Moose hunting...

[mr lee]

A good mate of mine lives in British Columbia and posted these pics and write up for me to show what a typical moose hunt entails. The text is all his as are the pictures.

 

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First morning involves a lot of travelling, usually to find some water and in most cases a meadow or two. Moose, although they are a big animal, don't like to be in the open. They will normally be found walking along the edge of clearings (we call them slashes) and tucked in the woods surrounding meadows. Around the edge of meadow, there are usually alders growing which have bright red tips; containing loads of horsepower for this huge animal. Preferably, if there is running water or a lake within this meadow, you have found the perfect hunting ground for any big game. Shelter; food and water.

 

To give you a picture, this is what I'm talking about:

 

 

 

In this picture, I'm showing the sort of area where you would come across moose tracks, **** and beds. They like to stay close to the edges, where they can disappear quickly into the thick brush if they feel threatened:

 

 

A good spot to locate yourself is tucked under a tree with a good field of view. This is where you should start calling to see if you get a response. A males call is like a series of three grunts; a females is more like a long lingering moan (pretty much like adults really )

A location like this gives you a great place to view 180 degs and still be covered:

 

[mr lee]

Ok so we're of on the hunt now; we're looking from hilltops for meadows and lakes, anywhere we think the moose are going to be migrating to for food and sleep.

 

Imagine being at least 100 miles from the nearest town and coming across a cowboy on the road doing some ranching ready for winter. In the area we're in, ATV's are illegal for hunting purposes; horses however aren't. So after a few beers and a chat, he points us in a the right direction and offers us the use of a horse should we shoot a moose too far from the road.

 

We set off on tracks and trails. Old trails from back in the days of Cowboys and Indians exist til this day due to the climate. So after a few hours drive in the bush, imagine opening out in a meadow and seeing this :

 

 

Seriously, it was like something out of Little house on the prarie !! Obviously we weren't the first people to discover this town after it had been abandoned; most the cabins had been looted; but we did find some old letters, bottles and clothing. Some of the evidence pointed towards the last settlers living here as late as 1980 ! Hence the tin roofs.

 

 

And of course, right in the middle of this abandoned cowboy town was the school and church. These pics really don't do it justice, the peace and tranquility of walking through a silent ghost town !

 

[mr lee]

We were spending time in the town as there was a lake we had seen that we wanted to find for sun down. So we walk around, had a good look about.

 

Everything seemed to still work; doors opened. flaps lifted; the weather had taken some toll, but not as much as you would have thought.

 

Love this picture of the church as the sun starts to set:

 

 

We found lots of other homesteads further out of the town with corals for the horse and cattle still in perfect order; old horse pulled bailing machines rusting where they were last used for hay.

Just on the outskirts of town was the cemetary. Dates ranged from 1600's to the 1980's, although it was thought that the later dates were people brought back to be buried in the family plot:

 

 

Finally we moved on to the lake we had seen from high on the hill top to catch it right on sunset - the perfect time for the moose to feed. we set up and called until dark only to hear the faint call of a moose cow off in the distance. Now we had a 2 hours hike and drive out of the bush in the dark, but boy was it worth it for this day

 

[mr lee]

That night we were looking at the pictures from the day and my mate Chris was telling us all the features on his SLR etc; so I said, well I've got some 30-06 distress flares in my pack; lets see if you can capture one of them being fired. Now bear in mind, I'm now just firing a bullet into the sky, I'm firing a phosphoprous head which becomes a flare and travels only 300 ft in the air. So out we go and if you'd ever wondered what a gun shot looks like at night; here it is

 

 

Did a lot of hiking over the next few days trying to find tracks and beds (flattened areas of grass where the moose bed down for the night). A few cold nights and a dusting of snow certainly helped with tracking. Although we weren't sharing the woods with just moose. A fox had made itself quite at home clearing up our scraps and nicking the odd grouse before we'd had time to clean them ! Also, out on a solo hike I came across this beauty. it's the paw print of a black bear; Grizzly's tend to be on higher ground than I was, but the claw shape and size is different, so I knew it was a black one. Bear in mind, my footprint is a size 10 !

 

 

Day eight of the trip turned out to be the winner. My cousin and I are for a drive, mid afternoon looking for new tracks and trails when without warning, he's jumped out the truck and is of running a lightening speed in the bush. Instictively I'm out too; gun in hand, chanbering the first round with the quick snap of the 30-06 bolt. I can't take credit for it, my cousin unleashes just one shot and the huge animal falls in a heap right there. Not to have me feel too left out He lets me have the kill shot, a single shot behind the ear. Then we open up the belly, carefull not to nick the gut sack and go about gutting the animal there in the bush. What is left is known as the gut pile; all the inards of the animal in a 'sack'. By morning this will have dissapeared, eaten by the ravens, eagles, vultures, wolves and bears. the coyotes might be able to pick up some of the scraps.

 

Using the trucks, ropes and pulleys, we haul the huge animal back to the road, where we set a block and tackle in the tree; lift the animal, back up a truck and lower down our 1200lb beauty

 

[MJN]

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Edited January 14, 2009 by MGMan

[mr lee]

Now back at the camp, we need to erect what is called a hanging pole. This is constructed by lashing one timber horizontally between two sturdy trees. On the horizontal beam is places a block through which one end is tied to the animals ankles and the other to a truck. By using the truck, we can lift the animal up into a position where we can start working on skinning it. The idea is to get the hide off the animal as fast as possible after the kill to cool the meat down. We don't have chillers, so 2 inch thick hair is a very good insulator at keeping the moose warm.

 

Now whilst we're doing this, my friend Chris caterpaults a squirrel. We explain to him the rule is; you shoot it, you eat it !! Ok, so off he wnt, skinned the squirrel and put it on the BBQ. It tastes like chicken but is tough as leather !

 

 

Now we have the moose hanging from our hanging pole. with a very sharp knife you pull at the hide and cut as close to the meat *** possible ina slicing action with out cutting into the meat itself. Almost the same action as you would use when sharpening a knife.

 

[mr lee]

This continues; when you're down far enough, you back up the truck raising the animal and so on......

 

 

And so the process continues...... slice, sip beer, sharpen knife and slice............ The whole process of skinning a moose this size with two men takes about an hour on continous work.

 

[mr lee]

This is one of the parts I really enjoy about the trip; the whole getting it out the bush; loading it up and getting back to camp to skin it. it's all about getting stuck in and dirty

 

 

Once the animal is skinned, we leave it to hang until the day we leave. It's covered with a tarp if necessary to keep the meat dry and in the shade (if necessary).

On the day of quiting camp, the only real way to handle an animal of this size is to quarter it. Rather than using a butchers set, we do it the redneck way - chainsaw !! Now as you may know, we don't want any of the chain oil on the meat, so it's emptied out and replaced with cooking oil with doesn't harm the meat. The first cut is straight down the spine, creating two halves:

 

[mr lee]

This as you can imagine, is not a clean process. Someone has to stand the otherside to keep the rib cages apart to prevent the chainsaw getting squashed in the bone. That someone was me

 

 

With the moose in two halves, it is then cut through just behind the 4th rib. This is pretty much the pivotal point of the animal and it crates 4 workable quarters. Then it's loaded into the trailer last, wrapped in sheets to keep it clean and dry and dropped off at the butchers on the way home. 2 weeks later, it's been made in to steaks, sausage, mince, rumps any cut you want.

 

Usually we get at least 3, but this years weather didn't help us as it was too hot really. So all in all, each man ended up with about 220 lbs of cut meat; ten days of fun in the bush and all for about $800 all in !! :xbeer:

 

Now for the trophy shots

[mr lee]

 

 

[mr lee]

Me and my cousin

 

 

My cousin and his proud Dad

 

[mr lee]

I have some pictures and text of the camp/base they set up too..

 

 

So here we've found a good spot to set up camp; just off a main logging road and nicely tucked away from prying eyes

 

 

One hours after we've started and the frame is starting to take shape. This is 5 men and a couple of chainsaw's. The old guys job is to supply beer and cook supper !!

 

 

this is about 5pm, we're 3 1/2 hours into building the camp and things are starting to take shape. The frame is almost finished and the most important thing; the wood stove is in place

[mr lee]

We work til about 10pm, get some sleep, then up at 6am to start hunting. Moose invariably eat at sunrise and sunset, so for the remainder of the day, they're not on the move and bedded down - making them practically impossible to find. So during the middle of the day we tidy up camp a bit; get it looking good, play cards, go out scouting for the evenings hunt that kinda thing.

 

 

So this is what we end up with. There's a cooking area, drying area, and washing area. Behind me is the sleeping area for a few of us young guys (the old 'uns sleep in their trailers or campers). The floor is carpeted for warmth and comfort; remember we're here for 10 days, so you might as well make it as comfortable as possible !!

 

 

 

There's obviously a few photos that are missing, but this is the one we always take at the end of the trip for the 'wall of shame' at home (mine is the downstairs toilet). This year the temperatures were too high and moose get lazy and sleep lots; the best is about -10*c and lower to get them moving. Add a dusting of snow to help with tracking and you've got great conditions. A week later and we would have had an amesome trip; but that's hunting

[mr lee]

A couple of the fees we have to pay dependant on what we shoot..

 

Licence Type Fee

 

Hunting Licence issued to:

a non-resident to hunt wildlife and to carry firearms $75

a non-resident alien to hunt wildlife and to carry firearms $180

a person to hunt in the Gulf Islands special hunting area $2

an applicant for a junior licence $7

a person to hunt in the Fraser Valley special area $10

 

Species licence to hunt:

Black Bear $180

Caribou $230

Cougar $230

Mule Deer, including Black-tailed Deer and Fallow Deer $125

Elk $250

Grizzly Bear $1030

Moose $250

Mountain Goat $350

Mountain Sheep $620

Wolf $50

White-tailed Deer $125

Queen Charlotte Islands Deer $25

Upland game birds $50

Bobcat $40

Bison $700

Lynx $40

Wolverine $40

[mr lee]

here's where you apply for your licences:

 

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hu ... _resident/

 

And the costs of those licences:

 

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hu ... _resident/

 

Here's some outfitters for having a look at what you get;

 

http://www.bchuntingguide.com/

 

Here's one outfitters prices; not as bad as I thought :xbeer:

 

Don't forget to add the cost of the flight on top too !!!

 

http://www.bcguideoutfitters.com/huntingpackages.html

 

I shot one moose between us all (we had tags to shoot 6).

I could also shoot any buck deer and any wolf or coyote. I had the scope on 2 deer and should have come home with a 5 pointer...... but didn't :cry:

We build our own camp and we don't need guides.

 

But lots of the areas we hunt have guides operating in them and as a rule, we are not allowed to hunt in their areas. So by going with a guide, your chances of a kill are hugely increased - they know where they are; their migration patterns and the lay of the land. Something that normally takes me 5 days of my 10 day hunt to work out :roll:

 

For those listed prices you would only be able to shoot one of each species; but remember; those are 'trophy hunts'. For those prices, they are taking you out to get the mother of all racks to have stuffed for the office wall !! An outfitter who doesn't specialise in trophy hunts, might actually be as cheap as half that price (but don't quote me!)

[Dave-G]

Outstanding write up of proper blokes hunting trip of a lifetime. I can't even afford to dream of how much that all costs.

 

Thanks indeed.

[Wookie]

Outstanding! I can only dream of doing the same thing and, if I did, I doubt I would ever come back!

[Vegeta]

has to be one of the posts of the year (12 months, not just since Jan 1st)

 

Excellent stuff. Thanks for sharing that

[mr lee]

has to be one of the posts of the year (12 months, not just since Jan 1st)

 

Excellent stuff. Thanks for sharing that

Thanks for that. As I said initially I am merely copying them across from Davids initial post but he has said he will do more of his hunting trips for me to post throughout the year.

 

Pleased you enjoyed it.

 

I did give him the link to here a while back but as yet he hasn't signed up.

[MC]

That is truly stunning. Not so much a hunting trip more of an adventure.

 

I notice top left in the last picture someone has their priorities right

[mr lee]

That is truly stunning. Not so much a hunting trip more of an adventure.

 

I notice top left in the last picture someone has their priorities right

:lol: I hadn't noticed that. :lol: :lol:

[Welsh Stinger]

Great story and photos , thanks for sharing . I never ever thought I would see the USA again after leaving the Royal Navy in 1979 .Little did I know then that I would get married and have two son's one of which would marry a native American and would settle down in Flagstaff Arizona and that his work would take them to Alaska for 6 months out of every year .

I never dreamt that I would hunt Elk , white tail , Javelina as well as small game in the States . I have been hunting with a bow for the last few years . Its hard to believe that there are guys out there that can take out a deer at 80+ yards with a bow , I am good out to 40 yards and can get a good pass through at that range . These modern Compound bows are unbelievable and the new PSE bow has a speed of 366fps and can blow a 2" broad head straight through a Bison . Hunting with a bow in this country is illegal that's one of the reasons I have to go bow hunt America.

[Fat Dog]

WOW. Great write up. That sounds like some hunting trip. No half measures in that camp.

[manitobasnows]

Great write up, all things I can do from my house but the camp and adventure can only be experienced in that way. I miss taking trips like that as I am to busy doing the same for others. Again, great write up! :unsure:

[Richard756]

What a right up I would love to have a holiday like that :unsure: (I don't think I would come back!!!!)