49 degrees N moose!

[fireguy459]

So yeah i am finally getting around to finishing the story of my 2013 49 degrees north moose hunt. After getting back from the hunt, cutting meat, heading back out to help friends, helping my wife get her elk and finally making it back to work i finally made some time to post the story. So as stated before we arrived 5 days early to scout and figure out the lay of the land. we were able to find moose everyday. I attempted to video every moose that i saw so i had something to review the night before season and judge what i should be looking for over the next couple of days. The night before season you could find me glued to a tv screen reviewing the videos and tearing each moose apart both big and small. I initially had a goal of over 46 double fronts and wide palms. As i reviewed the video i couldn't help but drool over the moose that we had seen the day before season which i could have shot a million times. He was very wide, had double fronts and had points that looked like an elk. I agreed that even though he wouldn't score great I would take him just to have the discussion piece hanging on the wall.  Opening day at light we spotted a moose that was around 40 with great heavy double fronts. He just wasn't wide enough to shoot on opening day. That afternoon we helped a guy pull his moose he had shot up to the road so he didn't have to try and dress it on a steep hillside. (more importantly i wanted to see what one looked like on the ground). The bull we saw opening morning would be our only moose opening day. Day two brought us into seeing two small bulls right after daybreak. I had a multi season deer tag and decided to take the muzzleloader along just in case. I had been talking to quadcrazy69 and whitpirate on the forum and we had been talking about helping each other out and during my first meeting with these two at a pretty random location they were able to watch me get a bonus buck. So back to moose hunting we went finally. over the next couple days I saw a few small bulls and one of the days i saw 8 different cows all by themselves which seemed weird and up until that day i had only seen 1. Thursday evening I saw a shooter bull about the time i saw him he walked to the other side of a thick creek bed and between the vegetation around the creek and the thick timber i was standing in the only thing i could see on him was his rack. He turned and walked into the timber. As i slowly crossed the creek I spotted the two cows he was with and they were on the move. I called and they continued to move. knowing that they typically don't go far i took my time and went slow. as luck would have it that would be the last time i saw that bull. He vanished into thin air or thick timber whichever u prefer! The next day I decided to take a bike ride into a different area and see what that had to offer. I did see a few respectable bulls but again nothing that really stood out especially seeing the bull the night before. So Saturday came and our camp went from 5 people to 2. My dad and I were the only ones left. We decided to check out an area we hadn't been yet. After a little father/son discussion about which way was the right way to get into where we wanted to go we ended up on a sh***y road. we went 200 yards and of course my dad who's idea it was in the first place said we should turn around. Well i told him to quit being a Nancy (I used a different word) and go a little further. Well the road didn't get any better and actually got worse. about a half mile later we can to a wide spot and i told him alright this sucks turn around to which he naturally said oh hell no you wanted to keep going so were gonna keep going. well the road finally started to flatten out. Both of us at the same time said which we had joked about throughout the week that the area looked pretty "moosey". my dad looked down and said hey those look like fresh tracks. I hopped out of the truck to take a look sure enough they were pretty fresh. we stood there for a minute and i decided what the hell i might as well try and call. Not mid call does a bull start going ballistic! he is behind a stand of timber and i cant see him but all i can imagine is him coming out of the timber stand 10 feet from me. I slide to the right and find an opening and still the bull is calling over and over. about that time i see what looks like a bird flap its wings in the opening and all the sudden a cow stands up and then another. Neither of them have a clue i am there. Well they work to another timber stand to the right and i assume the bull would probably follow them. He did exactly that. I looked at him and he was not the shooter i was looking for he was average width, he had single fronts, and small palms. I whispered back at my dad and said he was small and he said "well then don't shoot". the bull walked into another opening still continuing to call and stuck his nose straight up in the air and called for a few minutes. I knew this wasn't the bull i was after and as i sat there watching the entire thing unfold next to my dad i started to think about something else. My dad is a huge reason i started hunting and my best friend. He isn't physically able to hike behind gates for miles and miles anymore and to be there experiencing that with him and having him be with me when i take my only washington moose meant more to me than any huge trophy hanging on the wall. That's all the thought i needed. The safety went off and the bull walked right back through the opening. The rest is history. After lots of excitement and a short pack we had him in the truck and headed back to camp. I have to thank everyone on here that offered up help and advice to help me score a trophy. Quadcrazy69 and whitpirate were good people to talk to and meet. Huntnphool helped with a ton of information and even met with me to discuss info and areas prior to the hunt and i greatly appreciate it. I wouldn't chance a single thing about how this hunt ended! It truly was a hunt of a lifetime.

[buck man]

Great job!! Sounds like a new life memory!!

[carpsniperg2]

grats

[BullMagnet76]

Great job.  Congrats!!!!!!

[PA BEN]

Great job on the bull. It's great you did that w/your Dad. I did the same thing w/a quality elk tag. My good friend only had one day to hunt w/me and has helped a lot of guys get elk out but has never been in on a kill or ever experienced calling in a bull elk. I called in an average bull and took him. It's funny how all these things go through your head very fast. Safety off done deal. Good times.  

[billythekidrock]

Congrats on the moose and the memories. Thanks for sharing.

[elkoholic1]

 

[Whitpirate]

It was a great time on the mountain when we got to meet.  Glad you closed the deal on your moose.  It was fun to see the buck go down.... that 2 point is still wondering what happened to George.


Safe travels my friend and enjoy the freezer.

[WSU]

Looks like one hell of hunt!  I keep hoping every year that either my dad or I draw one of these one in a lifetime tags.  I don't care who gets it.  I just think it would be a blast!

[fireguy459]

thanks guys, it was definately one hell of a good time. i wish anyone good luck on drawing the tag and hope they shoot a pig!!

[sakoshooter]

Congrats. Looks like a PU full of cool memories there.

[Ripper]

What a great story. This memory will be more of a trophy than any big bull you shoot on your own. My dad died way to young and I wish he were still here to make the kind of memories you just made with your dad. Congrats   

[MLBowhunting]

Nice hunt 

[elkoholic1]