First moose - Immy!

[Fixit]

went out this weekend for what was supposed to be a two day deer hunt.
Arrived at 1pm and started hiking around, glassing sitting and watching as per usual.
at around 6 i radio'd my buddy, and suggested that we drive around and find a spot to set up the tent. 630ish, and i stop to glass a cut block when my friend sais, hey is that a cow in the road? oh wait no its a horse?... nope its a moose 100yards away, and i see bone up top!
because we were hunting deer, i had no idea what was open for moose, so i hopped out of the truck, tearing everything appart "where the f-truck is the synopsys?!?!?"
my friend is checking out moose with the binos counting tines. a few minutes pass and he stands there on the road not moving
finally i find the regs, immy moose is open!
left side.... one , two, three.... darn
right side, one.... moose turns his head and walks off roadway... damn!
we drive a bit closer and check him out again. he stopped 100ft off the road, but theres a big stick in the way of his right side rack, and he wont move his head so i can see
right side, one, two.... " is that three?" damn binos are a bit hazy so i crank the scope up to 9x and low and behold, on the right, i see one forward tine, and the second tine is forked, but... but its hardly more than a nubbin. my friend confirms my thoughts that its a legal 2x3 moose...

bang, barnes tsx from my 308 hits him midway top to bottom and right through the shoulder. his rear legs collapse and his front legs buckle a split second later. his head slaps the ground.
a few front leg kicks, and he;s still (found out later that it went through both shoulder blades, shattering one of them, through lung, spine and out into the woods somewhere.)

moose was 100yards off the fsr, so we hiked up to him and we found out that immy had stopped 10ft short of a skidder trail that branched off the main fsr. so after backing into the ditch, he was a 6 ft drag into the box of the truck! doesnt get much better than that!!!!!!!!

drove home, skinned him in the garage, quartered him and off to the butcher in the morning.


as my first moose im super pumped! my first thought was damn this thing is big!

[bushpig slayer]

pics of the moose?

[Getbent]

Nice work on the immy...gonna be some good eats for sure.
Lucky on the load and all :)
got any pics?

[BlacktailStalker]

Nice find and good eats. Odd you'd pack a moose tag if you didnt know the immys were open ?

[rocksteady]

Odd you'd pack a moose tag if you didnt know the immys were open ?

OUCH !!!! But my thoughts exactly....

[BillBraskii]

Nice find and good eats. Odd you'd pack a moose tag if you didnt know the immys were open ?

first thing I thought too.........
Good eats forsure
congrats!

[Getbent]

I always pack a moose tag...yah never know
28 bucks is a wash

Getbent

[Fixit]

i regret not packing a camera, so my friend has an i phone pict or moose hung in the rafters..
but heres a few of its headgear...

moose tag was for a group hunt in 12 days in 7-10
I also purchased 2 mule, 2 whitetail, and an elk tag tow weeks ago.

stand by for picts

[russm86]

I always have a moose tag too. At least ever since one particular occasion... I was hunting locally and didn't get a draw so figured what the hell I wasn't gonna waste $30, even though I knew well that there was an Immy season here, I have only ever seen 2 moose in the 15 years hunting the area so chances were slim. Anyways, up hunting deer close to home one morning, 30 yards off the road was a nice little immature bull, which was open, but I didn't have a tag for. So all I could do was sit and watch it, I swear it knew I didn't have a tag, it just stood there eating the willows and mocking me, lol. So from then on I have always bought a moose tag, if nothing else I'm donating 30$ to a good cause and keeping the CO's and biologists employed and equipped so they can better do their job ;). I have pretty good luck with LEH too but even then I will buy one early just in case and seeing as I need one eventually anyways.

[Fixit]

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d707b3127ccefe6115c5e55700000030O02QZs2Lls0ZA9 vPg4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d707b3127ccefe609f26c5bd00000030O02QZs2Lls0ZA9 vPg4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d707b3127ccefe60c2ac858100000030O02QZs2Lls0ZA9 vPg4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[Caveman]

Awful close to a 3x3. I hope you had a real good look at it, before youi shot, as you'll be roasted on here. In my opinion it doesn't meet the defifnition of a third point. Congrats on your first and a freezer full of tender steaks

[BlacktailStalker]

Well then that was just meant to be, well done.

[Slinky Pickle]

That's one nice meat moose right there!

The part I'm struggling with is that the bullet travelled from shoulder to shoulder, through the lung..... and the spine???? Sounds like one of those funky JFK bullets.

[mijinkal]

Congrats! Sounds like this moose wanted you to shoot him. lol, you even had time to look at the regs.
Doesn't get much easier than a 6' drag to the box!

It's a 2X3 in my books too, but I can see this stirring up a conversation.

[bearhunter338-06]

Nice find and good eats. Odd you'd pack a moose tag if you didnt know the immys were open ?

Someones always got to rain on the parade...........lol
When I buy my license and tag I get moose, white tail and mule dear. You never know when you'll come across a little bull moose.

Nice moose.

[Fixit]

BlacktailStalker - Im not sure what exactally you mean by its "odd to pack a moose tag" and whatever that insinuates but here u go
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d707b3127ccefe60673ec5d900000030O02QZs2Lls0ZA9 vPg4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[Foxton Gundogs]

Years ago up north I sat and watched a bull for maybe 10 min took some nice pix but let it walk. Immy season, 3 pts on 1 side and a very odd fork with a big narrow palm on the other. The palm had 4 little bumps on it like it had started tines but not finished. Showed a pic to a friend who was a CO as well as my Uncle who was a retired CO and both their opinions were it fit the antler configeration to make it a legal bull even tho obviously NOT an Immy. Some are just tough calls. Concrats on ur first moose.

[Fixit]

Awful close to a 3x3. I hope you had a real good look at it, before youi shot, as you'll be roasted on here. In my opinion it doesn't meet the defifnition of a third point. Congrats on your first and a freezer full of tender steaks

agreed, i knew the 2.5x2.5cm rule, and we spent what seemed like 30 mins looking at it, (probably 5 mins) waiting for moose to turn head, move away from braches etc.. me and my partner both looked through binos and scope and agreed it wasnt a point so i took the shot.

thanks for the congrats!

[Ruger4]

wow ! thats a close one ! and congrats on your first immy !

[Fixit]

That's one nice meat moose right there!

The part I'm struggling with is that the bullet travelled from shoulder to shoulder, through the lung..... and the spine???? Sounds like one of those funky JFK bullets.

yes definatly JFK bullet! well both shoulder blades had holes in them towards the wide flat end, and i hit the lower part of his spine wherer the ribs attached. during gutting i found a big purple/black hole in a part of his lungs, i assumed that is a bullet hole too

after gutting the thing i realize that my shot was too high, should have been aimed a third of the way up, not half way up

[JDR]

Congrats on your first moose and an elusive immy to boot! Best meat I've ever had was from a young bull moose. I'll be hoping for the same come October 15th.

[Ronne]

Curious as to why you bought 2 mulie tags and 2 whitetail tags when the provincial bag limit for deer is 3???

[wsm]

first i buy my licence and tags (all) before hunting season ever starts. second, that third point is not a point by definition, last its very easy to believe the bullet fragmented after hitting the near shoulder ( more holes ).... grats on the immy

[Darksith]

nice meat moose, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Its legal, you had a tag, let the jealous trolls say what they want, congrats.

[RayHill]

Nice find and good eats. Odd you'd pack a moose tag if you didnt know the immys were open ?

I have been there. Hunting spike fork and saw a cow and calf. I thought that calfs opened that morning but wasn't 100% and had no synopsys to check for a 100% ok, so I let him walk. When I got back to the house i looked it up and he was a shooter.

[Wrayzer]

That's as close as it gets to not being a 3 point! Good eye both ya had to clearly identify it and get a shot, congrats!

[KB90]

Think about it for a minute, and you will understand.

What if I wanted/could kill all my deer in the same day, but was unsure what species and sex I would run into?


Curious as to why you bought 2 mulie tags and 2 whitetail tags when the provincial bag limit for deer is 3???

[Caveman]

Good on you taking the time to be completely sure of your quarry! Again Nice job!!

[RayHill]

Curious as to why you bought 2 mulie tags and 2 whitetail tags when the provincial bag limit for deer is 3???


You might see 2 mulies and only one white tail or you might see 2 white tail deer and only one mulie nothing wrong with that. What would the problem be??? He is supporting the future of hunting buying tags.

[Fixit]

Curious as to why you bought 2 mulie tags and 2 whitetail tags when the provincial bag limit for deer is 3???

Minimum of one tag is always wasted.
usually i get 1 or two blacktails in region 1 and or 2
ive got a LEH for a mule doe in 3-12 come nov
if i got my two DEMU in reg 1/2, I buy one more DEMU tag for my LEH doe in 3, that makes 3 provincial

I could also get a DEWT in reg 3 while hunting for my LEH mule doe, and another DEWT in reg7 on my group's shared moose hunt (which is now going to be my deer hunting trip).
combine that with my LEH DEMU doe in reg 3, that makes 3 provincial limit

....in a nutshell ive got all bases covered for any combination of deer that i might have the possibility to harvest
hope that rambling made sense

[BCHunterTV]

omg they do exist!

[RayHill]

BlacktailStalker - Im not sure what exactally you mean by its "odd to pack a moose tag" and whatever that insinuates but here u go
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d707b3127ccefe60673ec5d900000030O02QZs2Lls0ZA9 vPg4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

O I don't know!!!! I don't thing you cut out those region, date, and antlered triangles clean enough!!! JK LOL good shooten!

[ELK Seeker]

congrats on a good eater bull, looks delicious!

[BigSlapper]

:???: ... too bad one has to run the gauntlet of suggestive, implied, opinionated and righteous s*#! disturbers when posting a close (but very clean) kill ... shaking my head. You guys really must get a life - this site is for the most part great but sure get tired of the drama peddlars ...
Well handled FixIt .... and congratulations.

[adamgarbett]

:???: ... too bad one has to run the gauntlet of suggestive, implied, opinionated and righteous s*#! disturbers when posting a close (but very clean) kill ... shaking my head. You guys really must get a life - this site is for the most part great but sure get tired of the drama peddlars ...
Well handled FixIt .... and congratulations.

X2. well put

[rocksteady]

moose tag was for a group hunt in 12 days in 7-10


AHA!!! Now it makes sense.....Guess you don't need to be worrying now about filling your moose tag :)

I do not know a lot of guys who will buy a handful of tags on spec, glad to hear you did or you would be kicking your own ass right about now......Enjoy !!!

[Ambush]

You did everything right from pre-season tag buying to shooting a legal bull. Nothing to debate or question, nothing "iffy".

Congratulations!!!

[Brew]

That awesome. Good for you. That is About as close as you can get without it being a 3x3. Good for you checking out and rechecking your query and the regs. Dont let anybody tell you otherwise. Great Immy.

[nap]

congrats big time on everything you did, enjoy the meat and the satifaction that lots of hunters will never even get to see one of those youn fellas.

[twinpeaks3]

The "odd to have a tag" thing.....ya right. I do the same and load up on tags cause ya never know. Had a buddy have to let a 6 point elk walk cause he felt like savin a few bucks. Nothing wrong with that but but you better be willing to let it walk. Thats why I to have to check sometimes when I start wandering into different regions with only one thing on my mind(Deer) and even thinking of moose. Congrats

[Shooter]

WTG on your first Moose. I have never shot a Moose myself and it is on my short list of things to do in the near future.

[BromBones]

Congrats on a fine young bull. Good eating for sure





The part I'm struggling with is that the bullet travelled from shoulder to shoulder, through the lung..... and the spine???? Sounds like one of those funky JFK bullets.

The bull pictured in my avatar got the same treatment. High shot through the shoulder, sent bone fragments into the very top of the lungs, hit the lower part of the spine, and punched through the far shoulder. Top of the lungs are actually further forward and higher up in the cavity than you'd think.

[Glassman]

Good spotting, good shooting. Next week,,,,,,,, good eating!!!!!!

[winmag]

All looks nice and legal to me. Congrats on the yummy immy.

[Fixit]

any thoughts on cleaning the skull?
i did the rotting in a bucket of water method a few years ago... i wont EVER do that again

i was thinking of turning it into a "crab trap" and letting the sea creatures devour it. would that work? anyone tried that before?

[krazy]

any thoughts on cleaning the skull?
i did the rotting in a bucket of water method a few years ago... i wont EVER do that again

i was thinking of turning it into a "crab trap" and letting the sea creatures devour it. would that work? anyone tried that before?

Congrats on your immy!

PM'd you the link to our DIY Euromount post. Hope it helps!

[ianwuzhere]

awesome moose, congrats. some great eats there!

[180grainer]

Good job. Given field conditions I'd almost be to nervous to squeeze off a shot on that one, but you called it right.

[budismyhorse]

Great call........I killed a similar moose than that and it was tough *******......hope your luck is better than mine!

cheers

[twinpeaks3]

Great call........I killed a similar moose than that and it was tough *******......hope your luck is better than mine!

cheers
To bad that was like mine and he was soft as butter........oh great now im drooling

[Jelvis]

15 month old bull winkle, Prime Time.
Jel .. Perfect size for the round table .... moose meat is the best ..

[kayjayess]

Man, it just keeps getting better on this site with all of us flaming one and other. Sorry but a bit of rant - buddy posts his story and gets flamed about - 1) having a moose tag he was not planning on using on this trip, 2) the legality of his prey, 3) having 4 legal tags with a provincial bag limit of 3. I hate to say it but the stories and pics will stop if we keep this endless nattering up.

As soon as FixIt posted that pic - I thought - man you have huge balls. Guys don't realize they are f_cking each other with this constant diatribe whenever someone posts pics and a story. Don't get me wrong if a guy is doing something illegal it is probably in everyone's best interest to tell them. I learned early on that if you don't like something someone is doing tell them in private (in other words send them a PM). If you like what they are doing tell them and everyone else. In otherwords praise in public, criticize in private.

Rant over.

FixIt - congrats on your first. Thanks for sharing. And lastly thanks for having a reasonable answer for all the naysayers out there.

[MuleyMadness]

Man, it just keeps getting better on this site with all of us flaming one and other. Sorry but a bit of rant - buddy posts his story and gets flamed about - 1) having a moose tag he was not planning on using on this trip, 2) the legality of his prey, 3) having 4 legal tags with a provincial bag limit of 3. I hate to say it but the stories and pics will stop if we keep this endless nattering up.

As soon as FixIt posted that pic - I thought - man you have huge balls. Guys don't realize they are f_cking each other with this constant diatribe whenever someone posts pics and a story. Don't get me wrong if a guy is doing something illegal it is probably in everyone's best interest to tell them. I learned early on that if you don't like something someone is doing tell them in private (in other words send them a PM). If you like what they are doing tell them and everyone else. In otherwords praise in public, criticize in private.

Rant over.

FixIt - congrats on your first. Thanks for sharing. And lastly thanks for having a reasonable answer for all the naysayers out there.

Well done FixIt....and well put Kayjayess. All you guys that decided to insinuate this was something other than a good hunt with a good amount of luck, without any proof, and probably out of petty jealousy...you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Now if I may add one more thing...FixIt, don't justify anything you did any further...it just fuels these guys that want to try and drag everyone around them down...great job, be proud of yourself.

[Moosehunter64]

I think this has been a really good discussion on here.Gives the young guys on here an idea what a legal immy really looks like.And the discussion about the tags is good also just shows you need to be prepared for anything that might be around when your hunting.Congrats to you on an excellent moose.Now I just need to find me one of those.

[tash]

Congrats!!

I don't doubt the five minutes you spent verifying its points felt like an hour...I find those little moose antlers really tricky.

I had a lovely 3x3 strike a broadside pose 50 yards in front of the truck last year. All I could think was "OMG MOOSE! OMG MOOSE! OMG POSSIBLY LEGAL MOOSE!". And then he wasn't. But it was still cool seeing him.

[3006pg]

frig some people love to tear others apart! congrats good shootin!

[open-sights]

Great job, I love Immiture moose, only ever gotten 1 myself and it was sure good eating. Sorry about the hastle you got about your tags, etc from some members, never feel like you have to defend yourself when you've done nothing wrong, or in this case more importantly - you did everything right! Hall monitors and safety daisies can spout all they want, keep smiling every time you go to the freezer!

[hotload]

X3, on the Slapper slappin Pee Pees. The guy got lucky like we all have, and all the green with envies give him heaps, REALLY, get a life. He got lucky, he studied it first, he punched his tag, and that bull is totally legal....................congrats on some fine eating.

[4pointer]

Congrats on the immy!! I wish my part of Reg. 3 was still open early like the good ol' days!! Would of got myself an immy too!!

[matt420]

congrats on you first moose, it is cuttin er close to a 3x3, luckey you didnt get stopped in a game check on the way out, cuz that coulda gone interesting, i had a buddy get a moose that was close to a 3x3 but not as close as yours is and he got hassled in a game check on the way out, but in the end got to keep his moose, congrats on your very very very close immy

[3kills]

congrats on your first moose! an immy too thats awesome. i have seen one immy alive and i was already tagged out on moose when i seen it and my bro inlaw didnt have a tag. where abouts did u get this nice immy?

[blackwater moose]

i don't know if i would have pulled the trigger on that one, but i wasn't there. for sure it will be yum-yum

[Slinky Pickle]

I think Fixit's story is a perfect example of how it should be done. He had a tag in his pocket just in case he saw a moose, he checked his regs to make sure it was a legal and then spent enough time checking the critter out to confirm it was a shootable animal. Text book!

To be honest, I have a moose tag in my back pocket right now and I don't exactly know when spike/fork opens up in my area. That's no different than one a lot of folks do.

[Mack45]

That is an awesome size to fill the freezer with and not having to pack it extra bonus you won the lottery.

[huntwriter]

Great on you for killing a moose and congratulations. It's a real shame that every time someone post his/her hunting success story and or pictures there are those that have to "rain on the party", by questing legality or ethics of the animal killed or the hunt or hunter and,or, how weapons are displayed in an image. It's no wonder fewer and fewer people share their stories and pictures on this website.

As for the question/s why the OP had a moose tag when he didn't know if moose where legal. There are hunters among us, me included, that purchase every single tag available before the season opens. I never go hunting without a bundle of tags in my pocket. I would never forgive myself for having to pass a legal animal up because I do not have the appropriate tag in my pocket.

[Phil]

Nice work on the elusive immy! That was good of him to hold still for you while you looked in the regs.

[Rock Doctor]

Great first moose

It's generating some very similar comments to the one I shot last yr

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/2010%20Animals/IMG_0011.jpg


RD

[nano]

Well done , congrats man!

[moosinaround]

I would have shot that moose in a heart beat!! Read the regs doubters, it meets the criteria! The regs are there for a reason, definitions are given and this is a perfectly legal SPIKE/FORK moose! He will be fine dining, and again congrats on some fine fine table fare! Moosinaround

[bear buster]

that will be some good eats, congrats. as for the people jumping all over him for any reason, whats the matter, frezzer empty. I would have taking the shot as well, as for the tags, buy them all, you never know what you may come across. congrats again.

[jml11]

I would have shot that moose in a heart beat!! Read the regs doubters, it meets the criteria! The regs are there for a reason, definitions are given and this is a perfectly legal SPIKE/FORK moose! He will be fine dining, and again congrats on some fine fine table fare! Moosinaround

Agreed...I think a lot of people would be suprised at how defined some points are that don't actually meet the definition. Based on the definition this one isn't even close...it's certainly wider than it is long and it's length isn't even wider than the guys pinky...I doubt his pinky finger is 1" thick...but having said that, trying to decipher all of this in the field on a moving animal is quite difficult...was in that position a couple of years ago but the moose didn't stick around long enough for me to check out that potential third point so I had to let him walk...

[abbyfireguy]

BlacktailStalker - Im not sure what exactally you mean by its "odd to pack a moose tag" and whatever that insinuates but here u go
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1d707b3127ccefe60673ec5d900000030O02QZs2Lls0ZA9 vPg4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

My license looks like that when cut,except a few times it had blood on it because my shaking excited hand was too close to the knife. What an idiot I am sometimes. The CO's had a good laugh at me !!

[moose2]

Good job enjoy the steaks
Mike