DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 36,903
- 5,067
Moose opened today. I was up at two and out the door at three. I picked up Noah and his stepdad (John) at 3:20. We boogied for the cutblock we had looked over last fall and again a couple of weeks back. We were situated atop a log pile by 4:20. At 4:30, I was watching a big bull at 223 yards. I did all I could to get Noah's attention, finally tapping on the wood with my finger in a rough imitation of a flicker. He looked up at me and I spread my fingers, holding them to the side of my head. He thought I was mocking him and, accordingly, stuck out his tongue. I pointed to the moose, a large, mature bull that was placidly standing broadside. Consequently, that bull would stand there for over forty minutes.
Shortly, a pickup came creeping into the cutblock. He saw my truck parked about a kilometer away from where we were situated. He idled there for at least ten minutes, evidently trying to determine what to do. Finally, he crept down the road into the cutblock. I thought sure he would spook the moose. He slowly made his way past us, never even seeing the moose. He drove to the bottom of the hillside on which we were situated, turned around and drove back out. The whole time, the big bull stood placidly, watching this strange phenomenon. At last, the interloper was gone--and the phlegmatic moose continued to stand broadside to us. I pointed out the moose to Noah several more times, and he asked if it was standing in the woods.
After more than forty-five minutes, the bumbling Bullwinkle turned and sauntered toward the treeline. NOW, at long last, Noah said, "Oh, yeah, I see him." "Well, don't shoot him in the butt," I cautioned. I had been hearing another forest creature moving directly in front of us. The squirrels were scolding whatever it was and pitching pine cones at it. Occasionally, the unseen creature would move about, often stepping on a branch or a twig. However, this critter never showed itself.
In the interim, the big bull stopped at the treeline and stood peering intently into the dark interior of the forest. Suddenly, he whirled and began to trot in a line that would bring him into a rather large opening across from us. As he broke into the open, I grunted at him. This brought him to a complete stop. He was 187 yards at this point, a chip shot for me. Noah, however, was intimidated at the shot and declined. The bull then hied himself into the dense underbrush on the far side of the cutblock.
After another fifteen minutes or so, I noted that it was 6:30 and we might as well pull up stakes. Several observations are in order. First, I declined to shoot this bull though I had several opportunities--we were there to get a bull for Noah. Again, I teased Noah mercilessly for only seeing a "big brown bush" even after I had pointed out the moose. However, I praised him for passing on the shot. He was uncomfortable with a two hundred plus yard shot and chose not to attempt it. I told him that was exactly the right choice. Finally, the entrance of the Ford provided opportunity to speak with Noah about hunting ethics and also to point out moose behaviour. It was awesome to note that though the big beast stood in plain sight in the muted shadows of the new day, the driver never saw him.
Rather than spend the day driving around, we opted to come home. I have work to do (Sunday is coming). Nevertheless, we will go out again this evening to see if we can't espy the same woodland giant browsing in the gloaming. I'll post more as the season progresses until we have a report of a moose for Noah.
Shortly, a pickup came creeping into the cutblock. He saw my truck parked about a kilometer away from where we were situated. He idled there for at least ten minutes, evidently trying to determine what to do. Finally, he crept down the road into the cutblock. I thought sure he would spook the moose. He slowly made his way past us, never even seeing the moose. He drove to the bottom of the hillside on which we were situated, turned around and drove back out. The whole time, the big bull stood placidly, watching this strange phenomenon. At last, the interloper was gone--and the phlegmatic moose continued to stand broadside to us. I pointed out the moose to Noah several more times, and he asked if it was standing in the woods.
After more than forty-five minutes, the bumbling Bullwinkle turned and sauntered toward the treeline. NOW, at long last, Noah said, "Oh, yeah, I see him." "Well, don't shoot him in the butt," I cautioned. I had been hearing another forest creature moving directly in front of us. The squirrels were scolding whatever it was and pitching pine cones at it. Occasionally, the unseen creature would move about, often stepping on a branch or a twig. However, this critter never showed itself.
In the interim, the big bull stopped at the treeline and stood peering intently into the dark interior of the forest. Suddenly, he whirled and began to trot in a line that would bring him into a rather large opening across from us. As he broke into the open, I grunted at him. This brought him to a complete stop. He was 187 yards at this point, a chip shot for me. Noah, however, was intimidated at the shot and declined. The bull then hied himself into the dense underbrush on the far side of the cutblock.
After another fifteen minutes or so, I noted that it was 6:30 and we might as well pull up stakes. Several observations are in order. First, I declined to shoot this bull though I had several opportunities--we were there to get a bull for Noah. Again, I teased Noah mercilessly for only seeing a "big brown bush" even after I had pointed out the moose. However, I praised him for passing on the shot. He was uncomfortable with a two hundred plus yard shot and chose not to attempt it. I told him that was exactly the right choice. Finally, the entrance of the Ford provided opportunity to speak with Noah about hunting ethics and also to point out moose behaviour. It was awesome to note that though the big beast stood in plain sight in the muted shadows of the new day, the driver never saw him.
Rather than spend the day driving around, we opted to come home. I have work to do (Sunday is coming). Nevertheless, we will go out again this evening to see if we can't espy the same woodland giant browsing in the gloaming. I'll post more as the season progresses until we have a report of a moose for Noah.
