Well we made the long trek back yesterday from my first moose hunt in 8 years since my father passed.
To be honest I left here on the 16th not really wanting to go but I am glad I did. We had a crew of 5 and I was the only one familiar with the area and the style of hunting required so I became a guide of sorts which was fine with me.
We arrived in camp on the 18th and after unpacking we set up a game plan for the hunt. I took one of the members for the first 2 days and after long boat rides I set him up in areas that have always produced success .. He was in awe at how beautiful the area was.
I dropped him off and stopped on a beaver hut to practice my calling which I hadn't used in years. We had a cow tag but I had found through my experience that females without calves will come to the call. I took up a watch about a half mile down river. We didn't see anything that day but my partner sure fell in love with the area.
On day 2 I dropped off the same lad at the same position. My dad and I stored an old aluminum canoe at the mouth of the small river and when I checked sure enough it was still there. Amazing how you can leave things unchained and they are still there years later. I parked the boat and broke out the paddles and toured up and down the river stopping several times to call. I managed to get some pics while I floated around.
I passed my buddy at about 3:30 pm in the afternoon hunt after calling and I didn't get a 1/2 mile away when I heard a shot followed by a pause and then a second. I returned to his watch and he said that about a 1/2 hour after I called and left a lone cow appeared. We both headed over to the area and checked. I found the cow's departure tracks and followed them for approx. 500 yards with no traces of blood - Clean miss. He was pretty bummed and told me to take another member the following day as he thought we had our chance and lost it. I told him that we will see a lot more moose before the week was out.
On day 3 I took the next fella on an even longer trek up lake in the morning and set him up in another sweet area. After dropping him I went into another bay and sat for about 4 hours not seeing anything. I picked my partner up and we headed back towards camp while on route I tapped him on the shoulder and said there's a nice young bull moose. He didn't believe me until I broke out the camera and snapped what I could from an unsteady position. He was sure excited to see it.
I have a comparison test with several sightings that I will put out in another post to get some opinions.
We headed back to camp and topped up our coffee and fuel. The sun was shining for the first time since our arrival and I wanted to get right back out as I know the moose like to sun themselves in the tall grass areas in the bays.
We arrived quite early and I dropped him at another beauty spot and then made several calls and headed across the same bay and took up a watch ensuring that our potential arcs of fire were safe. Approx 45 minutes later a nice cow stepped out of the thick bush approx. 300 yards from me and 180 from my partner. I clicked the button of our radios twice to get his attention and he soon seen the cow. I set myself up to take a shot but really wanted him to fire. After what seemed like an eternity he launched his first round and then 3 more. I was watching through my scope and knew that one of the rounds hit its mark. The cow was now running towards me and I zeroed in for a mid section behind the shoulders shot and pulled the trigger - I could see that my round hit hard as she fell onto her front knees and then got up again. By then round 2 was down range. She went approx. 25 yards and piled up. The lad with me had been moose hunting for 19 years and never so much as fired on a live moose.
When they say the fun is over when the moose goes down - They couldn't be more true. It took the 3 of us almost 7 hours to field dress, load it in the boat and get home. It was very dark by the time we were ready to return to camp and I was quite nervous - Even with my maps. I was forced to rely on the stars training my dad had given me to get us home.
On day 4 for some strange reason no one got out of bed till 9 am - It was from the reasons you are thinking but also the hanging and better field dressing took us until 2 am.
On day 5 I asked the lads if I could head out on the lake by myself to reflect upon the times that my dad and I had on this lake - So a reflection hunt with my dad if you will. I spent 5 hours out on the lake and it was great. I seen 5 moose that morning including a cow, calf (no shot) and the biggest bull I have ever seen on the hoof. He was lying in the tall grass and his paddles were massive. I couldn't get any pics as he winded me right away and decided to take refuge in the deeper bush. My solo tour was outstanding~!
I wrapped up my hunt for 2014 and on the way back I spotted one more moose.
It was a great hunt and decided that I am going to return next year.
The other groups in camp and the surrounding areas were successful as well.
It was an excellent hunt and I am looking forward to next year ....
Now back to deer hunting~!
Cheers,
Robin
