My Busmans holiday...

[Gateholio]

Kinda last minute, Proguide66 (Steve) calls me up and says "My GF is supposed to come cook in camp again this year, but she is busy for the first few weeks so we dont' have a cook...You should come cook for us and when there are no American hunters we can go hunt too. Fully outfitted camp, horses, guns, moose and a wrangler too!!"

I said that sounds pretty good, I am in, let's go!:-D

Drive up north was uneventful except for all the blown tires on the horse trailer! At one point we limped along on 3 tires! Weird as the tires looked in good shape with lots of tread on them, but it was a real hot day...We bought a used tire off a guy in Hudsons hope and he mounted it in his garage so we could limp into FSJ in the AM.

Steve had to trial in to the camp, so they left very early in the AM. The hunters and I woudl fly in, so we waited for the weather. It turned nice about noon, so I was the first flown into camp. (Steve and wrangler showed up many hours later looking tired ha ha)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs431.snc4/47471_462036995515_526315515_7030950_6904049_n.jpg


Teh first 2 hunters were nice guys from Wisconsin. They ended up shooting 2 moose within 10 yards of each other, 5 seconds apart. All caught on video! (Sorry, Steve still has the vid camera in camp)

So it was our turn to hunt...It was one of the rare clear days so we decided to go look for rams and moose. We rode horses through creeks to the bottom of the mountain which was nice, but climbing up the mountain wasn't so nice!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs606.snc4/58607_462038135515_526315515_7030985_6888155_n.jpg

We didn't see anything that day, but it's always nice to get to eh "top of the world" Next day weather was back to normal so we did lots of this:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs309.ash2/58948_462039770515_526315515_7031044_4033099_n.jpg

[Bear Chaser]

To be continued I hope.

[Bow Walker]

Yeah, c'mon Clarke....

[r106]

....x3........
________
MAZDA C PLATFORM PICTURE (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Mazda_C_platform)

[Marc]

Guys this could take days, remember gate has sausage fingers, the typos in the his last post should have given you a clue.:mrgreen:

Time to get voice recognition software Clark.:lol:

[BlacktailStalker]

I was wondering when your thread was going to pop up... wish I found it a few hours from now... when it was done :)

[CSG]

I like the start of this thread....but lets see some of the food you were cooking

[Gateholio]

I've never shot a BIG moose before (just dinks) but I passed up a few until this bull showed up but he was in a devilish place to recover.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs215.ash2/47792_462039040515_526315515_7031011_5997652_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs302.ash2/58219_462039265515_526315515_7031015_1708653_n.jpg


It was sorta comedy as I said "Shoudl I shoot him?"

Steve said "If we are going to get a moose out of here, it should be a huge one! That guy will be good next year"

Then he walked closer so Steve is like "well, you want to shoot him, go ahead. Let me video it"

I didn't think he was serious so I was like "shoot now?" He's like "wait, I dont' have him..okay shoot" I am like "He's not broadside, I'll wait to shoot" etc etc

Then the moose went behind some bushes and was gone. hahaha

A couple of days later Steve punished me hard with another long hike.We had ridden up into this basin and Steve tells the wrangler "take the horses back to camp, we are going climb up into another valley then sidehill our way back to camp. I'm going to get a few more pounds off Gatehouse today! So off we went and we saw a number of moose, elk, and a big grizzly that was too far away and moving too fast for us to chase.

6.5 hours later we were back in camp and chamged into some dry clothes and I was making us a late lunch when Steve looks out and says "hand me your binos" He had spotted a suitable bull. He was old and pretty wide, with real thick bases. And he was in a spot much easier to recover from, too!ha ha

So we stalked up to him and got to 356 yards. No problem, I put down Steves pack on a log and lie down, getting a nice solid rest. Steve gets his camera ready. I hear "not yet, not yet" from him a lot when we hunt together.ha ha

Then he's ready so I shoot and he says "too far back!"

I'm thinking he is crazy since I usually practice out to 450 or more yards using a backpack rest and have no problems, but maybe he didn't see the shot hit well?

Anyways, the moose swaps ends and trots for a bit before he stops and agina there is the "not yet" as he gets the camera ready, but we have to wait anyway, as the moose has now moved to a spot I can't see him from my position due to close by buck brush in the way, so I have to move a bit.

THis places Mr. Moose behind 2 trees, with nothing to shoot at but his ass or his head and part of his neck. I still am not convinced that the first shot was off but the moose hasn't fallen over yet, so anything is possible- But I know I dont' want to shoot the moose in the ass!

I line up behind his ear and shoot. The recoil makes me lose sight of the moose for a second, even with both eyes open. (Later examination of the video showed I did indeed hit the moose too far back and at the second shot the moose dropped hard-and you can clearly see the bullet flying through the air and hitting the moose behind the ear!)

We walk up to the moose and are astounded bcause we have never seen an animal end up like this!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs157.ash2/41210_462039925515_526315515_7031046_2980174_n.jpg

We get it straightened out for the glory pics

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs403.snc4/46633_462040100515_526315515_7031048_6375793_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs599.snc4/57961_462040485515_526315515_7031072_3090145_n.jpg

[browningboy]

Gotta love the north! Good job on the moose and thanks for sharing the pics!

[bsa30-06]

VERY NICE........Congrats Guys.

[Bow Walker]

Jeez - that's a lot of mooseburger! Thanks for the photos. Good shooting too.

Now let's see some of the meals you prepared for those starving hunters...

[Brett]

Holy CRAP!! What a monster!

[Gateholio]

The first shot went too far back but angled forward a bit, and must have hit the liver, because the moose was well bled out when we got there..This 180gr TSX from my 300WSM was recovered just poking out of the skin, after going through abotu 3 feet of moose. Still dont' know how I screwed up the first shot, as I missed a big target. Might have been to cavalier about, I don't know....

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs295.snc4/41090_462040630515_526315515_7031076_3227705_n.jpg

Like a magazine ad!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs610.snc4/58987_462040755515_526315515_7031078_320409_n.jpg

Entrance wound, 2nd shot

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs627.snc4/58781_462041190515_526315515_7031097_1646137_n.jpg

Cutting out the rib meat.MMMMMMMM....

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs434.snc4/47739_462041250515_526315515_7031098_2574264_n.jpg

Evidence of sex (FOr the SWEDE)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs625.snc4/58548_462044150515_526315515_7031149_4811460_n.jpg

[d6dan]

Nice moose Gatehouse!.Wide bugger. Great photos and story.

[Gateholio]

Using horses makes moose recovery so civilized...

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs320.snc4/41340_462044650515_526315515_7031158_8205815_n.jpg

Properly celebrating the moose down!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs409.snc4/47215_462044835515_526315515_7031162_5850526_n.jpg

My favorite (and very strong) horse. He didn't even flinch when I got on him!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs310.ash2/59013_462045670515_526315515_7031200_194856_n.jpg

Moose meat pie with fresh pastry

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs313.ash2/59340_462046480515_526315515_7031228_1698751_n.jpg

[BlacktailStalker]

I'm sure the guys were equally as happy with the grub as you were with the moose !
He's a big ol boy no doubt, cool recovery on the tsx too.

[Bow Walker]

Guys this could take days, remember gate has sausage fingers, the typos in the his last post should have given you a clue.:mrgreen:

Time to get voice recognition software Clark.:lol:


....

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs610.snc4/58987_462040755515_526315515_7031078_320409_n.jpg




...

Moose meat pie with fresh pastry

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs313.ash2/59340_462046480515_526315515_7031228_1698751_n.jpg


There. an example of "sausage fingers" and an example of what to eat while in camp. Perfect! :mrgreen:

[Brambles]

Way to go Gatehouse, nice looking moose, how wide was he?


Is there more to the story? Do I sense a ram down??

[nano]

Nice bull, congrats!!

[Sitkaspruce]

Nice bull Gates!!!

Dinner looked good as well.

Congrats on the hunt....so far.

Cheers

SS

[Gateholio]

Brambles, it was 53 1/2" wide. Steve estimated at 54 through the spotting scope at 1200 metres, so it was pretty close...

We never saw any legal rams (actually we only really saw ewes and lambs, saw a couple of rams very, very distantly one day)

I also had a grizzly LEH and although we saw a few grizzlies, none were mature enough to shoot. One was dead for sure if we wanted it, but we passed it up.

We also saw many wolves, and while we tried to shoot one (or many) they outsmarted us. We even spent a whole afternoon sitting on stand trying to get a shot at a wolf.

Elk everywhere, but the season wasn't open until Sept 1.

[2slow]

Sounds like an awesome trip congrats on the moose

[srupp]

Well done Gate most exellent adventure...great bull and wonderful photos...and I bet the hunters and guides were AMAZED at the quality of the cooking...5 star cusine ..well done Bro.

cheers
Steven:-D

[Sasquatch]

Nice moose - sounds like a great trip.

[longrifle]

Nice bull, congrats Gate!


'rifle

[kennyj]

Great story and photos. Congratulations on your Big Bull.
kenny

[Bear Chaser]

Great job. Nice pics and story.

[spear]

Thanks for the story and photos, nice work. Great bull, I guess those TSX expand alright ;)

[Mik]

Holy Sh*t! Awesome bull. Congrats. Its amazing how such a huge animal can just disappear.

[BillyBull]

Thanks for sharing the story and pictures... looks like you had a blast.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Hard to believe that that much antler could hide under a moose!!!

Sounds like a great time and it looks like PG 66 was a fine host!!

So how much weight did Steve hike off of you??:-D

Congrats!!

SSS

[demlake]

Thanks for the pics, and congrats.

dl

[harbinger]

Good job Clark nice bull!

[Casagrande]

Now I know why PG66's phone number was showing up on my call display the first couple of weeks he wasw gone.:mrgreen:

[1899]

Great story and nice pictures too. I'm glad you got a good bull. I had a chuckle when you didn't take the first big one because he wasn't broadside. Things could have been different had you been carrying a .375 H&H.... ;)

[Gateholio]

Great story and nice pictures too. I'm glad you got a good bull. I had a chuckle when you didn't take the first big one because he wasn't broadside. Things could have been different had you been carrying a .375 H&H.... ;)

While I think a quartering towards shoulder shot would certainly have killed the bull with the 180gr TSX bullets I was using in my 300WSM, I didn't have a perfect rest so I wanted the broadside shot for more margin of error. It wouldn't have mattered if I was using a .375 or a 7-08- At 400 yards I prefer a broadside shot.

[Gateholio]

Hard to believe that that much antler could hide under a moose!!!

Sounds like a great time and it looks like PG 66 was a fine host!!

So how much weight did Steve hike off of you??:-D

Congrats!!

SSS

He is not as much of a host as he is a personal trainer.:-D

Lost 12 lbs!:mrgreen:

[Bighorn hunter]

Congrats Gatehouse

That is my dream animal.One day maybe I will find one for the wall

Cheers
BH

[The Hermit]

Well done lads!!

[pg83]

Congrats on a fine moose Gatehouse, looks like a heck of a time you had.

[srupp]

awww moose Wellington..yummmmm...

sheesh did those guys KNOW how well they were eating...lmao GATEHOUSE cooking @ outfitters...hmmm spoiled hunters..lol

again well done Gate and Steve

srr

[Lillypuff]

thanks for the pictures and story interesting read

[Salty]

Dandy bull. Gate I'm thinking in the future you need to skip the 1st shot and just take the 2nd :-D All BS aside he would have piled up in the not too distant future without the William Tell ear shot. LOL. Congrads. Gorgeous country. I gotta get back up north one of these years :-?

[springpin]

nice bull man.

[sillybear]

Great story and great pics. Well done Gate. I'm glad you found time to do the trip on short notice.

[Blainer]

Great Bull!Great Story!and in my mind a Great Friend in PG66.
Good on the pair of ya!

[Fisher-Dude]

Very nice bull Gate! Congrats!

I'm glad the TSX decided to expand this time around...I was crossing my fingers as I read the story, just prayin' it would! :mrgreen:

[TIKA 300]

Congrats on a fine moose,beauty country in your pics also.

[1899]

While I think a quartering towards shoulder shot would certainly have killed the bull with the 180gr TSX bullets I was using in my 300WSM, I didn't have a perfect rest so I wanted the broadside shot for more margin of error. It wouldn't have mattered if I was using a .375 or a 7-08- At 400 yards I prefer a broadside shot.

I'm just taunting you. But it is a good point you make - the person taking the shot must feel comfortable and confident in his or her ability to make a clean killing shot.

[cavebear]

well european or north american mount? :-D

[killman]

What is a Busman anyway?






Congrats Gate, nice bull. Looks like some beautiful country. You are lucky to have such a friend. Maybe next time with a bow?:wink::mrgreen:

[Gateholio]

I'm just taunting you. But it is a good point you make - the person taking the shot must feel comfortable and confident in his or her ability to make a clean killing shot.

Quartering towards is certainly a clean killing shot, especially using a good bullet like a TSX, and I would have taken the shot at 300 or less yards, but he was downhill and closer to 400...

I did shoot a deer head on (not broadside) at close to 400 a few years ago, but a deer is much more fragile than a moose!:mrgreen:

[BearSniper]

Great story

Man you're lucky to get in on a trip like that- what a great opportunity

Great Moose, good shooting, congratulations:wink:

[dutchie]

Great story and nice pictures too. I'm glad you got a good bull. I had a chuckle when you didn't take the first big one because he wasn't broadside. Things could have been different had you been carrying a .375 H&H.... ;)

pssssst... He shoots a 375 RUGER!:-D

Dutchie

[rocksteady]

Nice bull....Great payoff for cooking for some guided hunters....

Could have been worse if he would have only provided beer, cigareetes and a never ending supply of dirty dances with that frozen beaver from last year :mrgreen::mrgreen:

[tuffteddyb]

awesome moose and great pictures!
thanxs!!
cant wait for october to try for mine!

[Jelvis]

That is a huge bull. You got a moose hide coat, lots of ribs and smokies to die for .. steaks and T-Bones ..
Jel .. I need one but not that gigantic lol .. Great shooting and hunting ..
That's a one ah bigga meata ball ...

[Kody94]

Awesome! Congrats Clarke! Looks like a great time. Shoulda thumped him with the NEW KING though....WTH were you thinking going grizzer and moose hunting without the MIGHTY RUGER?!?!?

Cheers bud,
Chris

[yama49]

Congrats on your moose, nice pics also. thx for sharing them

[Gateholio]

Awesome! Congrats Clarke! Looks like a great time. Shoulda thumped him with the NEW KING though....WTH were you thinking going grizzer and moose hunting without the MIGHTY RUGER?!?!?

Cheers bud,
Chris

I know, I know...

But I had a sheep tag too, and I knew I'd be getting a decent work out and the Leeper 300WSM is a pound lighter than the NEW KING:-D

[Coming_out_heavy.]

Good work! Looks like you had a great time! That Scuba Steve seems to know what hes doin out there!

Nice meat pie.

[open-sights]

Awesome adventure - great bull as well Gate, the first pic of the downed animal was sure hard to figure out what I was looking at, lol, well done!

[Schutzen]

Nice goin Gates.
Glad to see you had a fine hunt. Course Proguide gets some credit to for sure.
Beauty bull guys.

[wolverine]

Well done! Nice animal! Man,that's a good looking dinner for a moose camp!

[Gateholio]

Thanks guys! Yeah, Steve knows that area like the back of his hand and he knows when the moose are going to be where etc. First hunters only had to hunt for a day and a half before dropping the hammer on 2 moose, and I could have killed "any moose" most days.:-D


I had such a good time I'd consider going back there for a full season to be camp cook. It's a completely different vibe from being a restaurant chef, you sit and eat and BS with the people you cook for, and everyone is really appreciative of the food. Then again, we all have guns so who wants to bitch?:-D

Definitely a nice change of pace from restaurants although the pay wouldn't be nearly as good, but I would consider it a "working holiday" anyway!!:-D

[2x4x16]

Now we know why you have been quiet in the posting, congrats awesome moose.

[todbartell]

good work, son

[lostindian]

congrats on one nice bull ! I hope someday I'll get a chance at moose.

[moose2]

Great story and really nice moose guys. I would not have guessed he was that wide from the first picture. Did you strip the velvet or are you going to try to save and repair it. Thanks for posting
MIKE

[Amphibious]

good job Clarke, great bull and story :)

[shantz]

Looks like a hell of a holiday. Congrats

[newhunterette]

Clarke, what an amazing adventure - really enjoyed your storytelling and what a beautiful moose.

^5^5^5^5

hope you have just as much success through the rest of this season.

[SHACK]

Great stuff Clarke!!! Now where the hell is the video of the shot etc!!!!

[Elkhound]

Love that position the moose fell into.....lol. And nice bullet recovery. Any more juice out of it and the bullet would have fallen out on the other side.

[BimmerBob]

Wow! Epic adventure and photo/story telling recap for us, thanks so much Gatehouse and congratulations on a fine piece of bull... moose that is!

[Gateholio]

Video will be up in a week or so. I think Steve has a good moose video of his own, too.:-D

[born2hunt]

congrats on a good bull

[325]

Great bull!

[Ambush]

Can't beleive I missed this!!

Now that's a lot'a bull and I'm not talking about the story. I'd sure as heck flip a few pancakes for a chance to do that.
Congratulations on a fine, iconic northern trophy!

[Gateholio]

Thanks for the congrats, guys!

I was just chatting to PG66 via PM...Man it sounded like he had a good season and I sure wish I could have stayed up there. I've lost another 20 lbs since I saw him, but I have been doing home reno's not much hunting. Be good to get out hunting again in a few days.:-D

PG66 should be back soon and although I am less girthy, I know he has been spending every day hiking, so is in tip top shape and I know every day we hunt together he is going to punish me some more. :icon_frow

The moose is only the second animal we have been together for a "kill" but it sure is fun hunting with him. He goes into "guide mode" and he starts whispering advice while on stalks or just while hunting. Very informative and a good learning experience and very helpful but of course the best part is that he forgets to shoot the animal himself,like what happened to Tod Bartell last year when the 2 of them were hunting near Squampton and Mr. Bartell bagged a great Blacktail!! .:mrgreen::wink:

Looking forward to his return and you guys can see the video of me completely screwing up a very easy shot, but making up for it with the second shot.:-D