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Long hunt!!

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Long hunt!!

Postby Lefty » 11 18, 2015 •  [Post 1]

I yielded to to my planned bow moose hunt the evening of November 7th. I was starting to panic, unlike my daughter’s hunt three years previous, we were seeing very few moose. In fact throughout the archery elk hunt I never saw a moose. The bull I saw in October had been smaller. I did have some great stalks that worked out for the 37, 40 and 42 inch bulls, those get exciting when looking up at a 1000 lb plus animal. I also passed up on a cool looking 35” bull resting just off the forest service road. And a funky moose horned on one side and a pair of elk spikes on the other.
Sunday morning I drove to the meadow where I had seen the 42 “ bull where I had stalked the bull one evening before nightfall. At first light I took the short trip on the ATV to check the meadow. It was cold, sub zero . I was back at the truck and was headed to camp shortly after sun-up. Up on the side-hill 1200 yards away I spotted a bull elk glowing in the sun,.. then some cow elk.
I stopped at a hunters camp, guys who I had been seeing and who had hunted the area for the past 20 days for deer and elk, and now were loading for home. They were excited to see me. They explained I wasn’t at my usual camp, then they both kind of chuckled knowing the deep snow had kept me in the lower elevations. But they had been seeing “The bull you will have to kill “ because there was nothing bigger this year.
We talked strategy for “their” bull elk. Then I was off to town to attend church and buy gas.
After church I started packing up camp. I drove up to where I had left the ATV earlier in the morning and started loading the ATV. The thought came to mind, Those fellows told me it was as big a bull as I would find and the bull had been bedding in the same quackies for a week.. So I grabbed my rifle, put my bibs over my church pants , jacket gloves and face mask and followed the directions the other hunters game me.
The bull moose was right where they had been seeing him, I started to glass the bull when it jumped up. I pulled the rifle out of the scabbard and put a round in the chamber. Looking through the scope I bumped the power from three to nine. The bull had been crashing thought he thick quakies adding to the excitement. The bull was headed up the steep side hill to clear the ridge. He wasn’t going to stop
I placed the crosshair on the base of the bulls head and pulled the trigger: the bull dropped in his tracks. It took you longer to read that paragraph than the time it took to load my gun and kill the moose.
I gave my celebration whoop, ranged the bull at 217 yards; Sweet shot. I kind of chuckled to myself, I still “have it”.
Snow and sage brush was nearly waste high. At least the pack will be down hill! I sent a text and pics to my wife and kids. The first reply from my oldest daughter was”Yum”.
I spent the next three and ½ hours going to my snowed-in campsite to get my sled.

The first rear quarter of the moose was in a meat bag slightly after sunset. The temperature was dropping, the headlamp batteries were nearly dead. The 300 yard drag to the trail and ATV wasn’t too bad, or so I thought. The sled sure made moving the meat easier. However once all the meat was at my ATV I was so exhausted I barely rolled the quarters into the sled. The at the pickup, I had to back the pickup against the road to roll the meat into the pick-up bed.
Once at home I loaded my bloody meat handling clothes in the wash-machine took a shower and woke to the alarm the next morning.
All the blood washed out of my church pants, but the shoes I wore to church and butchered the moose in aren’t likely to be worn to Sunday services ever again. ;)
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Lefty
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 11 18, 2015 •  [Post 2]

Congrats Dennis! I know you were aiming (pun intended) to get your moose with archery gear but nothing wrong with harvesting one with the boomstick either. Can't wait to see a few pics.
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby Lost Dog » 11 18, 2015 •  [Post 3]

Great story! I love it when everything works out even if it wasn't the way you figured it would.

Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby Lefty » 11 19, 2015 •  [Post 4]

One thing about moose. You cant move them for a better picture. About all I coulod move were the legs,.. below the knee joint :shock:
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Phantom16 wrote:Congrats Dennis! I know you were aiming (pun intended) to get your moose with archery gear but nothing wrong with harvesting one with the boomstick either. Can't wait to see a few pics.

Ive been so busy, I havent done what I need to with my pics, My best buddies got some phone shots when I was gutting the moose

Ill post pics tonight
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby elkstalker » 11 20, 2015 •  [Post 5]

Great job and congrats Lefty! I know you hunted long and hard, glad you were able to connect! Just in time for waterfowl to pick up 8-)
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby wawhitey » 11 20, 2015 •  [Post 6]

Right on, im jealous. Gotta get me a moose tag! That country sure looks different than what i think of as moose country.
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 11 20, 2015 •  [Post 7]

Awesome job Dennis, congrats on a fine moose! I see yellow dog assisted with the retrieval ;)
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby CurlyTail » 11 23, 2015 •  [Post 8]

Nice moose! I am green with envy.
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby Old school » 11 24, 2015 •  [Post 9]

Nice Moose! Always interesting to see how our seasons and hunts play out. When and where we end up harvesting an animal as opposed to where and when we thought we would. Great memories!

--Mitch
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Re: Long hunt!!

Postby Lefty » 12 03, 2015 •  [Post 10]

Old school wrote:Nice Moose! Always interesting to see how our seasons and hunts play out. When and where we end up harvesting an animal as opposed to where and when we thought we would. Great memories!--Mitch

Mitch let me tell you all four of the stalks were incredible when I was hunting with a bow. Not only a lot of excitement and adrenaline. Ive had a few other adrenaline experiences with moose , Ill just add that there are three things that spook me in the woods and moose are one of them. When my daughter rifle hunted her moose I was backup everytime with 00 buck.

My frustration and panicked when the snow got deep and I couldn't get to where the moose were, and seeing so few larger moose . In so many ways it is an easier hunt , not very physical.
Next year Im putting in for cow moose!!!
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