Went out with my Sister for the 3 day Region 6 GOS.
Day 1
Drove into an area we'd had some success in the past. Went for a morning walk down some dead end roads that led to some old slashes. Saw very little sign in those areas. Drove around for the rest of the day and still saw very little sign.
Day 2
Morning, Plan B. On the way into the new spot on our list, right at first light I saw something standing on the road about 150 yards away. Jenn that's a Wolf. Sister bails out and lets fly from her 7mmRM. I see the Wolf whip its head around and try to nip at itself where it suddenly felt a sting. Then it took off. "You definitely hit it". I drove up to the spot where his tracks were in the snow and found evidence of the hit. First some fur then blood in the tracks. Pretty easy trail to follow between the track in the snow and the blood, found the B**ch piled up after about 75 yards with a gaping hole where her heart used to be.
Continues on our morning hunt, again with little sign. On the way out of the area we saw another Wolf. This one running at turbo speed, so fast that when it ran down the bank off the road it tripped and cartwheeled. Then got back up and continued to zoom away.
Afternoon, Took some advice from a friend that was up during LEH. He directed us to an area that they had seen a fair bit of sign. Drove around for most of the afternoon and tried different spots in the area without seeing much. Just before dark we decided to check out a road that had some more recent logging activity. We got to the end of the drivable portion of the road and decided to take a quick walk to scout it out before dark. As we walked in, across the valley about 2 miles away on the side of the hill is a big black spot and it's moving around. We get a little closer and it's a monster bull. We tried to get closer but there just wasn't enough light left in the day. We got to within maybe 1000 yards but it was clear we weren't going to make it to a shootable distance with the little daylight we had left. We elected not to spook him and come back the next morning.
Day 3
Morning, back to the same spot walking in at first light. We look across the valley as we walk toward the spot and in almost the same spot another big black spot. Milling around feeding at first but then steadily moving up the hill towards the timber at first light. Stepped a little faster hoping to get within range before it could disappear into the timber, but wait a minute, something's not right. Last night in the failing light from further away we could clearly see his rack. The one... Nope, Cow. Continued into the bottom of the slash and continued to look around glassing. Hey, there's another one. I could see another moose walking along behind a knoll at about 400 yards. I could only see the top of its back. Continued to look at it through my Binos to identify it, instead of getting into a position where I could shoot if the opportunity presented itself and sure enough, it popped out over the top of the knoll facing us, small paddles, little bull. I quickly moved to a stump to get a rest but before I could get there he vanished into the timber. That's the way it goes sometimes. Just trip over your own indecisiveness. Continued to walk around the area for the rest of the day and saw 2 more cows. Now the wait, until next year.
My sister got her Wolf skull done up after we got home. She got it back pretty quick and it looks good.
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