What a hectic couple of days, I was lucky enough to be working in the same zone as my cow moose tag . So on wed. I got as much as I could done and was waiting on parts to finish the job off, with about an hour and a half of light left I went for a scout. I had thrown in the ol mossberg with a slug barrel and open sights, as we have a 2 week primitve/shotgun season before rifle season starts. I am not a big open sight guy but could keep 3 inside a grapefruit at 50 yrds, I figured if a chance presented itself I may use it but had intentions of using the 300 win in rifle season. I grew up in this area and knew/know most of the land owners , so I started off scouting where my BIL had seen a cow and a calf 10 days prior.
With not so much as a track or dung in all of the bushes I walked thru, I did find a nice shed off a WT buck, so all wasn't lost. AS the minutes dwindled by I fihuerd I had about 45 minutes of light so I went to the biigest hill in the area and started glassing all the slough's and bush in the area, I set up and was actually scanning all the bush and water to the west of my position without any luck, when I just happened to catch movment to the east. Along the far treeline I zero' d in the binos on a fine 3 year old bull moose. He was heading to water so I started making my way over there, with the wind out of the SE I had to head 1/4 mile north, then about the same east , as I came over a small rise I had him at 80 yrds drinking. It was about this time as I was admiring him when I realized I did not have a camera. DOH!
He kept looking back into the bush, so I held out hope there was a cow with him, but nothing else came out to drink. As he turned and walked back into the bush I seen the siesmic line he was walking on and I decided to swing farther north and make my way around the bush to the meadow on the otherside where they may be feeding. I got around to the far side with 10 minutes of legal light left and there was nothing in the meadow and not a rustle in the bush. So I atempted my own version of a lonley cow moose and to my surprise I had an instant response of bush cracking and something was coming my way. I assumed it would be the young bull but to my surprise a big ol cow moose came down the nearest cutline, I glassed her with the binos and it was definitley a cow, I thru up the range finder 55 yrds. Well I had to make a decision, I tryed to wait her out to get the good broadside shot but light goes fast here this time of year. I took a kwick step to my right and leaned on a tree to get steady and I put the bead under her chin and squeezed off the shot. I heard a good whap, and she spun around, ( this is where all the waterfowling I have done this year kicked in.) with out ieven think just as a reaction I had pumped in another slug swung with her as she spun and fired. This shot was true and the 300 gr ftx slug found it's mark with a solid neck shot, she dropped so fast I really had to watch and see where she went. Then the bush irrupted with moose going every where In total there was another cow 3 calves and the bull. they really did not know which way to run so they all came by me at 30 yrds. Auxillerating.
Then the work begins , as I tagged her light was fading fast, i used some flagging tape andmarked a tree and began the hike back to the truck for a flashlight, and the cell phone for reinforcments(BIL) to give me a hand. But hey the Freezer is Full!! Now it's time for horns.
With not so much as a track or dung in all of the bushes I walked thru, I did find a nice shed off a WT buck, so all wasn't lost. AS the minutes dwindled by I fihuerd I had about 45 minutes of light so I went to the biigest hill in the area and started glassing all the slough's and bush in the area, I set up and was actually scanning all the bush and water to the west of my position without any luck, when I just happened to catch movment to the east. Along the far treeline I zero' d in the binos on a fine 3 year old bull moose. He was heading to water so I started making my way over there, with the wind out of the SE I had to head 1/4 mile north, then about the same east , as I came over a small rise I had him at 80 yrds drinking. It was about this time as I was admiring him when I realized I did not have a camera. DOH!
He kept looking back into the bush, so I held out hope there was a cow with him, but nothing else came out to drink. As he turned and walked back into the bush I seen the siesmic line he was walking on and I decided to swing farther north and make my way around the bush to the meadow on the otherside where they may be feeding. I got around to the far side with 10 minutes of legal light left and there was nothing in the meadow and not a rustle in the bush. So I atempted my own version of a lonley cow moose and to my surprise I had an instant response of bush cracking and something was coming my way. I assumed it would be the young bull but to my surprise a big ol cow moose came down the nearest cutline, I glassed her with the binos and it was definitley a cow, I thru up the range finder 55 yrds. Well I had to make a decision, I tryed to wait her out to get the good broadside shot but light goes fast here this time of year. I took a kwick step to my right and leaned on a tree to get steady and I put the bead under her chin and squeezed off the shot. I heard a good whap, and she spun around, ( this is where all the waterfowling I have done this year kicked in.) with out ieven think just as a reaction I had pumped in another slug swung with her as she spun and fired. This shot was true and the 300 gr ftx slug found it's mark with a solid neck shot, she dropped so fast I really had to watch and see where she went. Then the bush irrupted with moose going every where In total there was another cow 3 calves and the bull. they really did not know which way to run so they all came by me at 30 yrds. Auxillerating.
Then the work begins , as I tagged her light was fading fast, i used some flagging tape andmarked a tree and began the hike back to the truck for a flashlight, and the cell phone for reinforcments(BIL) to give me a hand. But hey the Freezer is Full!! Now it's time for horns.
