CMF
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2019
- Messages
- 119
That's Awesome! Congrats! On my list of hunts for sure, I've only got a few points in the bank tho...
Chasing a Dream - Maine Moose Hunt
- Thread starter SC Living Outdoors
- Start date
txco
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2017
- Messages
- 285
Way to go!
OverlordBear
Well-known member
Amazing hunt and an amazing bull this has my wheels turning about how to make Maine a reality.
I have been applying in Maine for over 20 years and the closest I have come to drawing I was chosen as the number 44 alternate. Always fun applying and hoping.Back in June I was working a long weekend when I received a message on my phone informing me that I’d drawn a Maine bull moose permit. I’m pretty sure I audibly whispered “No way”. It was a cool moment but this dream started a long time before that. My mom is from Northern Maine. She and my dad moved down to South Carolina before I was born. Every summer or 2 our family would load up in our mini van and make the 20+ hour drive up to visit my grandparents. I really really enjoyed our trips to up there. My grandpa was a fantastic woodworker with a whole basement full of tools so I would get to work with him and he’d always give me a new tool to take home. Another reason I really enjoyed my time in Maine was because I always got to go fishing and I always asked to go look for moose. I knew I wanted to hunt them one day.
In 2012 I began applying. I told my mom I knew it was a long term goal, but I hoped I could draw while I could still walk. Well in 2018 I did draw. I drew a cow tag in an area just north of where I used to go with my family and see moose. I was so excited for that cow tag. My buddy and I went up and scouted for 2.5 days. Opening morning I killed a big beautiful cow. The hunt was amazing and the meat was phenomenal.
Maine has a penalty box when you draw a moose permit. You’re not allowed to be entered in the draw again for 3 years, but you are allowed to purchase a point. Every year I would buy my point and enter my wife in the draw. Last year I started applying again, but this time I would check the box saying I would only accept a bull tag.
That brings us back to the beginning of my story. I drew a bull tag in Northern Maine in a phenomenal zone. I couldn’t believe it. I started texting people and I received a plethora of responses most of which remarked on my Irish Heritage and Leprechaun ancestors. One of my friends is good friends with a bear/moose guide in the area I drew. He spoke extremely highly of him having multiple successful hunts. I was fully planning on doing the hunt diy but the guide offered me a good deal with a new nice log cabin to stay in. I felt like it was too good of a deal to turn down. I was very confident I could kill a bull, but I didn’t know what my odds of finding a big bull would be. Size wasn’t the most important thing on my hunt but I wanted to do the hunt justice and kill a mature bull. I decided I would spring for the hunt and book with him. My buddy, Greg, told me he would come out from AZ and go with me. Our plans were set.
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
Missed this the first time around. Congrats on a great moose and a fun trip! This part of the country is hard to beat in early October!
Great job
I look forward to applying in Maine every year, hopefully one year soon, before I get too old.
