Rob Chipman
10-20-2015, 06:20 PM
So, last fall a woman I know who wants to remain nameless expressed interest in taking the firearms course. She wasn't comfortable around guns and figured if she actually learned the ins and outs of them properly she'd probably feel a lot better about it.
Fair enough, I thought, but there's got to be a way to turn a firearms course into improved LEH chances. I mean, who can't connect those dots? So, I explained that it was a two part process, starting with the CORE course.
She bought it, lock stock and barrel. I got her signed up with Dylan at EatWild and even auditted the CORE course with her, which she enjoyed. With that under her belt she got the firearms course done and got her PAL.
We spent a fair amount of time shooting some different calibers and looking at guns, and finally got her set up with a Tikka T3 in 308 with a Burris Drop Tine scope. It's a really nice set up.
We also sent in our LEH apps and damned if she didn't draw a bull moose in region 3. Having been skunked for at least 4 years in the LEH I was glad that my plan worked out perfectly!
Unlike a lot of guys who might think they don't need practice she was very concerned about her shooting skills. We agreed that a good rule was that if she could hit a pie plate 8 out of 10 times at any given distance then she could be confident about shooting an animal at that distance as well. She got quite competent at 100 meters, less confident at 200.
October 2 comes and we head out. Most of my buddies are otherwise engaged, either with newborns or November draws, so it's just my mid 50s skinny butt, this rather petite lady and a dog. She's a little nervous - not so much about the hiking in, but wtf we'll do with a bull if we get one with just the two of us. I tell her "No sweat", like any right thinking knucklehead would.
Coming out of the canyon she looks at me and asks "You packed my boots, right?". Nice one. Side trip to Kamloops. 2 hours added to trip. We get to the end of the truck road, then the end of the quad ride, and then start the hike in, post quad, just as we reach the witching hour. It's about 45 minutes in, and then we return for a second trip, so maybe 1.5 hours since we left the quad. As we arrive close to the quad, which was left on the edge of the logging slash, I advise her to slow down and approach quietly. Sure enough, we spot two cows which we watch for few minutes before it gets too dark. We return to the camp, set up, eat and basically turn in.
The next day we walk around a bit and end up in an old rustic tree stand at the end of the day. Its basically just some logs stuck in an old dead fir tree, but if you've been to this place you'll know it - there's a mason jar wired to the tree with a note that says "Be careful of the cow moose. Too many have been getting killed. We didn't build this for that". The note is written on the back of a calendar page from October 1963. Pretty cool.
Anyway, we sit there and cow call every 10 or 15 minutes until dark. Nothing. We head back to camp as the sun goes down. How hardcore are you going to be, hunting with a woman, right?
Next morning I'm up and out of bed for a whiz. I hear 6 distinct bull grunts. I can't believe it. I grunt back and good news - I'm not hearing things. I tell her to get up and ask if she heard it. She's not sure but rolls out of the sack and boom, there he is, standing on the tree line about 200 yards away.
She gets dressed and grabs her rifle. I get a big shed that's been hanging around the camp and poke it out around a tree, and then rake a bit. Then I hold the shed to my head and step out and do the moose display walk (you've probably seen int on Youtube, and I've tested it before. I think once they see the shed they pretty much decide you're a moose, so you've got more freedom of movement then).
We range him and he's 168 yards. She says "That's too far. I might not kill him". I'm thinking "Wrong. Dump that sucker right now, end of story", but, being a modern sensitive man in touch with my emotions I say "OK, I'll bring him in closer".
I'm glad I did. I cow call and bull grunt and shed wave, trying not to overdo it or lose patience. He comes closer, then hangs up. I tell her to get a good rest and get ready. He still won't come too much closer, so I start moving away from the meadow, deeper into the trees. Sure enough, he comes in.
I move behind a tree where I have my rifle and range finder. He's about 140 yards. I throw my rifle up and put the scope on him. He's broadside, just standing there, but there's a willow bush in the way, and besides, I don't have the tag. She does. I love patient hunters, but we've been at this about 15 minutes and I can visualize this bull disappearing.
Then I hear her say "I'm going", followed by bang, shudder, run, fall.
Good times. Just like something you'd see on TV. I go see her and she's pretty emotional, but that's to be expected.
We work our way over. I've been doing some tracking with my dog, who's still jut a pup, and so I put her on the long line, take her to where he was standing, and tell her to track. She starts, but the hair is standing straight up and she is convinced there's a monster close by. I can already see the bull, of course, and he's down and out, but the dog is barking and doesn't know whether she's coming or going. Quite comical. Even once I started throwing her scraps of meat she wasn't sure how she felt. I'm pretty sure she knows what moose are now, though.
That was Sunday morning. It took me all day to get him cut up and back to camp, and we didn't have him all hung until Monday. With it being warm we had to move our usual meat pole, which was to exposed to sun. And let me tell you - getting a moose quarter hung 15 feet in the air with only a small woman to help is pretty fun!
We were concerned that it was getting too warm, as that first week of October saw some mid-teens weather, even at 5,000'. However, we had it hung in shade, and tarped it for a couple days of rain. Some buddies hiked in and helped us bone it out and get it out on Friday and Saturday. Down to the coast, into three fridges at about 1 degree, out to Wholesale for a 3/4 horse grinder and then a bunch more kitchen table butchering. Some of the techniques were new to me but I'm convinced that fridge aging at just above zero is an awesome way to go. Tender and tasty.
Also ate a great deal of heart in the camp, as well as tongue. Comparing bear, moose and deer heart I prefer the deer. Bear and moose both have a stronger, although still a good, taste. Tongue? Awesome. I'll be hard pressed to leave another in the animal. Just boiled it and then pulled the skin off with my fingers. And you guessed it: moose heart and tongue are big enough to feed a lot of guys. Kept the liver too, although most got cooked and fed to the dog over time. I think all I need to move onto next time are kidneys and ... bull nuts!
Lessons learned? I used to think later in October was prime moose time. Posts here changed my mind and this experience confirmed it. Guys say they start rutting late September and are done mid October. I now really like the first part of that Oct.1-31 draw. Calling that bull in was awesome.
Also, moose are way easier with 4 grown men.
Like always, excitement and the overwhelming size of moose makes for some bad decisions. I wanted to get the meat back to camp and hung as fast as possible. We could probably have done a better job if we slowed down and did smarter field butchering right at the kill site, with a tarp spread out to help keep the meat cleaner.
Which leads to my need for more knowledge on turning huge chunks of moose into the right cuts.
Still, I'm stoked and also eternally grateful to my two buddies who drove up from the LM to hike in and help me get him out, and, of course, to the lady who prefers to remain nameless for all the prep she put into getting ready to hunt.
She says she wants a nice, small, simple deer next....
http://www.robchipman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bullracksmall.jpg
http://www.robchipman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bulllegsmall.jpg
http://www.robchipman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Packing-outsmall.jpg
Now, as I mentioned, two buddies have the November draw so I'm going with them as well. Any pointers on hunting November bulls versus bulls in the rut?
Fair enough, I thought, but there's got to be a way to turn a firearms course into improved LEH chances. I mean, who can't connect those dots? So, I explained that it was a two part process, starting with the CORE course.
She bought it, lock stock and barrel. I got her signed up with Dylan at EatWild and even auditted the CORE course with her, which she enjoyed. With that under her belt she got the firearms course done and got her PAL.
We spent a fair amount of time shooting some different calibers and looking at guns, and finally got her set up with a Tikka T3 in 308 with a Burris Drop Tine scope. It's a really nice set up.
We also sent in our LEH apps and damned if she didn't draw a bull moose in region 3. Having been skunked for at least 4 years in the LEH I was glad that my plan worked out perfectly!
Unlike a lot of guys who might think they don't need practice she was very concerned about her shooting skills. We agreed that a good rule was that if she could hit a pie plate 8 out of 10 times at any given distance then she could be confident about shooting an animal at that distance as well. She got quite competent at 100 meters, less confident at 200.
October 2 comes and we head out. Most of my buddies are otherwise engaged, either with newborns or November draws, so it's just my mid 50s skinny butt, this rather petite lady and a dog. She's a little nervous - not so much about the hiking in, but wtf we'll do with a bull if we get one with just the two of us. I tell her "No sweat", like any right thinking knucklehead would.
Coming out of the canyon she looks at me and asks "You packed my boots, right?". Nice one. Side trip to Kamloops. 2 hours added to trip. We get to the end of the truck road, then the end of the quad ride, and then start the hike in, post quad, just as we reach the witching hour. It's about 45 minutes in, and then we return for a second trip, so maybe 1.5 hours since we left the quad. As we arrive close to the quad, which was left on the edge of the logging slash, I advise her to slow down and approach quietly. Sure enough, we spot two cows which we watch for few minutes before it gets too dark. We return to the camp, set up, eat and basically turn in.
The next day we walk around a bit and end up in an old rustic tree stand at the end of the day. Its basically just some logs stuck in an old dead fir tree, but if you've been to this place you'll know it - there's a mason jar wired to the tree with a note that says "Be careful of the cow moose. Too many have been getting killed. We didn't build this for that". The note is written on the back of a calendar page from October 1963. Pretty cool.
Anyway, we sit there and cow call every 10 or 15 minutes until dark. Nothing. We head back to camp as the sun goes down. How hardcore are you going to be, hunting with a woman, right?
Next morning I'm up and out of bed for a whiz. I hear 6 distinct bull grunts. I can't believe it. I grunt back and good news - I'm not hearing things. I tell her to get up and ask if she heard it. She's not sure but rolls out of the sack and boom, there he is, standing on the tree line about 200 yards away.
She gets dressed and grabs her rifle. I get a big shed that's been hanging around the camp and poke it out around a tree, and then rake a bit. Then I hold the shed to my head and step out and do the moose display walk (you've probably seen int on Youtube, and I've tested it before. I think once they see the shed they pretty much decide you're a moose, so you've got more freedom of movement then).
We range him and he's 168 yards. She says "That's too far. I might not kill him". I'm thinking "Wrong. Dump that sucker right now, end of story", but, being a modern sensitive man in touch with my emotions I say "OK, I'll bring him in closer".
I'm glad I did. I cow call and bull grunt and shed wave, trying not to overdo it or lose patience. He comes closer, then hangs up. I tell her to get a good rest and get ready. He still won't come too much closer, so I start moving away from the meadow, deeper into the trees. Sure enough, he comes in.
I move behind a tree where I have my rifle and range finder. He's about 140 yards. I throw my rifle up and put the scope on him. He's broadside, just standing there, but there's a willow bush in the way, and besides, I don't have the tag. She does. I love patient hunters, but we've been at this about 15 minutes and I can visualize this bull disappearing.
Then I hear her say "I'm going", followed by bang, shudder, run, fall.
Good times. Just like something you'd see on TV. I go see her and she's pretty emotional, but that's to be expected.
We work our way over. I've been doing some tracking with my dog, who's still jut a pup, and so I put her on the long line, take her to where he was standing, and tell her to track. She starts, but the hair is standing straight up and she is convinced there's a monster close by. I can already see the bull, of course, and he's down and out, but the dog is barking and doesn't know whether she's coming or going. Quite comical. Even once I started throwing her scraps of meat she wasn't sure how she felt. I'm pretty sure she knows what moose are now, though.
That was Sunday morning. It took me all day to get him cut up and back to camp, and we didn't have him all hung until Monday. With it being warm we had to move our usual meat pole, which was to exposed to sun. And let me tell you - getting a moose quarter hung 15 feet in the air with only a small woman to help is pretty fun!
We were concerned that it was getting too warm, as that first week of October saw some mid-teens weather, even at 5,000'. However, we had it hung in shade, and tarped it for a couple days of rain. Some buddies hiked in and helped us bone it out and get it out on Friday and Saturday. Down to the coast, into three fridges at about 1 degree, out to Wholesale for a 3/4 horse grinder and then a bunch more kitchen table butchering. Some of the techniques were new to me but I'm convinced that fridge aging at just above zero is an awesome way to go. Tender and tasty.
Also ate a great deal of heart in the camp, as well as tongue. Comparing bear, moose and deer heart I prefer the deer. Bear and moose both have a stronger, although still a good, taste. Tongue? Awesome. I'll be hard pressed to leave another in the animal. Just boiled it and then pulled the skin off with my fingers. And you guessed it: moose heart and tongue are big enough to feed a lot of guys. Kept the liver too, although most got cooked and fed to the dog over time. I think all I need to move onto next time are kidneys and ... bull nuts!
Lessons learned? I used to think later in October was prime moose time. Posts here changed my mind and this experience confirmed it. Guys say they start rutting late September and are done mid October. I now really like the first part of that Oct.1-31 draw. Calling that bull in was awesome.
Also, moose are way easier with 4 grown men.
Like always, excitement and the overwhelming size of moose makes for some bad decisions. I wanted to get the meat back to camp and hung as fast as possible. We could probably have done a better job if we slowed down and did smarter field butchering right at the kill site, with a tarp spread out to help keep the meat cleaner.
Which leads to my need for more knowledge on turning huge chunks of moose into the right cuts.
Still, I'm stoked and also eternally grateful to my two buddies who drove up from the LM to hike in and help me get him out, and, of course, to the lady who prefers to remain nameless for all the prep she put into getting ready to hunt.
She says she wants a nice, small, simple deer next....
http://www.robchipman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bullracksmall.jpg
http://www.robchipman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bulllegsmall.jpg
http://www.robchipman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Packing-outsmall.jpg
Now, as I mentioned, two buddies have the November draw so I'm going with them as well. Any pointers on hunting November bulls versus bulls in the rut?