JIL_24/7
10-08-2013, 08:37 PM
I have now been hunting for 4 years. The first year I went on one hunt to the Clinton area and bagged my first animal, a three-point mule deer. The next year I went out twice and got a spiker white-tail. Last year I hit it hard. I got a big bull moose to come to my call, but lost out on him when a grizzly bear decided to enter the situation. The bull had come within 30 yards, but the thick bush made it impossible to get a shot. Then I put myself in position at 275 yards on a bull elk, but while I felt I could count the sixth point I couldn't be sure so I let him walk instead of becoming one of the unmentionables. In the end I went out for around 24 days, saw lots of animals and ended the season with one small mulie. This year I decided to dedicate a full 10 days to my moose draw. For the first seven days it rained without ceasing. I tried to hunt, but realized as I sat under a tree one day that it was way dryer under there than it was walking around and figured the animals probably see it that way too. I called every day. I called patiently. I called until I was sure I didn't know what I was doing. By the evening of day eight I had not heard a cow call or seen a moose and figured I was out of luck, so I headed up a mountain outside of my draw area to see if I could find a black bear instead of going home empty handed. For fun I gave a moose call. Sure enough I heard the faintest response. 30 minutes later a beautiful bull was weaving his way through the trees below. He even gave me a perfect broadside shot, but as tempting as it was to pull the trigger I simply watched the trophy meander away looking for a cow. The next day I hiked the mountain on my side of the draw figuring it was my best bet, but nothing. I was going home the next day, and due to the rain my partners had begged to go home, but I wouldn't let them. I went back to the same location as I had called the bull in last year, and I started calling at around 4:00. By 6:15 nothing had made a peep, so I prayed a little prayer and told the Lord that, "I need a miracle, there's only about 45 minutes left for me". I got up and began to call every 5 minutes. I looked at my partner at one point and said, "Well, this is it, I'm going to head back and pick up the moose I called down. Believe it or not we turned the corner not 3 minutes later and there stood a bull! He dropped out of sight, but a little stalk and I saw him facing away, but slightly quartering to me. One shot through the heart with my .45-70 was all she wrote. Now came the crazy part! I had no idea really how insanely BIG a moose is. Wow! He was laying at the bottom of a 75 foot drop in thick bush at last light. After starting the gutting process I couldn't see by a good 20 minutes in, so into camp to get lanterns and such. The wolves circled us, but never came into sight and after a lot of hard work we got back to camp with the bull around 1:00 AM. No trophy for sure, I'm told he is around 4 1/2 years old, but I am very grateful for the meat! My phone and camera batteries were dead by the time I got him, so I got no shots until all I had left was a head. Next week I get to take my wife out hunting for the first time! Sorry can't figure out how to upload the one photo I have.