Mountains and Moose Meadows - 2016 (pic heavy)

[ElliotMoose]

I Finally have some down time so I figured I'd share some stories of our success this year. It seems Photobucket is becoming more of a pain in the a$$ every time I log on so please be patient while I upload as I like to tell my stories with plenty of pictures. If you are the impatient type, check back tomorrow or the next day.

My two brothers and I have hunted together for the last 10 years in the high country just north of Kamloops where my Dad has been hunting since the 70's when there was a cow/calf GOS up there. We have always had good success in his old haunts with moose and will continue to put our LEH in there until the end of our days. This year for the first time we opted to put in for the October draw. We have always put in for the November draw as the odds are much better but this year we decided we wanted to hunt these beasts in the rut. If we didn't get the draw, we were heading to the far North. The last time we drew in the area was November 2011 and we shot 4 bulls between ourselves and our other group of buddies who drew that year.

Link to that story: http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?75436-2011-Region-3-Hunting-success&highlight=2011+region+hunting+success

Just like every other guy and girl on here I eagerly awaited our LEH results from the day I submitted our groups entries. Once it was announced the draw had been run, it took me almost 2 days to be able to sign on to the new online system and check our draw. The suspense was killing me. Finally, I was able to log on. My heart almost stopped as excitement rushed through my body when I saw we had been drawn for our October shared moose hunt in the ol' stomping grounds. Two tags between the 3 of us since my dad doesn't hunt all that much anymore. I toyed with my brothers for a full week by telling them we had been unsuccessful and when I finally told them they both wanted to kill/hug me at the same time. We were on cloud 9. I must have spent 4 hours a day on google earth for the next 3 months to the point where my girlfriend wanted to smash both my phone and computer. I could not wait for this hunt.

Here are some of the bulls we have shot/seen in the area over the last 10 years

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/IMG_4570_zpsbpaqtfdy.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/IMG_4570_zpsbpaqtfdy.png.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/29moose.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/29moose.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/mooooo.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/mooooo.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/151.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/151.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/152.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/152.jpg.html)

[835]

That un dead one is a great bull

[ElliotMoose]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/191.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/191.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/192.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/192.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/181.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/181.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/193.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/193.jpg.html)

[ElliotMoose]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/223.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/223.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/227.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/227.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/IMG_4572_zpsyxteyd9h.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/IMG_4572_zpsyxteyd9h.png.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/IMG_4571_zpsfjdozah1.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/IMG_4571_zpsfjdozah1.png.html)

[ElliotMoose]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsgghtuejs.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsgghtuejs.png.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpseed7a6jk.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpseed7a6jk.png.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/SDC10835_zpsskge0o1v.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/SDC10835_zpsskge0o1v.jpg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/SDC10845_zpsmrcs7a5j.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/SDC10845_zpsmrcs7a5j.jpg.html)

[ElliotMoose]

The months flew by and before we knew it we were heading into september. We planned a fishing/scouting trip for Labour Day weekend as we were anxious to see what was out there. It was scorching hot all weekend aside from one day where it poured rain so we didn't see a whole lot aside from two pairs of cow/calf and this young tasty looking bull.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/011-1.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/011-1.jpg.html)

The fishing however, was phenomenal. Some of the best I have seen up there in years!

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/IMG_4573_zpsegcr7hwd.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/IMG_4573_zpsegcr7hwd.png.html)

[604Stalker]

Awsome so far.. So thats where all the spike bulls are in your freezers!

[ElliotMoose]

September flew by and before we knew it we were loaded up and on our way to camp. We went up on the Thursday evening so we had a full day to scout/setup camp before the season opened on Saturday. My younger brother has yet to shoot a bull of good size and really wants a nice moose rack so it was decided that I would shoot the first thing with antlers and he was going to hold out for something bigger. We all had two weeks off work so we felt confident that we could locate a couple bulls. After camp was setup and firewood was cut we set out on the quads for an evening scout. There was a new series of cuts only a few km from camp and at the back end of one of the cuts was a nice swampy pond with meadows on the shores that really had my attention. This is where I saw a cow/calf on our Labour Day scouting trip. As I putted my way down the new road the pond came into view. At first I saw nothing, but as I kept going and more of the pond came into my sight I saw what I wanted to see standing on the grassy shore.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsuowez9yi.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsuowez9yi.jpeg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf5o0m8hz.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf5o0m8hz.jpeg.html)

If only it was one day later we would have been having moose tenderloins over the fire on the first day of the hunt. He stood there perfectly broadside for what seemed like minutes before slowly sauntering into the thick timber at the far side of the pond. I went back to camp and told the boys of my find and we couldn't wait for opening day. I noticed while looking on google earth that night that behind the pond through the timber a couple hundred yards where the bull was headed was a newer cut where the road had been deactivated. The road I saw the bull from was a good road which looked to have seen some traffic so I decided I would walk in from the deactivated side well before dark and spend the morning in there calling.

[ElliotMoose]

Awsome so far.. So thats where all the spike bulls are in your freezers!


Not gonna lie we have horseshoes up our a**es when it comes to finding spike/fork bulls. We seem to see at least a couple a year. We do spend a hell of a lot of time in those woods though

[Glenny]

Nice whack o bulce.

[604Stalker]

Forsure saw one on my first ever trip out.. Too bad the GO wasn't for 2 more weeks. Yep its all about time and timing.

[ElliotMoose]

We tried to get to bed early that night but all I could think about was that bull. 5 AM came quick and I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. Good thing one of us is an early riser. After a quick bowl of oatmeal and some fruit we were on our quads and headed our separate ways. I got to my road about 20 minutes before first light and let out a long soft cow call before I started slowly walking in. The wind was perfect, -3 degrees, clear and frosty... Moose hunting weather. As first shooting light hit I reached the end of the road and started to hike uphill to a little knoll that would give me a good view of the back side of the cut which was just through the trees from the pond where I saw the bull at the night prior. Once reaching the top of the knoll, I gave out another cow call. This is the view from my calling spot. The pond would be in the bottom left corner of this photo through the trees a couple hundred yards.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsbyr3tnfd.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsbyr3tnfd.jpeg.html)


Once the sun came over the mountain tops it really started to warm up and I had to shed a few layers. All I saw that morning was a lone cow feeding her way up the hillside to my right about 1000 yards away. This was the view to my right and she was walking right up where the cut line ends and the trees start

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps52ryyyv6.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps52ryyyv6.jpeg.html)

[monasheemountainman]

good read so far Elliot!

[HarryToolips]

Great read so far, and nice whack o`bull moose btw....

[ElliotMoose]

I headed back to camp at about 11 when the sun was really beating down. Not discouraged, I decided I would come back to the same spot that evening. One of the boys saw a spiker mulie that he let walk and the other one saw a cow with twin calves. 4 moose on the opening morning is a good start! After a short nap we headed out for the evening hunt. I again positioned myself on the knoll that evening and called until dark. It was a warm evening until the last hour of light and at very last light Im positive I heard a bull grunt coming from the deep corner of the cut. It sent a chill down my spine. I knew I had to come back the next morning. My brothers went out together that evening and saw the same cow with twin calves that one of them had seen that morning. They also saw a pile of hunters cruising the roads and it seemed like everybody had a moose draw.

We were in bed early and up at 5 ready to get back in the field. I was at the same road again before first light and walked in slowly while cow calling towards my knoll. Before I reached the deactivation, BOOM!!! I hear a shot from the back end of the cut. Im pretty damn sure my brothers went the opposite direction? I tried sending a text - "Did something die?" - But I had no service. The shot came from the direction of the pond but not in the cut I was hunting as I walked in on the only access road and would have seen a vehicle parked. It was killing me sitting at the top of that knoll not knowing so I packed it in early after not seeing anything but a couple mulie does by 9 30am. Curiosity got the best of me and I headed down the next road which led to those new cuts and the pond that the big bull was in the night before the opener. What I saw when I got to the pond sucked the life out of me in a matter of seconds.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsolacy25i.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsolacy25i.jpeg.html)


I should have just hunted that road but It was such a well travelled road and with all the road hunters I figured that bull would have for sure been pushed back into the cut I had been hunting. Hindsight is always 20/20 though and I headed back to camp with my tail tucked between my legs

[dmaxtech]

Awesome story so far. I sure hope it's got a good ending cause that just sucked.

[ElliotMoose]

Discouraged, I sat by the fire at camp with a plate of bacon and eggs in my lap debating what to do. By this time we must have had 15 vehicles go by our camp including a couple guys in a side by side with a nice little palmed bull in the back. We chatted for a bit, congratulated them and invited them to stop by for beers later. They still had one more tag for their group draw. We decided to load up the quads and the meat bucket and head deep into the mountains. We know of a pretty hidden quad trail that follows a series of mountain meadows and takes you back almost into alpine. We were almost certain nobody would be back there.

We pushed our way back through the trails having to stop and buck up windfall quite a few times. We poked our head into a couple swamps along the way and saw a good bunch of sign but no moose. With only a couple hours of light we decided to head back to camp and hunt along the way back. We wanted to focus on this area so we said that night we were going to google earth it and each pick a swamp to walk into the next morning. We made it back a lot quicker than I thought seeing as we didnt have to cut any trail so we figured we would each walk into a couple adjacent old growth cuts that we knew of with meadowy benches. I made it to my parking spot 200 yards from the cut with 45 minutes left of light. Turn off the quad, load my rifle and started heading down the old overgrown skidder trail.

I slowly approached the entrance of the cut and glassed it for a second before entering. After seeing nothing, I let out a long soft cow call. I waited 5 minutes and didnt hear a response so I kept moving as the sun was beginning to drop fast along with the temperature. 100 yards or so farther down the trail I spot movement below me in the cut. I see it's a moose right away so I bring my binos up and take a peak. It's a big mature cow. Weird she doesn't have a calf? Wolves are thick up here though. She has me pinned. I do something that an old indian fellow taught me elk hunting in the EK one time that actually seems to work. I lower my head as if to feed for 5 or 10 seconds and after I repeat this a couple times she loses interest and resumes feeding. I take 10 more steps and all of a sudden 50 yards to the left of the cow a big black body appears that had been tucked behind a clump of trees so I couldnt see it. Without even looking through the glass I see bone. I drop to a knee and shoulder the 300 wsm. He is standing perfectly broadside 150 yards away and hasnt even flinched. Safety off, behind the shoulder, breathe, steady, BOOM! The bull lunges forward and takes off behind an island of trees 20 yards from where I shot him. The cow starts running and next thing you know a big calf comes out of the bush and follows her. They make it to the far side of the cut and I still haven't seen the bull. They then both stop and stare back at the island of trees. They stare for 10 or 15 seconds before trotting off into the bush. Did I get him? I had to have!! Otherwise he would have been right on the tail of that cow calf, right? I start to get excited. I must have got him. I give it 10 minutes before starting my way down the hill in this nasty overgrown cutblock and the only thing I can think of is how shitty the packout would be.

Im almost able to see around the island of trees when it catches my eye. There sticking up from behind a patch of tall grass 30 yards in front of me is the distinct shape of a moose paddle. I let out a yell of excitement. A perfect sub prime bull that will taste fantastic!

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsot6rhbpr.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsot6rhbpr.jpeg.html)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsju0uk5z9.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsju0uk5z9.jpeg.html)







By this time my older brothers quad had came screaming down the skidder trail and he parked right where I shot from. He turned off the quad and waited for me to say something. "Bull down!!" I screamed and he let out a holler louder than mine when I first walked up on the bull. He made his way down to me and we took a couple pictures while we thought about how we were going to get this thing out of here.

Me with my bull

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsdy0t0uxz.png (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsdy0t0uxz.png.html)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/IMG_3772_zpscjodc7qz.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/IMG_3772_zpscjodc7qz.jpg.html)

Brother with my bull

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/IMG_3773_zpsjckfj5me.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/IMG_3773_zpsjckfj5me.jpg.html)

[kennyj]

Beautiful bull!! Awesome story and photos. Thanks for sharing your hunt.
kenny

[Chopper333]

Awesome story. Thx for sharing.

[two-feet]

Nice moose buddy! Mooses I mean.

[ElliotMoose]

Thanks fellas! Still had one more tag in our pockets. Will type up a few more lines tonight

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Phenomenal stuff to the max!!!

Thanks for taking the time to post up here on HBC.

I did used to live and Hunt not all that far (may be the same place, even) from where your guys' spot is at... Fact is, that's where the kid right here got his start in Hunting! Top notch stuff!

Cheers

[ElliotMoose]

It really is a special place. Been terrorizing those woods since I was a toddler with my $5 army and navy fishing rod and trusty .177cal pellet gun! Sad to see how much the landscape has changed from the logging and the pine beetle but at least there are still a couple donkeys around

[ElliotMoose]

We are losing light fast now and I hate gutting in the middle of a cut block in the pitch black so have to work quick. We start to maneuver him onto his back.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnv1lsdyj.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnv1lsdyj.jpeg.html)

Just as we got the sucker flipped over and ready to open up we heard another quad coming down the old skidder trail. It's my brother. He shuts the key off and looks at us with a grin we can see from 120 yards away and says "What is it?" My older brother and I look at eachother and then at the same time yell "bull down!" He gives a cheer and comes down to join in the fun. For whatever reason we always like to push the limits and see how nasty of situations we can use the quads in to get animals out whole. I do like how clean the meat is kept if you get the animal back to camp with the hide on. I pulled the guts out and we managed to winch and cut a quad down to him. I really have no idea how. Sometimes I think it's more work than humping out quarters. Finally at about 11 pm we get him loaded up in the buggy and ready to make the long drive back to camp.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsg1qbdml9.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsg1qbdml9.jpeg.html)

[ElliotMoose]

By the time we got back to camp, got the game pole made and the bull hung up in the tree it was after 2 am. At this point we had also consumed a couple adult beverages so we were all ready for bed. It was now -5 and I wasn't worried about the meat spoiling so we left the skinning job for the morning

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsij0bcdmu.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsij0bcdmu.jpeg.html)

[ElliotMoose]

The next morning we woke up to a beautiful day and got to work on skinning and processing. The fat was still a little warm and the hide came off easily

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpssbhvq3oq.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpssbhvq3oq.jpeg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsediqosb0.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsediqosb0.jpeg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0wbvs2mp.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0wbvs2mp.jpeg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsy0ijkk6x.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsy0ijkk6x.jpeg.html)

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Phenomenal Moose meat on the go!

Once again - Great stuff.

[HarryToolips]

Very nicely done, congrats on a great meat bull..

[ElliotMoose]

With a bull down on day 2 of the tag we felt relieved of pressure. We took the day off to get the fly rods out on one of the many mountain lakes in the area. The fishing was unreal. We were catching 2-3 lb rainbows all day

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsfyg5rojx.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsfyg5rojx.jpeg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsqtjeei0h.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsqtjeei0h.jpeg.html)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswaeako9z.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswaeako9z.jpeg.html)



The next day it was supposed to be highs of 12 so we decided we would cut the animal up in the morning and take it into the butcher in town. Wrapped the tenderloins in bacon and had one over a cedar fire later that day

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps3miebsid.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps3miebsid.jpg.html)

[ElliotMoose]

Photobucket is taking way too long and im tired. Will continue tomorrow!

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Lookin' forward to it!

Why'd you choose a butcher, just to support your local or no time for it or what?

Love to do up my own cuts, hence the Q's.

Goodnight!

[Gateholio]

ElliotMoose, thank'dfor saving HBC from the despair of Trump threads and other nonsense! Great thread, great pics, this is what it's all about! :)

[avadad]

Great story! I'll be back tomorrow.

[Knute]

ElliotMoose, thank'dfor saving HBC from the despair of Trump threads and other nonsense! Great thread, great pics, this is what it's all about! :)

Where is the "like" button?

Great share ElliottMoose. The 3 Amigos strike again!

[bacon_overlord]

That's some great hunting . Great story. Congrats!

[Linksman313]

Epic story telling and great pics, and good eating. Thoroughly enjoyed your post well done!!

[Piperdown]

ElliotMoose, thank'dfor saving HBC from the despair of Trump threads and other nonsense! Great thread, great pics, this is what it's all about! :)

I'll second that, great story

[markathome]

Thanks for the write up and photos - it's stories like this that keep me coming back. I guess I should start contributing my own and share the weight LOL!

[BCHunterFSJ]

ElliotMoose, thank'dfor saving HBC from the despair of Trump threads and other nonsense! Great thread, great pics, this is what it's all about! :)

Well said Gatehouse!!

[835]

ok I was thinking you were a cool guy, writin' us a great thread with awesome pics... so much so I forwarded the link to a buddy of mine who is possessed by moose......... and fish to boot! what a perfect trip.........

Then I saw a hey 'yall on the boat seat......... a girly pop! lol



lol sorry man I had to!
Great thread, love the pics, good on ya for doin' it whole to. Im like you.. get em out in on piece ... and if ya cant ,,,,, then 2.
I just drink beer...... lol

[ElliotMoose]

Thanks for the comments guys. I really enjoyed the comeback of content this year so I figured I would try to keep the ball rolling. HBC can be pretty depressing this time of year!


Lookin' forward to it!

Why'd you choose a butcher, just to support your local or no time for it or what?

Love to do up my own cuts, hence the Q's.

Goodnight!

Unfortunately we sold our cabin up there last spring so we were set up at a camp with no shop to cut in and no deep freeze. With highs of 12 with rain mixed in the next few days we really didn't want To risk losing an animal. That and I do like to support local business up there as it seems there are fewer business left standing each year!

[Arctic Lake]

Great thread Elliot Moose !
Arctic Lake

[MB_Boy]

Great thread Elliot Moose !


Completely agree.....it is refreshing as not many threads like this as of late.

[ElliotMoose]

ok I was thinking you were a cool guy, writin' us a great thread with awesome pics... so much so I forwarded the link to a buddy of mine who is possessed by moose......... and fish to boot! what a perfect trip.........

Then I saw a hey 'yall on the boat seat......... a girly pop! lol



lol sorry man I had to!
Great thread, love the pics, good on ya for doin' it whole to. Im like you.. get em out in on piece ... and if ya cant ,,,,, then 2.
I just drink beer...... lol



Hahaha I can take it! I'll be honest though.. theres a whiskey and gingerale in the red solo. The hey y'all was a stray can from the boat being used as a butt cup! Good eye though I'd probably say the same damn thing

[835]

all right your safe lol

[ElliotMoose]

Alright. Back to the hunt.

October 4th we were up before dark again but it was pouring rain. I have to be honest.. after I shot my moose I more or less went into "coast mode" and was just as happy fishing or sitting shotgun in a truck drinking beer. Still though, there was work to be done. With the shitty weather we elected to spend the morning hunting from the truck and cruising some of the new logging roads as the weekend traffic had now died down. We didn't see a damn thing all morning until we were on our way back and the clouds broke when 500 yards from camp I spot what I was sure to be a moose standing behind a clump of trees in a brand new cut. "Moose!" I say to the boys. We continue driving slowly another 50 yards and leave the truck running but bail out and start walking back on the road. Finally it comes into view. Binos up, BULL! It's a tiny little paddle bull and my mouth starts watering just looking at him. "Shoot him!" We whisper to my little brother. He raises his 7mm and takes aim. The thing was standing perfectly broadside at about 120 yards with a little bit of brush in the way. Still a very manageable shot. My brother looks at this thing for 1 minute before it has enough and trots off into the bush. "Why the hell didnt you shoot him?!" - I ask. "Wasn't big enough" - says my little brother. Both my older brother and I look at eachother and shake our heads in disbelief.

A little history - the last two times we have had this group draw I have shot a bull and my older brother shot a bull leaving my little brother with nothing but dreams and tag soup. We promised him he would get to use a tag this year. Also, we had a couple buddies coming up from the coast that evening who were just getting into the sport and really wanted to be in on a moose kill. My older brother and I heckled him saying he had just pissed off the hunting gods but it was all in good fun. We were starving.

Then the inevitable happened once again. We're just cooking up some eggs and johnsonville sausages when all of a sudden BOOM!! A shot rings out. It sounds close. 5 seconds later BOOM!! Another shot rings out. The 3 of us looked at eachother and knew exactly what had just happened. We hop on the quads and head down the road where two old guys are standing in front of a rusty old suburban with the doors open.

"Get something?" My older brother asks. "Yup we just shot a little 2 year old bull at the bottom of the cut there!" One of the guys said with a smile on his face. This wasnt 100 yards from where we had seen that bull an hour prior. We tell them the story and share a couple laughs before offering them to help haul it out. It was just the two of them and they were both older gentleman so I think they really appreciated us bringing the quads, winches and meat buggy down. They offered us to come by their camp later for some scotch. Bill and Len if you guys are on here, don't think I forgot about that scotch!!

[ElliotMoose]

That night it cleared up a bit so we got out on one of the "moosey" lakes in the area that had a boat left on the shore. Our plan was to bring the rifle on the boat, do a little cow calling and a little fishing. The boys would arrive that evening so we didnt want to stray too far from camp. Didn't end up seein anything but did catch a couple nice bows and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the lake

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[ElliotMoose]

The rest of the boys showed up that night and it turned into a pretty good party around the fire. We slept in the next morning and woke up to rain. Not just rain, POURING rain. It turned the whole valley into a muddy mess. To top it off it was 7 degrees. We hunted in the vehicles and on the quads and covered 100s of miles between us for the next two days but the weather would just not leave. All that was spotted was 3 cow moose and 2 calves, 2 black bears and a 2 pt mule deer that one of the rookie hunters missed a shot on. "Welcome to your first case of buck fever" I told him.

Finally, on Friday night, the temperatures started to drop. By the time we went to sleep it had changed from rain to light snow and we were optomistic about the next day. We woke up well before dark and headed our separate ways. It was -5 and frosty with a little bit of snow on the ground. I took one of the boys with a GOS moose tag to an area that I shot a spike fork in a couple years prior. We parked at the beginning of the cut block and waited for the sun to come up. We got out of the truck and slowly began our walk down the road into the cut. Not 200 yards in, we bump a cow from behind a pile of dirt 20 yards from us and she takes off. Managed to get a quick picture off

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[ekul246]

Wicked story so far!

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

+1 ekul246
Oh yeah, this is it, Moose and even some scotch!

Like others have said (I'm paraphrasing here) nobody joins a Hunting/Firearms/Outdoors oriented website with the intent of talking mad political/sociological bullshit.

MORE MOOSE!

Thank You also for helping folks out as you go! From local business (while insure all meat is utilized ta boot) to other Hunters.

Bravo

Awaiting more...

[ElliotMoose]

The two of us never saw anything else that morning aside from two whitetail does which didnt open for another 2 days. Weird seeing them this high up but took note of their whereabouts. When we got back to camp we found out the other boys had seen 6 moose. All cows and calves. They also said that there was big bull tracks all over the cut where they saw 2 of the cows with one calf as well as fresh rubs on the side of the deactivated road.

We formulated a plan over our breakfast of bacon wrapped moose tenderloin and scrambled eggs. The decision was made that for the evening hunt the two new guys would head back to the cut where we saw the lone cow in the morning and my two brothers and I would work the area they saw the 6 moose. This area is basically one large logged hillside surrounded by thick timber and a series of old overgrown trails.

We parked our quads about a mile away from the cut and started our walk down the trail. At one point the trail opens up in a small meadow before heading back into the timber and in that small meadow we got a glimpse of the big cut on the hillside from 1000 yards or so. Might as well get the binos out.

We're glassing it for about 30 seconds before my little brother pipes up "HOLY F$%&! Is that a moose?!?" "Where?!" I ask him. He explains to us where it is and a couple seconds later my older brother goes "holy sh*t boys it is!" Finally I find him and I can't believe my eyes. There on the hillside is one of the biggest bulls I have ever seen in this area. He starts working his way up the hill and I manage to rest my binos on a log and grab a picture. It's not the clearest but you can make out one of his palms

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[ElliotMoose]

We have to make a play..and we have to make it Quick. He's headed up towards the timber line and we are starting to lose light. Not to mention we are still a kilometer away on foot. I let out a series of cow calls loud and proud. He is almost at the timber now but stops and stares. We have to close the distance so my older brother stays back to keep an eye on the bull and call a bit to hopefully keep his attention. We walk down the trail as quick as we can while still trying to remain quiet and we come up on a nice meadow along the way and my brother says to me "pretty moosey in there eh!" Nothing to see in there now though so we keep pushing. We get to the base of the cut in about 20 minutes. We look up in the cut and can't see anything. I give out a long soft cow call and wait 10 minutes. Nothing. I give out a couple soft bull grunts and wait another 10 minutes. Nothing. By this time it is starting to get pretty dark so we decide to head back to our older brother and get to the quads. We come around the corner where that "moosey meadow" is and wouldnt you know it, moose!! Bring up the binos and it's a cow calf. We snap a quick picture before continuing on

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["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

I don't know about you boys but I am always amazed by the ability of Moose to seemingly appear and disappear in the bush!

[ElliotMoose]

I don't know about you boys but I am always amazed by the ability of Moose to seemingly appear and disappear in the bush!

Tell me about it! for a 1000 pound animal they can sure as hell be sneaky. Had a lot more of them give me the slip than eat led I'll tell you that!

[ElliotMoose]

We make it back to camp and sit around the fire discussing our plan for the next morning. We figure we will wake up earlier and head to the same spot well before first light so we can wait a bit before walking in. After a couple whiskeys to help us sleep we packed it in for the night, eagerly awaiting the morning.

At 4 30AM the alarm went. We shot up like weeds after hardly being able to sleep and got to work on the coffee and breakfast. I went out for a piss and noticed new snow on the ground. I like it already! We packed enough granola bars and fruit to last us into the afternoon. It was a long cold ride to the spot so when we got there we shut off the quads and had a cup of coffee from the thermos before I let out a couple cow calls.

We waited 10 minutes and then started our trek. By the time we got to the clearing where we first spotted the big bull from it was just starting to get light. We continued on down the trail until we reached the meadow. Coming out of the meadow was a big set of dog tracks. That's the last thing we wanted to see!
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[AgSilver]

Lovin' the thread. Keep it coming!

[ElliotMoose]

My older brother and I said we would stay at the meadow and call while my younger brother walked towards the cut that the bull was in. If we didnt hear any shots in the next half hour my older brother and I were going to follow the game trail through the meadow and push the bush towards the cut block hopefully flushing any critters out into my younger brothers view. I let out a long soft cow call and before I even finished I heard what I thought sounded like a grunt. "You hear that?" I ask my brother. We think that it may be our younger brother calling back to me as we sometimes do that to simulate a bull and a cow communicating. "WUAH, WUAH" We hear it again. This time it sounded like it was coming from the direction we had just came from towards the quads. I let out another long soft cow call and wait a minute. We hear it again, this time it was clear it was coming from behind us- "WUAH, WUAH, WUAH" Followed by the distinct sound of raking. Are you kidding me?! Is this happening? We check for service on our phones to see if we could text our little brother as it is his turn to shoot a bull. No service.

All of a sudden the bull shuts up. Hmmm.. What to do? At this point I don't wan't to over call so we start heading down the trail towards the bull trying to be silent. The wind is good and we're covered in moose piss. We walk about 200 yards when all of a sudden from the right side of the trail steps out what looks like a black volkswagen with antlers at 60 yards. We can't believe our eyes. My brother and I look at eachother. Why couldn't our younger brother have been with us. "He'll understand" I say to my older brother. "Are you sure?" He whispers back. "Shoot that bloody bull!!!!" I say and he didn't waste any time. Up goes the 300 Win Mag, BOOM!!!! The bull face plants into the dirt without taking a step. We can't believe our eyes. The adrenaline rush took over and we screamed so loud we heard it echo through the woods for what seemed like minutes. We started walking towards my younger brother and he meets us on the trail half way. He knows right away by the smiles on our faces. He shakes his head and says "It better be f$%$in HUGE you a-holes!"

We walked back towards the bull and when he saw it his eyes lit up and all he had to say was "If you didnt shoot that thing I would have kicked you in the nuts!" A couple big hugs and high fives as we stood over our trophy recollecting how it all went down.

We had our packs on the quads so we went to grab them first before coming back to take a couple pictures.

[ElliotMoose]

He was an ancient old scarred up warrior with 6x4 on the fronts alone. I've seen bigger bulls than him up there but never anything as old and non typical as him. He would have been an absolute giant in his prime. Not too often do you see a bull moose reach this guys age up in that neck of the woods. He was a good animal to take as his face was scarred up and one of his eyes was recently taken out by I fight I can only assume. He would have most definitely been wolf bait this winter. Would love to see the bull that beat him up!! He truly is a monarch of the woods and it is cool to know that there are still some like him roaming around the mountains.

My brothers and I with the bull

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[ElliotMoose]

We had reception a kilometer back so I went up and messaged the other two boys to come down to give us a hand loading this prick and have a look as they had never seen a bull moose on the ground. They were absolutely amazed at how massive these animals are

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[ElliotMoose]

When we got him back to camp and got him up on the game pole it truly revealed the size of this beast. The whole tree almost collapsed as we lifted him with the quads. This game pole handled my moose 7 days earlier with no questions asked. We almost thought we were going to have to build another one elsewhere. Eventually we did get him up.

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["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

He's awesome Boys!!!

Congratulations.

It is hard to say about the eye though. May not have been a whooping, coulda been a cheapy from a lil' Moose upstart. Well whatever it was, this fine Bull is now free from the harsh and cruel world.

Excellent thread

[ElliotMoose]

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[jamfarm]

What a great hunt! Well done.

[ElliotMoose]

The old man even made the drive up from Kamloops to spend a night in camp with us. He couldnt believe it when he saw the bull. Proud moment for him and a special family outing!

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Hope you all enjoyed the read. Loving the content on HBC this year. I know there's lots of guys on here with some golden memories in the archives that have yet to be tapped into. Let's hear some stories fellas! This wait for fall is already killing me!

Cheers

[Leaseman]

What a great story!!

Thanks for taking us along....8-)....felt like I was there!!

[kennyj]

Great story!! Awesome bull!
Thanks again for sharing your adventure.
more pics of that cool rack??
kenny

[Gone_Fishin_]

Wicked bull and story. Thank you for sharing. Reading through it made me re-play how I got mine this year. Hearing my first grunt and calling the beast in is something I will never forget.

Thank you for spending the time to post that up, getting me excited for 2017 !!

[greybark]

The old man even made the drive up from Kamloops to spend a night in camp with us. He couldnt believe it when he saw the bull. Proud moment for him and a special family outing!

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d180/chrisbrien/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsqpyzrrbb.jpeg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/chrisbrien/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsqpyzrrbb.jpeg.html)







Hope you all enjoyed the read. Loving the content on HBC this year. I know there's lots of guys on here with some golden memories in the archives that have yet to be tapped into. Let's hear some stories fellas! This wait for fall is already killing me!

Cheers

Hey Elliotmoose , Great narrative and photos not only the hunt but of family dedication . the pic with you , brothers and your Dad is heartwarming !

PS: Our meeting several years ago in the EK , you and your brothers and this grey-haired bowhunter is remembered by your generosity of sharing some leads with me and was appreciated .
Good luck to you and family .

[Grumpa Joe]

Congratulations on what sounds like a great hunt. Awesome story and pictures. The type of thread that HBC needs more of.

[835]

Wicked thread man...... that second bull has a really cool rack.. His right is twisted up!

[HarryToolips]

^^^^^I agree, great thread and great 2nd bull there.....

[604Stalker]

This was totally worth the wait for the rest. Always cool to hear about a true success. Doea sound like you boys owe your little bro a crack at a whopper. But all in all awsome hunting story and pics!

[avadad]

So nice to read a well written story. Thanks and congrats!

[russm86]

One of the best stories I've read on here to date and congrats on the harvest!

[DeepJeep]

awesome write up and congrats on the bulls

[ElliotMoose]

Thanks for all the comments fellas, glad you enjoyed the read. I will try to find a couple more pics of the bull and the hunt to upload. Photobucket is painfully slow

[ElliotMoose]

Hey Elliotmoose , Great narrative and photos not only the hunt but of family dedication . the pic with you , brothers and your Dad is heartwarming !

PS: Our meeting several years ago in the EK , you and your brothers and this grey-haired bowhunter is remembered by your generosity of sharing some leads with me and was appreciated .
Good luck to you and family .

greybark- thanks for the kind words. Nothing beats being out in the bush with your family. That's what memories are made of! I hope the info I gave you that day in the mountains helped. I did manage to kill a nice billy that weekend but my quest for the elusive EK 6 point bull elk continues. Hope to bump into you in the backcountry again some day

Cheers

[two-feet]

Thanks for all the comments fellas, glad you enjoyed the read. I will try to find a couple more pics of the bull and the hunt to upload. Photobucket is painfully slow

photobucket is yesterdays news, no point in suffering through that experience. Some guys on here got me into imgur ( i think thats what its called?) and it was a snap.

[sthdslayer]

Nice story. How did you get the moose into the trailer

Gerry

[BimmerBob]

Great story and fantastic result for you and your hunting crew! Thanks for sharing and taking us along for the hunt, very enjoyable read.

Bob

[smallfry14]

That's what it's all about! Awesome thread, congrats.

[Carbonmatrix]

Awesome pics and great read!

[Moose63]

As good a thread as it gets....

[tigrr]

That is a good question about "how do you get the animal in the trailer"? Winch on the back of the Atv?

[REMINGTON JIM]

Great Thread - Congrats on the Moose ! :D RJ

[ElliotMoose]

That is a good question about "how do you get the animal in the trailer"? Winch on the back of the Atv?

It's actually a dump trailer. Pull the guts out, tilt the trailer to the ground and then the 3 of us wrestle the moose in there. Worth its weight in gold I tell ya!!

[Tuffguy]

The Boyzzz! Where's Miss Patty and Mr. Daniels?

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[The Hermit]

Warmed the cockles of me heart! Thanks for sharing the story and pics!