Nice bou,Ben!!! Congrats! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
VERY NICE INDEED. Details please Sir.
Is that a 'bou or a moose, he's got great palmation!!! Congrats!!!
Enjoy it Ben, great animal. :thumbsup:
David
Superb!
:clapper: :clapper:
Actually I was with Benny when he shot that bull. Benny doesn't get the chance to come on here much as he is eyeballs deep in his third year of dental school in Portland so I'll give a short set of details.
It's an Adak Island (Aleutians) bull and was shot at long distance - 9 feet.
Nice rack ehh? This picture doesn't even begin to show this bull it is extremely massive and absolutely ENORMUS in body size. Bulls from this area have been weighed at over 700# and this bull was 8' even from nose to tail.
There are more details of this trip in the 2005 Hunt Highlights here on Tradgang. Other than that you'll have to wait until this year's Far North edition of TBM to hear the whole adventure!
Hey Steve!
Tell him I said "Congrats", both on his bull and his schooling. Haven't exchanged e-mails with him since he was in high school.
Jerry
WOW, Ben,....WOW! Can't wait for the read. Nice tease, Steve.
Cool mooseaboo Ben!
Got to see that rack at Steves house last year. Steve also put down a dandy and told be about the Adak hunt. Sounds like a brutal hunt actually, but the rewards could be amazing, as the pic shows.
Hard to believe Ben is nearly Dr. status. Seems like yesterday he was posting every so often on the LW.
Ben's a good man. Bet he makes a great tooth Doc.
Wow, that is one heck of a caribou. What a monster! Congrats! And congrats on being nearly done with Dental school!! That's great!
Great animal. Congrats!
Atta boy, Dr. Benny. (Almost...)
It'll alwasy be "Nephew Benny" to you Brudda Kevie!
..and actually, Benny shot his THIRD caribou this past year on the North Slope. He also arrowed a nice bull in 2001 and was with me (and RicMic) when I got one in 1999.
Steve, generally where on the island were you guys hunting? The Aleut Native Corp talked with me about working for them a few years ago and mentioned that in the portions of the island where unexploded ordnance still existed was the best place to hunt. They also told me of the enormous caribou there, and that picture sure bears that out. That's a HUGE bull. Congratulations to Benny. Will we run into the two of you this fall in Tok again? John
How does one get back on Adak? I shot many tundra buffs when I was stationed there-none as royal as the one pictured. I thought the native corp took over. Lots of great fishing and fox trapping there as well. One of my best bulls looked like a mule-big ugly fellow. Never saw one on the mainland to compare in size.
Brutal isn't a good word to describe that place when mother nature decides to hoop it up. I know my arrow would have been firmly emplanted in that antler!
The native corp lands are to the North along with the unexploded ordinance and the furthest from the original caribou herd nucleous. Sounds like they were trying to get folks to pay a trespass fee to go on "lesser" lands!
Benny's was from Slaughter Alley, mine from 4 miles down the Yatuk on the Bering side.
I'm not sure what B. is goina do this year but I'll be in Tok for sheep so assume I'll be too early and miss you John?
You can get there on Alaska Airlines twice a week out of ANC for about $1200!!! OUCH. The foxes were recently eradicated or at least greatly reduced.
Hi Steve. Yep, it's pretty expensive getting way out there on the Aleutians. I won't be getting to Tok until around the 14th of September, so you'll probably have your 40-incher and be long gone by then. Did you get drawn for the TMA or will you be hunting elsewhere in the Wrangells?
JH, The drawing is a month away yet. I will be in the Wrangells if no draw but I don't put in for Tok but "D" and Mt. H.
One thing to keep in mind if you are headed out on the "chain", better have some alternative travel plans lined up...
"..alternative travel plans..." It's called delapadated military housing for $238 per night! Another big OUCH!
When I was there in the 80's it was a great place. the caribou were all over, but my best place was out by thumb bay along Kagalaska Straights. I have gone around to pick up hunters by slaughter alley, but seldom hunted it myself. Those caribou get reallly big when they don't have flies and bears and wolves to harass them. I actully watche dthem down in knee deep water eating seaweed once. I loved that harsh palce.
We stalked a nice bull on on the beach while he was munching kelp but he got real lucky that he escaped.
Might'n even have a backup boat ride or plane also, LOL!
Howdy folks, this is Ben, I'm posting under Steve's name as he was on my computer last and I'm not sure where my login info is at the moment. . . . indeed school is keeping me on my toes. Not enough to keep me from hunting though ; ) Glad you like the bull, he sure is a dandy and I sure was lucky to get him. As Steve mentioned there'll be a full report on the adventure in TBM. Thanks for the good words, encouragement and compliments, I certainly appreciate it. Although I do read the threads here a couple times per week, I need to try to show my face more often. Best to you all in 07'.
Ben
It warms my heart to see you boys runnin around chasin those bou around, very nice bull btw Ben. I am feeling real bad about not taking Steve up on his invite this past year. But I am blessed with a wife that doesn't like me to be out hunting too much. I think she feels sorry for the animals:).
Keep at your studies Ben and if you need a place to work in California, give me a call.
See you in Pittsburg?
Larry
One great trophy to be proud of. :thumbsup:
beautiful bull..sounds like a neat place to hunt.
Ooops, Stevie forgot to log off Benny's computer!