I knew this year would be different back in March when I decided to put in for a once in a lifetime tag. My wife has been putting in for bull moose. I didn't really want to chance her drawing a bull moose and me drawing a sheep or goat tag because I knew we wouldn't have time to do both hunts justice so cow moose was an obvious choice. I knew it was long odds but I figured it was worth a try. Then in April while setting up for our RMEF banquet one of the guys said the OIL results were out. I was excited and disappointed all at the same time when I discovered I had drawn but she had not.
My original plan was to go after elk and deer with my bow but after drawing the moose tag I rearranged my schedule to dedicate more time to moose hunt. The hot weather and a minor injury pretty much took me out of bow season all together. I went in to my moose hunt with moose elk and deer tags in my pocket. Day 1 was spent figuring out where all the people were. Day 2 was spent getting away from the people. My wife and I hiked just over 11 miles. We succeeded ingetting away from the people but didn't see any moose in a canyon normally full of them. Day 3 hunting moose I filled my deer tag with a buck that made it so easy to put him in the freezer I couldn't pass him up.
It seemed like getting the deer tag out of the way made it easier to ignore deer and my next trip up the mountain provided a few moose sightings. I was trying for a young moose or a dry cow. Everything I saw was either a bull or a cow with a young calf and they were all right off the roads. I had several opportunities at cows with cute miniature versions of themselves but I knew I would come across what I was after sooner or later. On the 5th day hunting I was watching a cow calf about 30 yards above the road. My wife and kids were with me and they enjoyed listening to the little chirps the calf made. I looked down below the road and saw a moose looking up at me from less than 40 yards through the trees. I grabbed my binoculars and was surprised to see it had stubby little 3 inch antlers. Then I started second guessing myself, I was pretty sure I could take a bull with antlers under 6 inches but not sure enough. I drove 3 minutes up the hill, downloaded the regs, confirmed it was a legal bull under 6 inches and drove the 3 minutes back. The cow with the calf had hardly moved but the little bull had found a way to disappear in what was pretty much wide open country! I hiked up and down the drainage with no luck. I went around to the opposite side where I could see the entire hill side. I was able to watch the cow and calf move around until the light faded but the little bull never showed back up.
Day 6. I was solo for the day and decided to go back up and watch for the little bull. I'd spent the night kicking myself for second guessing what I knew about antler restrictions. I had read the regs cover to cover half a dozen times and I shouldn't have given it a second thought. I had just turned the corner into the draw a ridge over from where I saw the little bull. I had watched a cow and calf in the bottom of this draw the day before so I wasn't surprised to see moose on the open hill side above the road. I was surprised to see 3 of them.
I paralleled them for a ways but couldn't get a good shot before they crossed over an old road above me. I stayed about 100 yards behind and below them until I was about 10 yards above the old road. As I followed the old cow with a calf would walk up the hill and every time the young moose would get close the cow would rear up and chase the young moose a few yards away. I had a big rock for a rest and a 120 yard shot at what looked like a young cow standing slightly quartered away. The 180 grain Acubond hit exactly where I wanted it to. The moose humped up took 2 small hops and was upside down before I could get another shot off. My shot had obliterated the heart and part of the lungs. When I got up to it I realized it was the same small bull I had seen the night before. I was able too drag him down hill and because of the steepness of the hill I was able to load him whole into the truck by myself. The chiropractor will love this story. It wasn't the back country adventure I had planned on day 2 but it was pretty cool. I had him in the truck by 11:30. He was skinned and hanging in a cooler a few hours later. I took some of the trimmings from the tenderloins and made tartare. This may be the best tasting meat I've ever eaten.
Now I just have my muzzleloader elk tag to fill. With any luck I'll go three for three this weekend. I'll post some pics when I get back next week.
My original plan was to go after elk and deer with my bow but after drawing the moose tag I rearranged my schedule to dedicate more time to moose hunt. The hot weather and a minor injury pretty much took me out of bow season all together. I went in to my moose hunt with moose elk and deer tags in my pocket. Day 1 was spent figuring out where all the people were. Day 2 was spent getting away from the people. My wife and I hiked just over 11 miles. We succeeded ingetting away from the people but didn't see any moose in a canyon normally full of them. Day 3 hunting moose I filled my deer tag with a buck that made it so easy to put him in the freezer I couldn't pass him up.
It seemed like getting the deer tag out of the way made it easier to ignore deer and my next trip up the mountain provided a few moose sightings. I was trying for a young moose or a dry cow. Everything I saw was either a bull or a cow with a young calf and they were all right off the roads. I had several opportunities at cows with cute miniature versions of themselves but I knew I would come across what I was after sooner or later. On the 5th day hunting I was watching a cow calf about 30 yards above the road. My wife and kids were with me and they enjoyed listening to the little chirps the calf made. I looked down below the road and saw a moose looking up at me from less than 40 yards through the trees. I grabbed my binoculars and was surprised to see it had stubby little 3 inch antlers. Then I started second guessing myself, I was pretty sure I could take a bull with antlers under 6 inches but not sure enough. I drove 3 minutes up the hill, downloaded the regs, confirmed it was a legal bull under 6 inches and drove the 3 minutes back. The cow with the calf had hardly moved but the little bull had found a way to disappear in what was pretty much wide open country! I hiked up and down the drainage with no luck. I went around to the opposite side where I could see the entire hill side. I was able to watch the cow and calf move around until the light faded but the little bull never showed back up.
Day 6. I was solo for the day and decided to go back up and watch for the little bull. I'd spent the night kicking myself for second guessing what I knew about antler restrictions. I had read the regs cover to cover half a dozen times and I shouldn't have given it a second thought. I had just turned the corner into the draw a ridge over from where I saw the little bull. I had watched a cow and calf in the bottom of this draw the day before so I wasn't surprised to see moose on the open hill side above the road. I was surprised to see 3 of them.
I paralleled them for a ways but couldn't get a good shot before they crossed over an old road above me. I stayed about 100 yards behind and below them until I was about 10 yards above the old road. As I followed the old cow with a calf would walk up the hill and every time the young moose would get close the cow would rear up and chase the young moose a few yards away. I had a big rock for a rest and a 120 yard shot at what looked like a young cow standing slightly quartered away. The 180 grain Acubond hit exactly where I wanted it to. The moose humped up took 2 small hops and was upside down before I could get another shot off. My shot had obliterated the heart and part of the lungs. When I got up to it I realized it was the same small bull I had seen the night before. I was able too drag him down hill and because of the steepness of the hill I was able to load him whole into the truck by myself. The chiropractor will love this story. It wasn't the back country adventure I had planned on day 2 but it was pretty cool. I had him in the truck by 11:30. He was skinned and hanging in a cooler a few hours later. I took some of the trimmings from the tenderloins and made tartare. This may be the best tasting meat I've ever eaten.
Now I just have my muzzleloader elk tag to fill. With any luck I'll go three for three this weekend. I'll post some pics when I get back next week.
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