heres a couple of moose taken in the last few years in the area

[rosscrazyelk]

Real nice moose. How about a story?

[boneaddict]

Thats awesome halflife.

[halflife65]

Alright, here's the story.

I'm a very avid deer and elk hunter but haven't hunted moose before (and obviously not in WA), so I researched and watched a lot of videos before season, scouted, talked to a couple of people that live in the area (cool guys that I met at a 3D shoot in Black Diamond), found a local biologist, and read everything I could find.  Most of them said to hunt the rut (early) and if you don't get one, hope for a little snow and go back toward the end of the season.

Anyway, I had my bow, but it was super hot and pretty tough hunting.  Knowing that this was a pretty much once in a lifetime deal, I brought the Tikka T3 .300WSM as a backup.  After checking out the hunting conditions, I decided that it was in my best interest to use my rifle.

I chased a different moose around on opening day (a little smaller but still a shooter), and ran him right to a bunch of people on horseback.  The moose left the country but at least the people were nice.  I saw a couple of other cows and chased what we thought was a bull through some thick second growth timber (the guy that walked along with me thought he saw antlers but we never got a really good look at it).  Later in the day, I found a really fresh "scrape" (I guess that's what you call it when a moose makes it) with a couple of cows near it.  I decided that I'd come back and sit on it in the morning to see if I could find the bull that made it.

I got there in the dark and sat there for an hour or so and then heard the weird call that moose make (one of those thoughts go through your mind - huh!  it really does happen and it really does sound like that!)  and got set up.  He was walking towards me in thick brush at about 75 yards and I could only make out his antlers - it looked like someone had mounted them on the cab of a pickup truck and drove it out through the brush – little trees were swaying around and he sounded like an elephant.  I was all ready to shoot but he may have smelled me - I was pretty well hidden and not moving.  Anyway, he took off for some reason and ran down a steep hill and popped out at the bottom of an old overgrown clear cut about 300 yards away with a couple of cows.  I had a good rest and he stopped broadside, so I took the shot.  I could tell it was a good hit and he sort of started walking off but clearly was pretty sick.  The cows ran off and he laid down.  I thought he was dead so I walked down next to him and (this explains the nicked right antler) he stood up facing me.  I threw the gun up, looked through the scope and pulled the trigger – his head was sort of down like a bull charging (I don’t think he was charging, just really sick) and my thought was to shoot right between his antlers and hit him in the big hump behind his head, breaking his neck.  So, once in a lifetime tag and for the first, and only, time in my life I shot a freakin’ antler.  Unreal.  Anyway, down he went.  For those that haven’t shot a moose, it looks like a VW laying there.  When I quartered it, the front shoulder was higher than my head when I pcked it up and I’m 6 feet tall.  Quartered  with neck meat boned out it was 650# hanging at the butcher.  Pretty cool.  If you go moose hunting,  buy a good packboard. 

[scroder]

Cool bull and a great funny story!

[elkspert]

Great story. Hope you had some help getting him out of there.

[Pathfinder101]

Great bull, great story.  What did he wind up scoring?

[180-GRAIN]

I would be happy putting my tag this year on a bull like that. congratulations nice bull!

[BLKBEARKLR]

Very nice bull. awesome write up, thanks for sharing. And you are not joking about how big they are, I have had the oppurtunity of taking four of them and every time I say never again.

Joe

[Aneoakleaf]

Congradulations! Thats a fine fine moose!

[Hunt4ever]

2007 49 degrees north... scored 163 2/8 B&C  and 362 2/8 SCI which ranks it number 34 in the world... good luck up there and i hope to see some big bulls down this year!

[BLKBEARKLR]

Another nice bull. Congrats to you

[halflife65]

Fantastic bull!  Nice work.

[Hornseeker]

Hunt4Ever....that is a great bull... but #34 in the world... http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/records/recrules.cfm there are 108 JUST in Idaho that match or beat that score.... B&C... dont know about Safari, but if it is 34 in SCI.... then SCI  has got a long way to come...

ONce again... GREAT BULL!!!! Same with you Half...

[huntnphool]

That is one hell of a bull Hunt4ever, congrats!!!

[Hunt4ever]

Hunt4Ever....that is a great bull... but #34 in the world... http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/records/recrules.cfm there are 108 JUST in Idaho that match or beat that score.... B&C... dont know about Safari, but if it is 34 in SCI.... then SCI  has got a long way to come...

ONce again... GREAT BULL!!!! Same with you Half...

http://www.scifirstforhunters.org/members/RB/view_minimums.cfm.... in response SCI (as well as myself) believe in scoring the animals in a way that they recieve credit for all that god gave them... As aposed to B&C which doesnt even measure moose realistically... In B&C moose are scored by width, paddle length and width, and number of points... SCI however believes that tine length should be important... Why should a bull that has 9 tiny one inch points score the same as a bull that has 9 huge 4- 9 inch points... I am a huge advicate of SCI scoring and all they stand for...