I thought I'd share some of our experiences during this hunt. First off I'd like to thank the guys who offered intel, info etc.
To start this story I may have to back up 50 years. My father was given as an anniversary present from my mom a Browning BAR in 7mm mag. He loved this rifle but he also hated it. He didn't hunt that much as a father of a pile of kids and a dairy to run, he was limited to a hunt with his brothers every few years usually in Montana. I don't recall him ever hunting in Washington State during general season during my lifetime. He would claim that this rifle if pointed at a small buck would go up and the buck would go down. But...if at a big buck, it wouldn't shoot. Many years later after his passing (was killed in a farm wreck in '87) my older brother and I had time to play with this rifle. Fact is that if you don't really let the bolt slam shut, it won't close all the way. I believe that he may have kept the chamber empty and if a big buck was spotted he was trying to be quiet and wouldn't close it all the way....but that's just a hunch...
In setting up for this hunt, I wanted to add some sentiment to it and went to Wyoming to see my brother this summer and get this rifle from him. He loaded some lighter loads and we took it to the range. It's kind of sentimental to just let this old beauty of a rifle get put back to work. All of that went well and I found myself smiling inside with the idea of my son having a piece of a grandpa he never met.
So.... we spent our time really getting to know the Mt Spokane South unit. I've spent some time near Blanchard but not in the unit and never on IEP. The first trip in, we kick up a cow and a calf at 80 yards but with the general moose population in our state not being what I would call great, the decision was made early that we won't be shooting any cows with calves. After 3-4 trips up there, we spotted several bulls but the cows in Washington were scarce. We saw several within a mile of the state line in Idaho but that was just a big tease. The most moose we saw in a day was 7, the least was 3.
So....last weekend, our opportunity comes. I have a good buddy with us, I'm on the Caldwell field pod and he's on the rifle. We get is set up, Lil Gringo settles in and....."CLICK". I look over at the receiver and and can see a 1/4" space in front of the bolt.
Moose runs away down the clear cut and into the timber. From that point on we were only able to spot bulls....(with the exception of a bull chasing a cow that was only seen for 3 seconds)
I believe last Sunday was the last hunt for us. This weekend doesn't work and the following is Thanksgiving with family rolling in. After my time up there, there is a small part of me that is glad we didn't kill a cow, yet another part of me that isn't used to stopping anytime before the very bitter end.
I can't however help but smile...... We had a great time. My son and I got to spend some great time together and he got to first hand experience the frustration in a rifle that his grandpa did many years ago....
