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Thread: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Prince George BC
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    719

    Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    Journeyed out for the 3 Day GOS in Region 6 with my Sister for our yearly moose hunt. Was supposed to be 4 of us but at the last minute my hunting partner and our Father couldn't make it, so it just ended up being the 2 of us. We got into camp a couple days early, set up the wall tent, cooking and eating area, wood stove and chimney, chopped enough wood to last the whole trip and filled up all our buckets from the creek. With all the chores done we'd be able to concentrate on 3 days of hard hunting. That night we get hit with an early snowfall that's both a blessing and a curse.

    Day one.

    A worker had told us of a bull he saw on the road quite close to our camp the day before the season so on opening morning we went to look for him. Went up the hill above our camp parked the SxS and hiked in along the de-activated road that went around behind our camp. hiked for several kilometers with no luck and not much sign. Got back in the SxS and took a drive down a road through an old burn and down a machine trail at the end that comes out at a lookout above a lake, figured we go up there and glass around to see if anything is around. We get up to the top and park the SxS, get out, I needed to find a tree to take care of some bladder business and My sister had a smoke. After I finished my business I walk over to join her at the edge of the lookout. We start glassing around, talking and not being very stealthy to say the least. Then my sister turns her head to look behind us and says to me "That's a big bull standing there looking at us isn't it?" I look up and "Yep, that's a big bull" Of course what is the biggest mistake that hunters often make in situations like this, a mistake that I have made before, more than once and to this day still haven't learned and will probably one day make again. When we got out of the SxS to have a pee or have a smoke and walked away, WHERE DID WE LEAVE OUR GUNS? That's right in the SxS 20 yards away. We casually walk over to the SxS to retrieve them, pick them up and load. The bull is still standing there 200 yards away or so, however, I do not have a shot, the bull is completely obscured behind trees from me. I tell my sister I have no shot, She kneels down and says she has one, I wait for the boom. It doesn't come, she wasn't sure she was steady enough kneeling and tried to switch to prone, in that moment the bull turns and walks briskly into the trees and fades from sight. Well maybe we didn't spook him too bad we'll come back tomorrow.

    Day 2

    Head up to the same lookout, this time we have our guns when we step out of the SxS. We begin to glass and down below, across a valley over a mile away I see a moose, then another, and more. Not sure exactly how many, between 5-7 moose. They were walking and grazing passing in and out of sight in different spots was hard to get an accurate count as you could never see them all at the same time. At least 2 possibly 3 of them were bulls. The bad news, no way could we hope to get down there without spooking them and the terrain was terrible. We watched them for a while, I called several times without any apparent effect and left for a while. Later in the day we came back up, I could still see several moose down in the same spot, they'd been there all day. I call for an hour as it starts to get dark then we head back to camp.

    Day 3

    Well, hail Mary time. if those moose are still down there we're gonna have to try something to see if we can get close. As we drive up to the machine trail to the lookout there's a spot where the trail splits one goes down towards the lake and swamp, the other up to the lookout. There's 2 sets of fresh tracks walking right down the trail to the lake. We stop the SxS and follow the tracks. We get down to where we can see the lake below and through the trees see 2 moose, a cow and a calf. Damnit, it didn't look like calf tracks, thought it was 2 sets of adult moose tracks, ok back to the original plan. Back to the SxS and back up to the top. Park, get out (with gun, see I'm learning) , pee on same tree for fourth time in 3 days, walk over and start to glass, I see a moose below us about 500 yards down, cow. Sister gets that same feeling she had when she saw the bull watching us 2 days before, turns to look and there standing almost in the exact same spot is a bull looking at us, not sure if he was the same bull but he looked pretty close to the same size. We each find a rest a few yards apart, the bull turns and starts to walk off through the trees. I'm just catching glimpses of him through the trees, no shot. I scan ahead and pick out a spot I think he'll be open, he steps out, I've got a good broadside shot. POW. The bull hunches up and stops, didn't lead him enough, sure sign I hit the guts. Good news he stops in his track, bad news, can't see him now, he's behind some trees from me. Sister fires, no effect. I reposition, I see the side of his head. Try for a head shot through the trees, no effect thought I missed. Turns out my second shot went through a brow tine and into his nose. Sister fires 2 more and says "Is he down, I think he's down". I respond "he's not down he's still standing there" because although he is obscured from me getting a clear shot I can definitely make out 4 legs hold the moose up. I reposition again and the ocean of trees part just enough to show me a front shoulder, I fire and the moose topples over in a heap. "There, NOW he's down." After a few moments of celebration over the fact that our near empty freezers would soon be full again for the year we start to walk over to where he went down. I range off the spot it looks like 250yds. In this moment it suddenly becomes very apparent to me just exactly what I have done, I have dumped a large bull moose in the worst looking pile of old burn, blow downs and pick up sticks you've ever seen, some log jams over 10 feet high, took almost an hour just to walk over to him. A 250yd shot turned into a 700yd walk/crawl over logs/wade through waist high xmas trees. We get to the moose and get him dressed then head back to camp to grab a quick bite of lunch and a bigger chainsaw. After cutting about 400yrds of a trail big enough for the SxS darkness closes in and my saw is getting dull we called it a night.

    Next morning back up there at first light, had sharpened my saw the night before so it should be good to go. Nope. Won't start, pull cord not engaging just pulls out and back in, fairly new Stihl, 4th time using it, counting the firewood when we got here and the trail the night before. Ok, plan B. We head over to the moose and use our "meat" saw (small chainsaw using Veg oil instead of bar oil) we quarter the moose, skin the quarters and then cut him down into smaller pieces, 10 pieces in all. I'm not a backpack hunter and not proficient in the whole bone it out thing, I'm more of a shoot it, drag it to road or cut trail for quad, pack out quarters guy. After dissecting the moose I then use the meat saw to try to cut a trail that we can at least pack it to the SxS, but it's still a horrible pack. We managed to get most of him out before dark, but in addition to the occasional early snow that keeps falling it's also getting cold, real cold, colder than I've ever seen it up here at this time of year, colder than I've seen it up here in mid November even. Next morning temperature is -22, I'm lucky, I'm driving my truck to the end of the road where the machine trail starts, but my sister is driving the SxS there, 40k from camp with no windshield or face shield. She wrapped up her face with a scarf pretty good but I'm pretty sure she got frostbite on her cheeks. We get back up to the spot and grab the last 2 pieces, front shoulders, frozen solid. I tie some rope around them and fashion some handles, we team carry them out one at a time, done in about 45 minutes or so, hindsight probably could've done it the night before. Back to camp by 10am hey I think we can pack up and make it out of here today lets get going. Home by 10pm.

    I'd post picks but I'm not techno-savvy enough to figure out how to post on here. If someone wants to help out shoot me a PM with an email address to send to.


    BDD

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Lowermainland
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    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    Holy cow Batman that was quite the story ! You persevered though and got the deed done . Congrats ! Someone here will help you with pictures .
    Arctic Lake
    Member of CCFR Would encourage you all to join today !
    Read Teddy Roosevelt “ The Man In The Arena “ !

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Fraser Valley
    Posts
    443

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    What a nice read, congrats on a what sounds like nice bull.
    Can't wait to see some pic's.
    Ya they gotta make it easier, might get more posts here then too, picture is worth a thousand words.
    Hope your sis is ok?

  5. #4
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Valemount
    Posts
    179

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    That's moose hunting!Not always easy.If they don't come to you,you go to them.Only a couple of days out of your life.Good story to a successful hunt.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Langley & Magna Bay
    Posts
    6,737

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    Great storey! Thanks for sharing and glad you connected!
    I like drinking beer and whiskey, shooting guns, jetboating, love a nice rack and a tight line, I am simply a sophisticated redneck...

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    1,382

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    That was a great story. I always love the stories that have a few oh sh&% moments to make them more interesting and realistic as we have all been there. Congratulations on your bull.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Sunshine Coast
    Posts
    2,833

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    What a great story of a brother and sister successful moose hunt, I really enjoyed reading it. But just a hint on your "meat" saw, instead of veg. oil try mineral oil. I used to use veg. oil until I forgot to clean the saw out after the season one year. It took quite a while to clean out the oiler and chain and bar so it would work. I told a friend about my dilemma and he said just use mineral oil and I'v never had a problem since. Congrats on your's and your sister's bull!

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Kitimat
    Posts
    119

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    Congratulations on a great successful moose hunt . The many moose suppers in your future will taste that much better with the awesome memories and hard work. You two earned your success . Thanks for Sharing
    No animals were hurt in the making of this video...just cooked up good and tasty !

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    10

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    Great story and congrats on the moose!

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    7A
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    20,732

    Re: Moose Hunt with a Tough Finish

    awesome story Don! you guys worked for it.
    "If you ever go into the bush, there are grizzly bears lurking behind just about every bush, waiting to pounce, so you need a powerful gun, with huge bullets" - Gatehouse ~ 2004

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