49 DN Moose Hunt, Day One and Two and now, Three....

[USMC86]

Rather than type everything at once at the end of the hunt, I thought a brief, daily update until we get one on the ground made sense, if anyone is interested in following along.

Left Vegas Friday afternoon, overnighted in Idaho Falls and picked up Dad and my buddy in Spokane on Saturday. Had limited time but headed over to Boyer Mountain based on a tip from a forum member. (thanks!)....ran into some deer hunters and then out of light, but had a good time and enjoyed the area.

Fueled up this morning in Chewelah and headed up Flowery towards Winchester Creek (another forum tip form multiple members).  Saw our first moose- a cow- close to the ski area.  Awesome!  What a beautiful animal.

Made the wrong turn up the road just west of Winchester Creek.  Ran it 'til the road closed and started hiking. Beautiful morning....made it to an open area and glassed for awhile, then headed back.  Basically spent the morning in that area and saw grouse, a snowshoe hare (completely white already) and a ton of moose poo and tracks low, elk poo and tracks high.

Time for a cheeseburger....anyone ever try the Burger Hut in Usk?  Fantastic!  Highly recommend the milkshake.

Over to Winchester Creek where we spent the afternoon cruising, glassing open areas.  I assume that we're doing this right....cruised the roads, walked a bit, even tried calling some to see if we could generate some activity.  Saw a decent buck.  Alas, no moose this afternoon. Ended up working our way west back to Chewelah and I literally lost count of the whitetail and turkey....even saw some more grouse. 

Great first day of moose hunting.  Those of you that live around here....wow...lucky.  This place beats the crap out of Nevada.  Sorry that I didn't have a more exiting tale, complete with pictures.  But we're having a blast and will keep at it.  Thanks again for all the tips and I'll post again tomorrow.

[Shawn D]

Sounds like you're off to a good start.  Looking forward to the updates.  Good luck!!

[Cat hunter]

following along!

[Ripper]

Following along, good luck.

[USMC86]

Hmmmmm.  Maybe we're doing something wrong

Well, for forum members looking for pictures of a big bull down, sadly, I'll be disappointing with the day three update.  We got some snow last night, which made for interesting driving.  Got an early start and headed to a new area recommended by a forum member.  Super cool place that made for a fun morning of glassing and hiking.   Ran into a couple nice deer hunters (everyone we've met has been friendly) and saw a 4pt. bull elk and four cows. 

Quick sandwich and we started pounding the roads.  I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but we covered a lot of ground, glassing open areas/pockets as we went.  Good times, enjoyed some laughs and again saw grouse, deer, turkeys, etc.  For some reason my hunting buddy thought it'd be funny to sing John Denver songs, over and over.  A combination of no moose and the tenth rendition of "Annie's Song" got me a little crabby.

They're calling for more snow tonight.  The plan of attack tomorrow morning will be to hit areas where we've seen sign and look for fresh tracks.  Dawn to dark we are going to absolutely hammer it! 

[Whitpirate]

Good luck.  Look for small jack for thinning operations and tender browse!  Giants are walking about.  Shoot straight and above the truck!

[benhuntin]

How long are you hunting??

[fishngamereaper]

Only takes one...keep at it.

[Falcon]

Good luck.  Look for small jack for thinning operations and tender browse!  Giants are walking about.  Shoot straight and above the truck!

That's good advice right there.  I think I'll take it for my hunt

[USMC86]

Day 4 (Tuesday) was a bit challenging. Plenty of snow Monday night was promising, but it ended up limiting our ability to get out of our cabin (note to self: maybe next time I shouldn't rent a 2WD truck).

A couple forum members reached out with a tip and we had a fun hunt in the afternoon. (Thanks Ben and Jasen!).  Spent the morning there as well, lot's of fresh rubs, tracks, etc but no moose yet. 

Winds yesterday were strong and killed the power in the cabin.....sounds like a lot of folks in this area were/are in the same boat.  Still have heat and plenty of food though, so life goes on.

Headed back for lunch now and  the afternoon will be spent checking out some spots recommended by Brian.

Thanks again to everyone who has reach out with words of encouragement, advice and tips.  We're having a blast and remain confident that at some point, we will bump into a bull. 

[Ripper]

There are moose in them hills, keep at it and it will happen.

[Cat hunter]

They can't hide forever, keep at it! I was empressed how well a very large blackish animal can blend into the shadows .

[USMC86]

Thanks guys. Benhuntin I am putting eight days into this; all that I could get off from work. Saturday night is it!

[1bugman]

Keep at it, you'll find them

[Buckblaster]

Keep  moving, the more ground you cover, the better chance you have of seeing one.  It's just a matter of time, but I know yours is limited, good luck to you!
Moose meat is mighty tasty, are you going to consider taking a cow as a last resort?