Yesterday at the grocery store, met a friend that mines down in the Alaska Range. He was in for a doctor's appointment, so he decided to get supplies before going back out to the mine. He asked me if I would like to go down and help him run in on the trail. He had two rigs at the highway and needed someone to drive one back to the mine. He also told me he had two hunters coming out in the morning and I could catch a ride back on their plane as it returned to town. I agreed and went down with him last evening. As we were loading up at the trail head my friend handed me a proxy and asked if I saw a Moose to shoot it for him since his eyes are so bad he can't see beyond about 40 yards anymore. It took seven hours to drive into the mine, and I did not see any Moose on the way in. We arrived shortly after midnight, and by the time I got in bed it was 1AM. I got up this morning for breakfast at 6. As I walked from the bunkhouse to the kitchen I noticed a cow moose up on the hill about 1/2 mile away. I went back to the bunkhouse and got my 30-06. I climbed the hill and got above her, then worked my way over to where I was about 80 yards from her. I sat down, used a small tree limb as a rest, put the crosshairs behind her ear and she fell like a load of bricks. I walked over to make sure she was dead. One gentle push and she started to slid down the bank. She rolled over twice then fell on the road going up to the diggings. I walked over to the shop, got a loader, and had her hanging from the bucket before anyone else got up. I drove the loader back to the camp to have breakfast. The miner took her across the creek to dress her out, then took her to the shop to hang. In the middle of breakfast the plane arrived with the two hunters. The pilot came in and had breakfast with us. I flew back to Fairbanks with the pilot. My wife picked me up at the airport, I dropped her off at her office and came home. Here I am at 10:30AM putting this on the computer so everyone else can see what kind of things some Alaskians do before noon. Remember always make it fun, life is too short not to. Rog
Oh, forgot to mention, I took my 30-06 Handi Rifle with 125gr Speer TNT loads. Thought I would get a shot at either a cayote or maybe a wolf. When my friend mentioned he wanted me to shoot a Moose I thought Oh No. Hoped all the way in that I would not see a Moose since I did not want to disappoint my friend by having to pass it up due to not being able to get the perfect shot. As it worked out I managed to get the perfect shot later, in the morning. Now everyone is happy.
