2020 -Solo Alaska Moose Hunt

[Walt Francis]

Mike,

Thanks for sharing, it is appreciated.  It looks like most everybody I know came up short this year.

When I get caught up At work I'll send you some pictures/video of my adventure along with a run down on how your Bag-A-Bull worked.

[azhunter]

I really enjoy reading your hunting stories and looking at the pictures from your hunts. Thanks for sharing.

[shankspony]

What a great adventure! and the photos make me want to see those sights with my own eyes. Thank you.

[Jeff D. Holchin]

Thanks for the update Mike.  Glad that you got to return to AK and have a good hunt - you were in the game!  Hope you know how much we appreciate the excellent documentation of your adventures, whether or not any tags were filled. 👍

[Bisch]

That hunt sounds like a great adventure, moose or no moose!!!!

Get 'em next time!!!

Bisch

[rastaman]

Thanks for sharing Mike!  I always enjoy reading your adventuresome stories!

[Whip]

Great stuff as always Mike! 
I already told Bryan that I always wondered why you guys go back and do the same thing year after year when there are so many other great things to do in September.  I don't wonder that anymore. 
Alaska is such a special place, meat or no meat!

[twitchstick]

Thanks for sharing yur adventure!

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thanks mike.  Great read. Wish the weather had cooperated more for you.

[Herdbull]

Walt, can't to hear from you.
Whip, yes there is a special connection between us and the moose and the land where they live. Yes I found much sign in some areas complete with rut pits, broken and rubbed brush, and even blood on tghe ground. I found blood near a fresh rubbed tree. The moose get so aggressive that they scratch and tear at their face while raking antlers through the bush.
I try everything I can to call them in including raking brush and scraping trees in addition to bull and cow calls. The goal is to find out if the bull is lover or a fighter. I much prefer the fighters, as they tend to take less time to come in and will be less cautious in some respect. So I change up my calling as I try to determine the demeanor of the bull. Elk are very vocal, but so are moose. I tend to hunt in solitude and do battle with a solitary animal. I hoped to show this in my Chasing Solitude film, but words and film just can't bring the full experience. I'm so glad you got to go with John.  Mike   

[Barry Wensel]

I didn't say anything to Mike earlier but I was concerned on his adventure this year. Alone in the wilderness for weeks is a great experience. If you mess up it's always your own fault with no one else to blame. I bet anything he messed up once and just isn't fessing up to it. Ha.
     What I was concerned about was typical Mike. He just happened not to mention the fact he got another total knee replacement done this summer. He was "field testing it." That's like dropping a new engine in your truck and breaking her in doing 120 MPH.
If I remember right Mike is 62 years old. I don't plan on getting in any fights, but if I do I want Mike on my side.   BW

[Mighty Big Country]

Mike, I anticipate your annual moose hunt every year.  As I scroll through your posts, I always think it will be a matter of time before you close the deal.  Great pics and adventure is a guarantee when you post your moose hunts.  You should be proud as you have carried on the the mantle of Bart Schleyer.

[Herdbull]

Thanks Barry. I do like to be tested up there in Alaska, and this year was a good mental test as well as I put strain on the new joints.
Mighty Big Country- Yes Bart would try to find new places to hunt where he would not see any others hunters. We moved around from the south to the Brook's Range and eventually to the Yukon. It gave me the idea that he was always looking for solitude. That is why I named my moose hunting film "Chasing Solitude". I've killed moose in four different mountain ranges in Alaska. There was quite a bit of bush plane traffic down the river valley I hunted this year, but it abruptly stopped after Sept 20. Seems that moose season closed to the next door game unit. It was strange, almost like the time I was out there 9-11 when all the air traffic stopped. Much easier to make a long
drawn out mournful cow in heat call without the drown of a plane in the back ground.  Mike

[Herdbull]

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When I left, this aspen grove was barren of leaves.

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[wingnut]

"winter is coming" in September in Alaska.  Any day can be the change.

[Jerry Gille]

Real nice Mike! I love reading about your hunts. Thanks for sharing. I hope you are well and good luck for the remainder of the season!

[stagetek]

Great pictures Mike. An incredible adventure, bull or no bull.

[PASQUINELL]

Hey Mike!

Ted had told me about your knee and glad it held up!!! Tony just got his done and not doing so well.

Do you fly into Anchorage and then leave on a float plane from Hood? There are guides picking up clients all hours of the day off that lake. I would stay at the Iditarod Hotel in Anchorage and what an awesome place.

There is no place like AK

[Greg Szalewski]

Sounds like a good hunt Mike. Great pics as always. I am glad it went well for you. Thanks for sharing.

[Wudstix]

Thanks again Mike for fueling the dream, as stated "Even in solitude we are never truly alone".