Summer 2021 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com 1 Volume 13 | Issue 2 Features Summer 2021 26 Five for Five at Seventy-Five Contents by Dave Grover A remote, do-it-yourself (DIY) moose hunt isn’t for everyone. However, with the right team, the right attitude, the right gear and the willingness to persevere, it’s doable for many. 75-year- old Dave Grover and four partners took fve bulls on their recent DIY adventure. 32 2021 Editors’ Choice Awards by Hunt Alaska Staf Te sixth annual Hunt Alaska Editors’ Choice Awards showcase the best gear we tested in 2020/21. Categories for this year’s awards include Guns and Ammunition; Optics; Packs and Cases; Field Accessories; Knives, Cutting Tools and Sharpeners; Game Processing and Cooking; and Apparel. 54 42 2021 New Gear by Hunt Alaska Staf Now is the time to start gearing up for hunting season! Here’s a short list of some promising new items to consider taking to the feld with you in 2021. Rest assured, we’ll be testing many of these ourselves this fall. Departments 4 Hunt Alaska Online 6 Hunting for a Compliment 46 Grit in Hunters 10 The Hunt by Larry Bartlett and Peggy Keiper For remote hunting trips, grit is often what separates 14 Trip Tips the successful from the unsuccessful. Some have it. Life on the Ledge Some, not so much. What is it, and how does it relate 18 to hunter success? Larry Bartlett and Peggy Keiper tell 22 Red Gold us, along with things we can do to become more gritty. 64 Ad Index 66 Recipe 52 Advanced Calling Techniques for Yukon- Alaskan Bull Moose by Jesse Grady Sometimes, calling from a stationary position is efective in coaxing bull moose to within shooting range. However, Jesse Grady’s advanced calling techniques provide food for thought for older bulls that aren’t so easy, and can also lead to better shots and easier packing for any bull you might shoot. On The Cover 58 Gear for the moose hunt. One-eyed Jack © Marcus Weiner by Casey Dinkel Interior grizzlies have a reputation for being more unpredictable and ferocious than their coastal cousins. Tis particular bruin, guarding two moose kills, had the battle scars earned from a lifetime of fghting and surviving, and he nearly outsmarted the author and his two hunting partners. Nearly. 2 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com Summer 2021 Summer 2021 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com 3 Summer Highlights at: Te upcoming hunting season is nearing, so we’ve compiled the best gear we’ve tested in the past HuntAlaskaMagazine.com year to grow your arsenal and increase your harvest rate. Find our Editors’ Choice Awards, new blogs, and more online. Te Homer, Alaska, area is best known for fshing, but In this blog, Publisher Marcus Weiner walks you through Garret Baeton’s blog describes excellent duck hunting. On this how he makes moose jerky. It’s simple, nutritious and delicious. trip they targeted Harlequin ducks, common and Barrow’s goldeneye, and scoters. New year, new website! We’ve re-designed and refreshed our entire website, and updated our digital-issue viewing experience. Our 2021 Editors’ Choice Awards are now live! Find all of your Have you tried out our favorites and share with friends under online trip-planning service? the Gear tab on our website. It’s free, just click the Plan a Trip tab on our website for free custom trip tips, our favorite Alaska lodges, hotels, transporters, and more! CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Anthony Madden Check out our specials at FishAlaskaMagazine.com REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Already a Subscriber? Rick Birch (907) 394-1763 Call for our renewal specials! PUBLISHERS Marcus Weiner (907)-345-4337 Melissa Norris Toll Free: 1-877-220-0787 EDITOR George Krumm Hunt Alaska magazine is published three times annually EFFICIENCY MANAGER Ana Taylor in Spring (February), Summer (May), and Fall (July) ART DIRECTOR Bailey Anderson by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC, P.O. Box 772424, Eagle River, Alaska 99577. Send all address changes PRODUCTION MANAGER Russell K. Porsley III to P.O. Box 772424, Eagle River, Alaska 99577. One GRAPHIC DESIGNER Melissa Wong year subscriptions, in U.S. funds, are: $10 in the United ADMIN. ASSISTANT Autumn Liston States, $16 in Canada and $25 in all other countries. Hunt Alaska Magazine Single copy price, in U.S. dollars, is $6.99. To subscribe PO Box 772424 by phone please call 907-345-4337. Eagle River, Alaska 99577 Editorial correspondence should be sent to Attn: Editor, Hunt Alaska magazine, P.O. Box 772424, Toll Free (877) 220-0787 Eagle River, Alaska 99577. Unsolicited manuscripts and CONTRIBUTING EDITORS (907) 345-4337 main photos will be considered, but must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Although we will take Lon E. Lauber, Steve Meyer, (907) 223-8497 advertising care, Hunt Alaska is not responsible for the loss or return Jim McCann, Scott Haugen, huntalaskamagazine.com of unsolicited materials. Te opinions expressed in this magazine are not John Whipple, Casey Dinkel, Larry Bartlett ISSN 2475-577X (print) necessarily the opinions of Hunt Alaska magazine ISSN 2475-5796 (online) publishers and editors. ©2021 by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC. All rights reserved. 4 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com Summer 2021 Summer 2021 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com 5 Jared Miller and Tashina Esparza with Tashina’s frst black bear harvested Ryatt Weed with his near the Kantishna frst moose, taken in River in the fall of unit 13. 2020. Jason Metzger of Eagle River, AK, with his huge moose. The Baker Trio— Cruz, 6, Storie, 4, and Haven, 2—and their uncle Zach Ralph Pennella of Franklin, NJ, took this moose on with a caribou bull Father and son, James & John Inch, opening day in 2019 while hunting the Alaska Range. near Butte Lake. on their second moose hunt together in November. John drew the antlerless Tristen Barnes with moose hunt permit in Unit 14A, DM413. his frst moose on the Kenai Peninsula. Chuck Knoll took this 64- inch moose on a foat hunt on the Chandalar River. Dale Boothroyd had been trying to connect on a grizzly bear for nearly a decade when he fnally took this giant outside of Nome in 2020. 6 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com Summer 2021 Summer 2021 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com 7 Ryland Narum, 6, on his frst sea-duck hunt outside of Juneau, AK, in October Dave Bergman and Greg Giggi with 2020. an impressive Raspberry Island elk. Send Your Photos! Use the QR code to easily send your hi- res photos directly to us or e-mail your photos to: russell@fshalaskamagazine. com. Subject Line: HFC. Include a caption in the e-mail. You can also mail photos to: HFC, PO Box 772424, Eagle River, AK 99577. Include a SASE if you Shari Bergman with a Chugach Mountains want it returned. Include a separate caption moose taken in September 2020. for the photo. Do not write on the back of the photo. We will let you know when your photo will be in the magazine. 8 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com Summer 2021 Summer 2021 HuntAlaskaMagazine.com 9 a primary reason we hunt. I’m saying take a deep breath, closely observe the animal’s behavior, use a range fnder to assess yardage, study the wind where you’re at, at the animal’s location, and in between, then pay attention to the Recognizing Opportunities position of the sun if it’s a clear day. Once these elements Story and photos by Scott Haugen are all carefully noted, then it’s time to decide your next move. Too often hunters get in a chaotic rush once an animal Eleven hours after spotting a giant brown bear loping is spotted, and this is something I’ll talk about in the next across the coastal tundra, it was time to make a move. Te issue’s column. For now, sufce it to say that taking your bear fnally awoke from a mid-day nap, the wind changed time is important, for if an animal doesn’t smell, see, or direction, and the sun was low on the horizon and at my hear you, you maintain the advantage. At this point, you back; every element was fnally in my favor. Following a must locate the best spot for a shot opportunity, then fgure lengthy stalk, the 10’9” bear went down with one shot, an out how, and when, to get there. insurance shot anchoring it for good. Wind is the most important factor when closing in When living in the Brooks Range, I once watched a bull on a big-game animal. Animal noses are so powerful, it’s moose for two days before it fnally moved into a valley mind-boggling to see them snif danger. Bears have been where I could close to within shooting range. Another time documented smelling carrion from up to 10 miles away. I watched a band of Dall rams graze, sun themselves, sleep, Imagine having a nose so strong you can smell dinner from and graze some more, before getting a shot moments before that distance. In other words, if the wind is not favorable, dark, nine hours after spotting them. don’t even think of closing the distance, as you’ll rarely get I’ve been fortunate to hunt much of Alaska—and a second chance once an animal winds you. the world—embarking upon several hundred big-game My favorite time to move in on an animal is when the hunts. One thing that’s helped me fnd success, as well as wind is in my face and it’s raining. Rain not only knocks exceptional hunters I’ve spent time afeld with, has been down human scent, it masks sound and movement.