snowtigger
10-02-2009, 02:33 PM
I had bombed out moose hunting this year in my old haunts, so when a friend asked me to go with him into an area I had not hunted before, I agreed.
We made the trip, and for three days we saw nothing but one grizzly bear (AT ABOUT TWENTY FEET). Luckily he was coming downwind and did not see us until we saw him. He was as spooked as we were and ran the other way.
We had about given up on moose and decided to take a run at the bear.
The next evening, we sneaked into the valley from the other end, as it was downwind. As we approached, we heard what sounded like a bull moose thrashing a tree as they are wont to do to announce to the cows their presence and desirability.
As we approached the sound, we saw a cow moose looking right at us. She grunted loudly and went to our left. The bull, a big one, took off to our right at about 150 yards. I put one into the boiler room and he staggered, but kept running. As he was about to go into a dense thicket I put another one into his shoulder to stop him.
We knew he was down, and started over there. As we approached the spot where we thought he was, we heard blowing in the thicket. My partner went in and I circled around to we thought he would emerge.
After about three minutes, I heard three shots and my partner yelled something I couldn't hear. I thought he had run into the bear again. I ran back to the ATV and started over to where he was. As I drove over, I saw antlers in the grass where we had last seen the moose.
I went over to where my partner was and he told me he got him and he was down in the grass just ahead.
HUH? I said I passed him back a little ways. " No, he's right here". "No, he's back there." I stood up on the ATV so I could see better in the grass and there he was.
So, what did I see back there. We made sure he was dead, and went back to look. There he was! OMG, we have two moose down!! We had heard two bulls fighting over the cow. Two old men and two moose down at once, just before dark, with a griz in the area. We decided to gut them, and leave them till the morning.
On the way out,we decided this was too much, and we called (thank God for cell phones) to come help us. They loaded up and drove the hundred miles to the hunting spot the next AM. What a Godsend.
They work like we used to. We soon had the moose cut into managable pieces and in game bags.
As we were loading the second one,we heard a bull grunting in the brush nearby. One of the youngsters had not filled his tag yet, so they went to investigate. Soon,we heard shots, and there was another moose down.
It was getting late again so we decided to gut him, get the other two back to camp and come back in the morning (again).
The next day, the last day of season, we went back to the kill site. The moose was untouched, but the gutpile was gone!!
As the two youngsters cut up the moose, I stood on top of the ATV with my rifle. The bear never showed, but we were glad to get that one cutup and gone.
Just as we got finished loading the moose into the trailer, it started to snow. By the time we got to the highway, twenty miles away, there was about two inches of the white stuff.
A successful hunt? Once in a lifetime. Lots of good meat, one Great trophy, two good ones.
We had no way of weighing them, but the largest one measured six feet, four inches from the foot to the top of the shoulder blade.
You gotta love youth. I didn't realize how much I had lost until I watched those two young men work.
We made the trip, and for three days we saw nothing but one grizzly bear (AT ABOUT TWENTY FEET). Luckily he was coming downwind and did not see us until we saw him. He was as spooked as we were and ran the other way.
We had about given up on moose and decided to take a run at the bear.
The next evening, we sneaked into the valley from the other end, as it was downwind. As we approached, we heard what sounded like a bull moose thrashing a tree as they are wont to do to announce to the cows their presence and desirability.
As we approached the sound, we saw a cow moose looking right at us. She grunted loudly and went to our left. The bull, a big one, took off to our right at about 150 yards. I put one into the boiler room and he staggered, but kept running. As he was about to go into a dense thicket I put another one into his shoulder to stop him.
We knew he was down, and started over there. As we approached the spot where we thought he was, we heard blowing in the thicket. My partner went in and I circled around to we thought he would emerge.
After about three minutes, I heard three shots and my partner yelled something I couldn't hear. I thought he had run into the bear again. I ran back to the ATV and started over to where he was. As I drove over, I saw antlers in the grass where we had last seen the moose.
I went over to where my partner was and he told me he got him and he was down in the grass just ahead.
HUH? I said I passed him back a little ways. " No, he's right here". "No, he's back there." I stood up on the ATV so I could see better in the grass and there he was.
So, what did I see back there. We made sure he was dead, and went back to look. There he was! OMG, we have two moose down!! We had heard two bulls fighting over the cow. Two old men and two moose down at once, just before dark, with a griz in the area. We decided to gut them, and leave them till the morning.
On the way out,we decided this was too much, and we called (thank God for cell phones) to come help us. They loaded up and drove the hundred miles to the hunting spot the next AM. What a Godsend.
They work like we used to. We soon had the moose cut into managable pieces and in game bags.
As we were loading the second one,we heard a bull grunting in the brush nearby. One of the youngsters had not filled his tag yet, so they went to investigate. Soon,we heard shots, and there was another moose down.
It was getting late again so we decided to gut him, get the other two back to camp and come back in the morning (again).
The next day, the last day of season, we went back to the kill site. The moose was untouched, but the gutpile was gone!!
As the two youngsters cut up the moose, I stood on top of the ATV with my rifle. The bear never showed, but we were glad to get that one cutup and gone.
Just as we got finished loading the moose into the trailer, it started to snow. By the time we got to the highway, twenty miles away, there was about two inches of the white stuff.
A successful hunt? Once in a lifetime. Lots of good meat, one Great trophy, two good ones.
We had no way of weighing them, but the largest one measured six feet, four inches from the foot to the top of the shoulder blade.
You gotta love youth. I didn't realize how much I had lost until I watched those two young men work.