New hunter gets a moose!

[Gateholio]

Sled92 and I have been friends for well over 20 years. He was always fond of guns and shooting, but his hunting experience was limited to shooting some grouse with his dad when he was a kid.

Early this year he decided he wanted to go hunting. I was overjoyed....Here was a great friend who now wanted to share my passion! He had inherited lots of guns from his dad, and asked me what to do. I told him "you've got some great guns here, but if it was me...I'd sell a bunch of them and finance a top quality rifle, scope and some gear." So that's exactly what he did...After selling off many items, we hooked up with Mark from Omineca Source for Sports and as usual, it was excellent. Mark put together a awesome package of a M70 Extreme 7-08, scope, rings, dies, bullets,sling and all the bit's and pieces. It's always so nice to just make a phone call and say "set me up" and it's done. OSFS rocks...

We worked up a load and spent lots of time at the range, shooting from different positions at various distances.

We entered the Oct LEH for moose in our area (Reg 3) and got it!!!!

Oct 1rolled around and we set out. Sled had done some pre scouting while I was at work, too. The first 2 days we saw nothing except grizzlies, black bears, and a cow...Okay;, it's early.

Day 3 we decided to check out a new area to scout it out, and see if we could find some sign. We were driving up a road when I saw the hind end of a moose! We bailed out, and Sled loaded his rifle. I had already snuck ahead, which was to prove our undoing...I thought Sled was right behind me,and I saw it was a bull and said "SHOOT"....but he was still sneaking up! Wind changed and bull had his nose up and he took off. As he trotted away, I had a perfect broadside shot at him. But I wanted Sled to have the shot, so I had left my rifle behind, of course.:cry:

2 Hours late we bumped into another bull, but he gave us the slip, too.

[Brambles]

get them sausage fingers revved up and start typing faster.

[Spy]

Keep it coming This sounds like it's going to be a good one ! Good on you for getting a new hunter out ! We wait with bated breath !

[Gateholio]

We spent a few more days in the hot, dry early October sun. Again, we saw cows, calfs, deer, grizzlies, goats....everything but a bull moose! Everything was dry and crunchy, so getting anywhere meant lots of noise.

I've killed several moose, but they have always been spot and stalk and a couple were that traditional BC method of spotting a moose, bailing out of the truck and shooting. I've never called in a moose before, but we decided that we needed to try. Sled got pretty good at cow calling. Me, with my deep voice, still sucked. But we consulted Youtube and phoned PG66 for advice and tried our best, to no avail.

Next weekend, PG66 came with us and that was a "crash course" in moose calling. We learned tons! We learned we had been far too timid in our calling, and saw how it was really done. The rut was just starting here in southern BC, and moose responded. One of the things I learned years ago was 'you don't know what you don't know until you KNOW!" and this was it for moose calling.

We went up a drainage, and PG66 called the whole way (exact opposite of what someone said on Youtube) There was a road and cutblock on the other side, and when we walked back we saw a bull on the other side, who had responded to the call.

[Brambles]

and then......

[springpin]

I'm guessing bang flop!

[avadad]

Don't leave us hanging!

[Gateholio]

PG 66 Said "THERE IS YOUR BULL!!!"

I lasered it. 485 yards. Not much wind. Doable shot for me maybe, but certainly not for Sled the rookie, and more than anything, I wanted my very good buddy to take the shot, and much closer, to really get into it.

I was thinking...."Go back down the drainage, hook back up and sneak in and try to find him" but PG66 knew from experience to charge forward. Never done this myself, so seeing it was awesome. PG66 and Sled92 dropped down to the river, staying close to each other so they sounded like a 4 legged animal, and grunting the whole way. I Stayed up top,dialed in my scope for 480, in case someti9ng went wrong and I would do a Hail Mary.

They came up and saw the moose. There was a narrow shooting lane and shots were fired. It was only after 3 hours searching for blood and when we got back that we realized that Sled92, amped up as he was- shot an antler!:mrgreen:

Still, this was awesome knowledge for us.

[The Dude]

How does one cook antler? Crock pot?
Looking forward to "meatier" news :D

[BlacktailStalker]

Lol sweet tale so far !

[Brambles]

and then,,.,,,

[Spy]

I hope you got some Video to go with this story LOL ! Is this going to be a 5 day Coach/BigBoar thread !:)

[TexasWalker]

He has to take food breaks between paragraphs.

[Whonnock Boy]

C'mon, Lets go! I'm leaving for Smithers in five hours. Sounds good so far

[Gateholio]

Next day we went out but it was a hurricane....We were all soaked to the skin,and the weather was getting worse, so we called it quits.

So today the 3 of of us head out. At first light we stop and have a little discussion...2 trucks then HEAD OUT at us. Hmmm, maybe they have spotlighted the whole area? Whatever, we go on.

We drive up a road, then stop and walk, PG66 calling the whole way. This is completely different from what we had "heard" about "overcalling" MOre knowledge!

We climb up a rock bluff and call a bit, ,the PG66 says what he loves to say "THERES YOUR BULL"

We climb down, run up the road a bit, then head into the timber. Climbing up to get a better vantage point.

[todbartell]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif

[Gateholio]

We crash our way up, with PG66 grunting the whole way. Then, for some reason, Mr Moose WALKS DOWN THE ROAD!!!

We are excited, but we also realize the wind has changed. Mr moose will pick up our scent in a minute.it's time to shoot...

The bull hits our scent and you can see him visibly annoyed. He Swaps ends and decides to vacate....It's now or never. We've been at this too long,there is 2 guns aimed at him....I know this is going to get messy.....

Sled92 nails his shoulder and takes out one lung. Next shot drops his butt. His neck is out so I take the shot and it's done. Sled 92 runs up and puts a finisher in him.

Yeah, this wasn't textbook broadside shooting, but we were after meat and we wanted it done. BUll was dead within a minute or 2 anyway. You will see in the video it wasn't perfect...But the moosee is hanging now!

I'm just SUPER stoked that I got to be a part of a good friend "becoming a hunter" and of course learning so much knowledge about calling FROM pg66.


And of course it's hard to quantify how much satisfaction I have hunting with my 2 best friends in the world. Nothng better than hunting with your buddies! :)(
m

[Gateholio]

Pics and video will follow of course! :)

[Brambles]

they don't always go down textbook and that is just fine. With experiance you learn when and where you can push the envelope, don't always have to be perfect broadside when you understand what needs to get done and how to do it in less than ideal conditons, Good work.

Look forward to the video, but I gotta get up in just under 4 hours so gdnight

[Spy]

Good job guys ! Big congrats on sleds first moose ! Thanks for the story Gatehouse !Can't wait for the video !

[srupp]

well done Gate, and Steve...ALWAYS SAID ITS NOT WHERE YOU GO MOOSE HUNTING ITS when YOU go moose hunting ..hit the rut...and yes Steve had it right call lots..I call every 10-15 minutes all day long..

looking forward to the video...and the movie when it comes out...

cheers

Steven

[moose2]

Great story gatehouse congrats to your buddy and the other two of you. Sounds like a good few trips with a lot of sightings and action. Looking forward to the pictures.
Mike

[5 spike]

Congrats guys, good buddies an animal down awesome it doesnt get much better than that.

[coach]

Well done, guys! Great job telling the story, Gatehouse. Looking forward to pics and video. Congratulations.

[Mr. Dean]

Dead Moooooooose!
Hows that for a call?

[kennyj]

Great story Gatehuose! I really enjoyed it. Good job getting a new hunter out there. I'm looking forward to the pics and video.
kenny

[BCHunterTV]

good write up Gatehouse, congrats to you guys!

[ncurrie]

What a awesome story! Congrats to you guys, can't wait to watch the video and see some pics!

[Casagrande]

I was just about send that Hippie a message to find out if he has shot anything yet. That's friggin awesome! I'll bet there was just a wee bit of Fireball consumed post-hunt. Boy, would I like to have been around for that. Congrats Braddles!

[fearnodeer]

Man i liked that story can't wait for the movie.

[zigman]

Nice work!

[Doe See Doe]

Good job on getting a new hunter out, and messy or not, the first one will always be a great memory!
Congrats on the moose!

[BiG Boar]

Pics or it's just a tale....
So far congrats though, to the whole party.

[proguide66]

I got lots of video ! First beer was around 9:45am... Woke on strange couch at Gun Lake.. Gatehouse is not a site to look at right now... Or a 'scent' to be near, I need to be home:???::mrgreen:

[Gateholio]

:) :) :) bwahahaha

[Getbent]

That is awesome boys...love to read your threads and the good work...cant wait for the vid....

getbent

[Skull Hunter]

Sounds like a great hunt, it's always best to be out with good friends. It's also nice to see a couple veteran hunters helping out a newbie, good on ya! Can't wait for the video!

[The Hermit]

What fun! How did Sled do on the field dressing part Gate?? Did he he the traditional slap in the face with the bloody hand? LOL

[835]

lol, nice work boys.
I dont know what it is but the pinache (sp) of the Gate/PG threads are custom signature here!

woke up on a strange couch!....... Fireball?

[juiceterboost]

good to know all that calling practice my girlfriend keeps complaining about might pay off when i head out this weekend

[proguide66]

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq155/proguide66/DSCN0429.jpg

[BimmerBob]

Nice story and even nicer ending! Congrats to all three of you and especially Sled92 on his first.

[325]

Nice bull! Congratulations!

[835]

Dat Dere is a rspectable Bule

[rifleman]

nice bull for a new hunter... congrats

[proguide66]

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq155/proguide66/DSCN0432.jpg

What a treat for me ! This was the first time I have hunted moose with out horses in over 10 years . Was very cool to pick at the carcass like a buzzard and have the truck backed right up to the thing !:cool:
Now I have permission to use the antler shot footage !!..hehe:mrgreen:

[835]

So did you Gutless it or go traditional?! lol

[proguide66]

haha..gutless...now I think of it , we shoulda made Brad crawl inside the thing and gut it out !! haha

[835]

lol!
I knew it! That was the perfect place for "The Traditional"

i love watching the Buzz of new moose shooters!

[Jetboat]

Excellent job on helping the new hunter boyz, congrats. And right beside the road with no rain or mud, well not much from the pics, nice.

[Night Hawk 3]

Good thing you posted a pic there Clarke & Co. otherwise I was going to call BS.

Now, you have to get my younger brother (Graham B.) out shooting and hunting, Clarke... I've been on his tail about getting his licence, but he's dragging his feet.

~NH3

[d6dan]

Well written story Clarke. Congrats to you boys. :-D Pretty nice lookin' donkey and having him die on the road is a big plus!..

[markt308]

right on fellas! great first bull

[Casagrande]

The hippie's even wearing his hippie toque! I can just imagine all the shits and giggles that occurred.

[Gateholio]

There were some serious shenanigans last night....:)

[proguide66]

'fireball' , beers and 'one liners' non stop between laugh attacks......for about 10 hrs...:shock:... I havent ruled out a heartattack here yet today..:oops:

'm betting Gate is stil at it !:roll::lol:

[bowhunterbruce]

very well done boys, congrats to ya all and steve, wheres that videos already lol. ya i know it takes abit of time to do the editing
bhb

[RiverOtter]

Great story and first moose, congrats to all...

[Gilmore]

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s56/gilmore-c/moose_zps6926c94f.jpg

[OutWest]

Looks like one of those mythical shiras moose ;)

[MOUNTAIN MAN - TOYOTA/ATV]

Nice huge bull moose. Good story!!

[sled92]

The hippie's even wearing his hippie toque! I can just imagine all the shits and giggles that occurred.

I wore the toque just for you Cash!! Tons and tons of laughs! A wee bit too much Fireball afterwards maybe though!!

[fuzzybiscuit]

Way to get'r done boys! There's no feeling like walking up on your first bull and thinking, holy crap, these thing are huge! Congrats!

[Weatherby Fan]

Sounds like a great trip,lots of fun,good friends and a Bull Moose to top it off.
Hunting in BC.....can it get any better.
WF

[Spy]

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s56/gilmore-c/moose_zps6926c94f.jpg

X2 lets see the video !

[Elkhound]

awesome bull guys.....and we all know text books are boring and put you to sleep. Was good you had some fun.....we always remember those ones more

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Excellent story Gate!! Congrats to the whole crew!!

So what part of this tasty beast got cooked up first? First taste impressions for the new hunter are important.
At least he has someone who knows how to cook show him what's best.

SSS

[Buckzilla]

Congrats Braddles!
When's the BBQ?
JW

[Gateholio]

Ribs were in the slow cooker all day yesterday, they were pretty damn good.

[greenhorn]

Congrats on the BULL!!!!

Barfffff.... Fireball is GROSS!!!!

[Gateholio]

Agreed!! :)

[TheProvider]

Very good story and great moose for a new hunter. I'm sure he'll never forget a moment if it. Well maybe a few of the hours after all the work was over.

[buckguy]

Congrats on the first moose. Great story thanks for sharing.

[Gateholio]

We cut up the shoulders and loins and ground all the trim tonight. Meat looks great, going to be a great eating moose. Gutless method is great for this, meat cools down really quickly which can be pretty important for meat quality.


We had almost no wastage except for part of the shoulder that the 7-08 bullet struck. Thankfully it was a LRX bullet and not a lead bullet, as the lead bullet would have left shrapnel all through the area and we would have lost more to bloodshot. Only had 2 beers each though. I'm sure we can put in a better effort with the beer when we cut up the rear ends on Thursday, though. ;)

[Spy]

Are you going to post the video ? Did you recover any of the bullets ?

[hunter1947]

Clark very nice story you put up can't get it any better then that ,congrats to the new hunter on getting his first moose and cangrats to you and Steve for taking out this new hunter and helping him get a dream bull moose...

[Casagrande]

We cut up the shoulders and loins and ground all the trim tonight. Meat looks great, going to be a great eating moose. Gutless method is great for this, meat cools down really quickly which can be pretty important for meat quality.


We had almost no wastage except for part of the shoulder that the 7-08 bullet struck. Thankfully it was a LRX bullet and not a lead bullet, as the lead bullet would have left shrapnel all through the area and we would have lost more to bloodshot. Only had 2 beers each though. I'm sure we can put in a better effort with the beer when we cut up the rear ends on Thursday, though. ;)
Two beers each? Bullshit! Unless a 40 of whiskey came out.

[proguide66]

Are you going to post the video ? Did you recover any of the bullets ?


I'm up to my nuts in work with 7 different job sites...:shock:, takes a bit of time to make a vid..its comin though.

Clarke did lie , he had THREE BEERS! and you KNOW he found more when he got home !;-)

[rocksteady]

Patiently awaiting the video.... Bound to be great, if its anything like PG66 other products...

[Gateholio]

Two beers each? Bullshit! Unless a 40 of whiskey came out.

We had a few more on the next met cutting evening. :) No whiskey though. We are little angels. ;)

[proguide66]

Patiently awaiting the video.... Bound to be great, if its anything like PG66 other products...
Get this , had about 6 hrs into new vid, was shaping up to be a real gooder ( gaining more knowledge with the process)... Last night was on 'homerun' to Finnish, hit wring button.. GONE... FACzk!... Back to square one ...

[Salty]

Missed this the first go 'round way too get. it. done. lads! Woot, that's some epic drink'n right there :mrgreen:

Nice moose. Sorry to hear about your techno **** up PG, damn! Look'n forward to the vid when you get it done.

[lovemywinchester]

I'm up to my nuts in work with 7 different job sites...:shock:

7, I thought you said you had 8 trail cams out?

[ElectricDyck]

Good story, congrat's to your friend! He had it easy learning about hunting with the pros, sounds like you had a good time!

[proguide66]

Here's a quick vid of Brads hunt !

http://youtu.be/yM_WKPp9NTY

[bowhunterbruce]

great editing steve, love the video and thanks for taking the time to do it for us
bhb

[Blainer]

I enjoy your clips
Another good one!

[frenchbar]

that was asskicker!!! nice job .

[proguide66]

It was fun !! best could edit with only two days hunting ! Crazy how excitied I got along with Brad knowing its his first kill...fun fun fun!

[Getbent]

Nice stuff...love your videos man!
So cool to see and hear your excitment when it was going down...

Cheers