Sunday marks the beginning of the fall moose hunt in game management units 17B and 17C. Permits for the any-bull hunt are available through the end of August.
Fall moose hunting opens Sunday in Game Management Units 17B and 17C. Permits that allow hunters to take any bull moose are available through August 30. Those who do not get permits by that date must hunt under a harvest ticket, which carries more stipulations about the types of moose hunters can take.
As people participate in the fall moose hunt, area wildlife management biologist Neil Barten points out that there are several regulations hunters should keep in mind.
“Because it is a single-sex hunt, bulls only, they have to leave evidence of sex on one of the hind quarters. Then we’ve gotten a few proxy-hunters who come in and hunt for somebody else who’s qualified. They just have to remember that if they do shoot a bull moose they have to destroy the antlers,” says Barten.
Additionally, successful hunters need to report their harvest within five days of killing the animal.
Over the past year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has made a concerted effort to survey area moose populations. Last winter they observed low bull-to-cow ratios and low calf-to-cow ratios in some locations.
“Hopefully they were just a blip and it’s not a trend that we’re seeing. But we’re going to get out again this fall and winter if we get snow and continue doing those surveys, and we’ll have a much better idea. In general, I think the moose population is doing pretty decently overall.”
The fall moose hunt in areas 17B and 17C runs from Aug. 20 to September 15.
Contact the author at avery@kdlg.org or 907-842-5281.
