Annual Alaskan Moose Hunt
Friday, February 20, 2009
Larre and Tuck Brouhard had another fantastic Alaskan moose hunt in 2008. Their hunting party took three bulls, all shot at 40 yards or less. One bull, a big 60 inch moose, was shot with a bow at 30 yards.Planning for the hunt began back in January, but anticipation really grew in late August when the brothers stopped at their local Argo dealership in Ladysmith, Wi. To pick-up two brand new Argo 750 EFI Avengers. One of the Avengers was in the new Mossy Oak Shadow Camo. Other features of the two Avengers were their 31 hp fuel injected engines and wide Super Tracks.Larre and Tuck filled the Argos with supplies and equipment for the 10 to 12 day hunt, then loaded them onto a flatdeck trailer. The brothers and their friend Jeff then made the 3600 mile drive to Fairbanks, Alaska, where they picked up the remaining two members of their hunting party, Jahn and Espen.The summer had been very rainy and wet, with heavy flooding in much of the Alaska interior. Trail conditions weren't great along the 50 mile trip into the campsite, but not as bad as what had been anticipated. Both Argos were filled with gear and one of the Avengers pulled the fuel trailer loaded with 70 gallons of fuel, spare tires, tools and other equipment. The two tracked machines went straight through sections of the trail the brothers have detoured around in past years with less soggy conditions. On the first day they covered 15 miles before making camp for the night. “With four- wheelers, we wouldn't have made it half that far,” Larre observed.The trail wasn't any better when the group headed out early the next morning. At the river crossing, the brothers noticed how much more stable the new Avengers were in the water, even with the heavy, bulky loads. Late in the evening of the second day on the trail, the group reached their campsite.Each morning the group packed for the day and traveled between 3 to 10 miles in the Argos to various mountain side vantage points to glass for animals. Several days could pass with long hours of glassing without spotting a moose. When a bull was spotted in the valley, the group planned their stalk and headed out on foot after him. The really hard work began after a successful stalk. Two of the group would make the long up hill hike back to the Argos to drive them down to the kill site, while the others began cutting up the moose. The moose meat along with the antlers and cape were loaded into the two Avengers, then the group made the drive back up the mountain side and back to camp. The long, tiring days sometimes lasted past nightfall.The Argo Avengers continued to perform beyond the brothers expectations. The two day trip out of the mountains went without problems, despite the extra load of moose meat, antlers and moose capes.Larre and Tuck agreed the new 750 EFI Avenger is a fine machine. “Our new recipe for fresh moose loin on the grill is also really great!!”