Hey Guys,
Well, I got out and got myself some meat for the freezer! Here is a quick run-down of how things played out....
Woke up at 3:30AM and headed out for the drive to my moose area. It was a cooler morning and I was hoping to find a rutting bull on my first day out to the zone this year.
I got to the trailhead about 1/2 hour before legal light and started to hike. Once legal light came, I made my way up the trail some more and to a meadow I was trying to make it to.
Once in the meadow, I spotted a bull with two cows in the opening. They were feeding and spread out about 20 yards. I let out a cow call to have the bull raise his head and look at me. He stopped and stared into the distance, and I evaluated him from about 500 yards. At that time I had kinda figured he wasnt as big a bull as I was hoping for, but I had only been hunting for about 10 minutes so decided I would go and see if I could call him in.
At 400 yards I settled into some trees and began some calling. The bull lumbered away from his cows and I could hear him grunting at that distance in the clearing. He walked to about 300 yards and began to rake the bushes in front of me. I looked at him again through the binos and a part of me got excited about shooting a moose on the first day out for the season. The thoughts of filling my tag early and having more time to spend hunting with my wife for her mulie buck and spending some time with friends around home was enough to convince me that this bull would be worth shooting. I guessed him to be in the low 40" category.
I made a short move to another clump of bushes and put my pack in front of me. The bull got a bit anxious when he realized his cows were way behind him and started to act a bit nervous. I guessed the range at around 225-250 yards and laid my pack across the top of my pack. As he turned broadside, I put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed off a shot. The resounding thump followed by the jump of the moose was a great feeling. The bull took 3-5 steps forward and stood. I decided to put another shot into him and at the shot the bull collapsed.
Once I made my way up to the bull, the cows were still hanging around so I grunted at them a few times, sending them on their way. The bull had landed in a wet meadow, so I cleared some branches and marsh grass away for pictures.
I was by myself, so I began the task of field butchering the bull. I removed all 4 quarters, backstraps, tenderloins, etc from the bull to get the meat into some shade for the day. Anyone who has butchered a bull by themselves in a wet marsh knows how much fun that can be!! I then loaded up one tagged hindquarter and grunted it to the truck. Once at the truck, I made a phone call to Duk Dog and told him I had a bull down. He came out and gave me a hand hauling the rest of the bull out, and we used his game cart (and our packs) to retrieve the rest. I shot the bull at 7:25AM and we got out to the truck at about 4:25PM. It was a long day, but a fun one!!!
Big thanks to Duk Dog, TangoKilo, and Shooter for help on this hunt. My bull measured 43" and although not quite the monster I was hoping to shoot, still a very cool bull and a VERY enjoyable hunt, which I found way more important at the time. I now have a PILE more time to trophy hunt for a big mulie for my wife and do some northern whitetail with friends. Gotta like it when a plan comes together!!!
Rifle was a Rem 700 LVSF in 7-08AI. I was shooting 140TSX and found my second bullet in the offside skin when quartering. The first bullet passed through and busted both shoulders.
Well, I got out and got myself some meat for the freezer! Here is a quick run-down of how things played out....
Woke up at 3:30AM and headed out for the drive to my moose area. It was a cooler morning and I was hoping to find a rutting bull on my first day out to the zone this year.
I got to the trailhead about 1/2 hour before legal light and started to hike. Once legal light came, I made my way up the trail some more and to a meadow I was trying to make it to.
Once in the meadow, I spotted a bull with two cows in the opening. They were feeding and spread out about 20 yards. I let out a cow call to have the bull raise his head and look at me. He stopped and stared into the distance, and I evaluated him from about 500 yards. At that time I had kinda figured he wasnt as big a bull as I was hoping for, but I had only been hunting for about 10 minutes so decided I would go and see if I could call him in.
At 400 yards I settled into some trees and began some calling. The bull lumbered away from his cows and I could hear him grunting at that distance in the clearing. He walked to about 300 yards and began to rake the bushes in front of me. I looked at him again through the binos and a part of me got excited about shooting a moose on the first day out for the season. The thoughts of filling my tag early and having more time to spend hunting with my wife for her mulie buck and spending some time with friends around home was enough to convince me that this bull would be worth shooting. I guessed him to be in the low 40" category.
I made a short move to another clump of bushes and put my pack in front of me. The bull got a bit anxious when he realized his cows were way behind him and started to act a bit nervous. I guessed the range at around 225-250 yards and laid my pack across the top of my pack. As he turned broadside, I put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed off a shot. The resounding thump followed by the jump of the moose was a great feeling. The bull took 3-5 steps forward and stood. I decided to put another shot into him and at the shot the bull collapsed.
Once I made my way up to the bull, the cows were still hanging around so I grunted at them a few times, sending them on their way. The bull had landed in a wet meadow, so I cleared some branches and marsh grass away for pictures.
I was by myself, so I began the task of field butchering the bull. I removed all 4 quarters, backstraps, tenderloins, etc from the bull to get the meat into some shade for the day. Anyone who has butchered a bull by themselves in a wet marsh knows how much fun that can be!! I then loaded up one tagged hindquarter and grunted it to the truck. Once at the truck, I made a phone call to Duk Dog and told him I had a bull down. He came out and gave me a hand hauling the rest of the bull out, and we used his game cart (and our packs) to retrieve the rest. I shot the bull at 7:25AM and we got out to the truck at about 4:25PM. It was a long day, but a fun one!!!
Big thanks to Duk Dog, TangoKilo, and Shooter for help on this hunt. My bull measured 43" and although not quite the monster I was hoping to shoot, still a very cool bull and a VERY enjoyable hunt, which I found way more important at the time. I now have a PILE more time to trophy hunt for a big mulie for my wife and do some northern whitetail with friends. Gotta like it when a plan comes together!!!
Rifle was a Rem 700 LVSF in 7-08AI. I was shooting 140TSX and found my second bullet in the offside skin when quartering. The first bullet passed through and busted both shoulders.
