Darksith
09-05-2012, 12:11 PM
So we are working up in dawson creek. myself and a buddy who is brand new to hunting shipped our rifles up north in june knowing we would be around for the GOS. Then I ended up buying a side by side so all of a sudden there was so much territory to explore our heads were swimming. We spent many evenings just looking at the maps and making educated guesses as to where to go. We spent a lot of time towards tumbler in the preseason, and saw a lot of moose. Opening day came and went, and we didn't see a thing. Its like they knew it was that time of year. So night after night we go out, and see nothing. So we switch it up and start trying new areas again. So many good spots, but just no moose. Its now Aug 30, 2 days left till we gotta start counting points. We stop at the A+W for some food when we hear a noise...WTF. Trailer has a flat. Crap, we change it, find the spare has low air, so we have to unload the rhino, drive to the gas station, put air in the tire, then go get the rhino then off we go. Then on our way some guy with flashing lights on his truck pulls us over to tell us our brakes are locked up and our trailer is smoking...turns out the trailer isn't meant to carry the rhino and the tire was rubbing on the wheel well, which caused the first flat. We rip the wheel well off and have just enough tire left on the spare to get us out for the evening. We end up in the rhino going down a power line. We're chatting as we're driving, and I comment on how good this area looks and we are bound to run into something when "moose!"...cow. Try as we might we just can't grow a set on to the head of this cow. We watch and wait to see if anything is gonna step out with it. Nothing, so off we go again when oh, theres something ahead of us. We stop put the binos on it and wouldn't you know another UTV going the same direction as us. Crap now what. Well there was a T about 1km behind us, lets try down there, everywhere around here is good. So U turn we do, not 2min down the new trail moose! No questions here, a bull, about 200-250 away standing there looking at us. My buddy jumps out, hes the shooter, its his first chance at a big game animal.
Slow down I tell him, we got time, hes not going anywhere. I keep talking to him, telling him to relax, wait for him to turn, I get my rifle outta the case and load a round in as well. We talk it over, hes gonna shoot and then Im gonna shoot. We can't afford to let this guy hit the timber with a bullet in him since we gotta work tomorrow and we have less than an hour of light. I keep telling him to be calm, find his comfy spot, and shoot when ready. Bang he shoots, I follow immediately with a squeeze of my own. The moose rears up and starts running. My buddy all excited lets another bullet fly. Woa I say, don't bother hes moving too quick. My heart is sinking as the moose was moving pretty quick and I forsee a long night of tracking. We jump in the rhino and drive down the trail to where the moose was just to see if there is blood, how much and determine our next move. We get to the spot and there he is, wallowing in a pond. Yeah we got him I say, lets hope he walks outta the puddle so we don't have to go for a swim. Well we wait at the side of the pond, but its clear he's done. I tell my buddy, its your moose, nice shooting, now get swimming lol. He strips down, walks in with mud up to his knees then swims out to retrieve our prize. We drag the moose up outta the pond onto the flats, gut it then consider how to get this animal back to the truck. We decide that its too far and too dusty to drag it, we don't wanna spend the time it will take to do 2 trips, and we don't have the experience or equipment to debone or quarter it (left the hunting supply bucket in the truck) so we decide to test out the rhino's suspension and load the entire moose into the back. We cut it in half down the ribs, failed to get through the spine then decided to give the winch a try in getting through the spine. We wrap the cable around the spine where we had cut through the meat and put the rhino in reverse, snap worked like a charm! We then attempt to wrestle the back half into the rhino with no success, so we end up tossing the winch cable over the roll cage (I have back seats so the roll cage goes to the back of the box) and winch each half right into the box. A few scuffs on my hard case for my rifle and away we go. A couple hills later we fail to make it up the steepest hill climb, but manage to find a trail around (all in the pitch black). At the truck we load the rhino onto the trailer and off we go. We look at the clock and see we'll be home by 11:20, not too shabby for a couple guys totally unprepared to handle a moose. 2 minutes from pavement when we hear a bang, WTF we realize we just lost the spare tire.... We pull over and go check it out to find that the rhino had shifted and its tire was rubbing on the spare tire. Not only did I lose my spare trailer tire, but I lost my rhino tire too boot! What a crappy end to an awesome evening. We drop the trailer, wrestle the moose into the back of the truck and go home to return for the trailer and UTV in the am. What a night good and bad.
http://i48.tinypic.com/210dfzd.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/16bh836.jpg
sry for the lack of decent pics, I didn't have my phone on me at the time, and I only got 1 from my buddies phone so far. A decent moose for sure though
Slow down I tell him, we got time, hes not going anywhere. I keep talking to him, telling him to relax, wait for him to turn, I get my rifle outta the case and load a round in as well. We talk it over, hes gonna shoot and then Im gonna shoot. We can't afford to let this guy hit the timber with a bullet in him since we gotta work tomorrow and we have less than an hour of light. I keep telling him to be calm, find his comfy spot, and shoot when ready. Bang he shoots, I follow immediately with a squeeze of my own. The moose rears up and starts running. My buddy all excited lets another bullet fly. Woa I say, don't bother hes moving too quick. My heart is sinking as the moose was moving pretty quick and I forsee a long night of tracking. We jump in the rhino and drive down the trail to where the moose was just to see if there is blood, how much and determine our next move. We get to the spot and there he is, wallowing in a pond. Yeah we got him I say, lets hope he walks outta the puddle so we don't have to go for a swim. Well we wait at the side of the pond, but its clear he's done. I tell my buddy, its your moose, nice shooting, now get swimming lol. He strips down, walks in with mud up to his knees then swims out to retrieve our prize. We drag the moose up outta the pond onto the flats, gut it then consider how to get this animal back to the truck. We decide that its too far and too dusty to drag it, we don't wanna spend the time it will take to do 2 trips, and we don't have the experience or equipment to debone or quarter it (left the hunting supply bucket in the truck) so we decide to test out the rhino's suspension and load the entire moose into the back. We cut it in half down the ribs, failed to get through the spine then decided to give the winch a try in getting through the spine. We wrap the cable around the spine where we had cut through the meat and put the rhino in reverse, snap worked like a charm! We then attempt to wrestle the back half into the rhino with no success, so we end up tossing the winch cable over the roll cage (I have back seats so the roll cage goes to the back of the box) and winch each half right into the box. A few scuffs on my hard case for my rifle and away we go. A couple hills later we fail to make it up the steepest hill climb, but manage to find a trail around (all in the pitch black). At the truck we load the rhino onto the trailer and off we go. We look at the clock and see we'll be home by 11:20, not too shabby for a couple guys totally unprepared to handle a moose. 2 minutes from pavement when we hear a bang, WTF we realize we just lost the spare tire.... We pull over and go check it out to find that the rhino had shifted and its tire was rubbing on the spare tire. Not only did I lose my spare trailer tire, but I lost my rhino tire too boot! What a crappy end to an awesome evening. We drop the trailer, wrestle the moose into the back of the truck and go home to return for the trailer and UTV in the am. What a night good and bad.
http://i48.tinypic.com/210dfzd.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/16bh836.jpg
sry for the lack of decent pics, I didn't have my phone on me at the time, and I only got 1 from my buddies phone so far. A decent moose for sure though