Thebear_78
Handloader
- Sep 30, 2004
- 3,047
- 669
Had a difficult moose hunt this year. It has been a very wet fall. Trail conditions have been pretty poor.
I took a week off for a long trek in to a spot I’ve been hunting for years. It’s a long trip back on SXS, almost 20 miles to the area we set camp. There is a particularly nasty hill about halfway. It’s steep, winding, and long. At the best of times it’s rough, especially with a meat trailer, but when the hill is wet it’s a slimy mess.
There was a break in the weather and we got out without issue. The weather was pretty decent for the first few days. Only spotty showers with gaps a cloudy sky’s.
First thing we noticed was that moose numbers were way down. I’m guessing the winter kill this year was pretty bad. Deep snow and a long winter. Normally we see 20-30 moose a day in this area. It’s high ground and with a good spotting scope you can see for miles. We were only seeing 6-8 cows a day with a few sub legal paddle bulls. No mid age animals, no small bulls, just calves and older cows, and sub legal paddle bulls of 42-47” spread. To be legal a bull has to be either a spike/fork on either side , have 4 brow tines on one side, or be over 50” wide. It’s a pretty tall order.
Hunting pressure was down too. Only a few other groups in the area. With enough area that we aren’t stepping each others toes.
We saw several good animals. A huge grizzly that I spotted at 1200 yards but gave us no opportunity as it climbed up and over the mountain never slowing down. I also saw a pair of caribou bulls, one probably the biggest bull I’ve seen. Wide, tall, back scratchers, and lots of points on his tops. This unit was closed from caribou hunting this year. I also saw a Wolverine playing tag with a pissed off cow moose. That was pretty cool to watch. A second smaller grizz doing the hungry hungry hippo eating berries. I’ll never get tired of watching them chomp along eating berries. They must get as much leaves and stems as they do berries.
The downside of the trip was we did see two sub legal bulls riding out on wheelers. One that wasn’t even close, maybe 36-38”. The other was a 46-47” bull that I had watched thru the spotting scope at 753 yards for almost 2 hours trying to will him that extra 4”. I could have told you how many eyelashes that bull had in either eye. Combined with the fact I remembered that SXS watching me glassing that bull and I could easily tell it was the same bull as they rode out with the meat getting muddy and the rack under a tarp. Enough was visible for me to know it was the bull I had been watching, and the extra room in the back of the SXS only confirmed my size estimation. Nothing worse than seeing illegal moose riding out on the trail.
Heavy rains forced us to pull out early. I didn’t think we could manage that hill if it got much sloppier. As it was the hill was about more than we could handle. My buddy went first and had lost a cooler half way up the hill, when I can up I tried to miss it but the ruts wouldn’t allow it and I ended up high centered on the cooler. By now one of the ruts was running like a river with water. While trying to get the recovery gear my machine started to slide back rolling up onto my left leg. Making me an impromptu tire chock. Several long winches later we topped the hill. Unfortunately ripping a side wall of my SXS tire and a badly bruised ankle and limp.
The tire held enough air to make it a mile or so between filling and we limped out to the truck.
The highlight of the hunt was my new tent and stove was a winner. I picked up a cabelas alaknak 12x12 tent and a camp chef alpine stove. We were warm and dry every night. Even with the constant humidity and frequent rains we were warm and able to dry out our gear. This is after 20 years of suffering thru constantly damp and cold camps. It’s worth the weight.
We didn’t get an animal but it was still a very good trip. Quality time with a good friend and my wife. The most beautiful country in the world. A gift to behold. Hoping to get out another quick trip or two before seasons end. I’d at least like to check some berry patches for a bear or two.
Hope you are all having a good season.
I took a week off for a long trek in to a spot I’ve been hunting for years. It’s a long trip back on SXS, almost 20 miles to the area we set camp. There is a particularly nasty hill about halfway. It’s steep, winding, and long. At the best of times it’s rough, especially with a meat trailer, but when the hill is wet it’s a slimy mess.
There was a break in the weather and we got out without issue. The weather was pretty decent for the first few days. Only spotty showers with gaps a cloudy sky’s.
First thing we noticed was that moose numbers were way down. I’m guessing the winter kill this year was pretty bad. Deep snow and a long winter. Normally we see 20-30 moose a day in this area. It’s high ground and with a good spotting scope you can see for miles. We were only seeing 6-8 cows a day with a few sub legal paddle bulls. No mid age animals, no small bulls, just calves and older cows, and sub legal paddle bulls of 42-47” spread. To be legal a bull has to be either a spike/fork on either side , have 4 brow tines on one side, or be over 50” wide. It’s a pretty tall order.
Hunting pressure was down too. Only a few other groups in the area. With enough area that we aren’t stepping each others toes.
We saw several good animals. A huge grizzly that I spotted at 1200 yards but gave us no opportunity as it climbed up and over the mountain never slowing down. I also saw a pair of caribou bulls, one probably the biggest bull I’ve seen. Wide, tall, back scratchers, and lots of points on his tops. This unit was closed from caribou hunting this year. I also saw a Wolverine playing tag with a pissed off cow moose. That was pretty cool to watch. A second smaller grizz doing the hungry hungry hippo eating berries. I’ll never get tired of watching them chomp along eating berries. They must get as much leaves and stems as they do berries.
The downside of the trip was we did see two sub legal bulls riding out on wheelers. One that wasn’t even close, maybe 36-38”. The other was a 46-47” bull that I had watched thru the spotting scope at 753 yards for almost 2 hours trying to will him that extra 4”. I could have told you how many eyelashes that bull had in either eye. Combined with the fact I remembered that SXS watching me glassing that bull and I could easily tell it was the same bull as they rode out with the meat getting muddy and the rack under a tarp. Enough was visible for me to know it was the bull I had been watching, and the extra room in the back of the SXS only confirmed my size estimation. Nothing worse than seeing illegal moose riding out on the trail.
Heavy rains forced us to pull out early. I didn’t think we could manage that hill if it got much sloppier. As it was the hill was about more than we could handle. My buddy went first and had lost a cooler half way up the hill, when I can up I tried to miss it but the ruts wouldn’t allow it and I ended up high centered on the cooler. By now one of the ruts was running like a river with water. While trying to get the recovery gear my machine started to slide back rolling up onto my left leg. Making me an impromptu tire chock. Several long winches later we topped the hill. Unfortunately ripping a side wall of my SXS tire and a badly bruised ankle and limp.
The tire held enough air to make it a mile or so between filling and we limped out to the truck.
The highlight of the hunt was my new tent and stove was a winner. I picked up a cabelas alaknak 12x12 tent and a camp chef alpine stove. We were warm and dry every night. Even with the constant humidity and frequent rains we were warm and able to dry out our gear. This is after 20 years of suffering thru constantly damp and cold camps. It’s worth the weight.
We didn’t get an animal but it was still a very good trip. Quality time with a good friend and my wife. The most beautiful country in the world. A gift to behold. Hoping to get out another quick trip or two before seasons end. I’d at least like to check some berry patches for a bear or two.
Hope you are all having a good season.
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