Not really sure where to even begin. This journey all started about 2 years ago when I had registered to attend the 2018 SCI convention in Las Vegas. This would be my first time to SCI and I was going with the intention of completing a bucket list hunt.......Alaskan Moose. I had researched at nausea various outfitters in Alaska and was looking for an outfitter that had a great reputation, had repeatedly taken quality animals through the years and could provide an experience that I had dreamt an Alaska hunt could deliver. My searched ended at seeking out one individual in particular, and that would be Sam Fejes of Fejes Outdoor Guide Service. Sam has throughout the years taken high scoring Alaskan Moose and if not mistaken still has a client who holds the SCI record. Throughout my discussion with him at SCI I got great feedback and felt certain this was whom I wanted to book with. As the months passed, anticipation grew and then, ........it was time. (I won't go into my gear list as it would be an extensive post, but if someone has specific questions feel free to ask.)

I departed for Alaska on Tuesday Oct 1st, driving into Dallas where I would spend the night so I could catch the earliest flight out of Dallas Love Field to Cordova Alaska. With layovers in Seattle and Anchorage I would finally arrive in Cordova, AK where I would spend the night and then get picked up early the next morning to fly out to the outfitter lodge.


This is all of my gear.



I believe this Mt. Hood & Baker and then the obvious Mt. Ranier on our approach to Seattle.






Landing in Anchorage and Cordova.

Flight out of Cordova, over the Copper River Delta, south of the Berring Glacier and into camp.





Views from camp

Upon arrival, we were openly greeted by the staff and guides, assigned a room and sat down for lunch. Immediately after lunch it was go time as we were assigned and met our guides. They did a quick pack shake down and then were assigned rough estimates for Super Cub departure out of camp for that day so we wouldn't get dinged another day on the "no hunt on the day you fly rule". There were 4 of us in my group and we met a 5th hunter upon our arrival into Cordova. We each had our own guides and departed our separate ways. I was the first to get to camp but the last one to leave. All of the years of waiting and day dreaming were closing in on what would turn out to be one of the craziest, luckiest, most fortunate hunts of my life.

I came here to see a dead moose! We need dead moose!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting.

Day 0: My 22 y/o pilot turns the Super Cub down into the trees where we meet a murky river bottom that is locked in by a mountain side to the East and tall evergreen trees to the West. We snake above the river maybe a 50-75 ft above the water. The "pucker factor" was real as I wasn't sure where we were landing or what was around the next river bend. We passover, what appeared to me to be, a perfect landing spot on a straight wide open rock bar and instead continue to cruise the river channel until coming to a descent bend with a river bar hugging the West side. The Super Cub suddenly drops, we are now "hovering" above water and then he starts to skip the fat inflatable tires across the water top ever so delicately to slow the plane down as we suddenly approach the rock bar and touch down, quickly coming to a a halt as we turn around the river bend. There, I meet up with my guide, grab my pack and rifle and head into the alders and spruce forest to camp about a quarter of a mile in. My guide tells me, "yeah, we used to have camp right back there on the river bed but it was a major highway for the bears who kept coming into camp so we decided to move it further into the interior." Seriously I thought, as I now had my head on a swivel walking through the dense forest looking the the bears he had just described. No, I have never been to Alaska, but not being on the top of the food job was a constant concern of mine the entire trip. Get to camp, everything is already setup for me. I just had to unpack and get ready for dinner. We shared some stories, got acquainted and then it was off to bed around 8pm. Wake would be 6am and I immediately thought, "well I get to sleep for 11 hours however there is a 3 hour time difference. I am sure I'll be up at 2 or 3am,.......and I was. Not sure if I slept much that night. Every sound in the forest had me a little nervous. I did hear a few moose callas way in the distance and immediately thought, "hmm, that's at least a positive sign that there are moose around."

Day 1: 6am came slowly and yes I had already been up for hours. I would guess maybe 10 mins after my guides alarm went off I was out the tent, dressed, pack ready and guide in hand. We down some oatmeal and discussed the game plan. He said we would follow the game trail into the interior, about a .5 mile walk, where we would come the the edge a massive open marshy meadow. On the edge of this meadow we would pick out a giant spruce tree that we would climb to gain some elevation and glass the marsh for moose. I am thinking, 1) short hike in waders - no problem, 2) Climb a tree - he probably means 10 ft up a ladder onto a platform with chairs..check ...check. Weather was clear skies. How hard can this be. Well.........my assumptions weren't entirely accurate.

0.5 mile hike, yes it was a cake walk. We got to the meadows edge, found a tree and the guide went up first. No, there was NO ladder. There were NO chairs. It was an 80 ft spruce and he went all the way to the top. I thought to myself, last time I climbed a tree I was 12 yrs old. Number one injury to hunters is falling out of a tree. I have a family and a career. Am I seriously going to do this? Up I went. It wasn't 5 minutes later and maybe 10 ft up before my guide was now descending and said, "wrong tree....that one right there is the right one." So down I went. By now I am certain I have heard a bull moose rake his rack on a tree some good distance from us. The excitement was building. And now, bull moose were being heard in the distance, what I thought was 1-2 miles away.

We get to the "right tree" 10 ft away from the "wrong tree" and my guide goes up first telling me to wait 10 minutes and then follow. I sit there waiting, bull moose calls still going and seem to be getting little closer but yet so far away. I get to about 30 ft in the air (no rifle, or pack, just binoculars) and convince myself there is no reason to go up 50 more feet when I can perfectly see all I need to right here. So I stopped, and began to glass. The moose calls continue to get closer and louder and I am glassing more and more, but nothing. Not 10 minutes later the moose calls are even louder and my guide is rapidly descending the tree. My initial impression was, he must see a moose. I don't, but maybe he does and we need to reposition. As he nears me I quietly ask,...."can you see him, what do you see". He somewhat loudly whispers to me in a stern voice, " I AM SORRY TO RUIN YOUR HUNT EARLY". My reaction was one of confusion. Have I already pissed off my guide in no less than 20 minutes of hunting? What did I do? I just asked if he saw a moose. He promptly follows with, "GET DOWN, we are going to go kill an F&%King big moose."

He's very methodical. You want that in a Doc. He'll be along in a minute.

Looking forward to the rest of the story

20 minutes in I mind you and "it's on". I hurriedly, in geriatric fashion, bounce my way from limb to limb to the bottom on the tree. My nerves are going crazy, heart beat racing. No time for ear plugs, fumbling to get the rangefinder out as my guide directs me out in to the opening of the field. I am like, wait, we are just going walk out into this field with zero cover. That ain't possible with a whitetail or elk. What in the world is he thinking. The bull moose call is now getting really loud. My guide tells me to hurry and he saw him go in to the forest and is headed our way. We have to hurry and get set up for when he pops out on our side. I immediately check my turret elevation making sure its at 0. Then check to insure my magnification is on low power. It's daylight but you aren't able to see the sun and looking into the forest edge was casting dark shadows. I grab the binocs and am searching but see nothing. I switch to the rangefinder again but am so frazzled I have forgotten to click the yardage button to actually get a range and just throw it back down and grab my binoculars. My guide tells me, there he is. Yardage is about 150. I still see NOTHING. I continue to scan the forest edge and then ......boom.....there he is. All I can see is his muzzle, steam ascending from his nostrils and then the rack. I have never seen a moose in person, no clue how to judge one and my guide had said nothing more than we are going to kill a big moose. Not once did I ask about size or score. I was simply there to hunt moose and new they didn't shoot anything 60" or less which was good enough for me.

Now that I had located I switched over to the rifle. Scanning my shooting lenses he needed to walk out about 30 yds to fall int a 5 ft window where I would have a shot. I also realized I had nothing to rest my gun on. I had planned on using my trekking poles but I never pulled them out of the bag. Why would I have, it was an easy .5 mile walk on level terrain on a good game trail. I attempted to kneel but quickly realized the grass reeds were now above my hand as they stood 4+ft in height. Standing with a free hand shot was my only option. A few more steps and he was now in the window and immediately turned straight towards me. My guide says, now, and I promptly tell him, I don't have a shot. He is head on right at me. He then says move out in to the meadow some more. Uhh.....the moose is looking right at us dude, seriously? Yes, my guide starts to call back, alternating a bull land cow call. He takes out an antler and begins raking some of the bushes close by. He tells me to get ready, he just needs to clear the next lone spruce tree and you'll have a shot. What seemed like an eternity worked just as he said. The bull was inquisitive and began to work his way around the tree. Two more steps.........POW.........i let the .28 Nosler do it's thing. Without question I was shaking like a leaf. Crosshairs were definitely moving up and down but I felt like it was a good/great shot. I immediately knew I had hit him. The bull jumped straight up into the air. My guide confirmed my suspicion by commenting that it was good shot, but suggested I chamber another round. As he was saying that I was already in the process of doing so. In my haste, I short stroked the action, not ejecting the spent cartridge and proceeded to try and load a subsequent round. I now had a jam. I frantically finger picked the jam apart and chambered another round. By this time, the bull had walked behind the loan spruce. You can tell he was struggling as his breathing was loud and labored. And then..............CRASHHHHHHHHH. I knew he was down. But because we didn't see him go down we only waited a minute or so and began to circle around the spruce. It wasn't until we were doubt 10 yds from him could we see his left palm sticking up through the grass reeds. It was finished. 0748 in the morning, roughly 30 minutes in to my Great Alaskan Moose hunt adventure on the first day, I had killed what would turn out to be an absolute giant.

Okay, now you're making ME mad.

While we pause for this commercial break, I'd like to point out that there's ALWAYS your guide's shoulder to rest your rifle on.

My guide said, "you sir just killed a monster". What 60"+ bull isn't a monster I thought. My guid promptly followed with, I bet he is 75" wide. I quickly called B.S. He then proceeded to inform me (and he would know as I am sure this ins't the first time he took rough estimates of moose) that his wing span from finger tip to finger tip is 63"s. He then straddled across the rack and demonstrated there was ALOT of room yet to go to reach his other side. I just sat there in disbelief.








He officially taped out at 76.5 inches.

I consider my self an avid hunter. A skilled hunter. A prepared hunter. I trained hard for this hunt as I knew it would be very challenging physically with hiking through ankle to waist high water. I dropped 20 lbs in preparation for the hunt so I could give my self the best physical advantage possible. I practiced shooting, (though not off hand) to insure I could reliably hit anything inside of 500 yds (though I knew a shot on a moose would likely not stretch out past 300yds). I did as much as I could to prepare myself and be ready for this hunt. And some times.......little to none of that preparation factors in, but instead its LUCK. Pure and simple Luck. The right place at the right time. It all just went our way that morning. The whole experience is beyond words. I try to capture here in words, but words do not do this experience any justice. Just a lucky guy, in the right spot, doing the right thing, no mistakes to screw it up and it just happened. It owes little to noting to my hunting skills but yet it means the world to me and will be a memory of a lifetime.

Didn’t read all the story, but that’s an awesome moose. Congrats.

Gorgeous moose young man. Very well done. 'Very proud of you.

You should. 'Might learn something.

Awesome Moose! Congratulations sir!!!

Awesome story and badass bull

Congrats on a great trophy. Hunt of a lifetime.

Excellent story and congrats on the beast

I thought we all talked about not shooting young bucks


Great write up and a true trophy. Well done!

Read the entire thing, twice.

Congrats to you!!!!!! And thanks for posting it up!

Congrats, sounds like a perfect moose hunt to me.

very nice sir

Congrats on a trophy of a lifetime!
Beautiful bull!
Any pics of dressing him out or the meat?
Did you eat any of him while in camp?
Did you get to take all the meat home?
What did you do the rest of the trip?

Great write up!!! Congrats on a moose of a lifetime!!

Great job, way to get it done. It takes a lot to make the decisions and to be prepared the way you were. I know you won't forget it.

No pics of dressing him out. We started in on him at 0815. Finished by 3:00. Vigilance of both guys working and watching for brown bears was the priority. Sure, I had to time to take pics, however once the process started we never stopped. We had moose meat multiple times at the main lodge, some of it from my bull. Hate to say it but it tastes better than elk, and I love elk meat. I only took home the back straps and tender loins. Because I live in West, TX i couldn't fly Alaska Airlines home which is the cheapest route of getting meat out of Alaska when you are hunting in location where the closest town (i.e. Cordova) doesn't have a roadway to or from it. Only other option was to ship it Fed Ex or pay United thousand of dollars to get it all home. I went with the intention of taking as much as I could home. It just wasn't feasible. The meat was all donated to the community of Cordova (women's shelter, etc).

I also had a black bear and wold tag. Heard wolf's twice, and they wold respond to my guides call, however they never came any closer. We did find where they had better one morning on the beach, a whole pack of them but never saw or heard them. The black bear was very elusive in the area we were hunting. The second day I moved from moose camp, to the lodge, then to the mountains/higher elevation to hunt for bear and wolf. We only saw one black bear that was a shooter, and he was an absolute tank. Closest we got was 1300 yds. We made a play on him the second day as it would have put us back in camp the first evening we saw him around 10pm if we would have been successful. My guide wasn't strictly opposed to getting back to camp late, however he much preferred walking back with enough light that would allow him to interpret shapes and animals. That 2nd day, we basically switched spots with each other. We were where we had left him the night before. And he popped out just south of the ridge we had been on the day before. The black bears obviously are second fiddle the Brown bear which were everywhere. We had to chase off a 4-5 yr old off the meat we had packed down to the gravel bar awaiting the flight out. It was a tense moment and something I was uneasy with. He eventually let us be but not after some intense standoffs and some serious jaw clapping. About 30 mins later the Super Cub arrived and flew me out. Brown bear number 2, a 9.5-10ft bear was already on my carcass as we flew over. So about 24 hours after the kill. That seemed about the average time for them to find the kills. The other guy in camp had one on his in about the same amount of time.

I spent about an hour one day fishing for Coho salmon. Limited out in about an hour. Caught about 20 total in that period of time. Had some friends fishing with us as well.

We spent 3 days stuck in the lodge as a major storm rolled in and they pulled us off the mountain just before it hit. 50-60mph winds and an absolute down pour of a rain storm. It didn't let up for almost 3 days. I went back out and hunted 2 more days for black bears in a different spot along the coast. Never saw a bear.

Bullet recovered from my moose kill.

Wait, I thought irish elk went extinct along time ago????




Great moose sir!

Great moose and write up

The picture of the antlers being backpacked, almost looks like angel wings.

Outstanding all the way around. Congratulations!!!

Agreed. Great read Sir

Outstanding. Loved the write up and the photos. That is one massive animal. I’m glad it was you that got to claim it.

What bullet?

My dream is to go on a hunt like that . My heart was racing just reading your story . Congratulations on a monster mouse .

Nosler 175g Accubond Long Range. Shot was 100 yds +/-. I hit him on the right side behind the right shoulder in the rib cage. Entrance was almost the size of my fist. Bullet went through both lungs and destroyed his liver. The bullet terminated it’s flight path just on the underneath side of the skin on the left side after piercing through the opposing rib cage.

What a great write-up!! Loved every word. Congratulations on a wonderful trip and the trophy of many lifetimes!! I couldn’t be more proud for you!!

Wow what a great hunt and truly magnificent trophy congratulations Great write up and pictures, thanks for sharing

Outstanding bull and write up. Congrats!

Awesome story and hunt!!!

Wow, loved the story and pics. Thanks for the details, and congrats on what is obviously a trophy of a lifetime.

Thanks for sharing the story and beautiful photos. Dream hunt for me, too. Don't know if you'll ever top that gigantic Moose, but I wish you the best of luck!

Congratulations, that's truly a once in a lifetime animal and experience. I also enjoyed all your scenery pictures. It sure makes me want to go back there!!!

Great read, huge moose, awesome pics. Congrats!

I may have missed it, what was you bullet choice in the 28 nosler?

175 grain Nosler Accubond Long Range.

Thanks for the reply.
That is a dream hunt of mine as well.
Glad you got the chance to experience that.
Great pics. Beautiful country.
I had heard moose meat is great.
I bet those were some huge back straps and tenderloins!

Congratulations on a wonderful hunt and a great write up.

Excellent write up, amazing moose! Congrats!

Content like this is what I look for on this site.

Congrats on the moose! What an adventure. That is so cool! Nice write-up.

What a story and a trip of a lifetime. Congrats on an amazing animal! That's always been my dream hunt.

Excellent write up, and congratulations on a once in a lifetime trophy and experience

great write up for a great hunt. What a stud of a moose too.

How'd the other hunters fare?

We were a party of 4 and then there was 1 lone hunter from Michigan. The hunter from Michigan shot a 65" bull. Him and myself were the only two successful. One guy in my party had a shot at a 64-65' bull but when he went to chamber a round his magazine spring broke and the gun jammed. By the time he had it cleared the bull had trotted further away. They called to get him to stop but he rushed the shot and missed. Another guy saw several 62-65" bulls but never got off a shot. The 3rd gentlemen was more focused on getting a brown bear and sat over both of our kills but they couldn't outsmart the bears as the wind was always swirling and blew their approach.

Congrats!!!

Yep, it is a well-documented hunt and with a great outcome.

Excellent story and congrats on the beast

Amazing moose. Congrats!

X2

My dream hunt there congratulations!

Thanks for sharing and congrats on a trophy hunt of a lifetime! Loved the pictures and the read

Congrats, now I have the itch

helluva trip - congrats sir

Awesome post and even better bull. I think we have time for that gear list now...unless there's a sequel??

Great story! Congrats...

Gear list has been posted in the Open Hunting section. If you have any specific question feel free to ask. I may have missed some things but hopefully not. Thanks for all of the comments. Still hasn't all sunk in yet.

Probably the best write up I have read here, well done sir, feel like I was "almost" there with ya, and congrats on an outstanding, big f^%king bull!

Congratulations, excellent right up and photos. Thank You for sharing the adventure. A true dream hunt for me.

Outstanding trip and write up....

That's a legit trophy, congrats on a beautiful animal!

Great story and pics, thanks for sharing

You should consider writing more of these

Man what a great bull. Hunt of several life times

Wow awesome hunt and moose, thanks for sharing

This story WINS THE INTERNET for me. Not to mention the detailed writing and very well outlined story. Congratulations on such an outstanding MONSTER of a MOOSE! This life is about the loved ones you have in it, the memories they make with you in it and a FEW Heart Beat Moments like this! Well done.

freaking awesome!

I am humbled and appreciate all of the positive feedback from everyone. I simply wanted to convey the story exactly how I lived it as well as how I would want someone else to tell it if I were reading their “hunting adventure”. I, myself, have probably reread this story more than anyone on this forum. I grin each and every time I do. Maybe credit is due to the years of when my parents bought me subscriptions to Field and Stream or Outdoor Life magazines for Christmas each year. I would be glued to those magazines reading and rereading the personal stories told by many a hunter whom have now come and gone. Life is what you make of it. Many things in life we won’t get to experience due to whatever circumstance that may prevent us from doing so, finances, logistics, health, etc. However, All OF US TOGETHER, have something to offer, a story to tell, and have done or lived an experience that someone else may only get to dream about. I personally feel I owe it to myself and everyone else to share it exactly as I lived so that someone else may get just a taste of what it was or would be like if they also had the opportunity. No embellishments, no grammatical drama........simply as it happened. I personally have lived through some wild and crazy hunts over the years. Every single one deeply carved into my memory as to how it unfolded. This is what I live for. The memories, the times with my family. The life long friends I met along the way, many of which are on this forum. Life truly is wonderful despite the turmoil in the world around us. Get out and enjoy this great country and the activities it has to offer and share those experiences with everyone as many of us “vicariously live through each other”. Thanks again.

Amazing! Really enjoyed the pics and write-up! Congrats on an amazing hunt!

Now that is a great story and a quick and unforgettable hunt!

Wow, just wow!

Awesome adventure.

You need more locks on your gun case, though.

Absolute beast, congrats on the experience I got mine up their last year

Thanks for sharing the photos and the story.

Great write and beautiful pictures!

What an incredible story and incredible moose. Dream hunt right there

Awesome , congrats

Great story and beautiful animal. Thanks for sharing