Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska September Sheep/Moose Hunt - Need Advice

Wanted to get some opinions/advice on my choice of firearms for my upcoming hunt this fall in Alaska from those that have been/live there and "done that".

I'm planning on taking a Remington Model 7 in .300 SAUM loaded with 150 grain Barnes TTSX bullets at around 3250-3300 fps (have'nt cronographed yet). Is this enough bullet for Moose? I could take something bigger along for Moose if necessary but the Remington Model 7 in this configuration is like an appendage to me (hunt whitetails/blackbear most of the time with the same configuration Model 7 in .260 Remington.....probably the gun that I have the most confidence in). The .300SAUM is new to me but is so similar to the .260 Model 7 (i.e. same stock type, similar weight, etc....) that I already feel comforatble with it.

Any other equipment/clothing recommendations would be appreciated as well. Also how much daylight should one expect in early September?

Thanks much, just want to try an make sure that I am "set" as far as equipment goes.....so I can't blame anything that might go wrong on something that I can control.

PennDog

Either one will do, I would probably take the .300 go with heavier bullets. Despite what some think, it doesn't take a cannon to kill a moose.

The 300 saum or 260 will be plenty for moose and sheep. I take it you are hunting with a guide? If so I would only take the 260 since the guide will have a higher caliber rifle in the case a bear gets rowdy. Moose are big but they are not hard to kill, just stick a good quality bullet just behind the front shoulder and they go down.

Ditto on the rifle. Take the rifle that you are most comfortable with. I use a m7 in 308 myself

As to your daylight question. Be ready to loose alot of it fast. For example in my part of AK from the first to the 15th of Sept we'll loose 91 minutes of light! As to the amount of daylight on the 15th of sept sun rise is at 6:10am and sunset is 7:55 pm. You have about 45 minutes of civil twilight on either end. This varies greatly depending on how far north you'll be

Go to http://aa.usno.navy.mil and punch in the dates & your planned location to get detailed info

Do you know about where you are going?? Anyway enjoy your hunt!

John & ALL: Thanks for the advice/information!!

Guide is out of Talkeetna...I'm not sure where we are going for each species (think close to Denali for sheep). Guide recommended pretty much any reasonable caliber for sheep (i.e 270 class or there-abouts) but recommended .30-06 minimum for moose. I got the 300 saum to cover both....I have a .300 weatherby that I've used for Elk and do not have a recoil issue, altough the older I get the ligher and less recoil I like (hence the .260 Remington), but the .300 Weatherby is about 9.25lbs. The 300 SAUM is about 7.25 lbs (made some modifications to the rifle - weighed 8lbs before mods.).

Talkeetna; Sept 10.
LINK

Astronomy for September 10, 2009:
Rise: Set:
Actual Time: 7:13 AM AKDT 8:38 PM AKDT
Civil Twilight: 6:26 AM AKDT 9:25 PM AKDT
Nautical Twilight: 5:27 AM AKDT 10:24 PM AKDT
Astronomical Twilight: 4:14 AM AKDT 11:35 PM AKDT
Moon: 8:38 PM AKDT (9/10) 5:01 PM AKDT (9/10)
Length Of Visible Light: 14h 58m
Length of Day:
13h 25m
Los of daylight will be *about* 6 minutes per day.

More important than cartridge/bullet, is placement. Moose die via minimal calibers every year. They don't always die *where* one wants them to!

Sheep/moose IMO is not a "combo" hunt,IMO, but rather two separate hunts because they are seldom found in the same habitat.

Depending on the total length of the hunt, you may want to choose to just hunt one species. IOW, if it's a 10 day "combo" hunt, time allotments are tight for either animal. If you have not found the moose you want (or any) after 4 or 5 days, you may be itchy to, or pressured by the guide, to change your focus, rather than keep after the moose.

That is not to say it can't work, but in my view, it will be tough to be successful on both critters unless you have 15-20 days.

Can you provide more details?

Ironbender:

The hunt is scheduled for 10 days, but like you said the guide recommends highly that we extend as needed to be able to possibly hunt both species "successfully" - the two different locations for each species concept plays heavily into that based on what both you and the guide have said.

Really appreciate the information!!!!,
PennDog

The 150gr TSX will be more than adequate and the key will be forgetting the "behind the shoulder" aimpoint. Go through the shoulder and put the moose down. They are big and have hard bone and a lot of it.

Behind the shoulder gives them a death sentence, but a stay is automatic so they can check out all the options on finding the deepest mudhole or bog to expire in.

We have winched trees over trying to haul moose out of ponds; Once pulled 1000 pounds of boat way up on the beach because the guy running the winch insisted the boat was staying put, even though the moose was too.

The guide should have your critters all tied up with a good bright ribbon to make them easy to locate in a ten-day hunt...

If your hunting in the Talkeetna's hunting both sheep and moose is very doable but time would be a big factor. If it were me, I would concentrate my efforts on shooting a ram first, then if you have enough time go after moose.
I'll be hunting an area this fall that holds some very nice sheep and a good population of bull moose but i'm only chasing sheep, should i get lucky and kill one early then I will go after a moose but not until I kill a ram.
ironbender's info is very good and he's spot on when he says giving yourself more time to hunt is the best way to do this combo hunt.

...and GPS coords!

I would use a heavier bullet. By 300 yards the lighter bullet will actually be going slower.

I've been present to see moose go down but haven't taken one. Of the three Alaskans I hunted longest with up there, I saw a .260, 7RM and 8RM.

+1 on a heavier bullet. Is this a DIY or guided hunt?

sheep non res = guided hunt


+ he's made a few references to his guide



Mikey, every time I go sheep hunting I thank my lucky stars moose don't share that habitat!

Have seen moose above sheep a few times and caribou too but that's not that unusal imo.

Area i'm hunting has a good population of moose, caribou, wolves, grizzlies, a few black bears and of course, sheep.

One could possibly take every species of critter in Alaska save for goat and blacktails, bison is right down the road too.

Penndog:

Are you by any chance going with Max ?

Sorry that I've not been able to respond recently.....just could'nt find time to get behind the Computer.

I thought of a heavier bullet - but here's my thinking and let me know if I'm off base.....if I go with a premium 180grain bullet (i.e. bonded or partition) I'm going to lose up to 30% so I would be in the 125-140 grain neighborhood. I could use the Barnes 150 grain TTSX and "theoretically" stay in the 150 grain area and be better off with trajectory?

Yes Falcon I am with Max - as per the recommendation made by the 24Hour Campfire Crowd. Am really looking forward to the hunt and the Sheep will be the primary species followed by the Moose if time allows.

Thanks all,
PennDog

I use a 300 saum and 180 tsx's when I'm up there in moose country every year. It'll do fine.

Penndog,

Went with Max in 07 on a sheep hunt. Great hunt, and came home with a beautiful ram. I also know a guy who booked a moose/sheep combo in 06. He came home with just the moose. I would think about adding at least 2 days to your hunt. Too many things to go wrong, particuly the weather. Max is a very skillfull pilot, and believe me when I say he only flies when conditions permit. High winds, heavy cloud cover, etc will mess up your plans in a hurry.
Send me a pm if you want more info, and congrats on your booked hunt. Max is an old fashioned guy who will do his best to get you the opportunity to bag your game, and have a great outdoor experience.

Good Hunting !

Bryan

Thanks Bryan! I'm working on extending the hunt a few days if possible.....and I may contact you just to get an idea of what one should really have with them on the hunt!

Eric

AKmtnhuntr, bou I've seen plenty up high, moose not so much at least not above sheep, course I've only hunted the AK range once and it was a one day hunt, slammed the only legal ram I saw, goofy lookin critter that he was.

he was 38" so a decent ram for length, I'd have to measure bases, but nada outstanding but one side very tight close in curl, the other flared way out, he ate just fine though


yeppers where you hunt that general vicinity is game paradise and has been for a long time, ole Frank Glaser even thought so.