49 DN Moose Success

[vandeman17]

I am sorry for the delay on getting this post started. I have been trying to get unpacked today while also trying to help prep our rental house for sale so I haven't had a chance to post much. I will start the write up now and add more as I can.

My hunt started leaving my house in Cashmere around 8:00 pm on September 29th with the goal to get over to the unit, sleep a couple hours and be ready to start scouting on the 30th at daybreak. I arrived at a place I dropped a pin to pull in and crash out around 1:30 am and tried to sleep a little but not much sleep happened. About 45 minutes before daylight I headed off to a pin that we wanted to check out and got there just as it was cracking first light. It was drizzling rain and foggy so I threw on my jacket and headed out into the clearing to do some glassing and calling. I didn't end up seeing any moose but did see one fresh set of tracks which was a good sign. Back to the truck I went and headed farther up the mtn to do some more glassing and exploring. Not much farther up the road I stopped to glass across the valley and spotted the rump and legs of a moose. It was in the corner of a clearcut and I couldn't see the front half so I waited a few minutes then tried to pull forward but never could lay eyes on it again. Off I went up the road and that is where I ran into a gate that I didn't know was there which was a bit of a predicament because I was pulling a trailer with my side by side on it. I ended up having to unload the side by side, take the trailer off the pickup to spin it around, hook it back up then reload the side by side which wasn't what I was hoping for but made for a good memory. Heading back down the road I stopped at the same spot to see if I could turn that moose up again and it wasn't there so I rolled down the road. About 100 yards down the road I looked over the edge and there was a cow standing there just staring at me about 150 yards below. I sat there for a while to see if she had a bull with her but she finally meandered off and no bull was following. During the time I was watching her, I glassed across the valley and saw a cow bedded directly on top of the a ridge. I was pretty stoked to be seeing multiple cows along with seeing fresh tracks all within a half mile of each other. I spent a few more hours driving around before heading to another part of the unit where I had planned to camp and got camp all set. From there, I headed out exploring more but no moose were seen or heard for the day. Just as I pulled into camp, 92XJ rolled in and we came up with a plan for opening morning.

[Gentrys]

And???

[Boss .300 winmag]

.🤣He’s from Cashmere, he’s probably taking a break and eating aplets and cotlets

[RoostrCogburn]

Holy smokes you’re just teasing us now…

[mountainman]

C’mon Vandeman, keep it going!

[nwwanderer]

Take your time, thanks!!!!!

[vandeman17]

Day two started with 92 and I heading out well before daylight to go back to the clear cut that I had seen the fresh set of tracks in the day before. As we came around the corner, we saw a pickup just pulling away and I was a little bummed. We decided to still park and head in to see what happens. The clear cut isn’t huge but it just looked and felt like there should be moose using it so anticipation was high. As we got to the upper edge of the clearing we both froze when we heard the distinct bark of bull back somewhere on the other side of the pickup either across the road or farther down the road where we drove in. We worked our way back a little bit to find a good spot to see if we could call this bull in. I started giving off some cow calls when 92 heard him bark now more below us so we assumed he was coming in. I was standing there scanning around when suddenly 92 whispers to me “small bull RIGHT behind us”.  I turned slowly and tried to lay eyes on the bull but from my vantage point, I couldn’t see him. I kept looking and looking and finally was able to spot a rump and legs and my heart was pounding. He lifted his head and I was able to see his antlers and made the quick decision to pass. The rifle went back on the shoulder and I took my phone out to try to get some pics and videos. When he finally moved away from us and the branches stopped cracking, it struck me that I had just passed on a bull that would have been a very easy pack out. I was immediately hoping I wouldn’t regret it…

The rest of the day we did some more exploring, calling and hiking around but didn’t end up laying eyes on another moose. Back at camp, it we formulated a plan for day two, for all our gear ready and crashed out. Both nights it rained a good amount over night and stopped before sun up which was absolutely perfect

[vandeman17]

If mods can rotate pics I would appreciate it. I have tried from laptop and phone and both post them sideways

[trophyhunt]

Good pass on that little guy!!

[vandeman17]

Day 2 found us parking about 50 yards from a clear cut and quietly working our way in with the goal to get into the middle, find a good vantage point and do some calling. As we walked in slowly, I kept scanning the area, looking for that perfect place to set up. We made it a little ways in and I told 92 that I was going to get above the road a few yards to see if it gave me a better view down over the edge below to the bottom of the cut. Once up there I gave the nod and said it was good so 92 made his way up the maybe 10-15 feet above the road to where I was standing. Almost exactly like the day before, just as he got to me we heard a bull bark back toward the parked pickup. We pointed and with few words spoken, agreed to get back to the road and sneak back the way we came from to try and get a better view of where we thought the bull could be. Just as soon as 92 hit the road, his eyes got huge and he pointed down the road and said “moose, it’s a bull” or something to that effect. I was still a few steps behind him and couldn’t quite see down the road but as soon as I did and got the angle to the bull, I could tell it wasn’t a dink and that was enough for me. I said “that’s a big bull” and his reply was “yep”. I got the rifle off my shoulder and knelt down in one smooth motion. It was just at shooting light and the backdrop of the dark timber behind the bull made it take me a second to find him in my scope. At this point he was still just slowly making his way toward us and for a split second I asked myself if I should just sit and let him come in. At that moment he turned slightly and that made my decision for me and I let the first one fly. The shot felt good and I saw him stagger but not go anywhere. I jacked in another round and shot again, he ate that one too but was still standing. At this point in my life I firmly believe in shoot until they are down so two more shots, though likely not needed, and down he went. I turned to 92 and we were both in complete and utter disbelief at what had just happened. I am not normally a hugger but I immediately went over to him and gave him a huge hug. I will never forget that feeling of excitement, joy, relief and amazement all wrapped up into one moment. To be able to share it with one of your best buddies who put in so much time and effort to help me with my tag was a dream come true. I owe so much of the hunt to him and to have him 3 feet from me when I connected was nothing short of perfection.

After a minute or two calming down, I picked up my brass and we slowly walked down to the bull that was amazingly dead right in the middle of the road. At this point I had ZERO idea how big he was because as soon as I saw he had paddles, I didn’t ever look at his antlers again. The closer we got, the bigger he got and it wasn’t until both of us were standing over him did we fully realize that we had just killed a very good bull. All this happened so fast that I have a picture of day breaking from just in front of my pickup time stamped  and a video of me walking down to look at the dead bull time stamped 10 minutes later. When we had finally settled down enough we agreed to take our time and fully enjoy the whole process. We had the entire day with nothing else to do but live in the moment. I don’t think we actually made our first cut on the moose until close to 8:30 which was around  2 hours after I killed him but it didn’t feel like it was more than 10 minutes. I was on cloud 9 and actually teared up when it truly hit me what had just happened and how blessed I was to be able to experience something I had always dreamed about.

I think we finished processing him around 1:00 and had the absolute pleasure of walking down to my pickup and backing it down the road right to the pile of meat and head. You really can’t draw it up any better because even though you think you know how big they are, you really don’t until you are next to one and cut them all up.

Just for kicks and because some people I text asked, we threw a tape on him and came up with 48” wide. He has 3 points on each front and overall is an 8x10. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would ever see, let alone kill a Washington bull like this. All I can say is I am blessed and will never ever forget it.

[vandeman17]

[jrebel]

Congrats on the great hunt and bull.  Can’t wait to see pics. 

[trophyhunt]

I can’t post pics on here anymore, the have to be screen shots.

Love the story, and being one of those lucky few, this brings me back to those feelings.  I Had two life long friends with me and a guy that helped me succeed and realize a dream, who I will always consider as a friend.  Congrats, I’ve said it many times but each time I read an OIL story, I wish everyone could have this experience.  Thanks for sharing, great job guys!!

[jackelope]

Pics posted above!!

Congrats man. Helluva bull!! Really happy for you!!

[vandeman17]

Pics posted above!!

Congrats man. Helluva bull!! Really happy for you!!

Thank you so much man. It was an amazing experience and one that will relive in my mind the rest of my life.