Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Other Big Game => Topic started by: boneaddict on September 18, 2011, 08:13:13 PM
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You'll have to wait for all the specifics from him. I drove 650 miles down to help him out. The moose weren't quite there for responding to calls. The one bull I did have really worked up, Ernie was with another friend scouting an area up the mountain. The warm weather wasn't helping. We got some serious rain which helped I am sure, and there was supposed to be a big cool down this week. We were still seeing and playing with lots of smaller bulls. I left Saturday to arrive home LATE Saturday night. I did manage to catalog some pics for him.
Here he is putting a stalk on a bull. No, he doesn't hunt in red. LOL We thought we would play with this bull some. Cool looking bull but he is hoping to do better.
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Before I left Saturday we did a run up the mountain, and found two VERY small bulls. I had a good photo op with them, then we decided to try a "real" time stalk for practice. He closed the gap to less than 20. Unfortunately I only brough the one lens along. You'll note one of the two bulls in the background. That one only had nubbins.
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Come on Ernie!!!! Let's hear it
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holy crap that is a big ass animal!!!! :yike: and a cool ass pic :tup:
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Come on Ernie!!!! Let's hear it
Come on Ernie----Lets see the Hawk in action. I like the preview!! It will be hard to beat that bull elk from the the fall.
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Was wondering how your trip went. Glad you were at least finding some bulls. Hope the cooler weather gets them starting to fire. Good luck Ernie, am hoping you finish your hunt before I head over to help out my dad with his Moose. Really looking forward to hearing it! Great pics as well Doug!
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Looks like that one has his eye on Ernie. How heavy is the bow he is using.
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I'm not sure Buckhorn.
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Great pics. Looks like they were out and about for ya! Good luck Ernie.
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Awesome pic's, Bone.
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So much Fun. Cheer.
Mulehunter
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Im back... story and a few pics to come if I can ever get Photobucket to work....
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Can't wait.
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Welcome back, but really Hornseeker, c'mon, a pic tease from you? :chuckle:
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Seriously...I cant get Photobucket to download a Fricken thing...I'd love to show you a pic!!! :tung:
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Well, I am waiting patiently, ok, thats a lie, but I am waiting. Were they starting to fire up?
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Get it figured out you got us excited you must have done it again.
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C'mon Hornseeker - give us a pic! I'm sure you did well.
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Post them up...
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:rockin:
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SOrry ya'll... Fuggin Photobucket is not uploading!!! :bash: :bash: :bash: Trust me... I want to show you guys some of the trip pics... it wasn't too bad.... :chuckle:
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SOrry ya'll... Fuggin Photobucket is not uploading!!! :bash: :bash: :bash: Trust me... I want to show you guys some of the trip pics... it wasn't too bad.... :chuckle:
You suck Ernie! >:(
You know that most of us (me) live vicariously through the special tag holders and their hunts, its like a crack addiction I would imagine :chuckle:
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OK Hornseeker, now it's just not cool. I have a meeting at 5:30 tonight, so now I'm gonna have to recharge my Iphone before I go so I can ignore the meeting and wait for you to get your pics posted, sheesh! :chuckle: Hey, even before I see the pics, let me be the first to congratulate you, hope to see your pics as soon as you get things figured out with photbucket!
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OK...you wanted a teaser...
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Oh that is a good one. Rearview mirror shot!!! I like it.You definately should string this out.
Did I just say that outloud
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So, it was a great hunt. 4 days of scouting over labor day weekend revealed one "nice" looking bull with a cow in a drainage I'd heard good things about. We saw a couple more little bullwinkles on that trip and about 4 cows... the "nice" bull was too far away to know for sure what he was... but I knew he was interesting.
When Doug came, it turns out that the "nice" bull was the one that Boneaddict posted a pic of me stalking...
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He had crazy long single eyeguards...not much of an option... I was looking for a much bigger bull than him.
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This was camp for 7 nights... I also had a big dome style tent up to escape my dads snoring...
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This was the very first bull I saw on the trip, Tuesday night driving down the bottom with my dad...
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So,
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I have a bunch more pics that I cropped and dinked with on another computer that was having a hard time with photobucket...so, tommorrow I will try and get them uploaded... and tell a lot more story...
This was day 2 of season...I took a long walk up to the headwaters of a moosey basin. I spotted a one horned dink bedded in an aspen patch at 9000 feet... Im glad he was small, as the pack out would have been HORRIBLE!!!
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I did see these two in that drainage, down lower though. They spooked and ran several miles over a sage brush ridge....
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By the way, I had both weapons handy at all times. I had decided early that if I saw a mega bull, I'd shoot him with my trusty ole 30-06 without a single regret. I LOVE killing stuff with my 06'. The bow is a special achievement for sure, but I've never been ashamed of blasting an animal at 100 yards with my 06'!
So, with Doug I passed even taking the bow on the bull posted above...I believe he would of been a fairly easy bull to arrow. I also snuck up with the bow to about 8 yards from a little bullwinkle...
Then, the day Doug left, I spotted a better than average bull about 700 yards across a willow patch..he was feeding on then thrashing a willow bush out in the open. I looked at him quite a bit and knew he wasn't "the one" but I took my bow and my spotting scope and decided to get a better look. After slogging throuhg shin to thigh deep mud and water for about 350 yards, I had a clear view of him. I set the scope up and came up with the same determination as before... I really wasn't that excited about him. But hey...I'd really make the determination if I got closer.
So, I grunted at him, trying to imitate the sweet calls I'd heard Doug doing for a few days. He looked up at me and just watched for a bit, then went back to eating and such... so I tried it again... same story.
I then held my arms up like antlers and and walked out in the open and showed him how big a bull I was...and grunted a few times. He watched, then started walking "sorta" towards me. I withdrew into the brush and watched him through my scope and snapped a pic or two.
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He meandered "sorta" my way for a bit, then he turned directly towards me. I thought and thought as I snapped blurry pic after blurry pic of him...what I would do if he came in bow range... it was a tough decision. I was really excited to shoot one with my bow, but I was more excited about killing a big moose with any weapon....
Comin my way...
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Closer...
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Closer...
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SOrry for the horribly blurry pics...low light, almost dark... and I was shaking a little! :chuckle: He "all of the sudden" was sitting at 40 yards, coming my way.... He walked through the dead willows snapping branched like toothpics of course...
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Then, the wind was good... it looked as if he would literally walk right on top of me...30, 25, 20...straight on... I drop the cam and decide if he gives me an ultra close, great shot...I'll take him with the longbow tonight! He stops and stares through me...
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Right after that shot, he breaks through a willow line and gets on the fricken downwind side of me! :bash: When he got to 7 yards, super hard quartering to me... he hit the wind, wheeled and ran 300 yards out into the meadow...as a smaller bull I hadn't noticed watched from 75 yards away... It was awesome...
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Nice---I'm on the edge of my seat
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Thats awesome! I ask myself again, WHY DID I COME HOME?
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Awesome story so far. I cant wait to hear the rest. I have a Hangman B Moose anlterless permit that I am going on Oct 15th for and I cant wait. It is only a cow, but I am also going to try and take her with my Bow first.
Bring on the rest of the story!
Brian
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This is not a good time for a break Ernie, we are on the edges of our seats here. :hello:
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come on Ernie!
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So, I was pretty happy with that turn of events... it was a fun deal! Nice bull at 7 yards, nother nice bull at 35 earlier... and a dink at like 9 or 10... Not to mention many other bulls spotted.
Things went pretty well... on Sunday I hiked up in the mountains and saw some elk and heard some bugles and that was good! Saw two dink bulls up there too... 9500 feet! There were places in the spruce forest up there that the ground was just completely covered with moose crap... But, we didn't see jack for fresh sign...and we were about 3 1/2 miles further from the truck than where we'd been seeing most the bulls!
On Monday morn I glassed and glassed from several good points until my eyes burned and my brain hurt. The country looked so good... but a moose wouldn't show himself. After a bit, I told Dad I was going to spend the evening down by the Windmill, grunting. It took that last bull a good 20 minutes to get to me from 300 yards out... well, I was going to play it like whitetail hunting, calling, rattling... I was gonna go find a likely spot and just call and call and see what showed up!
Well, we ended up driving down to a likely looking spot, you could see a pretty wide bottom... and the first thing I saw, about 600 yards away, was a moose. We were "near" the spot I had called the bigger bull into, the one that spooked in the pics above, so I thought maybe it was him. I looked through the binos and said, "well, its a bull" and moved directly to the spotting scope. One second of looking told me it was "him"... I couldn't pass this bull up. It was the last full day of an 8 day hunt... I didn't know how easy it was going to be to get back and for how long I could stay...
I through my 06' over my shoulders, sling across my chest style, no handed... and grabbed my longbow. If I muffed a shot or whatever, this guy was going to die.
Back into the calf to thigh deep water and mudd and muck.... in about 300 yards of slogging I was just about to the opposite willow edge where I'd get a look at him and decide how to go about getting within 20 yards... I stepped into a little opening and two cows and a bull are bedded looking directly at me. The cow jumped up, appeared startled, but didn't run.
I just knew I had blown it...they were between the big guy and me... if I spooked them, they were going to run right through, likely alarming him... and he'd hit the "sea" of willows and could be gone for who knows how long...
I kept my rifle on my back and backed outta there, trying to skirt around the 3 moose so if they jumped, they wouldn't run through him. I made it, the bull spooked from my scent at that point...the two cows had worked far enough north that they didn't get my scent... but they saw the big bull...they moved towards him...he towards them. He was bellering like a dam black angus... if I was a more confident caller...and the 3rd cow, 4th set of eyes and ears for the bunch hadn't been there, I may have kept that longbow in my hand... but I didnt' want this guy to find the cover...not ever again. :tup:
Well, he was obscured with willows, mostly dead willows... he was doing all sorts of carnal things to these two cows, while another cow watched... I was a little jealous really... but I wasn't jealous knowing that this was his last bit of action...
I steadied my Brownings forearm on some dead willows and watched him through 6X in the Loop.... It was an easy shot...I was 90 yards (estimated)... he finally moved into the clear and I wholloped him in the chest, broadside... he just humped up and stood still. He was dead but didn't know it. Well, I decided to hit him again... He just stood there... one more wouldn't hurt right? THis time I pulled forward and put one in the front shoulder. Not "really" sure why I even shot... but...I did. He dropped.
Wow... got my moose. He's not the biggest in the state, but he's plenty big and he's one of those ones that you just cant pass up...even if you really want to!
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My Dad made the hunt, saw the whole thing...so That was really cool too!
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Couple More...
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I love his massive eyeguards!!!
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Packin out the cape and head...right at 100 pounds....
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Finally back at camp!
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Saaaaweeeet!!!!
That first pic looks Sureal. (postcard--for sure).
Great to spend it with your dad. Awsome story. Was hoping it was with the "hawk",but you can't pass up those opportunities.
CONGRATS!
PS: you are gonna need a bigger house for all these trophies!
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Well done Ernie, that was worth the wait. :tup:
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Were you loaded with TSX in the -06, what grain/powder?
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That is fricken awesome, congrats!!! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!!! Great write up and great photos, thanks for sharing!!
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:IBCOOL: Awsome write. Very COOL.....
Mulehunter. :tup:
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Awesome Hunt and Great Moose! Your Ol' man being there was icing on the cake.
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Double thumbs Ernie. I wish I could have stayed or have been part of the later action. I'm glad you got your bull!
I love his beefyness!
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Yep, the 168 tsx with 59.5 grains of 4831 behind her. Fricken bullets did just whT they were supposed too. Recovered two against the off side skin. Both mushroomed perfectly.
The bull is 8x8, with a 9th nib on one side. He is 46 wide and has 30 inch paddles by 8 ish wide. Bases are 7 5/8... Should net real close to 150...
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very coool
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Awesome job! Great looking bull.
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Absolutely awesome job Ernie, congrats on a great bull and really great write up and pics. Thats a great bull!
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Congratulations. What a great bull!
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Nice one Ernie glad yor Dad got to be there with you it even makes it more special.
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Sweet hunt! and thanks for sharing. Congrats on a great bull!
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Congratulations on a great bull! Way to get it done.
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Awesome bull and hunt. Congrats
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Awesome Bull, thanks for the pic's and story.
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NICE moose! :tup: offer stands if you'd like to put your story in my archery club newsletter...
heath
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How we started the day out, my last day there.
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smallest bull of the trip.
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Great looking Bull! Congrats!
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Great bull! Awesome looking country!
Thanks for posting....like you wouldn't :chuckle:
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A hair better exposure...
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Awesome pics Doug, so when I get my Dad to put one on the ground, can I call you up to come over for the dead Moose photo-op? Silent Bob may even come over and do some packing for us!
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Looks like the weather was beautiful right along with the pictures. Nice bull!!
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Anytime Jay. I'll be closer to your neck of the woods than you might know about that time. :)
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Great bull, congratulations! Must have been a pretty special experience with your dad there as well.
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It was awesome... 4 days scouting the week prior with a good friend... then 7 nights in camp with dad and running all over that beautiful country...couldn't have asked for more!!! Now I am enjoying tenderloin, backstrap... etc... it is top notch chit too!!!! no gameyness at all!!!
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Just in gas, this hunt was crazy. Doug from Yakima to SW MT, my dad from N. Idaho.. buddy from Billings, 2 buddies from Missoula... plus my scouting trip, me from Billings and a friend from St. Ignatius, MT... I bet gas alone was well over 1500$.... but well worth it! That was really the only expense....
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I would agree, gas prices are the biggest expense of a hunt. When I had the Selkirk tag, even living here in Spokane, I probably had over $500 in gas just with scouting trips. But damned if I wouldn't spend that every year if they'd just give me a Moose tag every year, and I bet you would agree Ernie! Just going nuts till I leave Wednesday to go help my Dad with his tag. I keep coming back and looking at your pics Ernie, you killed just a dandy, dandy Moose, love the mass on him. Believe me if I can find one like that for my Dad, I'll be doing my best impression of Troy Landry yelling "Choot him Elidabet!" :chuckle:
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Congrats on a great hunt well done. It's a great feeling to put a big one down, and that is a very nice one, memories you will never forget.
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First words out of the camphosts mouth, was "Where's your Dad?". He was looking forward to having you in camp.
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great story and awesome moose! congrats! :tup:
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Nicely done. I love moose hunting , and the stories that go with it. Great bull.
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Congrats Ernie, very nice bull!!!!
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congrats on a great bull... :tup:
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Yeah Booner, my dad was bummin that Doug didn't bring you along!
Thanks all.. it was a fun hunt. OF course, I wish I still had the tag now, but I cannot complain with this guy...
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Great job Ernie, what a great bull. Tell your dad hey, sounds like you guys had a great time.
Mike
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great write up! and congrats on a great moose :tup:
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Yeah Booner, my dad was bummin that Doug didn't bring you along!
Thanks all.. it was a fun hunt. OF course, I wish I still had the tag now, but I cannot complain with this guy...
Thanks Ernie, I would have enjoyed a few days with you guys, I should have come :bash: . Really enjoyed your Dads stories last time.
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Great looking bull! Congrats! He will look nice on the wall next to the monster bull elk you got last year!
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Man...I don't know how I missed this. Awesome bull, great photos, blah blah blah. You're going to need an addition to the house, Ernie. Congrats!!
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Here is an excellent writeup and photo essay of the whole hunt. A little duplication, but lots of detail and pics.
http://www.piratesofarchery.net/bb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15768 (http://www.piratesofarchery.net/bb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15768)
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yeah, sorry guys. I try to get a thread like that up here, but man did I have issues getting photobucket to work for me this time and I am only doing it on that site! enjoy though!