Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
Just got back from my Moose hunt in northern Alberta, Canada. Like all hunts, expectations were high, but then you have to tap those expectations down to keep an even keel. Then hunt was 9 days and we hunt in Provincial forest land and my guide has permitted access to guide in about 30,000 acres. Our first day out went well as we saw 2 cows, a calf, and a small bull. When we came back to camp that night, there was 2 cows and 2 bulls near our camp. The one larger bull was in the woods and brush but looked good. He was only 60 yards from us and based on what we saw was a large mature bull that fit our target bull goal. gun was up and ready, he moved a bit and we saw he had only 1 antler. The other was broken off about 5" from his head. The beam at that point was about 4" in diameter so there was definitely another bigger alpha bull in the area.
Went out the next day and saw multiple cows, calves, and bulls. The Moose sittings were definitely strong so our confidence was building we were in the right area. That afternoon we spotted several satellite bulls down in a draw. The were moving around a 3-4 acre thicket of spruce and poplar trees. Satellite bulls are usually smaller bulls that are following a mature bull who has a hot cow or 2 that he has herded into a secluded area. Any other bulls that come in he will aggressively push out. We got a quick glimpse of him and knew he was our target bull. That afternoon wind was perfect. and we called him i from about 600 yards away. Moose vocalization this year was very light. Most bulls that responded would only respond with about 2 light grunts. We new he was getting close and we could hear twigs snapping and his antlers hit a couple of branches. He got to within 150 yards of us and the wind changed for about 5 seconds. That spooked him and he never came into view.
We spent the next 5 days chasing him. Finally located him late one afternoon and he was in a large spruce thicket that ran between 2 ravines. Saw multiple cows and3 satellite bulls. One of the bulls was the one horned one we saw earlier. He went in to challenge the head bull and quickly came out wanting nothing to do with him. Light ran out and we decided to come back in the morning to do a stalk into the spruce. Next morning we walked a 1/2 mile in to find that all of the moose had disappeared. Our hearts sank as this was completely unexpected. Possible cause was that several wolves came through that night and pushed the moose out.
Basically after 5-6 days we were back to scratch without a plan. The next day we did not see a moose anywhere after calling and glassing multiple areas.
The following morning the wind forced to hunt the opposite end of the cut block about 3 miles away. Started calling and glassing without much success. We made one last try. My guide went up the hill to look out over several draws that had good pockets of spruce. When he got the the hilltop he immediately saw the large bull moose we were chasing moving towards him. the bull must've responded to early calls. I got up there quickly and we glassed him at about 175 yards. Gun was up and put my first shot right on point of shoulder, the moose did not drop and moved forward a bit and put the next shot a bit higher and he dropped.
So we went for 5-6 days of constant building confidence our plan was working and we had located the bull were after, to complete disappointment when all the Moose vanished overnight. Then day 8 everything changed in a manner of minutes and we harvested the bull we were after. That's hunting! he was a 6 year old and went 47", 20 points, with 3 brow fronts on one side and 4 on the other.
As mentioned, this is huge Provincial forest land that is leased at times for logging. Below is a "cut block" we hunted in. The cut block was about 4 x 5 miles and had many pockets of tight cover, valleys, draws, and ravines. Once logged, the Poplar regrowth happens and the browse is 3' x 6' feet high.
Valleys we were calling and glassing into ...
Went down to the river valley and tried calling in a bull ...
Went out the next day and saw multiple cows, calves, and bulls. The Moose sittings were definitely strong so our confidence was building we were in the right area. That afternoon we spotted several satellite bulls down in a draw. The were moving around a 3-4 acre thicket of spruce and poplar trees. Satellite bulls are usually smaller bulls that are following a mature bull who has a hot cow or 2 that he has herded into a secluded area. Any other bulls that come in he will aggressively push out. We got a quick glimpse of him and knew he was our target bull. That afternoon wind was perfect. and we called him i from about 600 yards away. Moose vocalization this year was very light. Most bulls that responded would only respond with about 2 light grunts. We new he was getting close and we could hear twigs snapping and his antlers hit a couple of branches. He got to within 150 yards of us and the wind changed for about 5 seconds. That spooked him and he never came into view.
We spent the next 5 days chasing him. Finally located him late one afternoon and he was in a large spruce thicket that ran between 2 ravines. Saw multiple cows and3 satellite bulls. One of the bulls was the one horned one we saw earlier. He went in to challenge the head bull and quickly came out wanting nothing to do with him. Light ran out and we decided to come back in the morning to do a stalk into the spruce. Next morning we walked a 1/2 mile in to find that all of the moose had disappeared. Our hearts sank as this was completely unexpected. Possible cause was that several wolves came through that night and pushed the moose out.
Basically after 5-6 days we were back to scratch without a plan. The next day we did not see a moose anywhere after calling and glassing multiple areas.
The following morning the wind forced to hunt the opposite end of the cut block about 3 miles away. Started calling and glassing without much success. We made one last try. My guide went up the hill to look out over several draws that had good pockets of spruce. When he got the the hilltop he immediately saw the large bull moose we were chasing moving towards him. the bull must've responded to early calls. I got up there quickly and we glassed him at about 175 yards. Gun was up and put my first shot right on point of shoulder, the moose did not drop and moved forward a bit and put the next shot a bit higher and he dropped.
So we went for 5-6 days of constant building confidence our plan was working and we had located the bull were after, to complete disappointment when all the Moose vanished overnight. Then day 8 everything changed in a manner of minutes and we harvested the bull we were after. That's hunting! he was a 6 year old and went 47", 20 points, with 3 brow fronts on one side and 4 on the other.
As mentioned, this is huge Provincial forest land that is leased at times for logging. Below is a "cut block" we hunted in. The cut block was about 4 x 5 miles and had many pockets of tight cover, valleys, draws, and ravines. Once logged, the Poplar regrowth happens and the browse is 3' x 6' feet high.
Valleys we were calling and glassing into ...
Went down to the river valley and tried calling in a bull ...
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