British Columbia Moose

[Alpine01]

Background

I have been a member of HT for about 5 years but this is my first self-initiated thread. I am by no means the most eloquent writer but hopefully the following story is somewhat entertaining.

I am a late comer to hunting having just started in the fall of 2018 at age 53. I can say that watching Randy and his Fresh Tracks is what got me started as the solo backpack hunting approach appealed to my independent nature. And I have found myself following Randy’s footsteps twice now; once by accident with a surprise Wyoming Mule Deer Super Tag in 2019 that took me to southwest Wyoming (got a very nice mature 5x4 buck with twin eye guards) and once by design with this latest trip that took me to the Cassiar Mountains in BC for a moose hunt. Given my late start to accumulating points, this was likely my only way of getting a moose tag in my lifetime.

My plan was to bring back as much meat as possible, so I built a custom cooler for the back of my SUV (400-qt capacity) and loaded it up with ice jugs; packed the rest of my hunting gear and headed out for a 4-day drive to northwestern BC from my home south of Denver, CO. I was booked to hunt with Backcountry BC and Beyond for ten days and with a similar drive back, hopefully with a cooler full of moose, I was expecting to be gone most of the month of September. The hunt was two years in the planning and was started when my very understanding wife gave me a down payment for a moose hunt as a Christmas present.

I won’t go into much detail of the drive up other than to say that Alberta is a very large, mostly flat, province and I never really got into the mountains until after I passed Fort Nelson. I did go through Dawson Creek to get on the ALCAN Highway which was a first for me.

Entering Dawson Creek in the rain.

The Muncho Lake area was also pretty nice and saw caribou, one cow moose, and a bunch of bison going through that area.

 

[Alpine01]

Day 1: Fly-In

The alarm was set for 5:30 am as we were scheduled to meet the plane at 7:00 am. I was awake at 4:45. Fully repacked by 5:10 am. Three of us were flying in, myself and two guys from Texas. Loading the float plane with camp supplies and all of our gear took about an hour. The day was perfect for flying, mostly clear (a rarity I would soon discover), and very little wind.


Our plane into camp at the dock on Day 1.




My view from the co-pilot’s seat. What a view!

After about a 75-minute flight, we arrived at the main camp, unloaded our gear along with the camp supplies that were brought in, and helped out outgoing bow hunter load his gear. Hw was packing out light but it sounded like he had a coupl eof good opportunities that he passed on.


Float plane heading back.

 

[Alpine01]

Day 1: Fly-In Cont.

Backpack hunting in Colorado has helped me reduce my overall gear down to a minimum. For this trip I packed a small duffle bag and my large 7500 cu. in. backpack. In all, excluding my rifle, I was under 55 lbs. in total. As a spike out was likely, I brought my own tent. My rifle was a Kimber Mountain Ascent in 7mm Rem Mag which I developed a load for based on a 150-gr Hornady CX mono-bullet. I have noted in other threads that this combo was regularly shooting 0.5 MOA and I have been practicing with it regularly out to 600 yards.

Our base camp was at one end of the lake we landed on with a smaller lake on the other side and consisted of the guide's cabin and two wall tents that had been set up for us hunters.


Main Camp

The weather forecast for the next day was for rain off and on all day so my guide decided to pack the horses and hit the trail that afternoon to get to our hunting camp where we would spike out for the duration. Glad I brought my own tent! The other two hunters would remain at this main camp as their guide and wrangler were transferring over from another camp and wouldn't be in until late in the afternoon or early evening.

After roughly 8 miles and 4 hours on horseback, we arrived at what would be home for the duration.

Camp: I am in the tipi tent with the guide’s tent next to mine and our wrangler on the outside.

We trailed in with a total of eight horses, three of us riding and 5 pack horses. I was on a horse named “Trigger”. He was a big horse! At 6 feet tall, I could just barely see over his back. Trigger was a very good trail horse. Big, strong, very even natured, but stubborn when it came to going through mucky, boggy areas. At the first sound of sloppy ground, Trigger would head off-trail to find his own path through, mostly at the expense of my knees as going between tightly spaced trees usually afforded the driest route. At camp, our wrangler, a young Dane named Lasse (pronounced Lessor) slept the furthest out so that he could hear any hobbled and belled horses that tried to find their way out of the large meadow behind camp at night and shoo them back in. My guide, Tim, was a Kiwi who has guided in Canada for several years. This was his first year with Backcountry BC so he was still learning this hunting area which would show itself on our second full day of hunting.


View looking out over our lake. The camp and horse meadow is behind us in this view.

 

[Alpine01]

Day 2: Hunt Day 1

Our first day of hunting set the normal routine for the rest of the hunt. Up at 5:30 am, breakfast and coffee over a small fire, and then head out on the horses by daybreak (nominally 7 am). This routine also included updates to the weather forecasts to see if we needed to alter the days plans and to plan the following day’s hunt.

Our first morning out took us roughly three and half miles from camp with the last three quarters of a mile on foot to a glassing knob of conifers that overlooked several small ponds, grassy areas, and willow patches. Nearby tree-lines ranged from half a mile to over two miles out. First impression of hunting this area was that nearly everything is a bog or “wetland” with several inches of standing water, or dense willow patch that could be two feet tall or over six feet tall. Traveling through those patches was tough going. The challenges of stalking a moose once we found one hit home.

We glassed from what I will call “the island” for the entire day. It rained on and off all day. Never real hard rain, but enough to get you wet enough to be miserable without rain gear. I ended up living in my rain gear every day of the hunt, even when it was not raining as the willows and conifers never dried out.


First day hunting and trying to stay dry.

Over the course of the morning and late afternoon/early evening, we glassed up a total of two cows and three young bulls. We were definitely into moose! The closest, a cow, was 1100 yds out. The bulls were all well over a mile and a half away. Late morning and afternoons slowed considerable in terms of anything moving around. We didn't see anything again until after 6 pm. During the last bit of the day, we were able to spot two more cows (maybe the same ones, hard to say) and one new bull that was also pretty small.

We stayed on the island until 8 pm then headed back to camp, ate a quick dinner, and turned in. Our wrangler would spend the day exploring and clearing new trails but also had the job of cook for dinner. Riding back into camp in the dark and seeing the fire from the far end of the lake as we made our way back was always satisfying.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

Following

 

[Alpine01]

Day 3: Hunt Day 2

Over breakfast, Tim asked if I was up for doing some exploring? My response was “Sure, let’s go see what we can find.” Little did we know …

I was on Trigger the previous day but today I am on a smaller horse named “Pickles”. Pickles and I turn out to get along very well. She is unfazed by just about everything, even when the other horses around us are in the midst of a rodeo. We follow the same initial path to the island but about halfway out, we turn SE instead of SW. Most of the trip out is in light rain with occasional short breaks. We ride nearly six miles to a glassing spot that looked promising on the map. This is the first time Tim has come this direction so we are plowing new ground. The spot turns out to be less than ideal. We are overlooking a long, wide, valley that seems promising but the closest we can get to the valley itself is about three-quarters of a mile as there is a significant conifer forest and several cliffs between us and the valley. We glass for about 45 minutes and each turn up a single bull. The first is a small, young bull. The second looks like a solid shooter but is three plus miles across the valley and we are only able to watch him for about a minute before he disappears into the trees. In all, a solid bust and two-thirds of the day is gone.

We decide to turn north and work our way back toward camp, hunting along the way. The first mile is mostly through conifers and higher ground. That is followed by bushwhacking through 6-foot plus willows. When we finally break through the willows, we are faced with crossing a wide, open grassy area. Like other similar open areas, this is mostly bog with small rivulets wandering through it. We get about halfway across and my horse’s front feet suddenly sink and she is chest deep in the muck. A mad scramble ensues and she is able to regain her footing and get upright. I am able to stay in the saddle but just barely. We go another 10-12 feet and down she goes again, this time, her back feet also sink in but quite as deep. No getting out this time! After a couple of wild thrashes, I go over her left should and find myself sitting next to her on the ground. We give each other a look and both of us are of the opinion that we are done with this! Once I am able to stand, I grabbed her lead and was finally able to get her up and out of the hole she is in. We are walking from here on! We slog through another 60-70 yds of the swamp, sinking in nearly up to the top off my boots with each step before getting to somewhat firmer ground. Tim was having the same go of it with his horse and reached the firmer ground just ahead of me. Both horses are dragging from the effort so we continue to walk them to give them a chance to recover.

We finally get to a open clearing with a good view to the southern end of the valley we hunted the day before and sit down to glass. In the roughly hour and a half we are here, we are rained, sleeted, and snowed on. The payoff is seeing one cow moose. We call it a day just before sunset and start the 2-plus hour ride back to camp. We get to camp well after dark, eat a quick hot meal, and crash for the night. The plan hatched over dinner is to rest the horses for a day and hike up to the top of the mountain peak that is behind our camp. This should offer a view into multiple open drainages that Tim has spotted moose in before.

I'll pick up with Hunting Day 3 tomorrow.

 

[F250]

This is good !!!

 

[duckhunt]

This is a great thread. Patiently waiting for updates.

 

[Alpine01]

Day 4: Hunt Day 3

The night’s sleep was interrupted several times by heavy downpours along with the sound of cowbells as a few of the horses kept trying to make their way out of the meadow behind camp. With all the moisture, nighttime condensation was a big problem. My guide and wrangler both had floored tents with a rainfly and experienced condensation issues every night. With my tipi and inner nest, I would get some condensation inside the tipi itself but the inside of my inner tent remained dry throughout the trip. Tipis aren't perfect but I am glad to have it on this trip as the combination of outer/inner tents made the wet conditions a lot more bearable. Being a two-man tent without the hot stove, it also gave me a ton of room to store all of my gear out of the rain.

The overnight rain left us with a dense fog when we got up for breakfast. I could just barely make out the lake that was 50 yards from camp. We decided to hold to the plan from the night before and rest the horses. Breakfast was a little bit more liesurely than normal as there was no need to get up to the glassing spot right at sunrise. Since the horses weren't needed, Lasse was on breakfast duty. His breakfast favorite is pancakes so he decided to cook up those along with some bacon. Cooking pancakes in a skillet over an open fire with no spatula proved to be an interesting show to watch. Eventually he got somewhat of a process down that yielded a pancake but the flavor was there and no one was complaining.

We hiked nearly one and a half miles and gained over 1100 feet to the first peak that offered good views. The first half of the climb is through dense conifer forests and steep as we sought to gain the ridgeline. Once we did that, the remainder of the hike was fairly easy with a steady climb to the top. About two-thirds of the way up, we broke out of the low clouds to a broken cloud cover day. We stopped and glassed for 20 minutes then started out for the second peak that was another half-mile further; dipping down through a saddle and then regaining the elevation we lost. This location offered views into five different valleys; one was a perfect little park less than a half-mile out (down and to the right in the first photo below) with a small pond that screamed moose.


View from our second mountain-top vantage point while we waited for the fog to burn off.

As we waited for the low clouds to clear, we heard a pack of wolves (at least 3-4, perhaps more) off the left point of the nearest mountain in the photo. We never did see them but we found their tracks on a subsequent outing. It took another hour or so for the clouds to begin to clear and the view for glassing was spectacular.


Panorama view of two of the five drainages we were able to glass into.
Over the course of the morning, we spotted several cows and three different young bulls. None were shooters and the closest was a mile and a half out between three small ponds. Like previous days, we weren't seeing any moose activity after around 11 am and the close park that seemed so promising didn’t produce a single animal all day.

We did spot a small herd of caribou shortly after lunch on the neighboring mountain peak. They were feeding in and amongst a shale rock outcropping. The herd had five cows and two decent sized bulls but neither was worth the time and effort to make a stalk on them. About 30 minutes after spotting the caribou, we saw a grizzly bear a couple hundred feet below them walking along the tree line. We were able to watch him for a good 30 minutes before he dropped out of sight into a small drainage. This turned out to be the only bear we saw despite seeing lots of fresh bear sign as were moving from one glassing spot to another.

Moose activity picked up again around 6 pm and we were able to glass up another three cows and one small bull, all of them over two miles out. We also spotted our first real prospect of a shooter; a decent sized bull that was likely in the mid-50 range. He was south of our location and a good three miles away but moving toward our island from day one. The following day was forecast to be a downpour with rain and snow all day so hunting prospects were dim. Finding a good sized bull this evening gave us some hope for Day 6. We packed up and headed back to camp right at sunset.

Day 5: Hunt Day 4

We had set our alarms for 5:30 am as usual in case the weather forecast was wrong. It wasn’t. The rain started in earnest around 9:30 pm the night before and rained steadily all night. When I looked out my tent at 5:30, it had snowed enough to have a good dusting on the ground but we were back to a rain/sleet mixture. We called it a morning and everyone went back to sleep. I was up again at 7:30 am and the rain had switched over to snow with visibility less than 100 yards. This continued throughout the morning as we ping-ponged back and for the between rain/sleet and snow. Breakfast was two granola bars, an apple, and some water.

Around 12:30 pm, the rain quit and the cloud cover rose high enough to have decent visibility. Tim and I discussed options and we both agreed that an afternoon hunt might be successful as the moose would likely be back up and moving around after bedding down to ride out the storm. We grabbed a quick lunch, saddled the horses, and headed off to our island to see if we could call in the bull we had glassed up the evening before. We are at our knob by 2:30 pm and spend the next five hours seeing absolutely nothing. Perhaps Canadian moose don’t quite behave like the elk in Colorado.

The following day is forecast to be partly sunny but windy in the morning followed by wind and rain in the afternoon. Tim is convinced the moose will want to stay in sheltered areas out of the wind so we debate whether to go back to the island where they would be more exposed or hike back up to the mountain top and glass down into the more sheltered drainages. Ultimately we roll the dice and opt to hike back up to the mountain top. If the rain comes in around noon or 1 pm as predicted, we can quickly bail off the mountain and get back to camp in short order.

 

[WNC2500]

Following along! Thanks for sharing.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

Great thread

 

[Sheltowee]

Awe-inspiring scenery. Great camera work!

 

[NEWHunter]

Great thread! Sounds like a fun hunt so far!

 

[Pahoundsman]

Following,great story telling. Thanks for sharing

 

[Alpine01]

Day 6: Hunt Day 5

We are back on top of the mountain as planned shortly after sunrise. No fog this time so we are able to glass as soon as we hit the first open spot. Within 20 minutes we spot a large bull down in a long, dog-leg shaped clearing. From the island, we can see the lower half of the clearing but the upper half is behind the stand of forest at the corner of the dog-leg. Using my OnX app, the bull is roughly 1600 yds from our lower glass point while we can only see the lower 1200 yards or so. From our glassing spot on the mountain, he is 2.9 miles away. With the spotting scope, we convince ourselves he is a mature bull and worth a stalk tomorrow morning. We watched him throughout the morning as he fed back and forth across the upper section of the clearing, never going more than a couple of hundred yards in any direction, and never leaving the area. Ultimately he beds down out of sight along the tree line as we never see him leave the clearing. While watching him, we spot two cows within 200 yds of our lower island spot feeding in the willows. Ultimately, they wander off toward a small stand of conifers as noon approaches. We also spot two more young bulls a couple of miles out in another drainage.

The rain moved in hard shortly after 1 pm and we hustled back down to camp to sit out the storm and plan the next day’s hunt. Both of us were updating our weather apps to see what the next day would be along with the rest of the week as earlier downloads had shown really bad weather moving in the day after (Day 8) and staying that way through the next day (Day 9). The pattern looked to be holding so tomorrow was looking like the last, good, hunting day before we had to pack out and be ready for pickup on Day 10.

Around 7 pm, the rain let up enough to get a fire started and cook a hot dinner. Dinner discussions usually ended up working themselves around to one of two topics; my guide’s distaste for anything associated with nuts and his perspective that mushrooms should be a part of every meal. This particular evening we discussed what to do with the last can of mushrooms, one last onion, and a bit of cream that was left. While I generally stayed out of these conversations, I did offer up that the moose steaks we would have tomorrow night would go great with a mushroom and onion cream sauce. Throw in a little bacon and it should taste good. I was convinced (or at least trying to convince myself) that we would close the deal the following morning. And given the weather coming our way, I was also pretty sure that if we didn’t, the hunt was effectively over. I learned later that both Tim and Lasse were coming to the same conclusion. To say that my sleep that night was restless is a major understatement.

 

[CRJR45]

Nice stuff so far , thanks

 

[Alpine01]

Day 7: Hunt Day 6

I am awake at 5 am even though my alarm is set for 5:30. I am also the last one up. We take our time with breakfast and getting the horses ready. The plan is for Tim and I to ride out to the island and have Lasse go back up onto the mountain top and try to spot the bull if he is in the upper section of the clearing.

The ride goes by quickly as it is now very familiar. We tie up the horses and hike the last three-quarters of a mile to our glassing point. We don’t see either of the cows from the day before as we hike in. Tim gets there ahead of me and before even shedding his pack, let’s out a long cow call. Within three minutes of his call, he yells out “Bull!”.

I am still getting settled in and swapping out layers so I hustle to grab my binos and look in the direction of the long meadow. Sure enough, at the corner of the tree line, a large mature bull has stepped out and starts heading our direction. No way to tell if it is the same bull from the night before or not but the odds are it is. As an aside, looking at OnX that evening, we estimate he was at least 1200-1300 yds out when we made our first cow call.

It is clear immediately the bull is on a rope-line heading our direction. Another minute or two passes and Tim comments that it might be a good idea for me to go ahead and get setup for a shot. I do a quick scan of our area and find a mostly level spot that I can get into a prone shooting position. I throw my pack on top of a small willow bush and get down on the ground with my rifle to see if I can make a shot work. With the slight elevation the knob provides, I am able to get clear sight lines to a wide sweep of the lake and marsh below us. I do have to clear out a few tall will branches and this is done in short order. I am able to range several landmarks with the edge of the pond at 275 yards and several small trees on top of the rise between the lakes between 325 and 400 yds. The small pond behind the rise is roughly 600 yards out. I am also able to range the bull for the first time at 875 yards. In the span of just a few minutes, he has covered over 300 yards and doesn’t look to be slowing down.

Tim asks how far I am comfortable shooting and I tell him that if I can get a good, stable setup, I am comfortable out to 500-600 yards as this is what I regularly practice at during my shooting sessions at home. And my setup is solid with my backpack as my front rest and my hunting jacket balled up as a rear bag.

I am able to watch him through my scope and he stops twice to rake the willow brushes before disappearing behind the rise. He’s now within 600 yards but the question/concern is where will he pop up? Will he? Another 20-30 seconds pass and Tim whispers “I see his antlers!” He is still on a beeline to our location and when he finally comes into full view, he is just to the right of one of the small trees I ranged earlier.

Tim asks “Is he big enough for you?” and I answer “Hell yes. Let’s take him!”

The bull advances a couple of more steps then stops and stares right at us. We are frozen, hoping he hasn’t seen or winded us. What little wind existed was blowing from our right to left. After a few more seconds, the bull turns to his right (our left) and takes a few steps. “Think he will come closer?” I ask. “Or take him now?” Tim’s response is just “If you are comfortable, take him.” My internal debate kicks up and I range him once more – 375 yards. Tim must have been doing the same as he whispers “375 yards” at the same time I get my reading. Tim – “Are you comfortable?” I didn’t reply as I was too busy focusing on my breathing. The bull takes another couple of steps. “Are you comfortable?” “Yep” I reply. “But I need him to take a step or two forward, his vitals are covered up by that small tree.” As I finish my comment, the bull starts moving again but doesn’t immediately pause after the first two steps. Tim cow calls again to get his attention and hopefully stop him. It has the intended effect and the bull stops offering a perfect broadside. “I’m shooting!”

I aim for the breadbasket for a heart/lung shot; my normal approach when elk hunting and squeeze off the first round. The recoil takes my scope off target but Tim calls out “You hit him! It was low, reload and aim higher!” I fire a second shot, aiming for a high shoulder point thinking this will get me into the lungs if the first shot was low. “You hit him again!” he calls. I rack a third round and get the scope back on him in time to see him tip over.

The following minutes are high fives, handshakes, and a huge sense of relief. I have my moose! I check my phone as I send a message home “Moose Down!” It is 8:46 am. The whole sequence took less than 20 minutes from first cow call to moose on the ground.

After a few minutes to let the adrenaline taper off, I asked Tim if he saw the first impact.

Tim - “I did. It was right in crease behind his shoulder."
Me – “That’s exactly where I was aiming!”
Tim – “I always go for a high shoulder shot so your shot was low.”
Me – “I aimed high shoulder for the second shot, where did it hit?”
Tim – “High shoulder where I wanted it.”

We packed up and headed over to find the bull. Unfortunately, neither of us made a mental note of a clear landmark where we saw the bull tip over. We slogged through the grassy marsh that had standing water 4 inches deep and sinking another 4-6 inches with every step. No way to get the horses to the moose, we would be packing at back across to a spot that was dry and firm enough for the horses. A problem to be solved later. We got to the general area and started searching. The willows were 3-4 feet high so it wasn’t going to be clear from any distance where he was. Fifteen minutes of looking and we still hadn’t found him.

Tim asked “Have you ever shot anything with your all-copper bullets?”
“Nope, this was the first.” I answered.

You could see the panic start to creep in that the bullets didn’t do their job. Five minutes later, Tim calls out “Found him!” His first comment when I finally caught up to him was that he was getting worried about my choice in bullets.

Walking up on him was an amazing feeling. He was huge! I can’t describe the sense of awe, relief, happiness in fulfilling a personal goal, and recognition of the hard work in front of us that swirled in my head as I looked at him.



First pics of my bull.

After lots of picture taking, we looked for where the bullets hit. The first hit roughly 2 inches to the right of where I aimed and the second was a perfect high shoulder shot. Both were complete pass-throughs. Tim had pinged Lasse to let him know we had a moose down so that he could bring the pack horses out. He also asked that we hold off quartering him up so that Lasse could see a moose down as this would be his first. Since the day was cold (high 30’s), I was good with that.


Waiting for our wrangler and pack horses.

Our view from where we found my moose. You can see the right most third of the “island” we glassed from in the lower left with the conifers.

 

[Pahoundsman]

Congrats on a successful hunt and a great write up

 

[sneakypete]

Congrats

 

[CT_SD]

Congratulations. Awesome story and pictures