moose camp - story and pics pg 4

[wingnut]

That evening we talked about what we wanted to see and do on Day 2.  We again wanted to get up high to overlook the area.  And we wanted to see the area the bulls were headed towards on Day 1.  So after coffee and bagels we were headed down stream and then up the hill.  It's only a 1/2 mile to the up slope here so we made good time, stopping every few hundred yards to call and apply Cow urine. Then we started up and dang it's a lot steeper then it looks.  We saw old sheep hunter tracks using this route so pressed on.  Finally we got to about 50 yds below the ridge and not wanting to skylight ourselves set up to glass under a couple of small trees.  It was colder today and the wind was about 20 mph.  The new First Lite vests and puffys were soon out of the packs and on.  Pretty dang warm in those.

Here's a view from our spot:

 

As you can see there was not much to see.  We had hoped to see down into the trees but only got trees.  We spent 4 hours glassing and seeing nothing.  So decided to check out a big wash we could see down stream from our position.

[Charlie Lamb]

Lovin it Mike!!

[The Night Stalker]

It's  a waiting game, for sure.

[Whip]

Living large!  Looking forward to every detail -
 beautiful country!

[Possum Head]

Wonderful photos

[23feetupandhappy]

Man that's beautiful country!!!!!

Loving the write up  


   

[wingnut]

Other than flushing a few grouse nothing much happened the rest of day 2.  John is due to join us on day 3. He had a family obligation that prevented him coming in with us.  We decided to go sit the blind at the beaver pond for the day with hopes our calling and cow in heat scent got some attention.

It was an exciting morning for sure.  We had bulls grunting and I got to hear a cow in heat trying to keep a bull off of her all morning.  They were all over the woods to our right but never got closer then 100 yds or so.  We thought about going after them but with them running all over felt we would get busted for sure and the wind was not good.  The one thing about moose is don't let them smell you.  The can hear you coming and think your a moose or even see you and think your a moose or at least not a wolf or griz.  But if they smell you they know it's not right.  About noon we heard a cub down valley from us and thought that John had arrived.  So around 1 we gathered our stuff and headed down to greet him.  On the way we found this in the middle of the creek bed.

 

[wingnut]

This bull had to have been a wolf kill not long after John and I left the year before and not a winter kill.  They shed their antlers before the winter sets in.

He has great brows and would have been a nice bull to take.  He's only 52" wide though.

When we got back to camp.  No John.  We got some chores done and had a hot lunch and sent John a text via InReach to see what his status was.  He was waiting at 40 mile air for the cubs to return with a moose camp that was coming out that morning.  He finally arrived at about 4.

Here are some pics John took on his way in.

 

[wingnut]

Having trouble with Imgur.  will try again later today.

[ron w]

Beautiful country........

[wingnut]

[wingnut]

The wind was wrong that afternoon to get back to the pond so we decided to get John settled in and hunt from camp.  We regularly see bulls on the creek bottom in the afternoons.  But this day brought nothing.

Our plan for the next morning was to split up with Jason and Tyler going to the beaver ponds while John and I headed down stream to explore beyond the big wash we'd been down a couple days before.

John and I worked slowly as I'd heard a bull here before and we saw fresh bull tracks in the willows.  As soon as we crossed from the willows to the spruce all heck broke loose.  There were grouse everywhere.  John was trying to bring them down with his bow and couldn't understand why it was shooting so poorly.  We discovered when we got back to camp the limbs were reversed top and bottom throwing the tiller out.

During the next couple of hours we got into no fewer then 15 grouse and managed to only kill 2.  Pretty poor for a couple of experienced guys.  But that did mean that we now had 3 in the cooler  and it was time for grouse alfredo.

Jason and Tyler got to the pond and had a bunch of action.  One bull sounded like he was coming from across the pond only to hang  up out of sight.  Another bull was off to the left but never showed himself.   Cows were leading these guys around and not wanting to come to the water.

They did call in a small bull to 15 yds and get some  video  of him.  Things died down and they decided to meet us in camp.

Jason's back was acting up so he decided to hang in camp that evening while Tyler John and I went back to sort out the beaver ponds.  We heard bulls in the distance but never got any in sight. At dusk we started back.  When we turned the last corner and had the strip in sight we saw a bull standing 30 yds from camp.  We closed the distance to 100 yds only to determine he was not legal and will need another year.  When we got back we found that Jason had be splitting wood and the sound had called the bull in.  Jason  was in the trees 25 yds from  the bull wth bow in hand trying to make him grow as we approached.

It was time for grouse alfredo.

First part out the grouse:

 

[wingnut]

Brown in butter:

 

Braise in rum, onions, garlic and water until tender.  Add dehydrated noodles and Alfredo sauce.

It was amazing.

[ron w]

That sounds good enough to eat.......  

[Warden609]

       

[John Havard]

The one thing I can assure everyone is that when Mike and Jason are hunting with you, you eat well.  In the last photo above you can see the oven (yes, the oven) that Mike and Jason built that serves as an in-line spark arrestor, a heat exchanger, and an oven just above the titanium wood stove.  Ever had fresh biscuits in a fly-in camp?  Ever had peach dump cake in a fly-in camp?  How about baked potatoes?  In my decades of hunting every year in Alaska I've normally lost weight during my hunts.  Not with Mike and Jason however!

[BenM]

What a great trip.  One day o hope to have the same opportunity.  Thanks for sharing.

[wingnut]

The next morning Jason and John teamed up to hunt above camp where we'd gone the first day and Tyler and I headed to the blind on the pond.

Not long after sun up we heard the bull across the pond again and this time we had the wind and hauled butt in that direction.  I'd never been up that way so naturally picked the wrong route.  The pond or ponds are actually 3 ponds shaped like a sideways U.  Ours is on bottom with the middle the top between us and the bull.  The best way would have been around the right side and into the center of the U, we went left.  Anyway we got there and the bull was still grunting in the trees about 200 yds. in front of us.  He finally stepped out but was sideways.  It's real hard to judge size from a side view.  He ended up 540 yds. out before he turned to my bull calls.  Dang he is a big bull.

 

This is taken with an iPhone through the binos and hand held.

He looked over 60" with real big front palms at that distance.

Mike

[lt-m-grow]

Great stuff.  Keep it coming.  And thanks!

[wingnut]

That night in camp we talked about the bull in the pic above.  We believe he's the one we saw on the first day and the one that was coming down to the other side of the pond and hanging up for 3 days.  It was decided that the best way to get him was probably the .308.

So the story of the hunt stops here.

They didn't take that bull but one committed a grave error on the way to the pond.
pics of Tyler's bull can be seen our our Facebook page.

We served as butcher and pack mule for the next day and a half and then went back to hunting.