Bull moose, size Sm

[two-feet]

We finally committed. It was winter of 2014 my friend and I were planning on a fly-in moose hunt out of Dease Lake for the fall of 2015, a life long dream for me. There were many emails and phone calls back and forth with the air charter company working on location, weight allowances and dates. After hours upon hours scouring maps and google earth, I was as tuned in with a location as is possible without actually being there. The thought of having a remote, northern lake all to our selves for a week was intoxicating! We wanted to fly in with the Beaver in one trip, and out with all of our gear and a moose in one trip as well. So everything was weighed and we kept to a fairly minimalist camp. Off we headed for the North country!

[two-feet]

We camped by Kiniskan Lake on the way North and were scheduled to fly 8am the next morning. Of course the weather was poor so we fished the local holes until the clouds cleared off in the afternoon, then we loaded the Beaver and were off. The flight in was beautiful, with snow in the high country and rich colours everywhere. As we could see our lake in the distance we were giddy like school girls. Imagine how our spirits dropped as we circled the lake and saw a large, well equipped camp set up in the best location. This was not part of the plan!
We kicked around the idea of moving to another lake but the pilot assured us there were one or more parties on any lake in close proximity, so we decided to stay. There were no other obvious locations to set up a camp, and as the pilot was in a rush we just got dumped out in a swamp with a little hill in behind. I immediately soaked one of my boots in the swamp, and we set up camp.http://i.imgur.com/EJRatFG.jpg

[monasheemountainman]

Oh ya this gonna be good!

[two-feet]

As we were getting set up I hear my buddy say "Oh shit. Oh shit." Turns out he had his trigger lock on, with no key. Oh shit! To make a long story short, I went for a scout while he used the file on his leatherman to file it off. Crisis averted. We could not legally hunt that day so we organised our gear and settled in for a few beers around the fire. It was a full moon, the clouds were racing by, and the wolves were howling. Life is good.
We awoke to snow and agreed to head into a swampy finger that extends behind camp for several km. We had gone about 200m when we heard a bull grunt. I at first thought it was some of the other hunters doing some calling but it was in fact a moose, 5 minutes into our first day. We tried to entice it with some calls but it ran around behind us literally into our camp and down the lake, giving us the slip. Good action to start things off.
We hunted hard that morning and were seeing sign, like this rut pit.http://i.imgur.com/LVB4uOe.jpg

[two-feet]

There were tracks, scrapes and rut pits but day one ended without too much more happening. The wolves were howling on and off throughout the day to lend a touch of class to an already spectacular situation. The view from a prominent glassing knoll.
http://i.imgur.com/sFFK6X5.jpg

[two-feet]

http://i.imgur.com/lXoSnou.jpg

[two-feet]

Meanwhile, the other party was doing their thing. We could see them zipping by in boats with little motors and hear the chain saw now and again. We paddled our little inflatable kayak to do a meet and greet. The 4 of them were not exactly happy to see us on the same lake but were polite enough. They had stories of 3 bulls coming off the very same lake 2 years ago but they had nothing in 5 or 6 days this trip. They eventually went home empty handed. It turns out thttp://i.imgur.com/bZs3TcY.jpghey had flown in from Telegraph Creek so we had no way of knowing they were going to be there. There is a very nice moose skull in a tree where they were camped

[two-feet]

Next day was more hard hunting. It was windy and rainy. We put on the miles, called and called but with no action. We got back to camp in the late afternoon and had a good feed of re-hydrated chilli, boiled several cup of tea on the fire and recovered tired muscles. As we still had an hour of light left my friend suggested we go for a paddle. It was still windy and as we were cutting across the lake he says to me "is that a bull moose?"
Indeed, across the lake there was a younger bull coming out of the brush onto the grassy shore. We headed at an angle to intercept him. At about 200 yds he noticed the yellow boat with 2 dummies paddling towards him but it did not spook him, he just continued on his way. As we got closer I shifted my paddle around behind me and levered an 180gr Fedral blue box shell into the trusty M99 .300 savage. From time to time the bull would stop walking and take a good, long look at us but he never showed any alarm. At about 70 yds I waved for my navigator to stop paddling as I took a look through the scope, but with the light chop on the water it was totally impossible to settle the cross hairs. So we continued our game of cat and mouse. I tried again at 50 yds with the same result. At 30 yds my buddy slowed the boat and angled it so I would have a comfortable shot, and at that range I could keep the cross hairs within the kill zone. Boom!
http://i.imgur.com/eaBIx8H.jpg

[kilometers]

Ohhh boy.a moose story in January!!! Keeper coming.

[two-feet]

Moose down, fading light, time to get to work. We did the gutless method and completely stripped the carcass of meat. We then transferred the quarters to a tarp and de-boned everything.http://i.imgur.com/1AHkSx3.jpg

[two-feet]

http://i.imgur.com/NOmKF0a.jpg

[two-feet]

http://i.imgur.com/7AEPwbh.jpg

[two-feet]

We put in a request for the pilot to pull us out, but because of weather and a backlog of clients we sat for 3 days waiting for our ride out, We settled into a comfortable routine of watching for grizzlies (never saw a sign), catching and cooking fish, and carving spoons. We went on a few short hikes and paddles but mostly stayed close to camp to guard over the meat. Temps were not as low as we would have liked but we built a platform beside the water and rigged an open tent to let the wind through and keep the sun off.

http://i.imgur.com/q8TJEIK.jpg

[two-feet]

Now thats a nice grayling!

http://i.imgur.com/yuE2CHJ.jpg

[two-feet]

Northern pike, bush craft shttp://i.imgur.com/q37ZN5d.jpgtyle. Very delicious.

[Caribou_lou]

Great story. More of a size medium in my books!

[two-feet]

Eventually the plane came and we loaded up. On the flight out we saw a big dark grizz about 2km from camp, and several very big bulls. The trip was great and we had our meat, but I learned several things. First, it is quite busy out there. I thought flying out of Dease would put us into empty country but we ended up having to share the hunting grounds, and the plane was flying overhead constantly supporting other groups. We twice heard shots from lakes around us. Im not saying it ruined the trip, just not what we were expecting. The second thing I learned is that there is not a moose under every tree up there, we had a lucky break but the other crew went home empty, and that could have been our fate. Third, aviation is unreliable because of many external factors. If we had of waited another day we would have lost our meat to spoiling.

All in all a great trip with great memories, now just waiting for spring bear season!
http://i.imgur.com/FfZUVp1.jpg

[two-feet]

Great story. More of a size medium in my books!

Haha very generous of you, around here i would say medium but up there they get so damn big

[M.Dean]

Now, after reading your story and looking at the pic's, that was dam near like being there! And you guys cleaned them moose bones like a pack of wolves, sure didn't leave much for the crows! Sounds like the perfect fly in moose hunt for sure! Thanks for taking the time too put this post together, greatly appreciated!

[HarryToolips]

Very well done on the moose and the story and pics congrats! And like mr Dean said, looks like you guys deboned yourmoose very well...that is my dream to kill a moose while hunting from my canoe, when you shot were you shooting broadside, and lol did it feel like your boat would tip at all from the recoil?

[monasheemountainman]

Awesome story and beautiful pictures nice work boys!

[Whonnock Boy]

Excellent thread. Nice bull!

[ydouask]

Nice Moose ! Really enjoyed your story and photos, thank you. :smile:

[landphil]

Good read, and I like the fact that you are shooting a M99 in .300 Savage. I have my late great uncle's, a classic piece of iron in my opinion. Congrats on a successful trip, and thanks for posting.

[srupp]

Hmmm very well done, enjoyed the telling of the tale, and the photos...yes the lakes can be full of hunters...nearly all of them.sept 20th...Oct 25th..full.
Thank you for taking us along, n joy able.
Cheers..b on appetite
Srupp

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Congrats!!!

I think it's a skookum Bull and would be happy to have him. Awesome trip!

Furthermore, this is another one of those recent great Hunting stories here on HBC.

[Spy]

Very cool trip, nice moose & congrats on a successful hunt :-)

[Ruffed]

That was a very nice story. I felt like I was right there with you guys....Wow, it looks like you really did go bare bones....I hope it was comfortable enough....

[bacon_overlord]

Great story and moose! Congrats

[Rhyno]

Thanks for sharing during the winter blues! Great story and congrats on the bull. Way to pick that carcass clean, nice work.

[kennyj]

Great story and photos!
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
kenny

[sausage lover]

Love the story and pics,nice work!

[nature girl]

That was a great story and great pictures. And thank you for posting the write up.

[Asco]

Great piece of work, sir
moose is my new favourite thing. After this years successful hunt I am hooked.

your fly- in method looks like a good move. Congratulations

[Knute]

Well done!

Moose meat and phantastic photos, could hardly get any better. A trip to remember, thanks for sharing.

[two-feet]

Hmmm very well done, enjoyed the telling of the tale, and the photos...yes the lakes can be full of hunters...nearly all of them.sept 20th...Oct 25th..full.
Thank you for taking us along, n joy able.
Cheers..b on appetite
Srupp
Yes the hunt we did this year (thread: Bull moose, size L) was a direct reaction to this feeling of not being able to get away from people.

[Ride Red]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

[downsouth204]

Awesome pics and story! Thanks!

[Sitkaspruce]

Great story and pictures with the reward of a good bull and meat in the freezer!!

Thanks sharing!!

Cheers

SS

[white moose]

Awesome story and pics. What was your weight allowance? and what was the cost for the flights? This kind of trip is on my bucket list.
Thanks for posting

[ElliotMoose]

What a beauty bull! Looks tasty! Good work de boning that sucker. Thanks for postin

[two-feet]

Awesome story and pics. What was your weight allowance? and what was the cost for the flights? This kind of trip is on my bucket list.
Thanks for posting
i want to say 1200 lbs was the limit, including passengers. So we were 450 of human weight, think 4-500 lbs for a big moose boned out, leaves around 300 lbs for gear. We used an ax and bow saw for fire wood, small tent, etc. to save on weight. We had to dispose of a gunny sack full of beer before the flight home, and we burried a bottle of rum under a tree in case we ever return.

Think it was $10/mile, pay both ways on each flight, 40 mile minimum. So $1600 ish. Actually quite expensive considering we had to share the lake

[two-feet]

I plan on doing this again in a year or two, perhaps back to the same lake, but with new expectations.

[Chopper333]

Awesome story and pics. Thx for taking the time to post.

[Buckmeister]

Good job guys. Love the pics!

[two-feet]

Very well done on the moose and the story and pics congrats! And like mr Dean said, looks like you guys deboned yourmoose very well...that is my dream to kill a moose while hunting from my canoe, when you shot were you shooting broadside, and lol did it feel like your boat would tip at all from the recoil?

sorry not answering till now...

Shooting from the canoe is fine, recoil does not seem to be an issue. Both times I have taken a moose from the front of a canoe the guy paddling has been pretty good and set me up well, the best is to have the boat slightly angled. The slightest ripples on the water will throw off your aim substantially. You need to get quite close but the moose dont seem to mind. If wearing a pfd practice shooting with it on.

[twoSevenO]

aweseome. You can't complain about a trip like that where you get to do as much fishing as you do hunting.

How much did you guys travel from camp? Not far enough to find those big bulls or just in the wrong direction? Have you learned anything from the angle of locating animals?

[two-feet]

aweseome. You can't complain about a trip like that where you get to do as much fishing as you do hunting.

How much did you guys travel from camp? Not far enough to find those big bulls or just in the wrong direction? Have you learned anything from the angle of locating animals?

Well its big country so you are hoping the bulls are drawn to the lakes in their pursuit of cows. I think the bulls travel lots during the rut, moving from lake to lake and other prime spots until they find some action. But covering ground is key to finding the fresh sign and figuring out the area, especially as it was our first time there. We were not looking for a big bull specifically, just any bull.

[twoSevenO]

Is that each or together??
Because 1600 together seems pretty cheap. But i assume it's each as StoneSheepSteve mentioned in another thread his sheep fly-ins cost about 1300 on average.


i want to say 1200 lbs was the limit, including passengers. So we were 450 of human weight, think 4-500 lbs for a big moose boned out, leaves around 300 lbs for gear. We used an ax and bow saw for fire wood, small tent, etc. to save on weight. We had to dispose of a gunny sack full of beer before the flight home, and we burried a bottle of rum under a tree in case we ever return.

Think it was $10/mile, pay both ways on each flight, 40 mile minimum. So $1600 ish. Actually quite expensive considering we had to share the lake

[two-feet]

$1600 all in, $800 per person

[HarryToolips]

sorry not answering till now...

Shooting from the canoe is fine, recoil does not seem to be an issue. Both times I have taken a moose from the front of a canoe the guy paddling has been pretty good and set me up well, the best is to have the boat slightly angled. The slightest ripples on the water will throw off your aim substantially. You need to get quite close but the moose dont seem to mind. If wearing a pfd practice shooting with it on.

OK wicked thanks for the info...

[Brew]

Thanks for the story. I bet that moose is a tasty one. What make of boat were you guys using? How do you like it?

[wideopenthrottle]

great hunt...glad you got out with your meat before it spoiled

[two-feet]

Might as well bring this back to life as well