Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
Fellows,
I just got back from four days in the nasty cold and rain hunting moose in the Yukon with my newly acquired Breda Garand. I picked it up this summer from doc garand here at CGN and really wanted to see what the rifle could handle in the field. Well, with days of rain and generally very damp conditions, had to field strip it every night and lay the gun oil to it pretty heavy, but after four days I had no rust at all and the rifle appeared to be working perfectly.
Went out with the family to our totally secret camp that I can't reveal here because it's actually my father's secret spot for twenty years ago. Lets just say we're on a river in the Yukon. The weather was typical moose hunting weather; cold, wet and generally unpleasant.
The family and me and the Breda.
The hunting was slow for the first couple of days, but when the rain stopped I could get my son out to the bank to hang out with me as I called and watched for game.
The hunting was slow and fish were jumping, but we didn't catch anything.
The moose were not really taking the call either. After three days of mostly calling and some travelling the river, the weather broke for a short time. I left my wife and son at camp and headed out myself.
The boat and river and me.
On the afternoon of the third day I was out alone in the boat as the weather was breaking and I figure the moose would be moving. I spent about four hours on a gravel bar with plenty of tracks, calling and listening, but no action. I left and headed down river at a slow pace to get back to camp, but soon came across a moose standing on the shore about 200 yards away. It's head was level with the brush on the bank so I couldn't see if it was a cow or a bull, so I loaded my Garand and put the safety on and turned the boat towards it. When I was about 125 yards away it turned and took off at a run, which is pretty unusual. Luckily, as soon as it started turning I saw it was a bull!
Now as anyone who has shot from a moving boat on a river or a lake with waves can attest, its about the hardest shooting you can do. I was pretty confident though, as the bull was running down the shoreline and not right into the forest. I flinched off a shot and drilled him perfectly; he reared up somewhat as the shot hit and slammed down hard on his side and skidded to a stop and just lay there. My first kill with a garand, or a 30-06, and also my first bang-flop on a moose. I've hunted them for years and I was honestly starting to think it just didn't happen. I got to shore and put one into his head, as I always do, just for the sake of humaneness, but it seemed unnecessary. He also fell right at the water's edge, so no packing!
I got help from my father and a friend to clean him and get him back to camp.
While doing the butchering I found the head shot was indeed totally unnecessary, the Winchester FailSafe, 165 grain bullet I'd shot him with entered through the side of the brisket and neck, heavily damaging the brisket bone and lower part of the spine (see blood drip in pic), passed through the heart, and exited through the far front shoulder. Total kill shot. Some luck I'm sure, shooting at a running moose from a moving boat, while steering the tiller with my leg, at 125 yards with open sights (never hunted with open sights before), but I'll definitely take it.
I was totally happy with the garand as a bad weather moose rifle and also with the Winchester Failsafes (165's) on moose. The bullet passed through probably the thickest bones on a moose and still resulted in a through and through shot, and I found no bullet fragments whatsoever while cleaning out the wound tracks of gore. No bullet recovered to weigh, obviously. And look at the amount of blood that exited that moose from one shot; lots. And... a total bang, flop, which as I've said I've never done on a moose, even with 338 win mags and 375 H&H. The peep sights on the garand also let me see the action as the bullet hit the moose; I'm used to using a scope and then having to look around for the effects of your shot after the recoil. With the peep sights I just saw the whole picture. Way cool.
Hope everyone else's hunts go so well!
I just got back from four days in the nasty cold and rain hunting moose in the Yukon with my newly acquired Breda Garand. I picked it up this summer from doc garand here at CGN and really wanted to see what the rifle could handle in the field. Well, with days of rain and generally very damp conditions, had to field strip it every night and lay the gun oil to it pretty heavy, but after four days I had no rust at all and the rifle appeared to be working perfectly.
Went out with the family to our totally secret camp that I can't reveal here because it's actually my father's secret spot for twenty years ago. Lets just say we're on a river in the Yukon. The weather was typical moose hunting weather; cold, wet and generally unpleasant.
The family and me and the Breda.
The hunting was slow for the first couple of days, but when the rain stopped I could get my son out to the bank to hang out with me as I called and watched for game.
The hunting was slow and fish were jumping, but we didn't catch anything.
The moose were not really taking the call either. After three days of mostly calling and some travelling the river, the weather broke for a short time. I left my wife and son at camp and headed out myself.
The boat and river and me.
On the afternoon of the third day I was out alone in the boat as the weather was breaking and I figure the moose would be moving. I spent about four hours on a gravel bar with plenty of tracks, calling and listening, but no action. I left and headed down river at a slow pace to get back to camp, but soon came across a moose standing on the shore about 200 yards away. It's head was level with the brush on the bank so I couldn't see if it was a cow or a bull, so I loaded my Garand and put the safety on and turned the boat towards it. When I was about 125 yards away it turned and took off at a run, which is pretty unusual. Luckily, as soon as it started turning I saw it was a bull!
Now as anyone who has shot from a moving boat on a river or a lake with waves can attest, its about the hardest shooting you can do. I was pretty confident though, as the bull was running down the shoreline and not right into the forest. I flinched off a shot and drilled him perfectly; he reared up somewhat as the shot hit and slammed down hard on his side and skidded to a stop and just lay there. My first kill with a garand, or a 30-06, and also my first bang-flop on a moose. I've hunted them for years and I was honestly starting to think it just didn't happen. I got to shore and put one into his head, as I always do, just for the sake of humaneness, but it seemed unnecessary. He also fell right at the water's edge, so no packing!
I got help from my father and a friend to clean him and get him back to camp.
While doing the butchering I found the head shot was indeed totally unnecessary, the Winchester FailSafe, 165 grain bullet I'd shot him with entered through the side of the brisket and neck, heavily damaging the brisket bone and lower part of the spine (see blood drip in pic), passed through the heart, and exited through the far front shoulder. Total kill shot. Some luck I'm sure, shooting at a running moose from a moving boat, while steering the tiller with my leg, at 125 yards with open sights (never hunted with open sights before), but I'll definitely take it.
I was totally happy with the garand as a bad weather moose rifle and also with the Winchester Failsafes (165's) on moose. The bullet passed through probably the thickest bones on a moose and still resulted in a through and through shot, and I found no bullet fragments whatsoever while cleaning out the wound tracks of gore. No bullet recovered to weigh, obviously. And look at the amount of blood that exited that moose from one shot; lots. And... a total bang, flop, which as I've said I've never done on a moose, even with 338 win mags and 375 H&H. The peep sights on the garand also let me see the action as the bullet hit the moose; I'm used to using a scope and then having to look around for the effects of your shot after the recoil. With the peep sights I just saw the whole picture. Way cool.
Hope everyone else's hunts go so well!
