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Thread: Moose 2018

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Smithers
    Posts
    371

    Moose 2018

    My son and I headed north in 2017 planning a fly in hunt to a small lake I had been thinking about for a few years. Small lake, great habitat and not well known. This was to be his first moose hunt where he was the shooter; he had been with me on a couple occasions and had hunted deer at home.

    But....the weather played a hard game with us and the plane was unable to fly for 3 days. We had only planned an eight day hunt so we eventually decided to hunt an area that we could get to with out a plane. We hunted five hard days and there was not a moose to be seen. It was a bit warm and no other action in the area. My son was excellent; paddled hard and he's a great cook so we had fun but headed home empty handed.

    This year, we decided to try again with two friends. This year the weather was perfect; a little cold so the pilot had to wait till about 1030 am to let the ice come off the wings before we flew out. We were on the ground well before lunch and found a nice little beach. The pilot had never landed there before so was not sure if there was much of a camp. Well, the only evidence of use was over 20 years ago; nothing recent.

    That evening we headed down the lake to scout things out. The other two headed to the opposite end of the lake. We found a nice bluff that overlooked a massive wetland and after about a half hour a nice cow showed up. We watched her feed for over a half hour then we headed back to camp. The other two returned just after us; they had spied a cow and calf!! A nice fire, and dinner and we headed to bed pretty excited.

    The next morning was nice and cold and clear. We were in the canoe before eight, headed back to the bluff. My son is in the front with his rifle ready and we paddle quietly.

    As we get near the end of the lake, I spy a dark shape out of my left eye. Quickly the binos are up and "moose" I say to my son. I confirm it has antlers...game on.

    We quickly make a plan. We will canoe straight to shore; the bull can't really see us as there is some grass and a bit of a hump between us. When we get to shore my son quietly exits the canoe and gets his shooting sticks ready. Once he confirms he's good I make a cow call. The moose stands up and looks at us. He's between 200 and 250 yards and looking straight at us. My son doesn't like his position so asks if he can move forward to better ground. I say yes and he moves up about 5 meters. The moose can see us but isn't making any kind of move. We wait as its not a good shot. We wait a few more minutes and I tell my son that I'll make a bull grunt and see if the bull will move. I let out a quiet grunt and he turns to his right preseting his full side. My son says "can I take the shot?".

    Now, my sone has shot a couple deer and is a biathlete, so I have a lot of confidence. He's got a solid rest on shooting sticks. So I say "yes". He waits...and waits a little more; turns out he was steadying himself. Boom....the moose is hit and falls over. Wahooo.....

    Now we have to get to him. There is a good size creek in our way so we have to wander a little around. We can see his antlers and still some movement. He's not going anywhere but is not dead. After a few minutes my son gets to him and puts in a kill shot.

    Well this is the day before his sixteenth birthday, and he just shot a massive moose. Wow are we happy.

    Its a nice spot, fairly dry. He cuts the tag and I call our friends on the radio. Moose down, and we need help. They arrive about a half hour later. The moose is just over 52 inches and nice body size so its a bit of a project but with four of us its pretty fast work. About half way through a plane flies a few times around us before it lands. We realize we are about to be checked by the CO's. Sure enough a half hour later they have unloaded their little inflatable and they come to say hello and check our tags!

    We are back in camp for beer by about 2 pm. The rest of the week is darn good. One of the other hunters gets an even bigger bull on day seven, but I will let him tell that story.







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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    749

    Re: Moose 2018

    Congrats! Awesome pics and great story! A trip he’ll remember forever I’m sure.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    West Kootenays
    Posts
    897

    Re: Moose 2018

    Now there's a hunt you will both recall with big smiles for the rest of your lives. Congratulations to you and your son , on harvesting a beauty of a bull. Nice to see the CO's are checking things out too.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    In the mountains...
    Posts
    1,630

    Re: Moose 2018

    Great memories made on that hunt. Congratulations and thanks for sharing.
    Live to Hunt...

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Williams Lake, BC Canada
    Posts
    14,168

    Re: Moose 2018

    Congrads on a exellent adventure, successful hunt..AND harvests..
    Bon appetite
    Srupp

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    390

    Re: Moose 2018

    Awesome story and pics. Did you guys fly the canoes in? or were they there? Congrats and happy for the hunting crew. Get any fishing in?

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Smithers
    Posts
    371

    Re: Moose 2018

    We flew the canoes in. And there was some small fish so we had a couple fry ups. Since we shot the moose on day one I thought we’d start to get a little bored but we found lots to do looking paddling around, making a cake for his birthday, making a sauna and glassing goats. Really an amazing way to pass a week.

    Yes it was good to see the COs out. This is the second time I have been checked while I was a long way back. Apparently fly they were finding some people doing stupid stuff including one caribou without enough points. They were also very helpful. We had not brought photo ID for my sone as he doesn’t have a drivers lisence. I had mine.... they gave us a verbal warning since it’s a new requirement. For a youngster they need to get a service BC card and carry it with them when hunting just like an adult.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Kamloops Country just south of Heaven
    Posts
    23,994

    Re: Moose 2018

    Cordillera your an awesome dad, your son and you are blessed beyond belief and I thank you for posting.
    Jels Bells -- Lifetime memories - get better each day -- The moose rack is incredibly shaped ---------------->

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Camrose AB
    Posts
    1,304

    Re: Moose 2018

    Congrats. Thanks for sharing

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Lowermainland
    Posts
    6,453

    Re: Moose 2018

    What a good story and pictures ! Making good memories ! Arctic Lake

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