunglasses, towel, shaving gear (if you absolutely have to).

Clothes: 1 primary set hunting clothes + 1 spare set, 1 set packable raingear (it WILL rain), 1 set of sleeping clothes (i.e. sweats), clean socks for every day afield, 2 sets NON-COTTON thermal underwear, 2 pr warm gloves, 1 pr leather work gloves, 1 warm hat, 1 brimmed hat, 2 fleece or wool sweaters. (don't bring BVD's--go commando)

Boots: 1 pr kneehigh, ankle-fit rubber boots, 1 pr broken-in waterproof hikers, 1 set gaiters (for the hikers), 1 pr camp shoes...and bring the waders or your moose will drop dead in the water.

Gear: Rifle + 2 boxes ammo (in case you smack your scope and need to resight), 2 good knives, binos, sharpening steel, day pack w/ hydration system, first-aid kit, firestarter kit, 50 feet of cord, compass, GPS, whistle, headlamp, camera/film, spare batts for everything.

Your outfitter and/or guide should have the TP and soap in camp. I assume you will be in wall tents with stoves. He might have a portable camp shower but plan on bucket baths every 3 or 4 days.

Of course consult with your outfitter incase he has any specific recommendations, and good luck to you.

[Alaskacanoe]

Most people do over pack with the items they don't need, and sometimes short themselves on the items they DO need.
DO NOT NEED items include all your Electronic Gadgets, like 6 different flashlights with 20 extra batteries. Two way radios, with 20 extra batteries, Satelite Phone, with 20 extra batteries, MP3 player with headphones and the Extra batteries. GPS with extra batteries.
DO not bring a Video Camera unless you plan on making a Movie of your guide and selling it to the Outdoor Channel.
Night time vision scope, Mono or binoculars, with batteries. Electric recharge Shaver and on and on and on... all the above items I have had customers try to bring along. It cracks me up because they are so excited to show you the cool new screen and map layout on the GPS. Like We live in the stone age up here and don't have access to every useless toy they have . I mean how many sat phones , gps's, etc. do you need in camp?, and music on a trip to Alaska? What an insult to the whole experience.
Every item I mentioned above has shown up,on some of my floats, and two brothers one time brought about every one of them.. I had a young teen age girl bring along a Butane curling iron once.
I used to limit my groups to package size, like you can bring one duffle bag... Then on the trip with the two brothers, they showed up with duffle bags that were over 6 foot long...LOL
I handed them regular size bags and said here you go and keep it under 50 llbs...
The pile of stuff they pulled out of the bags was incredible. One of them had a bag of candy that weighed 10 lbs, He had 3 sets of binoculars and a spotting scope, he brought along his own hatchet, because he was sure even though it was not on the list, he wanted to use his own. He had a bag of knives with over a dozen varieties...and on and on and on....
I told them to use light layers or non Cotton clothing using polar fleece and synthetic materials, with a good pair of medium weight NON Cotton long underwear. I explained in detail the method of layering vs a big old coat..... You Guessed it... a bag full of cotton clothing, including the underwear, and a big old Goose Down Coat... ( Do not bring Down to Alaska of any kind, It is a sponge and looses its insulation when it gets wet,, and yes it will get wet )
How do retards like this get the money to go on trips to Alaska?
Anyway...
Make the list no more than what your guide specified for you, and you will even do fine with the list for Sheep hunters.. You will be comfortable and return happy and alive with out all the other stuff.
Bring a rifle suited for your hunt, with only as much Ammo as your guide suggests. It will be in a hard case due to your bringing it with you on the plane.
Bring a very good pair of Binoculars.
Bring a good multi tool ( leatherman)
Bring a good knife.
Bring One good small flashlight with one set of extra batteries. and one extra filament bulb, unless its LED, then forget the extra bulb..
Bring a Camera that won't break or get ruined with rain, and a Set of batteries. ( I like disposable camera's that are waterproof for a backup)
Bring One Set of Medium or light synthetic underwear.
Bring One Breathable ( Gortex) type rain suit. Top and pants.
Bring a couple of loose Polar Fleece long sleeve shirts that you can layer. one heavier than the other....
Bring Fresh Socks ( Wool or Synthetic ) Socks for each day.
Bring one pair of Non cotton pants. ( NO Levi's)
You can die in Levi's or any Denim pants in Alaska in 50 degree temps from Hypothermia due to the fact that they are cotton and don't dry easily, and trap moisture. don't even bring them to hang out at camp with...
One pair of Polar fleece pants.
One pair of Camp shoes
One pair of Hiking boots
You said you didn't need waders for this trip.
One hat with brim.
One stocking hat. for cold days, and to sleep with at night.
One pair Neoprene Gloves.
One pair wool Gloves.
One nice sized Day pack
This is a list that works for me on this kind of trip.
Notice I did not want you to bring a coat other than your Rain suit coat.
If you put on your Underwear, put the two polar fleece shirts on and the rain jacket, you are layered up for sub zero weather with this combo..You will be too warm in temps above 30 degrees with this layering.
Now for the bottom.
your Underwear, your polar fleece pants, your regular non cotton pants and your rainsuit pants.. this is good for sub Zero temps, You will be way to hot in this getup at 30 degrees.
Make sure you can layer your clothes with ample movement before you come up for trip.
get sizes that make it so you can move around... this is not a beauty contest. You need to be thinking about that big old bull moose, not how you look... Most Alaskan Guides are not Gay, and so you don't need to dress for them.. and for the photo shoot of you and your animal, you can dress down to your lighter clothes if you are that vain...
Yes I have had guys put on new clothes for the photo shoots...
...
oh yeah... here is a trick I use for my own personal stuff..
I vacum seal up all my clothes that I am not wearing to go into the hunt.
(NOT zip lock bags,) I mean I use a vacum sealer and pull them down to a fraction of their size and they pack wonderfully and then no matter the weather I have Dry socks and dry fresh panties.,, I do this with anything that I can compress.. my bag is really small this way and takes up no room.,, but alas,,, someone with that 6 foot long duffle full of cotton will cure that room problem...LOL
Max

[379 Peterbilt]

One more think to maybe consider would be a fishing rod/reel and some spinners / spoons. I bought a telescoping rod from Cabelas that pushes down to about 18". $40 new, slap on a spinning reel you've laying around, and you're good to go. Mine takes up virualy no space in the guncase.

Dont go to Alaska and not fish !!

[379 Peterbilt]

Canoe, that was one of better posts I've seen in quite some time. Hilarious while also very infomative.

[Blink]

alaskacanoe, now thats funny. I can about imagine what guides go through when a new client comes into camp. Anyway thanks for a little humor tonight.

Frankie, these guys are all talking from expieriance, especially on the guide side of it. Good luck and hope you have a good hunt, a monster is a bonus.

[Frankie 2 Times]

Canoe,
Thanks!!!!! Your post was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I needed a sanity check and specifics. And thats exactly what you provided, what type of item to bring and how many. Glad to say that I didn't have any.... well I had one (GPS), item on the do not bring list. I was already planning on doing the vacuum seal thing. I've had good luck in the past with the compression type bags that you roll to sqeeze out the air. That way you can open them and still be able to reuse them. But I'll compare these to my vacuum bags. Thanks again.

Anyone else have any suggestions or lists they would like to share?

[Redlander]

This list is one that I've been using for my upcoming unguided, drop camp, caribou hunt. I'm sure there are a couple of extraneous items and a couple that I've either forgotten or will forget. Some items will of course be shared with my hunting partner - the tent, stoves, fuel, cookware,etc. NOT the sleeping bag! There are also a couple of things with "?" marks that I haven't bought yet. I hope to get off the plane with my backpack, two dry bags -one large and one small, and my rifle case. The two of us are limitied to 125 lbs each, and I'm hoping to learn a lot about what I do and don't need for future trips. A good friend of mine that has made about 5 trips to Alaska said that having good, warm food at the end of the day and being able to keep/get your feet dry are the two keys to enjoying an Alaskan hunt.

Item Brand (description)
Camping Gear:

tent - The North Face Evolution 45 - 4 season/4 person
Sleeping bag - Wiggy's Superlight - wide, regular
sleeping pad - Therm-a-rest, 3/4 length
2nd sleeping pad - cheap, blue, closed-cell foam
stove - Whisperlite Dragonfly
2nd stove - Whisperlite PocketRocket
fuel - 2 Gallon coleman fuel, 2 4oz. Butane canisters
fire starting - 2 boxes wind/waterproof matches, 1 windproof lighter
cookware - MSR - Titan Mini cookset
MSR - Titan 2-liter pot
MSR - Titan Kettle
MSR - Titan Cup
GSI Outdoors Lexan® 32 oz. Fairshare Mug
2 sets forks/spoons, MSR Alpine folding utensils
water filter - Katadyn Hiker
headlamp - Petzl TacTikka Plus LED - AAA batteries
flashlight - Surefire A2 Aviator - Surefire lithium batteries
lantern - Brunton Glorb™ LED Lantern - AA batteries
water bag - camping shower
camping chair - folding aluminum from Gander Mountain
small table - folding aluminum from Cabela's
water bottles - Nalgene: one 32 oz, one 12 oz.
first aid - One large, one small
towels - 2 rayon camping towels

Toiletries: 1 box "baby wipes", two rolls toilet paper (compressed),
tooth brush, sm. toothpast tube, extra set contacts, eyeglasses, contact solution, anti-perspirant, prescriptions, backpacking body wash.


Clothing:
rain gear - Helly Hansen - Impertech Bib Pant and Deluxe Jacket (?)
light jackets - 1 regular fleece (Gander Mountain), 1 fleece w/Windshear
(Cabela's)
vest - Cabela's Outfitter fleece
boots - extra boot liners
pants - 2 pair fleece, 1 pair UnderArmour outerwear
shirts - 2 fleece, 1 polyester
undershirts - 1 Underarmour loose fit, 2 Polartec
underwear - 2 Underarmour Coldgear, 3 Underarmour boxer briefs
socks - 4 pair Smartwool light hikers, 1 pair Smartwool heavy
hikers
gloves - Nylon fuzzy w/knobby grips

Wear on Plane - Browning Goretex parka - outshell, wool/nylon shirt (Army
surplus), wool/nylon pants , Kenetrek 13-inch Grizzly pac
boots, hat, UnderArmour loose fit under shirt,
Underarmour boxer briefs, Swartwool socks

Food: Three MREs plus miscellaneous MRE parts
Gorp packages for 10 days
Oatmeal packages for 10 days
4 Lipton Noodle/rice dinners
3 packages cooked chicken
4 Mountain House freeze dried dinners
salt/pepper

Hunting Gear:
backpack - Kifaru Long Hunter Standard (5,200 cu. in.) Total Package
rifle - Winchester Model 70 SS FWT 30-06 w/2.5x8 Leupold
pistol - S&W model 19, 2 1/2" barrel w/holster
ammo - two boxes 30-06, one box 357 mag (10 shot loads, 10 Buffalo bore)
compass -
GPS - Garmin Legend - AA batteries
hip boots - Wiggy's or Barney's over-boot hip waders (?)
salt - small plastic coffee can full - non iodized
binoculars - Swarovski 10x42 SLC
walking staff - Stoneypoint Polecat
guncase - Kolpin Scopetector™ Gun Case
saw - Gerber Exchange-A-Blade Saw
axe
small shovel - Plastic
game bags - (?)

[Daveintheburbs]

Redlander that is way too many clothes to drag around IMHO. I have made the same mistake myself. Best thing that ever happened to me was bing forced to only take 50lbs plus rifle for several 10 day (unguided with 1 partner)sheep hunts. You may not smell very good but you will can be comfortable. See akcanoes post above. Layering is the answer.

Dave

[AkHunter45]

AlaskaCanoe, did I read that last line right.......panties??? LOL........i wouldn't go telling everyone that, they might get the wrong idea!! Anyways, great post and an awesome list, except for the Levi's, amn, I just gotta have mine in moose camp, it's like a second skin to me!!! Good job!!

[Goosegrass]

or Gold Bond for lots of walking and chapped inside thighs. Use it after the (odorless) baby wipes. Gives you that clean, fresh feeling! Seriously, this can be a trip saver.

[GaryD]

Canoe, Your my kind of guide. By the way, didn't I have you as my drill sargent. Hopefully, in 07 I will be in need of an outfitter. Sheephunting

[chef viktor]

one thing i still carry as i have for the last thirty years is a roll of survey tape. Yes i do have a gps and yes i do use it, but ba gps is electronic and things can go wrong. Survey tape will help you find your animal your machine and or camp. No matter how good in the woods you are it is very difficult to find somthing that you put down especially an animal. Use the tape and take it downon your way out. Can litterally save your life. Chef

[cold zero]

akcanoe;

i was wondering what percentage of your customers that come up to you, are on their first guided ak. trip?

how many are from the lower 48?

regards;

c.z.

[blaserR93]

I bring a small roll of reflective tape for trail marking when it's dark out, and a pair of ski goggles to keep the bugs out of my eyes.

[Ki-Ke]

Click on this link for a list in on an excel spreadsheet:

http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/TF/bg...ges=23&forum=5

[Alaskacanoe]

Many folks come up here on the first trip and say " this is my trip of a lifetime and I will probably never be able to do this again"..
Then in a year or two they are back again,,,,LOL..
something about Alaska that brings them back time and time again.
I had a fellow that was a retired school teacher come up one year for a moose hunt. He told me that he had saved for years to make such a trip.
One evening late dusk, we called in a big bull Moose. He was a 65 inch guy. The bull came within 50 yds of us and was standing at the edge of some Alders. I could see the Moose perfectly. I pointed to the moose and whispered that he was a keeper.
The guy asked me where it was, so I carefully pointed again towards the Moose.
I was coaxing the moose and holding him in place, but this fellow could not see it. The moose moved into the small meadow a few feet and gave us a better view. The fellow still could not make out the moose. (he could hear the moose clucking and breathing,)
The wind was a blowing around in different directions, and finally the Moose scented us an moved off in a hurry.
Come to find out after this fellow returned home, that he had Cataracts in both eyes, and was not able to see in low light.
A couple years later this fellow called me and returned. He had surgery and fixed the problem.
He has been back to Alaska 4 or 5 times now since that first trip that he announced that he would only be here once.
somehow he manages to save enough money to get back up here.
I think there are a lot of these same strories out there.
I suppose though that new vs returning is more than 50%.
In my canoe business I have lots of people that come back, but I get lots of new people that my previous customers send to me.
We love to meet new people, and enjoy it so much when they say something like " Ed and Winnona Douglas from New Port told us to stop by your place and you would take care of us".
One other trick I try to tell people when they are coming north, is to not bring luggage with them on the plane.
bring along instead a few 48 qt coolers . put your clothes in the coolers, and then on the return trip home you just put your clothes in a duffle bag and this way you have something to take back some of your meat, and fish.
remember that the weight limit for most all airlines is 50lbs per item, so don't get a giant cooler,, you can easily overfill to +50lbs in the 48 qt.
Max..

[rost495]

Only thing I"d add is to take your GPS anyway. Unless the guide provides one for the client. Even at that you are more familiar with yours. You will be in bush not familiar to you. There may well be a sat phone with the guide and or in camp and really should be IMHO. But there is nothing to guarantee your guide won't be incapacitated in any number of ways while away from camp, which means you rely on you to get yourself back and safe.

IMHO its small and light enough and only needs to be turned on to orient itself when there, and to mark camp. Then can by stashed away to never be seen again.

Jeff