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My gosh Bryan! Great pics...where is the story to go along with the pics? i'm sure Mrs. Palin would have lent a hand to help you haul those big boys out!
Could you see Russia from there?
Why did you shoot the little ones?
Seriously, well done and thanks for sharing. Looks like it was the trip of a lifetime.
YOW!
I love stories with big pictures! Tell it!
Killdeer :bigsmyl:
At least when you bumped into them, you didn't get stuck as bad as they did! :thumbsup: :clapper:
WOW what a trip congrats, better find some wall space your going to need it!!! :thumbsup:
Yeah,, we need the story.. Beautiful animals!
JDS III
Man oh man Brian.
That was the hunt of a lifetime.
Either animal would be a very successful hunt.
You should feel blessed.
Can't wait to hear the stories behind the hunts.
Billy
Bryan, that is absolutely awesome. Great work. Someday I'm gonna get to Alaska that time of year (looks gorgeous); probably be when I early retire though. Congrats on super animals.
Nice job and great pics!
I don't know, "Mr. Alaska" (as I've heard may be his new handle) is pretty stingy with details...seems to be pretty stingy with phone calls too :saywhat:
I've been working the underground for all the details...if he isn't forthcoming, I may have to spill all the beans :biglaugh:
You betcha!!!
Those are some great animals condrads. Will you adopt me please im only 41.
Awesome hunt. The pictures bring back the aroma of Alaska...
very nice Bryan!!!!
AWESOME! How did you like the new Opti-fade clothing?
WOW!!
Both beautiful animals. You will be eating good for a long time. :notworthy:
Congrats! Two very fine trophys in one adventure. Thats a hard one to top.
Congrats :thumbsup:
Wow awesome!
Awesome! Time to buy another freezer! lol
Way to go Bryan! I'm looking forward to details... :campfire: :campfire: todd
Nice. You 'bumped into' them, huh. A little nudge from you goes a long way. Congrats.
Sweeeeeeet!
:thumbsup:
Awesome pics.....but did you get to meet Sara!?.... :jumper:
WOW nice going. I am enviuos. Just got back to town and most of the hunting is past due. Was out with some buddies and we got a nice cow bison but with a gun...sorry.
Anyway you did well congrats
Jer Bear
Thanks for the kind words. I'm calling it a night so I'll share some details of the hunt tomorrow. Here are a couple of additional pics...Alaska is a special place!
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Here is my Alaska hunting partner, Kevin Dill cooking up caribou backstraps...we didn't need much "mountain house" on this trip :)
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Yowser! Nice "bumping". Love it when the freeze dried meals get saved for next time. Looking forward to the tale of the hunt.
wow! that bou is as big as one of those aleutian island bulls...beast!
Wow..I know that river!!!!! No joke! and likely your pilots..I was supposed to fly into there 2 years ago with them. Cant afford to now :( !
next time you're in the area stop by! heck I even have a spare bedroom and a geerage ;)
Don't tell no body but ME Danny! I sure can't seem to pick a decent moose spot in my own state!
Nice Bryan!
That awesome, Congrats on a great hunt! Excellent pics as well!
First...Big congrats to my hunting partner! All it takes is a lot of cedar and plane tickets...;-)
For the rest of you...Bryan is the only guy I know that's basically worn out a pair of Schnee's boots just chasing caribou and moose. We've seen a lot of good country together, and he's the real deal. I personally know how much effort he has invested in this successful hunt...but that is his story. The only thing that makes Alaska better is having a great hunting partner!
Kev
well done, great pics, congrats! now we need the story. :campfire:
Sincere congrats!!!
Thanks for posting.
Glad you had a safe trip. :thumbsup:
A life time dream of mine lived out on the t-gang by one lucky man!
Great job and glad you're home safe!
The two animals I would love to hunt before I pass to the next life god willing. Nice!!
Excellent job, thanks for sharing.
Bryan, I didn't see a picture of Sarah, so you must be really bummed! : )
Congrats on making the best of a failed trip!
Can't wait to hear "the rest of the story"!
Bryan the was and Awesome Tip. Blake
what a day you had!!! great job!!
Man, THAT is AWESOME!!! Congrats!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Okay, I just got back from Church and I've got some time to share some of the details of this hunt. I'll try to hit the headlines so the story doesn't get too long.
The first time I met my Alaska hunting partner (Kevin Dill) was in 2001 on a caribou hunt in the NWT at Mackay Lake. We ended up in the same cabin and teamed up hunting caribou together the entire time. We hit it off right from the start and at the end of the hunt, Kevin invited me to his home in SE Ohio to hunt big whitetail. After giving the invitation some serious thought (0.5 seconds), I accepted the invitation and the rest is history! As Kevin mentioned in his post, we have been very fortunate to go on some great hunts together since 2001 and I am extremely blessed to have a hunting partner as generous as Kevin.
This was our third moose hunt together. The first was a guided hunt in the Yukon. I came home with some great memories and Kevin had memories, a moose and a black bear he stalked and shot at 5 yards! "Mr. Yukon" became his designated title when we arrived back in Whitehorse. The last two moose hunts have been unguided affairs in Alaska. We both love the freedom of unguided hunts. We would typically split up each day and hunt in different directions...knowing that when an animal hits the ground, it becomes a team sport.
On September 8th, our pilot decided I would fly in first since I'm lighter :) along with some gear. He buzzed the "landing strip", and I remember saying to myself, there is no way he is going to land this super cub on that narrow strip of rocky river bar.
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A couple of minutes later, we were unloading gear and he was asking me to help him turn the super cub around so he could go pick up Kevin. Shortly, Kevin arrived and we finished setting up camp.
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9/9/09 - Kevin headed down river and I crossed the river and climbed to get some elevation and glass the valley. After a couple of hours, I spotted two great caribou traveling the edge of the river. I snuck down and began my stalk. I was able to reach the rivers edge undetected but the caribou kept moving as they were feeding and the thick cover prevented me from being able to keep up with them. I crossed the river and looked up a small ditch just in time to see three other caribou walking in my direction. Things happened fast, I picked out the largest bull and 35 yards later I knelt down next to a nice caribou on our first day of hunting. I was pinching myself because things don't normally come to me this easily (it took me three trips to Mackay Lake before I got my first caribou).
9/14/09 - Kevin headed down river where he was seeing some huge moose and several caribou. I decided to hunt a bluff 300-400 yards behind camp in the valley. The bluff provided great visibility with minimal disturbance. After 15 minutes, I cow called and received an immediate response. I could hear the bull racking his antlers and snapping brush. He was coming in fast and I hurried my way down the bluff to get closer to the edge that served as a natural funnel. I tucked myself behind a scrub spruce tree and then caught a glimpse of him tearing up some brush. As I predicted, he was walking towards the edge of the bluff and I knew the moment of truth was fast approaching. As he approach a narrow opening, I started to draw my longbow...instantly, he stopped behind some brush and I didn't have a shot. I was at quarter draw and I wasn't about to let down. Fortunately, he started walking and grunting so I let him walk past me for a quartering away shot. At 18 yards, I finished my draw, released and saw the arrow penetrate the ribs perfectly behind the shoulder. I ran back up the bluff to gain visibility but before I could raise my binoculars, I heard the bull crash and take a final breath. The bull only traveled 60-75 yards and it actually ran towards camp! Before long, I was kneeling next to my first moose, pinching myself again and thanking God for such a fantastic animal!
I blew on an airhorn to signal Kevin and we met back at camp. He asked if everything was okay and I told him today "moose hunting" was going to be a team sport! Thanks again Kevin for helping out with the all-day meat chores!
Equipment Notes:
61# Cari-bow Featherhorn Take-down longbow
Fir arrows
145 grain Eclipse broadhead
Have a great season!
Bryan
Great story & pix, but I want to know if Sarah Palin is as hot as She looks on TV & the Web?
Incredible pics and success! Congrats.
Greg Owen - Yes, I was keeping an eye on Russia :)
Joevan125 - I'm trying to get my oldest daughter through college so I can't afford to adopt you
SWP - I love Sitka Gear for "active" style hunts...we actually had very nice weather and the Ascent clothing was perfect. I think the Optifade pattern did pretty well :)
AkDan - thanks for the kind offer
Ethan, Indianabowman, Mysticguido - Sarah stood me up so I guess I'll have to go back to Alaska next year :)
She is the Ex - Governor of Alaska, She is also a hunter/fishing person and a all out fighter for the outdoors.
Wonderful pictures and story !!!
Memories of a lifetime.
:thumbsup: Man, I'm greeen with envy. Congrats.
Dennis
Holy smokes, what an awesome trip! Thanks for the pictures.
You're an amazing hunter Bryan :thumbsup:
awesome story Bryan!!!...is that the 6 man kifaru?
Wow! Awesome animals! Well-done!
My memories of this hunt: I would go hunting and then Bryan would notify me he'd just shot something with big antlers. I would take the pictures, and then the chores would start. Repeat!
I've always had a good time just being in great country and hunting. Alaska is definitely a team sport for us, and so I share Bryan's sense of satisfaction and accomplishment! Taking two great animals with a longbow...on your own...in Alaska...that's a grandslam homerun in my book. Now it's time to find a bruiser whitetail...!
AkDan: That's an 8-man Kif tipi.
Kev
Congrats!!!!! Great job and thanks for sharing!!!
Wow says it all! Great hunt Bryan-you da man!
Flat out Amazing! Congrats to the team! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Sarah said she was sorry she didn't get to meet you, but she sure enjoyed the story and the pics.
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Great accomplishment fellows!
Man I miss her...
Where or where can I find a good buddy like Kevin to haul all my moose meat?!
I would imagine there are going to be some GREAT dinners coming out of those two. MmmmMmmmGood.
Wow, just incredible Bryan!!! Here I am being jealous of all those big whitetails you shoot and then you have to go and do that! Congrats on a couple of awesome critters and on being lucky enough to have a good buddy up for playing the team sport of meat hauling! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Wow! Congratulations Bryan! Those are two incredible animals - talk about the trip of a lifetime!
Good luck on your next trip together Kevin - he owes you big time!
Congratulations and thanks for sharing. Alaska is truly a wonderful place to hunt or just visit. It is truly the last frontier. :thumbsup:
Great animals, great hunt, great story...thanks!
Paul
Ohhh, those are some nice animals! Ya done good, real good!!!
Congratulations!
Thanks for all of the kind words guys and a special thanks to Terry and the mods for making this site available so we can share our dreams come true.
Blackhawk - loved your post...a thumbs up from Sarah means a lot. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but I think she's hitting on me :)
SteveO - Something tells me you're going to enjoy a moose steak or two when you're down in OH with us hunting whitetails this Nov.
Like Kevin said...now it's time to find a bruiser whitetail!
Good luck guys!
Bryan
Bryan: Sarah comes up in my next PBS story....BUT-she was still governor at the time I wrote it.
bruiser..shoot I've got almost 3 weeks coming up ...I just hope to SEE a deer anymore. Mn here we come :D
The hunt of a lifetime for sure.
Congratulations, that is my kind of hunt (and hunting partner, with a strong back and sense of humor) for sure. Great photos.
Bryan- I'm so happy for you guys. Thanks for taking the time to capture so many photos. I think I hear Alaska calling again! Ha! Mike
This is great! Thanks for posting, and way to go!!
If Mrs. Palin comes over to cook up that moose for you don't forget to get some pics:)
Kate
Steve H - I always enjoy reading your stories and I can't wait to read this one.
Herdbull - Mike I was reading your book on the plane ride to Alaska so, I guess you could say "you inspired me"! I hope you're coming out with a new book for my flight next year!! :)
Bryan
thanks for sharing bryan
Outstanding!
Wow!!! Thanks for sharing. I am truly inspired by this. I hope we cross paths someday in this great state of Michigan because I would sure like to bend your ear a bit about this trip! Great job you two.
Great luck and great story....didja buy a lotto ticket when you got back to town?!!