I just got back last week from a hunting trip in northern Alberta. I was hunting with some friends who also happen to be hosts and prostaff for the show The Replacements on Wildtv. (Canada) Most of the guys were hunting elk but because of an oversight on my part, I was hunting moose with the bow before it closed.
Day one was spent travelling and setting up camp after which we went for a quick hunt. I walked up to 25 yards of a small, bedded mule buck within the first 200 yards but I didn't have the draw required to shoot him. There was some moose sign in the area but nothing wanted to play that evening.
Day two I went to a different area and there was more fresh sign. I did spot a cow, spike and a mature 5 point bull elk but they were approximately 600 yards away and I had no tag. The evening was uneventful.
On day three I had a good feeling and I made the comment that someone was going to harvest something. I went back to my spot from day two and set up to call. I had just finished my third sequence of calling when I got a reply. By the time I located the direction he was in I realized that he was coming FAST! I quickly setup and he showed up at the edge of the pipeline I was on. He was a young bull, the kind I don't mind eating! He was cautious and stood there for a while checking things out. At one point he stared at me and I was sure it was over. When he did move he started trotting across the pipeline and although he was broadside at 15 yards my window of opportunity was closing quickly. I drew and grunted to stop him but he didn't like that too much and busted outta there hard. It was a close encounter and really got the adrenaline going!
That evening was a bust again.
Day four started with a long hike and a grouse harvested but no big game spotted. That evening I decided to do a little scouting for elk for next year since the wind was blowing at around 40 miles/hr. I found a good elk trail and was seeing where it led when I noticed movement on the trail ahead. I stopped and realized the movement was a cow elk at about 15 yards and closing fast! There was some long grass on the trail and I think that's why she didn't notice me right away. She finally did notice me at about 8 yards but the wind was blowing steady from behind her and in fact I could smell her. Well, She stood and stared for about 3 minutes until I felt the slightest breeze on the back of my neck. She busted out hard taking a spike that had been behind her with. Exciting stuff and I did find a heavily used area that I put on the back burner for next year. That evening another cameraman showed up in camp which freed up a cameraman. My friend Dave. He had been itching to sit a stand he had set up that had a lot of elk and moose coming into it.
Day five Dave and I headed into his stand with the deal that if a moose came in he would film me and I would do the camera work if an elk showed up. Near the stand we bumped a moose and called to it to try and calm it down. It ran off and we made our way into the stand. There's lots to set up when you are filming a hunt and it took us about 15 minutes to get everything ready. We hadn't even sat down when I heard a moose grunt. Dave spotted him almost immediately and I grabbed my bow. Well he walked by at 80 yards and kept going so I gave him a couple of grunts at which point he shutup. I thought he must have moved on but soon we could hear some movement in the thick alders and spruce in front of us. The cameras were rolling as we waited for what seemed like for ever for him to make his way closer. He finally committed and stepped into the open. Unfortunately there was a scrawny little alder covering his vitals. He finally moved again and gave me the shot I wanted. I drew and released. The arrow hit right where I was looking and as he turned to leave I knew he wouldn't go far. He didn't run hard and stopped 25 yards from where I shot him when I grunted at him. We watched him go down and started celebrating. He is a very wide bull, as wide as the bull I got last year but with smaller antlers but what really impressed me was the shear size of his body. Biggest moose I've ever seen.
I hope you tune in next summer when my hunt will be aired on The Replacements.
Topic: Another Alberta Moose! (Read 8047 times)
