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Old November 30, 2000, 03:02 AM   #1
Field-dressed
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Ahh, moose hunting at it's easiest! Hit each running moose squarely in the a$$ from about 15 yards while hanging out the door of a screaming Hughes 500 helicopter. Tough job but somebodies gotta do it. The projectiles were narcotic laden darts shot from a Palmer Capture rifle. After collecting a bunch of data and fitting with a collar we reversed the drug. No meat to pack out . These cows will provide info on winter body condition, pregnancy rates, carrying capacity and survival for our local, heavily hunted herd.
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Old November 30, 2000, 04:35 AM   #2
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A DNR Dude?

One of my LT's used to work in S Fl and got invited to a hog shoot at the Lykes (A big pork company in the south) farm (spans 4 counties).

Used a suppressed MAC-10 from a Bell Jet Ranger.

Shooting and flying seem to go hand in hand.

BTW they got 24 (IIRC) and the guys at the meat packing plant did all the grunt work.

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Old November 30, 2000, 07:40 AM   #3
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Catch and release hunting? Sounds like a good job.
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Old November 30, 2000, 01:02 PM   #4
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Hey fieldressed, you just sleep in tomorrow, and take the day off. I'll cover for ya

What a job, flying in helicopters, sniping moose. Did you see any other wildlife? wolves, coyote, fox?? Man, that'd be one cool job.
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Old November 30, 2000, 01:16 PM   #5
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Field Dressed,

I expect an application in my mailbox tomorrow.
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Old November 30, 2000, 03:38 PM   #6
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Thanks for helping Fieldress

Hey Fieldress, thanks for helping with the kids!
Took a clas of 18 high schoolers out trap/skeet shooting during school last week and Fieldress was nice enough to come out and help us. It was a GREAT success! The morning was spent with a short hunter safety course and we went out to the range the whole afternoon.
I guess the reason I kicked your butt skeet shooting that day is because you weren't hanging out of a helicopter! ha!!
Anyway, the kids say thanks and give me a call this weekend so we can get some deer if the weather holds.
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Old November 30, 2000, 04:18 PM   #7
BadMedicine
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OK, That does it!!!!


What the hell? Why am I never in the class that goes friggen skeet shooting??? Heaven forbid we even say the word "gun" at school, it's like yelling "high-Jack" on an airplane!!! And here I am busting my butt off to land some computer job, and there're guys hanging out of helicopters SHOOTING MOOSE!!! Not just one, BUT 5!!!!! I am definately in the wrong field of work, and I'm also going back to highschool full-time, as of tomorrow. Hey Bronc, wheres your school??? Consider me there
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Old December 1, 2000, 02:30 AM   #8
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Yep, bagged 6 more cow moose today. Beats sittin' at the desk. Hey BadMeds, I'll email ya in a bit, but yeah, here in Cordova Bronco put on a shotgun class for his high school students, some kind of elective day. And he actually had SHOTGUNS IN THE CLASSROOM! It was a hoot. And Bronco61, you DID NOT kick my a$$ in skeet, you beat me by 1 point. How many ducks you shoot this year, my friend?

Hey Gator, I'll be in Florida next March, got any opportunities for me?
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Old December 1, 2000, 03:21 PM   #9
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Well Field-dressed, I'm not exactly sure how MANY ducks I shot. I DO remember the last one I got after you emptied your shotgun trying to get it. :-) Half the fun of having a hunting partner is giving each other a bad time afterward huh? By the way, please keep deer out of this conversation as I'm a bit sore about THAT subject and you'll put me in my place. ha!
BadMedicine, the high schools up here are a bit different than down south. Thats why I moved here to teach. Many schools have shooting teams with indoor shooting ranges inside the school!! Ours had one until 4 years ago when some Fed came in and proclaimed our range unsafe due to lead poisoning! Getting to have my little shotgun day was incredibly easy. I just said I wanted to have it and the principal just told me to get permission slips. The parents were REALLY happy. We will do it again in the spring.
Fieldd-dressed, lucky you to be out shooting moose while I'm stuck indoors all day! I guess the saying is true: "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life"
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Old December 1, 2000, 04:26 PM   #10
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well....


Well bronc, I'm not sure what map you're looking at, but mine show's that Anchorage is NORTH of cordova!

Yeah, the schools are alot more relaxed here in AK then in the states, but trust me, a trap skeet day fieldtrip would not fly here in Anchorage. I was going to join the rifle team at my high school too when I went. My dad was on the rifle team in HS and he loved it. The only thing is is that they shoot fricken pellet guns!!! Granted, pellet guns are a blast, but I'm not about to go blow $1500. or more on one, when my moose/bear gun cost a third that price! My school didn't have a rifle range (Service HS) everyday after school the team would set up all the equipment in the cafeteria!!!

Anyways, Guess I'll go rough it this late season, hope I stumble across something dumb (dumber than me anyways)
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Old December 1, 2000, 08:11 PM   #11
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I had completely forgotten about my Jr High rifle club. No, really! I just remembered about a year ago. Now whenever I think about it, I smell the gunpowder. My alma mater has a great rifle team record. The coach was Charlie Abel, a gentleman and a great teacher. I probably couldn't even use a peep sight now.

This is a great thread, because it involves friends, kids, conservationists, hunters, safety, and mostly shooting and helicopters!
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Old December 1, 2000, 09:07 PM   #12
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And we bagged 5 more moose today to wrap up the project for now. Had one little scare when a cow flopped down on her side instead of upright, which can cause aspiration of rumen contents and suffocation. It took 3 guys including the pilot and a little help from the moose to get her laying properly. We go after the cows again in March to collect more data. As soon as we get some snow around here we'll get geared up to go dart a bunch of wolves. Now theres a challenging target, a wolf's a$$ while its running full out across the delta. Sorry, we don't take volunteers...

Hey Bronco, lets go out deer hunting tomorrow so you can take your rifle out for another walk. HA! I better stop there before you start in adnauseum about that 9-foot brown bear you got last spring. Lucky bastage!
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Old December 1, 2000, 10:59 PM   #13
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Hey field-dressed,
Next time your up to shooting moose, come and remove the ones from my back yard. Just fly over the fred meyers on muldoon and I'll signal you in from there.
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Old December 2, 2000, 12:15 AM   #14
Henry Bowman
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Yep, Only In Alaska

What a waste of money, studying moose ya say? Hundreds if not thousands live in downtown Anchorage, what's to study? Yeah, I'm a little peeved at the local fish cops, what is it exacty you boys do for the millions and millions you boys blow each and every year? henry
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Old December 2, 2000, 12:44 AM   #15
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Henry
1) I am not a fish cop, I'm a game biologist.
2) We do not spend millions a year. My total, annual budget for 10,120 square miles and 5 big game species is $55,000. 24 other area offices in the state are in a similar situation. I work for the state. Check out the feds to see who spends millions.
3) What's to study? I said in the first post what this project is for. Any research projects we do are geared toward better management of big game species FOR HUNTERS. In this particular study we are trying to find out how many moose the Copper River Delta (not stinkin' Anchorage, are you with me on this?)can hold so that we can maximize population size and therefore harvest. If you think you can do a better job with less money, I'm all ears.
4) There are about 500 moose in the Anchorage bowl, and no predators except motor vehicles. They are not hunted anywhere in the bowl, thanks to your local, rabid anti's and hillside residents, typical urbanites who know nothing about hunting and game management. ADF&G has repeatedly pushed for a hunt in the bowl. If you're mad at the "fish cops" over that, you're barking up the wrong tree. When's the last time you went to a Board of Game meeting to support a proposal for an Anchorage hunt? I thought so.
5) If your response seems to have raised my ire, you are correct, sir. Maybe you should learn some facts about game management before you come after someone who does it for a living.
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Old December 2, 2000, 01:10 AM   #16
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Henry, like you, I am not a big fan of fish cops. However, I think you might owe Field-dressed an apology. Fish cop? Please! As a rural hunter (rural, meaning outside of big-city Anchorage) I can tell you that moose studies are needed. The calf mortality is high in our area because of predators (not because of Anchorage soccer moms driving Range Rovers). Rural residents appreciate the benefits of sound wildlife management, especially when it comes to filling the freezer.

The character "Henry Bowman" was a well-informed, level headed, knowledgeable individual. PLEASE try to keep him in character, will you?
Thanks

P.S. BadMedicine, rotate your map 90 degrees counter clockwise. Cordova is East of Anchorage.
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Old December 2, 2000, 01:32 AM   #17
Henry Bowman
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Hunting In Town?

You've got to be kidding me, let's all visualize a hundred drunks with everything from Aks to the latest Remington Ultras roaming the hillside in huge packs of 4X4s. That BTW folks is a fair description of the hunters I've met here in Alaska from Wasilla to Chisana. Your plea of poverty is touching but the new helicopters you guys get to play with blow that story out the window. The fish cop at the local range (Rabbit Creek) makes more than $55K so methinks your exaggerating just a little. I love the attitude of the government workers here, how dare a peasant question authority! The question still stands, what's left to study about a moose? I'd rather see some money spent to get the belugas back into Cook for starters, the place is a sewer. Thanks for the talk, henry
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Old December 2, 2000, 05:50 AM   #18
Field-dressed
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Henry,
The hunts that have been proposed by ADF&G in the last few years include (at least the ones I know of) a Kincade Park hunt and a Chugach Park hunt, both of which would have required registration AND being accompanied by an ADFG employee. Hardly the picture you paint. So, let's see. You're pi$$ed at the "fish cops" for something in the control of the Municipality of Anchorage, and you ridicule the "fish cops" for their thwarted attempts at directly dealing with the problem, and this without any first-hand knowledge of what has been proposed. Hmmmm.

As for the study we are currently working on, it's being funded BY THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE aka, the feds. And who said anything about a new helicopter? We're leasing a helicopter and pilot, standard procedure. My budget is public record, it is a FACT! Go ahead and check up on that. I don't appreciate being called a liar. The money that we get from hunting license fees pays for game management in the state, and it ain't all that much by the time it reaches area offices.

Belugas are managed by the federal government, thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but I really doubt you know the difference between state and federal agencies (e.g., fish cops). The feds probably spend more money on a few hundred beluga whales in Cook Inlet for a few native hunters than ADF&G spends on moose management for thousands of hunters in all Southcentral Alaska. Had ADF&G been managing belugas, hunting would have been restricted a long time ago at the first signs of a population decline, standard management. The feds have to go through Wash. D.C. Real efficient. You want more belugas talk to the feds but don't hold your breath. By prioritizing on belugas,it is obvious that you have no idea how much rural residents depend on moose to fill the freezer, because you buy your meat at the grocery store. Let's see, which is a more important harvest, 5000 moose or 30 belugas?

I love your attitude of thinking we don't need to learn any more about moose management. Didn't you read my last post? Are you a moose biologist? Obviously not, because you think we know everything we need to about moose biology. You attempt to discredit me because I work for the State of Alaska, i.e., government. It just so happens that I take my role as a public servant seriously, and my role is to provide maximum use of our wildlife resources to Alaska residents, including YOU. Yeah, I'm a real JBT. What is really important to me is that our local advisory commitee (ever hear of an AC? I thought so.) understands and appreciates the role of state fish and wildlife biologists. In turn we consider their use and knowledge of resources issues inseparable from our management. We work together to manage local resources and we ALL take our lumps from time to time. This is in stark contrast to your "government workers versus the peasants". I hardly consider my constituents peasants, we are equals and many are my friends. They are also knowledgeable about game management in Alaska, which you obviously are not. Why don't you show up at the next Anchorage AC meeting and tell them they're all peasants? You calling my friends and associates peasants really gives me heartburn, but I realize its probably because you're unwilling or unable to become more involved beyond bitching about it.

And BTW, Lee earns every penny he gets running that rifle range. Look what he's got to deal with every day.
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Old December 2, 2000, 06:11 AM   #19
Al Thompson
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Rational polite discussions are enjoyed. No personal attacks..

Just a reminder.

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Old December 2, 2000, 02:24 PM   #20
BadMedicine
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hmmmm.

"not hunted anywhere in the bowl, thanks to your local, rabid anti's and hillside residents, typical urbanites who know nothing about hunting and game management."

Hmmmm, I'm gonna let this one slide, but....no, I'll let it go. Even though I fall into about half of those categories

Speaking of the hillside, um, there's a momma and a calf moose over here on legacy if you wanna come get her. The mom is HUGE, about the size of our Mitzubishy car. And the calf is pretty good size too, I'm, guessing betwen 220 and 250lbs.

I would LOVE to do a hunt in the anchorage bowl, But I think it would have to be SEVERILY regulated. I don't think Henry Bowman is even a hunter, he doesn't hold hardly, if any respect for the game, or fellow hunters.

"You've got to be kidding me, let's all visualize a hundred drunks with everything from Aks to the latest Remington Ultras roaming the hillside in huge packs of 4X4s"

First of all, you gotta be half brain-dead if you think the board would actually allow a RIFLE hunt in the bowl, that's chaos waiting to happen! IF there was a hunt, it would be in "certain areas" (no, not peoples yards and driveways on hillside!!) and I'm sure it would be bow and arrow only. Secondly, you speak of "hundreds of drunks." Is this the kind of hunter you hunt with? I have know people who drink while hunting, but never drunks, I would probably report them for endangering other, I say probably be cause if they were way out in the boon-docks, I wouldn't much care. And then you say "roaming in huge packs of 4x4's" Yeah, I drive a 4x4. Alaska isn't quite the same as rural california buddy, if you don't wanna be walking 400 miles home, you had better have an SUV or 4x4 of somesort, cuz your little run down Hyanda will get you killed in this state, if you dare venture out of the city. I've even seen people get stuck and stranded right here in anchorage. The snow starts to fly, and they can't get their pretty little mazda miata back to the saftey of the garage in time, and pretty soon, they're buried in a burm. Not me I say, I just reach down and yank my trusty suburban in 4-low, and mob on home.

I don't think you hold alot of esteem for the sport, or the sportsmen, or the people who track and record our game population so that we can hunt. You can't have hunting without scientists, (atleast not anymore) so you might as well pack your sober self, in your 2-wheelin' little miata, and blow on down the road till you find some place less civilized. (good luck )


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Old December 2, 2000, 03:08 PM   #21
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Henry, it's time for you to get informed on wildlife management, at least in the state of Alaska. Game biologists are not fish cops, the State Troopers' division of Fish and Wildlife Protection are the "fish cops". Fish Cop=police, biologist=biologist. Do you see a pattern emerging?

I used to work for the ADF&G as a tech, and I can tell you from experience that the equipment is far from brand new. Much of it is rebuilt old trash which I wouldn't use on a personal basis. Again, the Feds have the brand new stuff. I live in the unit that F-D manages: it's larger in area than the state of Rhode Island, he alone manages and studies the game in it, and his budget is $55k/year. Of course, I actually looked into this instead of ranting about things of which I know nothing. Why study moose?
Quote:
These cows will provide info on winter body condition, pregnancy rates, carrying capacity and survival for our local, heavily hunted herd.
Conditions change, populations change, information is always useful.

So, you think there's too many moose in Anchorage, yet you don't want a hunt to cull the numbers. Hmm, shall we ask the moose to stop breeding? Issue condoms? Live capture them and ship them to zoos? Please, I'm fascinated to learn your solution to this dilemma.

BTW, the ADF&G tech who runs the Rabbit Creek Range has been employed by the department for over 20 years. Not an overly high rate of pay for that much experience, IMHO. Not to mention that his knowledge of firearms is incredible, which increases the safety and enjoyment of all who shoot there. Pretty good bang for the buck.
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Old December 2, 2000, 03:18 PM   #22
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OOps, sorry BadMedicine! I was speaking in general terms about Hillsiders being against controlled hunts. I actually have many friends up there from when we used to live in Chugiak. I wish more Hillsiders had your practical approach toward these things.

Giz, . I got wound a little tight there...
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Old December 3, 2000, 08:55 PM   #23
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Field-Dressed:

You planning on relocating here? If not, nothing going on in March. Our guys do the bear surveys and bald eagles through out the year but no ops for anything fun!

Sorry.

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Old December 4, 2000, 04:27 AM   #24
Henry Bowman
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Overpaid State Workers and Rabbit Creek etc-

Greetings all, FYI Lee has been replaced for some time now. Some gent named Rod who knows absolutely nothing about firearms. too bad for Lee. He had the gravy job of the century and an exclusive on certain gun work. Lee's a licenced and experienced bush pilot and troopie graduate. Sorta a wasted asset eh? I can't say this was an individual attack here but just a rant against the government nipple. In my day the government job was frowned on, nowdays it's a huge national/state welfare system that grows incrementally daily. Natures laws aren't so complicated as to require a Boston education. The strong survive the weak, or in our particular case the State is eating the peasants. I've got two freezers full of chemical free food, of course I hunt. As far as the Feds having any say here? Yer kidding again ain't ya? Britain and Tony run this state not the Feds. Check the price at the gas pumps and follow the money. Have you ever wondered why there's no county governments here? Who was it that said they had friends that drank but wer'nt drunks?? This is Alaska right? Most folks I know do drink, of course I'm not one of Prevo's crowd. I've gotta run but thanks again Officer Sir for the conversation and reiteration of my points. If alaska is short of moose then breed some and whole your at it let's get a few herds of Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain Elk. A little Alaska trivia folks, we voted to move the capitol to a city on a road where we could go complain but they refused!//thanks again, henry
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Old December 4, 2000, 07:17 AM   #25
Al Thompson
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Gents, I suspect we've covered the subject pretty well and are, in fact, starting to drift.

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