First time moose hunting!

[Rhinocesaurus]

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw I drew a moose tag in SW Montana, not far from my home in Missoula.

I’ve been diving deep into research both here and elsewhere and will be speaking with the biologist, but would love to discuss privately with others who have hunted Shiras.

Thanks!

 

[BrowningCitori]

Is there a write up on this hunt? How did it turn out

 

[Bluffgruff]

Is there a write up on this hunt? How did it turn out

Nah

 

[Rhinocesaurus]

I honestly forgot I posted this and it’s been a wild fall, thanks for the reminder!


I bought some game cameras and used them for the first time while summer scouting. This was a fun experience in itself and a little bit of a learning curve, but glad I have them now. I tried a few different areas for the cameras and would keep them in one spot for 2 weeks, then move to another area. I ended up heavily focusing on one particular area I was certain held moose, confirmed by others I talked to who were familiar with the unit. However, in hindsight I put too much emphasis on this area and should have expanded. I never caught a single moose on camera in that particular area, but did learn some habits of the elk in that spot. I also got a really good laugh when the “game trail” I set it up on during one rotation turned out to also be an outfitter trail and they all gave me some fun waves and faces when they were headed in to set up camp for the season.

I took a week off work the first week of October and an old friend was able to join me on the hunt. We saw a cow right off the road on the first day so we thought that would be a good omen. I started off with the more remote spots and as the days went by we found that there were only two meadows where we consistently saw moose and sign. By the 4th day we decided the remote spots were not worth it and solely focused on the 2 meadows. Unplanned and very conveniently, our camp was the middle point between each meadow - about a 15-20 minute drive to each one. At both locations we had easy to hike to glassing spots where we had excellent visibility into the meadows. Unfortunately both those spots were across a road from the meadows so I couldn’t take a shot from either one. On day 6, it was like a switch flipped and we saw our first bull! I put on a stalk, but wasn’t able to get a clear shot before he spooked back into the timber. Hunting in those willow patches is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be! That evening I stayed at that meadow and my buddy went to the other one. When he came back to pick me up I told him no luck and was afraid we pushed him out of the area. I asked how it went for him and he said he didn’t see much…except 2 new bulls! One of them was a dandy and the other a young one.

We made a plan for the next morning where he would go up to glassing spot and I would venture into the willows. We came up with a hand signal system so he could guide me around. I was in position at first light and he indicated he could see the big bull. The wind kept switching directions so I was having a difficult time picking my angle in to him. I knew I was close, heard a grunt in front of me, then saw a cow trot to my right about 30 yards away. He signaled for me to move forward and to my right, but I only saw to the right. At that moment the wind was going to my right so I circled around to come in for the shot, but there were no moose. Turns out the bull was where the cow came from and had I gone where my buddy intended for me to go, I would’ve been 15-20 yards from him by the time I cleared the willow patch. Unfortunately while I circled around the bull snuck left and we never saw him again.

7th day we checked both meadows and didn’t see anything. I was crushed that I had missed two opportunities, but had to admit it had so far been a fun and thrilling experience. Our last morning we decided we would check both meadows and if we didn’t see anything, pack up camp in the afternoon so we could make it back to Missoula that evening and he would start the long drive to his home the next day.

First meadow we saw nothing. We headed over to the next meadow and on our way there we saw the “medium” sized bull we had seen on day 6 walking on private ground, but heading for the public about 500 yards away! We hurried up ahead to get in position, hoping he would continue up to us. As we were getting set up, the smallest bull suddenly popped out 50 yards away coming from the opposite direction heading towards the medium bull. At that moment I had a lot of pros and cons going through my mind. This was the smallest bull by far, but an easy take and close to the road. I could hold out for the bigger bull, but what if the other bull changed directions since these two might meet on private? I could also hold out since I still had 6 weeks left of the season, but this was the last day I had guaranteed help for packing. This all ran through my head in about 3 seconds and I decided I wanted a bull more than I wanted a big bull so I pulled the trigger. He was so close when I shot, he ran past me and headed for the creek. Fortunately right before the bank broke away to the water, he reared up and fell back on flat ground. We both started hollering out screams of joy and triumph for the roller coaster of a week we just had. The rest of the day was spent processing and cleaning up camp and talking about the week of fun we just had.

I recently spoke with fwp when they called for the survey and they said the other tag holder for the unit got a really nice bill very close to where we got ours on the only day he hunted. Apparently they even found a wolf’s tooth embedded at the base of one of the antlers! I never did get to see that big bull and my buddy never took a picture because he was certain I was going to shoot it, so hopefully I can see his trophy some day. All in all, it was one of my favorite hunts I’ve been on. I learned a whole hell of a lot about moose and hope I get to go on another moose hunt even if it’s not me holding the tag. My friend and I used to hunt all the time growing up and haven’t hunted together in years due to life, so just getting to have that experience with him was a real treat. Moose meat might be my new favorite!