Bigdoggdon
10-18-2021, 08:23 PM
Well my family was lucky enough this year to win a group/shared LEH hunt for bull moose in our usual Reg 6 spot. My Sister, my Father and I packed up and got on the road on September 26th for a two week hunt. Saw 2 moose (cow and a really big back half) and a really big black bear on the road in so I took that as a good sign.
After taking a day to set up camp we began our hunt. We hit the usual swamps, meadows and clearcuts and initially found very little sign. Tracks and dropping were old with old wolf tracks mixed in. Apparently the wolves were pushing the moose around from swamp to swamp so it took some time to find spots were pockets of moose were holed up to avoid the wolves.
On Day 4 Dad decided to take the morning off to rest his knees so Sis and I headed out to a swamp we discovered a couple years before. We parked the SxS and walked in to check it out. I gave a couple calls and after an hour or so we walked back out the machine mounted up and headed back toward the main road. We got about 300 yards down the trail when a great beast appeared before us. "Bull" standing there at the intersection of the trail with the road. We bail out of the very difficult to exit machine, before we can load the bull turns and walks around the corner. My sister gets loaded a little quicker than me and goes running after the bull. She gets to the corner, I see her raise her rifle as I get along side her, the bull had paused to look back at the edge of Christmas trees. POW I see the bull jump as he takes the hit from her 7Mag. He staggered off into the trees out of sight. We waited about 30 minutes before following him in. Found no blood, followed him by his footprints alone. He made it about 50yds before bedding down, he had his head up when we approached but he was basically done, Sis laid a perfect shot on him through both lungs and along the top edge of the liver.
Here's the happy hunter with her bull.
https://i.postimg.cc/GhGCwJ0Z/Jenn-s-2021-Bull.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Back at it and several days pass, no moose. On day 10 it's snowing off and on, I head down to a lake by myself, as I'm driving into the area I see something black out in the clearcut that doesn't look quite right. I put up my binos expecting to identify a new stump and through the sleet I see a bull standing there looking at me. I leap out of the truck and take a range on him, 265yds. Load my T3 300WSM and center on his chest just below the neck. BOOM. I see the bull fall and disappear from view. Thinking the bull down and out I grab my pack and start out into the clearcut. I get about halfway to him and realize there is a skid trail converging with me on my right. I adjust my course and get onto my skid trail. I come around a bank and see the bull, chest down, rear end up, classic mistake chased him too soon. He turns his head to look at me and staggers to his feet. I shoulder my rifle to give him a second, "f***ing scope caps" and the chase is on. I get a second one into his front shoulder as he disappears into the trees, it slows him down enough that I catch him in the trees and drop him with one to the hump and then a coup de gras up close once he's on the ground.
The rack doesn't do him justice, 4 quarters dressed at over 600lbs
https://i.postimg.cc/x8PB8g0C/My-2021-Bull.jpg (https://postimg.cc/vxc0SrxF)
After taking a day to set up camp we began our hunt. We hit the usual swamps, meadows and clearcuts and initially found very little sign. Tracks and dropping were old with old wolf tracks mixed in. Apparently the wolves were pushing the moose around from swamp to swamp so it took some time to find spots were pockets of moose were holed up to avoid the wolves.
On Day 4 Dad decided to take the morning off to rest his knees so Sis and I headed out to a swamp we discovered a couple years before. We parked the SxS and walked in to check it out. I gave a couple calls and after an hour or so we walked back out the machine mounted up and headed back toward the main road. We got about 300 yards down the trail when a great beast appeared before us. "Bull" standing there at the intersection of the trail with the road. We bail out of the very difficult to exit machine, before we can load the bull turns and walks around the corner. My sister gets loaded a little quicker than me and goes running after the bull. She gets to the corner, I see her raise her rifle as I get along side her, the bull had paused to look back at the edge of Christmas trees. POW I see the bull jump as he takes the hit from her 7Mag. He staggered off into the trees out of sight. We waited about 30 minutes before following him in. Found no blood, followed him by his footprints alone. He made it about 50yds before bedding down, he had his head up when we approached but he was basically done, Sis laid a perfect shot on him through both lungs and along the top edge of the liver.
Here's the happy hunter with her bull.
https://i.postimg.cc/GhGCwJ0Z/Jenn-s-2021-Bull.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Back at it and several days pass, no moose. On day 10 it's snowing off and on, I head down to a lake by myself, as I'm driving into the area I see something black out in the clearcut that doesn't look quite right. I put up my binos expecting to identify a new stump and through the sleet I see a bull standing there looking at me. I leap out of the truck and take a range on him, 265yds. Load my T3 300WSM and center on his chest just below the neck. BOOM. I see the bull fall and disappear from view. Thinking the bull down and out I grab my pack and start out into the clearcut. I get about halfway to him and realize there is a skid trail converging with me on my right. I adjust my course and get onto my skid trail. I come around a bank and see the bull, chest down, rear end up, classic mistake chased him too soon. He turns his head to look at me and staggers to his feet. I shoulder my rifle to give him a second, "f***ing scope caps" and the chase is on. I get a second one into his front shoulder as he disappears into the trees, it slows him down enough that I catch him in the trees and drop him with one to the hump and then a coup de gras up close once he's on the ground.
The rack doesn't do him justice, 4 quarters dressed at over 600lbs
https://i.postimg.cc/x8PB8g0C/My-2021-Bull.jpg (https://postimg.cc/vxc0SrxF)