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2020 Moose Archery Hunt - My First Moose Hunt
It was only the last couple of years that I started to seriously consider hunting moose mainly due to the interest of a fellow hunter colleague at work. Well as luck would have it he drew an archery bull tag for WMU 31 this fall and invited me along. This was a DIY style hunt but he had rifle hunted in this WMU once in the past and had some luck so we had a good idea of a location to start at. After all of the planning was complete a group of 5 of us were on the road headed north on the Thursday morning preceding the Saturday opening day. We arrived in time to set up camp and go out for a quick scout before dark. We actually saw a cow (and a silver fox) so were off to a good start.
Friday was spent organizing camp and scouting. Our group of 5 split into 3 different areas and we located decent sign in all 3 spots. Furthermore, we had a group of bird hunters camping next to us who saw (and told us about) 2 different bulls they saw that day both relatively close together in one of our pre-determined areas we were also scouting. They said one was a giant. This was also the same area we saw the cow the previous day. Our confidence leading into opening morning was fairly high.
Hunt Day #1 - Sat Sept 26
Opening morning saw the 5 of us headed to the area where the 3 moose had been spotted. It was a warm and breezy morning. One of the guys heard a cow calling across a lake but that was all for excitement. Midday was spent driving around scouting for any new sign along with a bit of bird hunting. That evening we again went into the same spot. One guy saw a bear and heard a moose but no sightings.
Hunt Day #2 - Sun Sept 27
We all hit the same spot the second morning but after another hunt with no action we decided to switch up spots for the evening hunt. We went to an area about 5 miles away that we had scouted and found good sign previously. We ran into some fresh cow and bull tracks on the way in so we surrounded the area they went into and set up. 2 of the guys ended up hearing the cow calling and one of the guys almost got run over by a wolf so a bit of excitement but no actual sightings yet.
Hunt Day #3 - Mon Sept 28
The morning of Day 3 we headed back to the area we hunted the previous evening. Two of the guys (hunting together) got within bow range of a cow along a river (we only had a bull tag). I located some fresh beds and droppings (figured a cow and calf) but after a couple of hours the rain really started to come down. The rain let up enough for a bit of mid day scouting but our evening hunt got rained out. Our confidence was still high with the sign we were seeing so we were hoping that after the rain storm broke that night they would be moving the following day.
Hunt Day #4 - Tues Sept 29
One of our group members had to leave this day so morning #4 saw the 4 of us left headed back to the same area, and as it turns out things were on the upswing. As I dropped off my brother in the spot I had been the previous morning we saw a cow and a calf. I proceeded to my spot and found a big bed with some rubs close by. Another guy heard a cow and bull calling back and forth but they ended up winding him and he never got a look. So some promising encounters to say the least. During our mid day scouting trip one of the guys located a lot of really fresh tracks back in the first area that hadn't been hunted since morning #2 so we decided to head back there for the afternoon sit.
The weather was warm and quite windy as we all headed out for our afternoon sit. We all split up around 3:30 and I was set up in my spot by around 4. I have a tree saddle (think portable tree stand if you have never heard of it) that I had brought on the trip not really knowing what to expect. I had only used it on one hunt so far but given the high winds I was thinking being elevated would help project my calling out further so I decided to bring it along for this hunt. I was set up along a logging trail with some thick swamp in front of me and a small 1-2 year old cut behind me with lots of good browse. I did one calling sequence around 4:30 (trying to wait for a lull in the wind) and sat and waited. At around 5:15 I looked to my 11:00 and here comes a bull moose out of the thick swamp.
I never saw or heard him until he was ready to step out of the swamp into the opposite ditch of this logging trail and at that point he was only about 50 yards away. He had almost perfectly pin-pointed the location of the calling. I grabbed my crossbow and got ready and was able to range a small tree he was heading towards at 35 yards. He passes the tree and pops right out onto the trail looking around for the cow. He is now 25 yards with his body facing directly toward me. I wait for him to make a move so I can get a broadside shot and he ends up walking straight towards me to my side of the trail before turning and walking down the shoulder of the trail right in front of me. I wait until he is broadside at about 10 yards and squeeze the trigger. He ran about 30 yards and stopped. I could see it was a perfect lung shot but he was tough and continued to just stand there. I was able to re load the crossbow while hanging out of my tree saddle and put a second bolt through his lungs at 30 yards. This time he ran about 80 yards down the trail before turning into the swamp. He made it about 20 yards into the swamp and I watched him tip over. Somehow I had managed to remain completely calm through this entire encounter but right after I saw him fall I lost it for a couple minutes.
After enjoying a few moments realizing what had just happened I was on the radio to let the other guys know our hunt was over and 20 minutes later we were all together as we walked up onto this bull for the first time. It was an incredible experience I will never forget. And as they always say this is when the real work begins. Fast forwarding through the ropes, chains, come-alongs, labour, cussing and head scratching, it was 1:30 AM by the time we had him back in camp and hung up to the best of our abilities. A truly memorable hunt, day, trip, and experience altogether.
We were the better part of the following day de-mobilizing camp and loading the trucks and trailers but were on the road by around 4:00 PM and arrived back home at about 4:00 AM. My amazing wife who was home with our 2 year old and 3 month old was certainly glad to see us back a few days early. The trip was everything I had dreamt about and even more. I am definitely hooked now but set the bar pretty high on my first ever moose hunt.
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