Our 2015 moose

[Philcott]

As begins all off Island trips, we were up early, rushed to the ferry, paid the ferryman (178.00 ouch) and got in the line. As it turned out lady luck was on our side and we were on the 10.00 instead of the 11:00am ferry. A bonus hour to start the trip.


I had completed my trailer rebuild and we had the trailer and pickup packed and ready to go except for the rifles. I had been to the chiropractor twice in the week leading up to our departure and was feeling pretty good when my partner showed up and said he'd thrown his back out pulling his guns out of storage. What a pair we make.


Traffic was light and we breezed to Hope and up the canyon. It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful this drive is with the ever changing scenery and the rivers flowing alongside. We made good time all the way to 100 mile where we took a break to stop in on Remington Jim. We had a nice chat and he recommended a place to spend the night in Quesnel. Uneventful night with one eye kept on the loaded trailer.



Next day was a fairly short drive to PG where we were planning to spend the night and go to a play that a long ago friend, who now lives in Toronto, was acting in. We had some afternoon tailgate drinks with a bevy of gals, 5 in total, that were in town and all dolled up for a rip roarin' country music concert on that night.



Next morn was fuel, food and last minute supplies and finally we were headed up the road and into the woods. We got twisted around for an hour and 25 km's or so but soon were on the right road to our region. We saw 2 bear, one a nice cinnamon black bear, a bunch of grouse and some fishers on the drive in to where we were to set up camp.



With this being our first time in the area and going in blind I had asked the assistance of a few forum members who live close to the area for tips on where to set up camp. We chose one one just outside our zone and it was a good spot to camp but next time I would go further into the zone to set up. This would allow us to call during the night and maybe have a moose close to camp.



There was one other hunter camp and some forest workers were also set up in the landing as well. Here is what camp looked like.


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Camp up and a bit of wood for the stove. Rob, I think this was the last year for my stove. We have to cross paths this year, brother.


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[Philcott]

Inside the camp. Notice the Pabst.......MMMmmm..

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Camp was setup and we still had sometime before dark so with great anticipation we headed into our area to scout out where we wanted to be at first light. We were surprised to find out that many of the roads we saw on google earth were barely passable on foot never mind in a pick up. We chatted with a fewhunters we met and all said they had been there for a week and hadn'teven seen a moose. I can't say my spirits dimmed but I was a bit concerned.



Evening and supper soon came and we headed back to camp for a good meal and to plan our morning.





We felt we should drive for the first day checking out any tracks we might see on the road and look for other sigh of where we might find a moose to hunt. Not far into our area we came across a man we had talked to the day before and it was obvious from how he was walking he had something exciting to tell. He had taken a shot that he thought was a good shot on a small bull and was heading back to his camp for chest waders to start tracking. Hetold us where his partner was and asked if we saw him to give him themessage. As it turned out they tracked for 6 hours and were neverable to catch up to the moose. Since we had a bull tag and they cowwe shared info over the next few days on what we were seeing.



The next 3 days were pretty uneventful with not seeing much other than a few tracks on the road. Although uneventful these track sightings were instrumental in choosing where and how to hunt and eventually led to out moose. Since there was notmuch else to do but walk, call, look and have lunch on the hill I took a couple scenery pics. I didn't take a lot of pics this year. Don't really know why.



Some mountain berries

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Couple pics of the mountain


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[Philcott]

My partner and I split up on the 6thday with me being let out in the low lands to slowly walk the road and still hunt for a but and he continuing on for 5kms or so then planning to do the same. After a few hours I came to the truck, had a snack and a coke and was just about to head on when I heard a shot.Now, we are not the only ones on this mountainside but I was hopeful it was him. As it turned out it was a shot and a miss. We looked for hair and blood and followed the tracks for a couple hours with no sign of a hit so we cussed a bit and went back to hunting.





Next morning would have a different out come.

[Philcott]

Up before dawn again and we discuss how we want to tackle the day. We decide the previous morning seemed to almost work for us so we choose to do the same this morning. All went about the same as the day before except my partner picked a different spot to stand and call and damned if a bull moose didn't walk right in front of him. The shot was about 75-100 yards and he saw blood and air fly out as steam from the moose's far side.He took about 10 steps and did a head dive into the ground and broke it's skull leaving one antler hanging off.



The “as he lay” shot.


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We used ropes to pull him to the road and up the far side bank. We then backed the truck under the moose and pulled it into the box. 7 hours of processing later we had the moose on the pole and lunch in our bellies.



In the box


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[Philcott]

Not my moose but I was still in on the hunt so I take a photo with the animal.

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On the pole


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[Philcott]

To end off the story I thought I'd mention we had planned to stay in for three more days but at 2:30 in the morning we were woken up by the forest workers saying there was a bear poking around the moose on the pole. Groggily, we got up and went over to see the damage but the bear had not yet started chewing on the carcass. We needed to do something to protect the meat and since putting a pole higher didn't seem to be the answer at that time of day we took the meat down and put it in the back of the truck and tarped it off. We then brought the truck closer to camp so if the bear came agaion we would at least hear it trying to climb on board and could deal with it. I had a bear tag but didn't really want to shoot a black bear up where we were. The bear didn't come back but we decided to take care of the meat and since it wasn't very cold weather wise we chose to pack up and head home.




I was a little bummed about this as I didn't get my chance to shoot a moose but one is enough meat for us and we felt, ethically, our duty was to the moose we already took. We also wanted to stay a few more days as Marc (Nap) was planning on coming in with his jet boat to take us on the river for a few runs to see what we could find. Hopefully we can make next year work out for meeting up with Marc.




We spent the night in 100 mile to stay in the high country where the temp was cooler and drove to the ferry the next morning.


Thanks to the dawg, moosin', Nap and a few others for intel on the area before the hunt and thanks to Nap for allowing me to put him on my spot2 in case something went wrong and we need help while in the bush. It makes a difference knowing help can be on the way with the push of a button.


What tips do you all have for keeping an interested bear off your game? Is the solution just to hang it higher?

[Getbent]

Right on ...thanks for posting....nice bull!

[epicZERO74]

very cool! Great bull congrats!

[Hammerhead]

Congrats on a nice bull. Looks like a nice cozy camp set up as well.
HH

[Glenny]

Nice bull and very cool tent.

[tomahawk]

Congrats, nice young bull will be great table fair. Is that how the moose was hung when the bear came around?

[gcreek]

Well done!

[Philcott]

Congrats, nice young bull will be great table fair. Is that how the moose was hung when the bear came around?

No. We had it skinned and quartered and pulled as high up on the pole as we could but the bottom of the quarters were still only about 5 feet off the ground.

I'm thinking we need a longer ladder to get the pole much higher.

[allan]

That is an awesome story!
Tip- When we hang our bags of food in bear country in a tree, a friend would pile a bunch of loose dry sticks under the bags so if a bear stood under the tree we would hear the sticks cracking to wake us up that we had a problem. Question - Why did you try to hang a whole Moose in a tree if your friend and yourself have back problems? 7 hrs to get it done seems like a lot of backbreaking time?
If you were to section a moose and hang pieces. You could prob get the individual pieces high enough to get out of a bears reach and you could save some time?
My buddy and I got a whole moose packed out from the bush 1/2km to our meat pole beside the camp in less then three hours after we started cutting using the gutless method. We had no ropes or pulleys to move the moose with.

[325]

Thanks for sharing!

[Philcott]

That is an awesome story!
Tip- When we hang our bags of food in bear country in a tree, a friend would pile a bunch of loose dry sticks under the bags so if a bear stood under the tree we would hear the sticks cracking to wake us up that we had a problem. Question - Why did you try to hang a whole Moose in a tree if your friend and yourself have back problems? 7 hrs to get it done seems like a lot of backbreaking time?
If you were to section a moose and hang pieces. You could prob get the individual pieces high enough to get out of a bears reach and you could save some time?
My buddy and I got a whole moose packed out from the bush 1/2km to our meat pole beside the camp in less then three hours after we started cutting using the gutless method. We had no ropes or pulleys to move the moose with.

We pulled the moose up with a pulley and the truck just so we could skin it. We then quartered it and pulled the pieces as high as they would go.

I only wish I had someone to show me the gutless method one time. I would probably do it myself after that. I've watched videos but always have questions.

[boxhitch]

Looks like a good trip. You're not the first hunters to 'miss' a large target like a moose.

Bears can climb trees and meat poles too. A portable electric fence with connected noisemakers would work best to keep the meat safe.

[HarryToolips]

congrats on a beauty bull, and awesome pics!

[nap]

Awesome job guys, nice pics and we will meet in the future, always next year!!!

[buckguy]

Congrats on a nice bull. Sounds like an awesome trip. Thanks for sharing.

[Philcott]

Awesome job guys, nice pics and we will meet in the future, always next year!!!

I was really looking forward to going on the river with you and I'm sure you and P. would have had a lot to talk about since he welds together jet boats and others too.

Next year.

[levind]

I've seen one guy use plywood with 3 inch nails, nailed through and placed under and around the meet pole to keep bears away. Not sure if it works but would guess it wouldnt feel all that good puting a 3" nail through a paw of a bear lol.

[moosinaround]

Good stuff Phil! Wish I could have made it out to the bush to visit! Nice bull, you guys always get er dun!! Moosin

[panhead]

Now that's my kinda moose:grin: ... congrats boys ...

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When the Ritz hits the fan everybody gets turdy

[moosinaround]

We pulled the moose up with a pulley and the truck just so we could skin it. We then quartered it and pulled the pieces as high as they would go.

I only wish I had someone to show me the gutless method one time. I would probably do it myself after that. I've watched videos but always have questions.


id show ya any time Phil. It's not too bad to do! Way less weight to pack around! We boned one bull this year right out in the bush, had to pack around a swamp on pack boards! Again, nice moose, good story my friend! Moosin

[The Dawg]

Way to go buddy! Since you connected- I'll admit I told you the area to put in for.


I was gonna deny all knowledge if you didn't! Hahaha

[Philcott]

Way to go buddy! Since you connected- I'll admit I told you the area to put in for.


I was gonna deny all knowledge if you didn't! Hahaha

After 6 days of nothing I was thinking about stopping in for a chat on the way home to discuss the area but after getting the moose all was forgotten.

Small area to hunt as you can only really access one drainage at a time without a long drive almost back to the hwy. That allowed us to learn the spot better though.

Hope to see you again before too long.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Thanks for sharing Phil!!! Especially love those camp pics!!

Congrats!

SSS

[Riverbc]

nice bull......beautiful country.

[ultramafic]

Looks like a good trip. You're not the first hunters to 'miss' a large target like a moose.

Bears can climb trees and meat poles too. A portable electric fence with connected noisemakers would work best to keep the meat safe.

Or you could use the materials that MOST of us have readily on hand in hunting camp.... fishing line and empty beer cans with a few little stones in them hung all around... Ole Mr Bear gets tangled up in a bunch of them and pretty sure you will hear it. haha

mike

[adriaticum]

Nice work Phil!
Now you just need to make a reel to make that sucker easier to handle ;)

[Philcott]

Nice work Phil!
Now you just need to make a reel to make that sucker easier to handle ;)

Funny you say that. One of the pulley blocks we use to pull the moose out to the road and up onto the pole is a block that I made up. The material started as a reel but got messed up and I re-purposed it for a hunting tool.

[guest]

Congrats !

[Whonnock Boy]

Nice work on the bull, and the share.

I always hang from the rear quarters first. Skin out the leg, tie them up, and you only need to get it up to eye level for comfortable skinning. As the hide pulls down, lift up a little more. When you get to the point where you can half it, do so, and start to hang the front quarters from the 2nd or 3rd rib. You really don't even need to hang to whole animal this way, which puts less stress on the pole and your rope. Two pulleys are nice as well to split the legs apart for an easier quarter job. In the end, you have the hide hanging over the head, and cut it off. Looks like you had to do a lot of quarter shuffling that way. Just a suggestion. ;)

[kennyj]

Beautiful moose and great story!! Thanks for sharing.
kenny

[ultramafic]

We do pretty much exactly the same thing... but we use a chain hoist and remove the quarters as they are skinned and leave the ground... seems much easier this way for sure..

mike


Nice work on the bull, and the share.

I always hang from the rear quarters first. Skin out the leg, tie them up, and you only need to get it up to eye level for comfortable skinning. As the hide pulls down, lift up a little more. When you get to the point where you can half it, do so, and start to hang the front quarters from the 2nd or 3rd rib. You really don't even need to hang to whole animal this way, which puts less stress on the pole and your rope. Two pulleys are nice as well to split the legs apart for an easier quarter job. In the end, you have the hide hanging over the head, and cut it off. Looks like you had to do a lot of quarter shuffling that way. Just a suggestion. ;)

[j270wsm]

Congrats on the bull.

gutless method is easier than people think. Best way to learn is to just do it.

[nano]

Well done , congrats !

[jaeger]

Nicely done! congratulations

[ncurrie]

Awesome Phil!!! I'm so glad you guys had a great trip!😊

[Philcott]

Nice work on the bull, and the share.

I always hang from the rear quarters first. Skin out the leg, tie them up, and you only need to get it up to eye level for comfortable skinning. As the hide pulls down, lift up a little more. When you get to the point where you can half it, do so, and start to hang the front quarters from the 2nd or 3rd rib. You really don't even need to hang to whole animal this way, which puts less stress on the pole and your rope. Two pulleys are nice as well to split the legs apart for an easier quarter job. In the end, you have the hide hanging over the head, and cut it off. Looks like you had to do a lot of quarter shuffling that way. Just a suggestion. ;)

Thanks for the info WB. Most of my hunting skills have been self learned and the same is true for my moose quartering/hanging lack of skill. :roll: They are big and a bit intimidating when transferring from the ground to the pole. Lots to learn.

We learned this year that something along the line of a cordless reciprocating saw would have been useful for halving the carcass.

[Whonnock Boy]

They work great but, I always worried about them not working, and the bulk of carrying them around. Good old butchers saw for me, and a spare blade. Cheaper too!




We learned this year that something along the line of a cordless reciprocating saw would have been useful for halving the carcass.

[Fozzie]

Philcott, congratulations and thanks for sharing your story. You were asking for tips about keeping your game safe from bears. Personally I don't have to worry, I have a cooler on my trailer so we just lock up our game animals
in the cooler. If you don't have a secure place to keep your meat invest in a Pack Alarm. Can't remember how much I paid for mine but they are relatively cheap and work great as a perimeter alarm.