Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Moose stomped dog team

A very brutal account and sobering to read:


https://www.newsminer.com/mushing/s...193eb9e-863a-11ec-8536-93c1ababe29e.html


Many of these mushers have no clue, whats the proper handgun for the occasion.

A better preparred mushing gal i know, has ended instances like this in very short order.....with a glock 10mm.

The news miner story won't open, but a buddy sent me a screenshot of the story posted on FB or somesuch. There's no mention of the gun used, but it was pretty apparent reading the story that no reloading was done for whatever reason. Heck, things seemed to go on long enough that sharpening a large stick would've been an option.

Whats crazy, is thats Allan Moores daughter. Hes a well prepared, experinced musher. This is a horrific year for moose encounters, its kind of a no-brainer to pack some sufficient heat.


Compact 357 mags and compact 10 mils are tried and true. They allow you to run a team up a hill and do all the dog chores along the trail, without weighing you down arent overly bulky in the parka pocket.

No kidding. My buddy in Delta says they're being real pricks with the bad conditions there.

Deep cold and deep snow tends to crank their piss-off meter. Some years ago, I had a young bull charge the PU from 50 yards off the road as I was driving by, and that wasn't even the one we named Ornery for his everyday demeanor. That would be de - mean - or.

What was the gun and load that gal you know used to good effect?

mainer in ak;
Good morning to you sir, I hope the day's been a good one thus far for you and you're well.

Thanks for sharing that story, I appreciate it.

Honestly it makes sense that it's a bit of a problem between moose and a pack of dogs.

We don't really see any mushing done down our way so it's totally outside of my personal experience.

As pabucktail asked, I too would be interested in your thoughts on the bullets or bullet type that's worked.

For sure as a Canuck that's academic for me too since we're not trusted with handguns, but I like to learn.

Thanks again and all the best.

Dwayne

No dog team should ever be stomped for an hour staight, while the helpless musher watches.

That would break even the most stoic man to tears, let alone a young woman?!

The family has had a rough run, doing what they love: running dogs.
Allans wife, Alliy Zirkle, was terorized by a drunk snowmachiner a few years back. The guy actually killed and injured jeff kings dogs as well.

There is no place on a race sled for a rifle. Nor would it be practical. Heck, even my freight sled barely fits a a 40" carbine. Nothing longer!

Mushers should not use hard cast or fmj anything, for fear of over penetration and killing a dog.

The swift a-frame pistol bullets penetrate deep, through a bull moose, but STAY in the offside.

I personally use 180 grain a-frames in a compact 357 mag. In the parka pocket, the 30 ounce sp 101 does not weigh me down. Many small game have been taken with this little trail pistol as well using 7.5 grains of unique and fmjs.

I also have pile of the new 10 mm 200 grain a-frames.

44 mags are too bulky, even the scandium ones.

5 shot compact ruger and s&w revolvers are ideal.
10 mm compacts are a bit bulkier and heavier, but equally ideal. Theyre just not as versatile as the 357 mag. Low velocity small game loads dont reliably cylce with some of the heavy recoil springs.

An eaa witness compact weighs abput 40 oz fully loaded.
Glock 10 mm compact, about the same.

You gotta reinforce and foam-back a parka pocket, to run with a 10 mm in the pocket.

https://youtu.be/KKvbAfvtqqQ

Not dog related but still a pretty good moose vs auto pistol clip.

Crazy story. I think a lot of folks are rethinking handguns and extra clips

mainer;
Good evening sir, I hope the weekend was a good one for you.

Thanks for the answer, your bullet choice makes perfect sense for the reasons you've stated.

Thanks again and all the best.

Dwayne

I had a Colt catalog from the 90’s that a lady dog sledder, that carried a 4 inch Anaconda.

At least he should have taken the tender loins.

Alaska is a wild wonderful place and if your traveling in this wild country why would anyone travel without protection ? and with a dog sled team i would want to protect my dogs also .just a simple revolver in a 357 MAG. or a 44 MAG. nothing fancy just protection , that is the sensible thing to do . i may live in the lower 48 but i never leave home without protection and i live 10 miles from a small town.

If you shoot an animal in defense of life or property in Alaska and claim so, you have to surrender the meat or hide to the State of Alaska. The moose esp in late winter is a very dangerous animal.

Quite a few issues around Delta. And even in Talkeetna I've heard from friends.

What I can't factor is that its a known bad year. Carry enough gun, which from reading a few days ago, there was plenty of time, ,but along with maybe not enough gun, ammo isn't a weight factor.

Glock 20 and 2 spare mags is a box of ammo. If you can't kill em with that....

Doesn't even have to be that big really.
FWIW living 10 miles from a town you need the gun more there than in town.

that idiot should have been charged with provoking that. Those kind of stupid Mofos bother me.

Seems like a 3" Model 29 or Model 24 in 44 Special in a shoulder holster either on top of or under the parka would work fine, without being too heavy.

What would you have done?
I know what I would have done which is turn around , you?