Moose & Grizzly at Moose River
BORDERING A WORLD FAMOUS NATIONAL PARK, this trophy moose and grizzly area, north of the Arctic Circle in the foothills of the Brooks Range, offers some of Alaska’s finest moose, grizzly and black bear hunting. The “Moose” River has been labeled a National Wild and Scenic river, and with very good reason. It is perhaps one of Alaska ‘s most picturesque, tranquil and game-rich river valleys.
This area is unique in that it shares a prodigious population of huge Alaskan bull moose with a considerable number of Interior Alaskan, Arctic grizzlies, mountain black bears, wolves and occasionally fine, trophy caribou. You’ll find the grizzlies stalking the river’s edge and foraging the hillsides throughout the fall, awaiting the opportunity to dine on their favorite delicacies: the carcass of your trophy bull moose, or the salmon that frequent the river. The grizzlies in this area typically range from 7′ to 8′ and vary in coloration from dazzling blond to deep, rich chocolate. You will generally find mountain black bears ranging in size from 6′ to 7′ 6″ feeding on various species of berries on the alpine slopes that rise majestically from the river.
Among the many dynamic qualities of this area is the Moose River Valley acting as a natural funnel for the bull moose during the rut, as well as the many other animals in this region. The moose spend their summers feeding in the National Wildlife Refuges to the south and then travel north, as the breeding season begins, to the Moose River Valley and northward to one of their primary breeding grounds within the boundaries of National Park.
During the month of September, the primary breeding period in this region, almost all the bulls that are breeding in the valley, on their slow trek north, can be viewed from the many excellent vantage points along the Moose River . You can usually expect to see between 5 and 10 trophy bull moose during your hunt.
We are very selective as to what size bulls are taken. You can expect to hunt massive bulls with spreads typically ranging from 63″ to 55″ and some of our hunters have harvested bulls close to 70″ ! It takes much more than just overall width for a Trophy bull moose to score well and one of our highest scoring bulls, that scored well in the Boone & Crockett record book, was 64″ wide so one must look at the overall conformation of the bull’s antlers, and their own expections and desires in a trophy, when evaluating a Trophy bull moose. Though bull moose are generally the primary target, a beautiful grizzly, black bear, wolf or possibly caribou may be taken as well, provided you have purchased the necessary big game tag(s) and pay the trophy fee.
My guides and I tend to do a great deal of vocal calling on this hunt and often call between one and three bulls in each day. It is common for me to call them within 40 yards, and they have been as close as 5 yards – so you had better be ready for a heart thumping experience! This hunt is operated and contracted with my close friend, Registered Guide Fred Harbison, whom I have known for over 35 years and who first hunted in this area with me over 25 years ago.
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HUNT SMART. HUNT HARD.
