Goldtip's Dad get's his Montana Moose!

[GoldTip]

Well fella's it will be a bit long and pic heavy, but here goes.  After a long and arduous 6.5hr drive including approx. 48 miles on dirt roads, I finally arrived at moose camp.  It may look a bit rough but trust me, the cook is just fair and the camp boss is old and ornery.  You  can see my pickup had to sit outside for the entire 10 days in camp!

[GoldTip]

Actually Moose camp for this hunt would be much better than any I've had before, this is where my folks live.  48 miles from the nearest power and phone.  Dad runs everything on generators which charge a battery system which then runs the house.  We would be hunting within 5-10 miles of the house.

[GoldTip]

The first day  dawned clear and cold, Dad had a place he wanted to try, on the edge of 8 year old burn.  This was on a gated road approx. 1 mile from the house.  As we drove to the road from the house at daylight, we spotted a good silvertip grizzly in the road, didn't hang around long enough to get a picture unfortunately.  he was an average bear, maybe 300 pounds, but damn pretty.  About 3 miles into our walk we hadn't had any responses to my calling, but we bacame acutely aware that we had competition for the area.  Thats a shell on the ground from my 454 Casull.  We evidently found morning bears grandpa.

[GoldTip]

Day two was completely uneventful, full of walking and calling.  My Dad is a guy who likes to stay busy and does not like to sit, not the best combination for moose calling in my opinion, but we saw some very good ground. I grew up hunting this area and knew most of the spots I wanted to try.  So when my brother showed up that night with his horses.  I suggested he take Dad for a ride the next morning  into a basin about 5 miles back up a trail.  The spot was always loaded with grizzlies, but also with willow bottoms and beaver ponds, I was hoping to do some scouting myself of a completely other area.  So Saturday morning Oct.1 we headed out in different directions, me on foot and them on the horses..

[boneaddict]

If you go to bed tonight before finishing this, there will be ramifications......

[Jason]

If you go to bed tonight before finishing this, there will be ramifications......

[GoldTip]

Sorry this is slow going guys, but my internet connection sux tonight and my typing skills leave something to be desired.  So my Dad and brother head out on a horses and I hike back up a gated road about a mile and then off a skid road into a 20 year old clearcut that had burned over during the fire about 8 years ago, got set up and waited for things to calm down, I cow called and within about 5 minutes could hear a bull grunting, got my camera out and he was coming into the clearcut 10 minutes later.

[sebek556]

wow you dad has my dream house!

[GoldTip]

So I snap a few pics and smile confidently to myself that once again, I can at least call in small Moose.  the clouds are rolling in very hard and as Mr broken paddle grunts around the clearcut establishing his reign I am smiling, cuz I now have pics to show Dad that moose really do come into that weird sound I keep making with my mouth.  Mr broken paddle slowly wanders off and I slide my rain coat out of my back as the skies start to open up.  As i get my coat on I hear another grunt from far up the mountain, I assume mr broken paddle made it until it grunts again and I realize that he has not been gone long enough to be that far up the mountain.  I break into a couple of mournful sounding cow calls and i hear a grunt from over where Mr Broken paddle headed and one further up the hill.  now the guy from uphill is definitely coming and Mr broken paddle is coming in again from my left.  I slowly slide my camera back out of the pocket and I hear a large branch break from the far side of the clearcut.  I look left and Mr Broken paddle is now leaving I hear another grunt and this guy walks into the cut.  He follows the edge of the cut to a small tree and makes a rut pit right there in front of me at around 70 yards, then he comes for the cow he so badly wants.

[GoldTip]

if you look closely in the next few pics, you can see that he was close enough the flash of my camera was lighting up his eyes. I have just a point and shoot with poor zoom, good lord could I have used Boneaddict tagging along for these next couple shots.  He came to about 30 yards and i could have easily taken him with my bow.

[GoldTip]

Closer......

[boneaddict]

Goodlord is right, and YES, where the hell was I.    Chasing dinks.   dang it!

[GoldTip]

And now a shot of the icing on the cake........A drop tine on his left paddle.  I think I might have peed myself a little when I saw this!

[GoldTip]

So I let Mr drop tine wander off while I have butterfiles in my stomach sitting behind a stump.  I am looking at my 2"x2" display.  I was thinking, good lord looking at him up close thru bino's that i might have actually found dad a 50" moose.  looking at my camera I wasn't so sure.  He's big I told myself, but really?  50 inches Jay, is it real.  No way, tell dad it's probably 45".  Then you can't be wrong.  So I snuck outta there and went up the road in a different direction from him.  I'ts only 8:45 am and dad and bro won't be back to trailhead till noon.  So I roam around and called in another small 35-38" bull that has real potential for next year I'd say.  No pics as I quit dinking with him when he came through an opening maybe 200 yards out.  I hike back to the truck, look through my pictures and think to myself, this is everything dad wants, double brows, at least 45" and long points.  He had passed a 42" earlier before I got there because he didn't like the short tines.  That one he could have gotten his tractor too!  That kind of put the pressure on me when I heard that.  So I headed to the trailhead to meet Dad and bro.  Ate a sandwich, took a nap, looked thru pictures again.  Only 10:45am.  Went for a walk, tried bugling elk, heard nothing went thru pictures on camera again.  Could I call him in again?  Do I really think he is 50'?

[GoldTip]

Show both Dad and brother the pics and Dad is excited and so is brother.  It's noon now and they want to head right back. was very had to convice them we should wait for evening.  It gets dark about 7:30 there so I told them lets go home and take a nap and be back in there around 5pm.  Was a very short nap, Mom looked at pics, Dad kept asking if I was sure it would go over 45" and I assured him it would.  At around 5pm we are back at the edge of the clear cut and getting set up.  I wait for about 30 minutes thru silence and I let out a few calls.  I had instructed them both we would sit for 15 minutes after my first round of call then I'd call again.  After about 14 minutes I hear a grunt and whisper to Dad, here he comes.  He looks at me and says, " that was my stomach growling."  I wait a second and let loose with a series of more cows, and grunt, grunt, grunt comes back at me.  I look at dad and said "was that your stomach too?"  He smiles and I have him get in behind me.  The bull is about 6-800 yards up the hill from the sound of it and grunting every step.  I was nervous, nervous as hell to be honest, would it be Mr Broken paddle or Mr drop tine, the bull of my Dad's dreams?