Well with work being so busy this year(i am an appraiser and the farm claims due to the harvest from hell had me running hard) and not getting out for my first hunt until the second last Saturday of November. In the end that gave me 3 days, 2 Saturdays and I hunted the afternoon on the 29th and the Sunday prior I did a morning till 1 ish hunt.
I was able to get my 83 yr old uncle out for a day up north that first Saturday and that was great. The rest was walking the trails at our moose spot east of Edmonton looking for a decent WT. Deer trails and tracks abound but the rut seemed to be over and the fresh sign was slim. Seen a beauty of a cow moose and her 1st year twins that morning walk and a bunch of grouse. That walk was 10 kms and I felt it the next day.
The Friday afternoon was spent watching a big beaver pond with ridges surrounding it. My friends property and there is a spot in the willows he made that we keep clear to watch this area. I sat there till dark, not a creature was stirring.
The next morning and last day found me pulling up to the cabin, which is beside another huge beaver pond only to see a cow and calf moose and a lone cow on the pond edge. I got out to have a look with the binos and the far single cow trotted off right across a little draw of water and down she went when she slipped on the ice. I was worried she might break a leg but thankfully she got up and trotted off no worse for the wear. As I walked to the south and toward that look out point, I took the eastern trail that followed the low spots between the 3 ponds. Another cow moose on the other side. A few steps more and I seen her fresh tracks coming from the other way, she must have heard me crunching in the snow and went to the east side.
100 yrds later I was at the look out and didn't spend much time there, wind was east west so I figured I would go see what tracks were at an old well site. Upon getting back to the main trail, I was just heading down the hill and I jumped a deer. As it ran away it did the head dip under brush but I never seen horns. It went west and the wind was going west so I pulled back, went down another hill to a lower trail that follows this hill the deer was on. I slowly walked in the soft snow to the far west trail, headed up it to the south and found a well used game trail just past my friends tree stand. I stopped above the game trail and listened. Nada. But It was a nice morning, I knew a deer was on this hill so I waited.
About 5 mins later a crashing noise comes to my right. A doe is moving along at a good clip and right on her ass is a small 4 point but tall buck. I knew right away he would live so as the doe goes down this game trial within 5 ft of me, I grunt at the buck. He stops dead, just like the many videos I have seen but never had happen to me. Only problem, his head is behind a big poplar. I can't see his head, he can't see me. So after about a minute, my brain says, maybe you should take your gun off your shoulder and be ready in case you mistook his actual size. As soon as I slid the rifle off my shoulder he turned and blew at me all the way back up the hill. I got a good look at him from the back. Ya he was safe. But fun fun. He will be a nice 4x4 one day.
I watched the trail for 20 mins as I thought he would for sure want to get back on that doe but he never came. I circled the hill back to my spot and never seen a fresh track out of there but the snow was not great to show tracks anymore. No matter, I had my fun.
Walked north and across the road to the bush my son got his 54 inch bull on. Took the same grown in line we got mr big on as we always see deer on it but nada. Looped around on that side for an hour and back to the truck for lunch and a quick snooze in the sun & with the heater on to warm up.
Now what to do for the last couple hours. I thought I would walk south as the wind was right and I could go to the far 4th pond, we always see big bulls there and the bucks make scrapes on a hill I can see from that look out. All the way there and not a fresh track, scrape or trail. No sightings either. So now I have just over an hour. Back to the truck, leave the rattling horns and figure I would go back across the road and watch the only game trail that had fresh deer tracks till dark. Whatever walked west in the am may come back at dark. Seeing the cams had some nice bucks early on, maybe I would get lucky.
Well as I am walking down the trail to the spot where I wanted to be, I come through a bog and up onto a hill and look NW. Well that's a huge moose I say to myself, Yukon body sized Moose standing broadside. The binos told the tale.
3 bulls were bedded down on a knowle about 200 yrds out in the thickest stuff. I walked this same line back to the truck 4 hrs earlier. They were not there then lol. So one bull was bedded sideways with the other beside him. Giving the Yukon moose size impression. Well the one facing me was 50 plus, the one bedside him was a solid 50 and the one bedded sideways had his head behind a tree and all I could see from time to time was his eye guard horn. It was thick like my 44 inch bull so I assumed he was a 30 to 40 incher.
Now what, my game trial watch plans were 100 yrs past the bulls and it ran along a bog and beside them. If I walked to the spot I wanted to watch from, I would for sure jump the bulls and they would run west. If they kept trucking, they would hit the range road pretty quick and with all the trucks I kept hearing running the roads, the last thing I wanted to do was push one of these big boys to his fate. They survived 3 months of hunting, not gonna have one get shot with 40 mins left on my watch.
So I watched them for a few more mins as the wind was hard in my face and they could not smell me, so I left them bedded and backed out and went back to the look out knowing full well my short season was about to end like the last few. Tag soup.
I had that Moose draw last year and although I had some 50 incher's in front of me during the bow season, none were never closer than 100 yrds, most were 200 yrds out. Rifle came and not one decent bull was seen in November. My goal was to beat my 44 inch bull as we had meat in the freezer so the dink bull I seen got a pass. What's that saying, things you see when you don't have a tag
Never in my 30 plus years have I had to wait that long to get out but I shut it down happy with the moose sightings(Moose are my thing and favorite hunt) and the fun with that buck. I got to use my sneaking skills a bit. I am not one to come home all mopy when the season ends. I am always happy to just get out in the woods. I do miss my wall tent in October hunts and a crackling wood stove. Been thinking of setting it up in spring at our moose camp but use the sleds and go in for a weekend and scout and get my tent fix.
There is one unexpected highlight to this season, piggies have been seen on camera this Nov
So we will be hoping to catch one out during the day this winter.
