Stories from Alaska |
Two Shots That Rocked My World |
The event of this story actually begins when I notice one of my hunters, a Navy fellow named Gilbert, showing off his new "sporterized" British Enfield 303 caliber rifle. The 303 is not that powerful a load but I supposed it would do for a Moose. After several years of carrying hunters you learn things. The fellows whose clothes are worn and whose rifle doesn't look brand new are usually the experienced ones. Watch out for the fellows in new clothes with a shiny new gun. My "303" fellow had new looking clothes too. The next morning I had just landed after dropping off my number two guy. It seems the hunters in camp decided that my "303" guy would be the last to go out today. The others would wait until tomorrow. After a cup of coffee I made sure my hunter had the gear he needed for cutting up his Moose and his canteen and snacks enough for the rest of the day. I checked his gun empty for the flight. This I always did since I learned a dangerous lesson a couple of seasons before. A hunter put a 300 H&H Magnum. bullet through my aircraft missing my head by less than 12 inches. I was deaf for over five minutes! Lesson learned! We piled into the little Cub and I taxied out into the lake a bit before turning to parallel the shore and make my takeoff run. I love a Super Cub. It's quick up onto the step and when there is a 10 to 12 knot wind blowing; it pops up off the water in just a few hundred feet. So, off we headed to look for another Moose in another area, away from the other two hunters. Within 15 minutes we had spotted a nice looking animal. It appeared to be grazing and slowly headed for a small lake, which had enough room for me to land in and get out of. So, pulling back the power to idle, I slowed the Cub and swung around to land into the little bit of wind we had. Full flaps slowed us even further. Soon we floated over, a few feet above the grassy edge of the shoreline, and plopped down on the water coming to a quick stop. I love a Super Cub! On these little pot-hole lakes you taxi straight into the mud bank sticking both floats up into the mud. One line tied around the main stem of a bush will usually be enough to hold the Cub, unless the wind is blowing strong. I helped my hunter out and we looked off in the distance to see if our Moose was still headed towards our lake. Our landing didn't seem to have bothered him as, with his head down, he continued to slowly work his way in our direction. I told my hunter, "When he turns away from the lake, that's when you want to shoot him. It's hard work carrying the meat, so you want him to come as close as possible under his own power." He nodded he understood this concept. I decided to stay because I was afraid that the noise of my taking off out of the lake might scare the animal away. Another 25 minutes passed and our Moose was now about 250 to 300 yards from the lake. He had slowly been turning, and now it seemed that the distance from the lake was about to increase. Quietly, I suggested to my hunter it might be a good time to take his shot. He brought up his new sporterized 303, took aim and fired. WAM! Moss flew off the animal's rack. It shook its head and looked up and around, and even with his poor eyesight, looked right at my airplane, which was hard to miss. My hunter had hit the rack only. It was headache time for our Moose. I then looked at my hunter expecting to see him jacking another round into the chamber for a second shot. He stood there transfixed. Hadn't moved at all. Frozen. Well, I thought, it isn't a big game lion or elephant that's going to charge us Wrong! I looked back at the Moose who seemed to be zeroed in on my Super Cub as he was turning and starting to run towards us. "Shoot him again!" I cried to the hunter. Still frozen, he stood there. I had been standing on the front of a float and suddenly realized I had a problem. With two steps I was back reaching into the small cabin where my flight bag was. Flipping open the top, I clawed out the holster and pulled out the heavy 44. A step back forward and I laid the gun, holding it by two hands, on the engine cowl and aimed at the Moose which now had up a head of steam and was charging full tilt at the three of us The hunter, my airplane and me! I never thought about the 4 inch barrel or that I could miss. My adrenalin was flowing as I took aim and squeezed off a round. The gun did its usual massive kick and I looked past it and watched the two front legs of the Moose fold and his head and rack dig into the ground. His rear legs were still running full speed, which sent him around in a circle. As he came sideways to me I took a second shot and he crashed down to the ground. I really think I was more surprised than the animal. To make two hits on him at close to 125 yards with my short-barreled pistol seemed impossible. Neither the two explosions nor those two rounds buzzing past my hunter's head (he was about 3 feet aside the line of fire) seemed to have brought him back to life. Securing my pistol, I jumped down off the plane and went up to my hunter saying, "I'll take your gun, thank you!" I jacked the empty casing out and threw the bolt forward jacking in another round. Placing the safety on, I told him, "I am going to give your gun back to you. This is your Moose on your Moose Tag. He's still alive. I want you to go up and shoot the animal through the head. Make sure he is dead. Then you can get to work cutting him up in quarters. You're lucky. He is close to the edge of the lake and you won't have much work bringing him down here. I'll return this evening and pick you up. Now, do you understand all that?" "Yes, I understand. I'm sorry about not shooting again. I don't know what happened." he answered. "Don't worry. You go and kill the Moose now. It's your animal." I said. Reloading my pistol I watched as he went close to his Moose, took aim and kill the animal outright. I then untied the Cub and jumped up onto the float after pushing my plane off the mud. "I'll be back this evening." I called. I watched him get close and stare down at the large animal, laying there before him. He bent over and started to take out items from his pack. It seemed he was back to normal. I'm sorry, but that's the end of the excitement in this story. If I was a professional writer maybe I would know how to raise the 'excitement level' but never having a Moose charge me beforeI felt I had enough excitement for the day. I kept busy during that afternoon, flying the meat, racks and the other two hunters back to our camp. It was getting late when I left camp to pick up my 303 guy. By now the bugs were out thick and I wondered if Gilbert had brought a head net with him. Oh well, let's see how hard he has been working today, I thought. |
I was chugging along at 200 feet as I approached his lake. Up ahead I could see him standing beside his quarters of meat on the shoreline. He waved as I flew past him. I chopped the power and circled around, so that I could land into the light wind, which blew across the small lake. Securing the Cub to the same bush I had used that morning I could see he had been hard at it since I had left him. He had dragged the four quarters close to the edge of the lake. The head and antlers were still at the site of the kill. He helped me lift three quarters into the back seat area. I told him I would be right back as soon as I had dropped his meat back at the camp. Forty minutes later I was touching down on his lake again. He agreed to leave the rack out overnight and return for it the next day. He got cozy with the last quarter of meat in the back seat and we soon were back at our main camp. As dinner was being prepared, I wondered just how Gil would tell the story of his kill to his fellow hunters. A bit surprised, I heard him say, "Bob helped me stop my Moose. It actually charged us!" he exclaimed. "Bob knocked it down with his pistol and then I finished it off." |
This got the fellows all talking. "He charged you?" "Bob, where do you keep this pistol?" "What kind is it?" "I had a feeling a 303 might not have enough knockdown power." "How close did he get to you guys?" Questions like that. Most of those questions were directed at me so, thinking before I spoke, I said, "Gil's first shot didn't drop him. In fact he turned, saw the plane, and charged us. I figured if his first shot wasn't effective I better not wait around to see how the second one would do. It never hurts to help out if a big animal is coming at you. I carry a 44 Magnum in my flight bag and my first shot knocked his front legs out from under him. I quickly squeezed off a second round he was still trying to run at us, and he went completely down. It did get a bit exciting for a minute or two." The other two hunters, that day, had taken just one shot to kill their animals. They seemed almost disappointed that their excitement level was about the same as shooting a cow. It seemed, thanks to Gilbert, my 303 fellow, we had all the fun and excitement this day. The End |
Has anyone of you been north to Alaska? You have? Okay.let me rephrase that question. Has anyone of you been off the beaten "Cruise ship path" to Alaska? You know what I mean. You sail up through the Inland Passage stopping at all those quaint little towns and villages. You pull into the capitol city of Alaska, Juneau. Wow! It's not big either! Only the mountains seem big. The ship's cruise director tells you that the "best is yet to come!" The next day you are hanging on the rail looking at one really big piece of ice. Really big! Your ship is stopped in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Now, this is really a unique part of the world. Rugged and beautiful. And you had no idea the actual giant size of that glacier. I admit, it is impressive! But soon, the ship is heading south again taking you back to the "lower forty-eight". That's what we Alaskans call the continental USA, the lower forty-eight. No offense. Now, did you know that when you step off your Alaskan cruise liner, back home, you will have viewed less than 10% of Alaska? That's right! Less than 10%. Yep, further north is 20,320 foot Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America, located in Denali Park. And what about that Gold Mining country near Fairbanks? Or the mighty Yukon River. It's a fact! Alaska is one third the size of the lower forty-eight. No, I'm not saying what you viewed wasn't stately, beautiful and full of magnificent grandeur. There is no doubt this is one of the worlds most scenic shipboard cruises offered to the public today. And I am happy you took lots of pictures and can enjoy telling your friends all about your Alaska trip. But, my story, is about a little bit of that other 90+% of Alaska you didn't see. The area I will tell you about is one of the more remote areas, even when measured by our own Alaskan standards. |
The Alaska Peninsula extends southwest from the Alaska mainland and points towards the Aleutian Island chain. The Alaska Peninsula is a part of the "ring of fire," that circle of live volcanoes which encircle the Pacific Ocean. On the Peninsula itself there are almost 10 major mountain peaks with a number being considered active. They smoke!! So, now you know a bit about the physical area of this story. If you look closely on a National Geographic Map of Alaska you can find Mother Goose Lake. The lake lays almost due south of the villages of Pilot Point and Ugashik. Mother Goose Lake. How did it get a name like that you ask? Well, I don't know the answer, but I will give you a guess. The lake is good size and has an area of shallows towards one end. It is directly in the Canadian goose nesting area and flyway of these beautiful birds. Maybe some trapper of yesteryear saw lots of little geese growing and learning to fly. Who knows? Anyway, that's my input on its name. |
Why am I telling you about this lake? First, let me say I make my living by flying airplanes. You people in the south forty-eight, call them bush planes. We think of them as providing us with our daily transportation needs. The time is during the mid 1960's, and I am a tiny part owner of an Air Service called Kodiak Airways. Kodiak Airways owns a hunting camp situated on the northeast corner of Mother Goose Lake. We offer a Moose hunting package to the population of both the town of Kodiak and the U.S. Naval Station, which lies close by the fishing village of Kodiak. We have some good local hunters living in town, which use our services. Out at the Kodiak Naval Station, we have the Navy fellows who, now that they are living in Alaska, thanks to Uncle Sam, take advantage of building those hunting tales that they can tell in future years to their kids and friends. This area of Alaska offers excellent hunting opportunities. Kodiak Island is home to the world's largest carnivorous animal, the Kodiak bear. It is the belief of anthropologist Dr. Hrdlicka, of the Smithsonian Institute, and Dr. Capps, of the U.S. Geological Survey, that this animal is a descendant of the extinct, legendary, great cave bear of the Mongolian Siberia. Also close by, on Afognak Island, are two large herds of Roosevelt Elk. In addition, the small Sitka deer is found in abundance on Afognak and the northern part of Kodiak Island. Finally, the Alaska Moose is found, in great number, close by Kodiak Island on the Alaska Peninsula Mainland. Professional Kodiak Bear Guides are required to be hired in order to hunt the great Kodiak bear. In the 1960's the bear tag alone, cost $100. Add in the Guides cost for a hunt and your cost is now up in the thousands. You didn't need a Guide to hunt the Deer, Elk or Moose, just the transport to get to the hunting areas. . Kodiak Airways got in on this action by offering charter service to several areas of good hunting for the Elk and Moose. Our Moose hunt package consisted of a flight in one of our Grumman Goose amphibious aircraft across the Shelikof Strait to our camp on Mother Goose Lake. The group of six hunters stayed 5 days at the camp and it was the plan for each to get his Moose within that period. At the camp Kodiak Airways kept a Piper Super Cub on floats, a real little workhorse which could jump in and out of little "pot hole" lakes. |
Here was how it all worked. As each pilot also wanted to get his own Moose each year, the pilots would take turns staying at the camp for one or two five day periods. The Goose would bring in another 6 hunters from Kodiak. It would then take back the 6 who had finished hunting plus the hunters meat. Sometimes this took a second Grumman, maybe a smaller Widgeon amphibian with all the seats pulled out. We used our radios to work out the load requirements. The six new arrivals would get settled into the camp. This consisted of a building which housed 5 double bunks, a sitting area with a sofa, table and chairs, oil stove and a smaller second room which served as a kitchen, cooking area and cooler/pantry. There was an outhouse about 75 feet from the main building. At night this wasn't used too much as our camp was in the middle of an area of many Alaska Brown Bears. These guys, though smaller than our Kodiak's, were still plenty big! Most everyone agreed that during the middle of a black, black night that 75-foot long path through the high grass seemed so very long. That flashlight gave out so little light! Only under the most urgent conditions did one make that scary trip to the outhouse. |
Please remember that this story took place during the mid 1960's. Many of the Alaskan hunting regulations now in place were not yet litigated. What was legal then might not be legal now. There are two Moose seasons in Alaska. The fall season is the most popular. Our main hunting area was northeast of the lake. This was the direction where the peninsula is grassland, mostly flat and doted with many small lakes The landscape becomes more marshier as you fly towards Pilot Point and the coastline of Bristol Bay. This is the area favored by Moose. We would fly about 600 feet above the grassland and we would be watching for Moose, my hunter and I. Finding one, I would land in the nearest body of water suitable and drop off my hunter. He was now on his own. His job after shooting his animal would be to quarter it and haul everything back to the lake's edge. Leaving him, I would fly back to the camp and collect hunter number two and repeat the same process. I would return in the late afternoon to my hunters and then transport their meat, the rack, and the hunters back to our camp. A maximum of three hunters out each day was my limit. This gave me time to make a mid day flight to see how each hunter was doing and then gave me the time to collect all three before last light. Back at the camp we had set up a ridge-pole covered with heavy plastic. Here we hung the quarters to age until taking them back to Kodiak for the store butcher to cut, wrap and freeze. It was a good system and worked well. It was my time to man the camp and get my one Moose for the year. My wife and I shared it with another family. It helped our annual meat bill greatly! A half of Moose was enough for my two girls, my wife and I to use during the year. . I would be taking my Winchester model 70, 30-06 feather weight, to shoot my Moose. I also own a S&W model 29, 44 Magnum pistol which I carry in my flight bag along with 24 round of ammo. It has a 4-inch barrel and fits in nicely inside my flight bag. If I was ever forced down and had to spend time in bear country it would be more help I think, than throwing rocks. The 44 Magnum S&W pistol is with me on every flight. My six hunters arrived at our Kodiak Airways Terminal with their gear, which we loaded into one of our Goose amphibians sitting in the parking area. After coasting down the steep ramp the plane hits the bay with a big splashandit really floats! Our landing gear retracts and soon I had us all airborne with the two big Pratts pounding away as we climb out over the mountains of Kodiak Island. Crossing the Shelikof and the mountains running along the east side of the peninsula, I start my decent towards Mother Goose Lake up ahead. The trip takes about an hour and a half. |
Via radio, my fellow pilot at the camp had told us that one Goose would be enough today for he and his hunters to make their return flight back home to Kodiak.. Soon, parked on the shore in front of our camp, we offloaded all my hunters and their gear. I then help load, first the meat and then we get the returning passengers on board. Before bidding goodbye to the other pilot, I received his briefing, on where the Moose were hanging out, that the Cub was running fine, and that he had the list of food, which would be needed to come over on the next trip. With his five days growth of beard, he climbed up into the Goose, secured the door, fired up, taxied out and on down the lake and soon was in the air and turning towards home. I had my guys get settled in with each picking a bunk for them selves. Usually in this type of group there is one or two who consider themselves cooks. We, the pilots, will do the cooking if no hunter comes forward. Simple fare. We use lots of food out of cans plus the usual bacon and eggs for breakfast. We bring over fresh eggs and lots of bread on each flight. |
