untilthelastbeat
11-14-2016, 12:27 AM
This hunting season came with high expectations after finding out we had drawn 2 bull moose tags for reg 3. Kyle and I had 2 weeks of elk hunting in late September which we had put away as a slam dunk and the usual month of any buck slaughtering followed by our moose draws opening for the month of November which after being tipped off on a good area we figured would also be guaranteed meat in the freezer.
As semptember came and went we returned home from the kootenays with no elk...
With high hopes of filling the freezers we hit the woods hard in October and I managed to pull a 5x5 and a fork mule deer and Kyle dropped a nice fork lifting some of the pressure but still not enough to last us the year.
Things weren't panning out as planned as they never do but we still had high hopes for November even though we knew it was all the rest of our eggs in one basket.
The area of our draw is very familiar to me as I deer hunt the surrounding mountains every year but the specific Valley that we had been tipped off to look into would be all new to us. Earlier in the year Kyle had given information on a goat draw to a fellow hbc member only to find out he had info on our draw and was willing to share aswel. The area looked great on the maps and we were exited to check it out. The only challenge would be getting up there before winter beats us to it.
The first weekend of November comes and it's game day. The plan was Kyle and mason would meet me in town before the logging road and wed park my truck in town and take their two trucks in to camp. I would stay for the weekend then head home Sunday and come back the following weekend while the boys stayed all week to hunt.
We reached the hunting grounds just before 9am Saturday. We putted our way up the road taking us back into the valley. It appeared winter had beaten us. There had been a decent snow fall a couple days earlier and it had melted over the road and frozen a solid sheet of ice. Mason and I followed behind kyles truck to the bottom of a hill. As Kyle started making his way up I said " you better hold back here until he makes it to the top Mase ". We watched as he rounded the top corner only to see he rear end start to bounce. Then like watching a plane crash in slow motion the truck starts sliding back down around the corner gaining speed quickly. Before we even have time to think kyles truck is sliding sideways in reverse down the mountain. His door opens and with one leg out hes making the motion to bail as he slides seriously close to the edge of the bank. At this moment he realizes if he jumps the truck will run him over on its way past and he's committed for the ride. Moments later the wheels bite the only patch of gravel pertruding through the ice and the truck comes to a stop sideways on the hill. I sprint up to the vehicle and see Kyle sitting with a cigarette shaking in one hand and his legs wrattling against the steering wheel. "Got a light?" He says..
Needless to say we abandoned that plan and with that all our hopes of getting a moose.
We drove around and explored the area but I knew all the cuts in that area were long over grown and it's not a large area. We spotted the odd old track and droppings but that was it.
Sunday morning we drove into some other near by roads only to find the same things. After a couple hours we stopped at a lake and started going over our options. I had suggested that I could research other areas during the week and we could move camp for the long weekend and it was sounding like a good idea. Then one of us said "why don't we just hike back into that valley". Hmm seems simple enough right. F*^k it let's do it.
We parked at the bottom of the hill of death and started our hike. We figured it to be about 6 km to the bottom of the valley. After about an hour and a half we were making our way into the meadows and man was it worth the hike. It just screamed moose in there and just like that our spirits were lifted. We set up to glass and it didn't take long for me to get ideas. Knowing there was a whole other part to the meadow it didn't take but 5 minutes for me to say I'm going for a hike. Told the boys I'd be back in a few ours and set off down the valley.
We had been told the moose like the timber along either side of the creek that runs through but I had it in my mind that the moose would be out in the willows feeding. So I walked along the treeline glassing around every corner only to see no moose and very old tracks her and there. I knew it was only the morning of day two but it was still disappointing as it was my last day to hunt for the week and it just looked too good to be true in there. After an hour and a half I decided to give this timber hunting a try. I found a spot that looked a little more open and worked my way into the trees about 10 yards and instantly find a pile of droppings that is almost still warm. There was a large patch of snow that I wanted to walk around as to not make noise so I put my head down and slowly crept around and made my way another 30 yards into the treeline. As I lift my head I instantly see a moose not 10 yards in front of me. Although it was looking at me it's head was in some branches so I raised my rifle to find it was a cow. As I lower my rifle I notice another moose at about 30 yards also in some brush. Trying not to spook the cow I side step about 5 yards and from there I believed in could see bases but I couldn't be sure enough to pull the trigger so I side step a few more times and then I see a few tines poking through. Good enough for me! I step back to where I could see vitals and let the 7mm bark! I know it's a good hit and as he walks through a small clearing I put one in his neck. The bull spins around and walks back to where he was originally and I hammer him in the chest again. Now my rifle only holds 3 so I'm grabbing another round as he stands there and just as I get it chambered he walks out one more time and I finish him off with one behind the ear.
At this moment a bunch of things are running through my mind..
Oh my god I just shot a moose.
From what I could see it was a good sized bull.
What have I done it's already after noon and I have to drive home tonight.
I hope Kyle and Mase heard the shots and come running.
As I walked up to the moose I realized it was above average especially for reg 3. I took a quick picture and headed back to find Kyle and mason.
Luckily they heard the shots and we're already close by. It took a couple hours to cut it up then we loaded the packs with a couple hundred pounds each and started our treck out. It was grueling to say the least. I had the head plus a bag of back straps and loins and the awkwardness of the load damn near killed me. Never packing the horns up like that again just for a hero shot il say that.
Right as we stopped for our first break just before dark and starting to realize how screwed we are I hear something. "Sounds like a vehicle eh?" ... "sounds like a quad "... " IT'S GETTING CLOSER!"
We ran as fast as we could up to the clearing and like a pair of guardian angels these two side by sides come through the bush. It was our lucky day. These 3 gentlemen also had the draw but hadn't had any luck and like true sportsmen decided to help us get the whole moose out in 1 trip! Thanks to them we had the bull back to camp not too long after dark and I set off on my trip home with the moose. Had it home and hung by 230am and off to work at 5! What a weekend! Huge thanks to mason and Kyle and also the member who put us on the area. Couldn't have done it without you guys.
As semptember came and went we returned home from the kootenays with no elk...
With high hopes of filling the freezers we hit the woods hard in October and I managed to pull a 5x5 and a fork mule deer and Kyle dropped a nice fork lifting some of the pressure but still not enough to last us the year.
Things weren't panning out as planned as they never do but we still had high hopes for November even though we knew it was all the rest of our eggs in one basket.
The area of our draw is very familiar to me as I deer hunt the surrounding mountains every year but the specific Valley that we had been tipped off to look into would be all new to us. Earlier in the year Kyle had given information on a goat draw to a fellow hbc member only to find out he had info on our draw and was willing to share aswel. The area looked great on the maps and we were exited to check it out. The only challenge would be getting up there before winter beats us to it.
The first weekend of November comes and it's game day. The plan was Kyle and mason would meet me in town before the logging road and wed park my truck in town and take their two trucks in to camp. I would stay for the weekend then head home Sunday and come back the following weekend while the boys stayed all week to hunt.
We reached the hunting grounds just before 9am Saturday. We putted our way up the road taking us back into the valley. It appeared winter had beaten us. There had been a decent snow fall a couple days earlier and it had melted over the road and frozen a solid sheet of ice. Mason and I followed behind kyles truck to the bottom of a hill. As Kyle started making his way up I said " you better hold back here until he makes it to the top Mase ". We watched as he rounded the top corner only to see he rear end start to bounce. Then like watching a plane crash in slow motion the truck starts sliding back down around the corner gaining speed quickly. Before we even have time to think kyles truck is sliding sideways in reverse down the mountain. His door opens and with one leg out hes making the motion to bail as he slides seriously close to the edge of the bank. At this moment he realizes if he jumps the truck will run him over on its way past and he's committed for the ride. Moments later the wheels bite the only patch of gravel pertruding through the ice and the truck comes to a stop sideways on the hill. I sprint up to the vehicle and see Kyle sitting with a cigarette shaking in one hand and his legs wrattling against the steering wheel. "Got a light?" He says..
Needless to say we abandoned that plan and with that all our hopes of getting a moose.
We drove around and explored the area but I knew all the cuts in that area were long over grown and it's not a large area. We spotted the odd old track and droppings but that was it.
Sunday morning we drove into some other near by roads only to find the same things. After a couple hours we stopped at a lake and started going over our options. I had suggested that I could research other areas during the week and we could move camp for the long weekend and it was sounding like a good idea. Then one of us said "why don't we just hike back into that valley". Hmm seems simple enough right. F*^k it let's do it.
We parked at the bottom of the hill of death and started our hike. We figured it to be about 6 km to the bottom of the valley. After about an hour and a half we were making our way into the meadows and man was it worth the hike. It just screamed moose in there and just like that our spirits were lifted. We set up to glass and it didn't take long for me to get ideas. Knowing there was a whole other part to the meadow it didn't take but 5 minutes for me to say I'm going for a hike. Told the boys I'd be back in a few ours and set off down the valley.
We had been told the moose like the timber along either side of the creek that runs through but I had it in my mind that the moose would be out in the willows feeding. So I walked along the treeline glassing around every corner only to see no moose and very old tracks her and there. I knew it was only the morning of day two but it was still disappointing as it was my last day to hunt for the week and it just looked too good to be true in there. After an hour and a half I decided to give this timber hunting a try. I found a spot that looked a little more open and worked my way into the trees about 10 yards and instantly find a pile of droppings that is almost still warm. There was a large patch of snow that I wanted to walk around as to not make noise so I put my head down and slowly crept around and made my way another 30 yards into the treeline. As I lift my head I instantly see a moose not 10 yards in front of me. Although it was looking at me it's head was in some branches so I raised my rifle to find it was a cow. As I lower my rifle I notice another moose at about 30 yards also in some brush. Trying not to spook the cow I side step about 5 yards and from there I believed in could see bases but I couldn't be sure enough to pull the trigger so I side step a few more times and then I see a few tines poking through. Good enough for me! I step back to where I could see vitals and let the 7mm bark! I know it's a good hit and as he walks through a small clearing I put one in his neck. The bull spins around and walks back to where he was originally and I hammer him in the chest again. Now my rifle only holds 3 so I'm grabbing another round as he stands there and just as I get it chambered he walks out one more time and I finish him off with one behind the ear.
At this moment a bunch of things are running through my mind..
Oh my god I just shot a moose.
From what I could see it was a good sized bull.
What have I done it's already after noon and I have to drive home tonight.
I hope Kyle and Mase heard the shots and come running.
As I walked up to the moose I realized it was above average especially for reg 3. I took a quick picture and headed back to find Kyle and mason.
Luckily they heard the shots and we're already close by. It took a couple hours to cut it up then we loaded the packs with a couple hundred pounds each and started our treck out. It was grueling to say the least. I had the head plus a bag of back straps and loins and the awkwardness of the load damn near killed me. Never packing the horns up like that again just for a hero shot il say that.
Right as we stopped for our first break just before dark and starting to realize how screwed we are I hear something. "Sounds like a vehicle eh?" ... "sounds like a quad "... " IT'S GETTING CLOSER!"
We ran as fast as we could up to the clearing and like a pair of guardian angels these two side by sides come through the bush. It was our lucky day. These 3 gentlemen also had the draw but hadn't had any luck and like true sportsmen decided to help us get the whole moose out in 1 trip! Thanks to them we had the bull back to camp not too long after dark and I set off on my trip home with the moose. Had it home and hung by 230am and off to work at 5! What a weekend! Huge thanks to mason and Kyle and also the member who put us on the area. Couldn't have done it without you guys.