ncaufield
10-18-2014, 08:29 PM
We arrived on Friday evening in Houston, close to Smithers, BC. We stayed in a motel that night and headed out to the cabin (a forestry outpost we got through a friend) the next day. That afternoon we went off in two groups of two for afternoon hunt. The other group got a big bull on the side of a mountain about 200 yds up. They gutted it and returned to get us to help. We ate dinner and the headed out to bring it back. Took 6 hrs! Never knew how hard it was to bring home a moose. Quartered it while two guys kept guard against the 3 grizzly bears in the area we had seen that day. Who would have thought it a quarter could weigh so much! As I panted and groaned putting it down to road, older timers kept saying "hey at least we are heading DOWN! He could have flopped in a swamp!" Got home at 2am... Never sleep so good! Next morning the successful group stayed in camp to skin the moose and my group went out. Driving old logging roads, checking out clearcuts. We hit one cut and I noticed a strange large black stump way up on the ridge. I noticed my partner looking at it too, and as I reached back from my binoculars, he said "Moose!" We jumped out. About 350 yds away. The one we saw was a cow but there was another 30yds away. We were both looking at the other in our scopes and it looked like a cow, until we noticed the branches "moving." He let me shoot first as it was my first moose hunt! I hit him with my first shot (lungs) and partner dropped him with a spine shot. After some high fives and hugging, we walked in. Two other bulls came out of the tree line so by the time we walked up there where 3 moose there, 50yrs from us before finally scampering back into the treeline. This one was much easier to take out as we were able to 4x4 into the smaller logging road and get close.
Took the moose back and we skinned both and cleaned them. We had planned to be there for 8 days, but with sick kids at home, tagged out and lots of work at home, we left Monday morning. Two moose in first 24 hrs of hunt. I have been assured by the old timers there, this is NOT THE NORM ;)!
After two whitetail hunts in Ontario, great to finally hunt in my home province. And to experience what people mean by moose hunting being a "different" hunt. Much harder work, but the excitement of of success first time out, and the boxes of clean wild meat coming to me next week, makes me excited for next year!!!
Took the moose back and we skinned both and cleaned them. We had planned to be there for 8 days, but with sick kids at home, tagged out and lots of work at home, we left Monday morning. Two moose in first 24 hrs of hunt. I have been assured by the old timers there, this is NOT THE NORM ;)!
After two whitetail hunts in Ontario, great to finally hunt in my home province. And to experience what people mean by moose hunting being a "different" hunt. Much harder work, but the excitement of of success first time out, and the boxes of clean wild meat coming to me next week, makes me excited for next year!!!