What a hunt people what a hunt.. We had quite the experience this year,, a lifetime of memories. Do to my work schedule we had to head out a week earlier than we like to this year and as you all know it was crazy warm to boot, night and day. Our nights only cooled down to 5 or 6deg never mind the plus 20’s during the days. We had one morning of frost the whole week and one day of a cool rain, not what we would call prime moose calling weather. But we made the best of it an as luck would have it we did have some decent calling action as a matter of fact the best action I have ever experienced in the 32 years I have been pursuing these animals. This year it was my oldest son Jesse and my youngest Sam who is 15 and my bro in-law and his son came along and hunted together as well. This year Sam had his draw so it was all about him getting his first moose, well for Jesse and I it was.
 It took us a couple days to get on them and find where we had some active bulls. I will say we have noticed a definite decline in animals in the area,, the Wolf population is getting right out of hand around the area I mean right out of hand. The lines a literally covered in wolf dung, old and new. In fact the bro in-law and I both had wolfs come to the moose call, a first for me. The boys and I were able to connect on two decent grays, one was bleeding good but stopped after a while and we lost the trail but I rest easy at night knowing it surly died of led poisoning through the night. The other we skinned out and will be on display on my wall shortly. Three of them came out down the line about 200 yards from us while I was calling and turned right towards us and started trotting our way, I told the boys lets hit em hard boys, we all let fly and connected on the two.
The moose calling wasn’t overly busy but steady enough. I called one in on the third night and again the sixth morning and two the sixth and last night. Wednesday night (the 3rd night) was calm and cool a perfect calling night, we were set up at one of our favorite calling spots,, an old beaver dam, a spot that had some good sign of a definite active bull. I started calling as usual around 5:30 p:m and it wasn’t until around 7:30 until he gave us an answer but when he did he was coming strong from the west with a heavy deep grunt with every step, smashing everything in his path, you would of swore he was driving a dozer. I thought I had em good, but no way,, He came to the edge of the big timber and held up about 500 yards out. He didn’t wind us we had that in our favour I don’t know he just held up. He was pretty quiet he would break the odd stick but remained quiet. As it turned out we ran out of daylight. Around 8:00 we backed off quiet and left him for morning. Well wouldn’t you know it come morning it was blowing hard, by 6:00 a:m the wind was whipping. We still went in and tried but no way,, no luck. Friday it was raining but again we went after him called in the morning for 3hrs with no response and again that night until dark with no response very discouraging. But by this time this turned into a personal thing for me,, I wasn’t on a quest for a moose, I was on a quest for this moose !! Saturday our last day of the hunt broke clear and cold, even a touch of frost in the low ground. Into our spot we went, got in position by 6:45 and started the calling. Around 8:00 I finally got a response out of him,, and again he was coming in strong, a wicked woof,, woof with every step, smashing trees on his way in.. He came to the edge of the big timber and held up,, we waited him out for two hrs without a sound, I knew he was there because we never heard him leave. After the first hr I tried to challenge him but no way,, not a sound. I even gave him one of my best lonely sexy calls to the ground,, gets them every time but no way. Around 10:30 he started to grunt again and break sticks,, right on boys I whispered we got him now but no way,, the sound was getting quieter,, he was moving away and sure enough the sound faded and he was gone,, what the heck man All I figure is he must have had a cow that he left and didn’t want to leave her. Back to camp for lunch and we packed a few things up to get ready for the tear out the next morning and I tried my best to keep my boys spirit up, not that they felt all that bad they were content to have had the experiences that we had with the bull, but still we were a bit down it definitely looked like we were going home without this year. With spirits rejuvenated we headed out later in the day for the evening call. Started our usual time around 5:30, called until about 7:00 until again we got an answer but this time it was from the south east  and it sounded different than our bull, but a bull and coming strong none the less. He came to within about 5 – 600 yards and turned and started to circle down wind and he had a bit of a breeze I will say. I quickly lit a couple smoke sticks to help cover our scent, he crossed the line just around a bend and we couldn’t get a line on him. He crossed the line and held up in some thick timber down wind and would give a good grunt and break the odd stick just to let us know he was there. With our attention heavily focussed on him,, all of a sudden from behind us (the west) came the God awfullest grunt/growl you ever heard,, my bull was back !! and mad. Boys you never heard anything like it, this thing sounded more like a pizzed off King Kong than a moose. He was coming in hard and mean I swear he must have been leaving a path of tooth picks in his wake.. Well I have to tell you all we were some excited men in the bush, eyes as wide as saucers. I told the boys we will just wait it out and see if we can get them to meet. The big brute from the west again came to the edge of the big timber and held up and was challenging the bull to the east, he would grunt and smash trees and go quiet and listen then the bull to the east would give a couple and smash some trees as he slowly started to work his way around us to the north and circle around to the bull to the west. We heard him cross the beaver dam and work his way through the thick spruce taking quite a few limbs on his walk, all of this out of our site but very close I would say within 150 yards but yet out of site. He slowly worked his way around us and to the west side and as he started to work towards the bull to the west the bull to the west backed off. We could hear him start to grunt again and slowly the grunts got quieter and faded away. Well with him out of the way I gave my sexy call to the ground and sure enough we could hear him turn and start for us. We waited on pins and needles wondering where is he going to come out, sure enough about 100 yards right in front of us to the dead west he poked out of the willows. There he is Sam I shouted, up with my old .270 Remi 760 pump he was, wham one good one to the ribs,, hit him again Sam we hollered,, wham one more to the neck and down the old bull went. I checked my watch just to make sure because we lost track of time it was 7:45,, just a few minutes left on the last night of the hunt. Wow is all we could say. We went up and checked him out good and a whole lot of hugs later we walked out to the quads and gathered our gear and got ready for the dressing. What an experience for us all man it was wild, one cannot explain the intense noise and action we experienced that evening in the bush,, it was border line scary man,, not quite but very close to it.
Well there it is,, sorry for the long winded story boys but there was only one way to tell it and that was the right way. Here are a few picks of the trip.


The camp this year. We had two 14x16 tents set up, one for a bunk house the second for the kicthen.



The boys and the Wolf.



Had to get my mug in there.



My tools of choice,, took the '06 this year.



Doing my thing, talking to the animals.



Sammy on watch,, this is the side the bull crossed by us on the north side just inside these thick spruce.



The view to the west, the big poplar in the back is where the big bull would come and hold up on us and not leave.



And finnaly The boys with the bull, Sam is on our left. You will have to exuse the lighting, by the time we got over to the bull had a good look over it and talked a bit, then collected our gear and walked back out to where we parked the quads then got back in to the bull and got organized for pics it got pretty dark.

Great story sounds like a fantastic trip congrats!!

Great story and thanks for sharing!  Congrats on the moose and great memories.

Great story sounds like a fantastic trip congrats!! x2

Right on Terry!  Heck of a story for sure.  Too bad you didn't get a look at the other bull too.  It was early in the rut and I bet this week they would be more aggressive.  Looks like a bruiser of a wolf.

Can't wait to get out with my bull tag in November.  I am getting everything ready now.  We are doing two wall tents this year just like you guys.

Got any pics of how you laid the inside of the wall tent (wood stove)?  Always interesting to see how other guys rig things up.

Cheers and congrats,

Dave.

Thx guys..

Here are a couple pics for you Dave. We had plenty of room for everyone with room for one more easily.

Inside of bunk house.





And inside kicthen.





Got er all cut and ground up today, its in the freezer and ready for winter.
Gettin the little Grand Daughter broke in early lol.

How big is that wall tent Terry?

great pics and an even better story to go along with them... congrats to you and your boys on a hunt well done


good eating
John

IF !!! the work schedule holds I will have off from Oct 18th - 30th and then again from Nov 15th - 27th. So hope to get out around home with the bow in Oct and yah we will hit them hard in Nov. My days off fall on prime time. But like I said thats if the schedule holds. They are looking at bringing in another rig around then so it might change. I have stressed as well as I could that I am not interested in any change until the begining of Dec but we will see. Will be chasing them around home and heading up on the weekends aroud La Biche with the boy,, should be a good fall.

The old man is going to kick ass this fall...

Thanks for the great story and congratulations on a great bull. I probably won't get to hunt moose this year so reading your story and seeing the pics helps to get me a bit of a moose "fix" lol. Thanks again.

Good work on the moose. Better yet u saved more than u took with the reduction in wolves. Awesome.

Lol thats kind of what I told the boys.. This was our 8th year in this area and we have taken 12 or 13 bulls out of there.. I told the boys this is our way to give back to the animals for providing for us over the years. 2 wolfs,, 5 each a year so thats 10 moose saved,, not quite even but close.. Hey its got to be good for the mojo no ??