Trubkir17
Hammer Time Executive member
I found out on Thursday that our shop was taking Friday off for Rememberance Day on November 11. I quickly affirmed my permission and I was set to hunt. Got out to my spot and it was so foggy that even though I was only going about 10MPH I almost hit a couple of cattle that were standing on the entrance road to my hunting spot. I got to where I park my truck and changed while I waited for the dawn and the start of shooting light. I left my truck and cursed the fog and then realized that the wind had changed directions and made my original plan for hunting unworkable. I just moved on to plan B and moved out.
I got about halfway to the spot I wanted to sit at when I heard the unmistakable sound of something big with antlers moving in some thick willows. I was glassing through the bush but due to the fog and the thickness of the bush I could not see an animal. I did feel like I saw something big and dark step through a small opening, but it could also have been my mind playing the usual tricks on me. It was unmistakable though I heard it move several times but never could see it. Being a man of action, I knew I could not leave there without totally screwing it up. I dropped my pack and started down a game trail that I thought might get close to him. I didn't get 50 yards when I heard the familiar sound of animals moving away.
Beat up but not beaten I spent some time investigating to see if I could find where and what was in the bush even though I strongly suspected it was a moose. I could not find any sign that I thought was fresh so I moved out of there in an effort to circle around and come at them from a different direction in an area I guessed they might move to.
I got to a road and hadn't moved more than 100 yards down that road when I met the first truck hunter of the day. The people in the truck stopped and talked with me for a couple of minutes and then moved on. A quick side question but do truck hunters in your area where full camo? These guys were in full camo winter gear and it was only -2C or 30F. After they moved on, I continued down the road looking to my right. As I came into a clearing that opened up on my left I could see the silhouette of a bull moose about 300 yards away. I watched him jump the fence from the place where i didn't have permission to the place I had permission. I was immediately pumped up.
I moved to a sandy road that led right to the moose. I dropped my pack and got my shooting stick ready and started walking down the road towards the moose. As I got to the place where I saw the bull jump the fence, I saw a dark shape in the trees. I pulled my binoculars up and saw it was a cow moose looking at me. I was sure the one I saw had a small set of antlers so i continued glassing. I found another cow moose and then I saw the bull. He was standing in the bush and with binoculars I could tell it was a good one. I got my rifle up and turned the scope to 9x. i could see a hole in the bush that was on his chest, but I couldn't pick a spot to aim at because of shadows. I decided to wait. So I waited for what seemed like a long time until one of the cow moose got worked up. She did one of the bluff runs where she ran about 10-20 yards and then stopped to see if anything happened. I managed to stand still and looked at the bull and he had moved out but was now covered by trees. I could see his antlers now and knew that if he presented a shot I would take it.
It took another few minutes but one of the cow moose moved towards him and covered him up and I got a little worried that I might not get a shot. He must have finally lost his nerve because he took about 10 big steps out in the clear and gave me the perfect quartering away shot at an estimated 130 yards. I can still see the sight picture in my head. The cross hairs were mid chest and the bottom of the vertical retical was covering his offside leg. I was chanting to myself "pull,pull,pull" and the trigger broke. I don't think I could have had better form as I was able to catch the impact in the bottom of my scope. Unfortunately, the bull didn't seem to react at all and started leaving. I cycled my Winchester M70 and got back on him and saw a big steaming hole in his side and he just stopped. I was about to send another bullet his way when I saw him start to stagger. He swayed a couple times and turned to face me and fell over. I was pretty scrambled at that point. I was joyful, thankful, sorrowful all at the same time.
Let me tell you I am glad he fell where he did as I was able to get my truck next to him to help me get him processed. That is all the animal you want when you are hunting solo. Anyway I got him home to process but it was a monumental task for a 58 year old guy who goes a buck sixty.
I got about halfway to the spot I wanted to sit at when I heard the unmistakable sound of something big with antlers moving in some thick willows. I was glassing through the bush but due to the fog and the thickness of the bush I could not see an animal. I did feel like I saw something big and dark step through a small opening, but it could also have been my mind playing the usual tricks on me. It was unmistakable though I heard it move several times but never could see it. Being a man of action, I knew I could not leave there without totally screwing it up. I dropped my pack and started down a game trail that I thought might get close to him. I didn't get 50 yards when I heard the familiar sound of animals moving away.
Beat up but not beaten I spent some time investigating to see if I could find where and what was in the bush even though I strongly suspected it was a moose. I could not find any sign that I thought was fresh so I moved out of there in an effort to circle around and come at them from a different direction in an area I guessed they might move to.
I got to a road and hadn't moved more than 100 yards down that road when I met the first truck hunter of the day. The people in the truck stopped and talked with me for a couple of minutes and then moved on. A quick side question but do truck hunters in your area where full camo? These guys were in full camo winter gear and it was only -2C or 30F. After they moved on, I continued down the road looking to my right. As I came into a clearing that opened up on my left I could see the silhouette of a bull moose about 300 yards away. I watched him jump the fence from the place where i didn't have permission to the place I had permission. I was immediately pumped up.
I moved to a sandy road that led right to the moose. I dropped my pack and got my shooting stick ready and started walking down the road towards the moose. As I got to the place where I saw the bull jump the fence, I saw a dark shape in the trees. I pulled my binoculars up and saw it was a cow moose looking at me. I was sure the one I saw had a small set of antlers so i continued glassing. I found another cow moose and then I saw the bull. He was standing in the bush and with binoculars I could tell it was a good one. I got my rifle up and turned the scope to 9x. i could see a hole in the bush that was on his chest, but I couldn't pick a spot to aim at because of shadows. I decided to wait. So I waited for what seemed like a long time until one of the cow moose got worked up. She did one of the bluff runs where she ran about 10-20 yards and then stopped to see if anything happened. I managed to stand still and looked at the bull and he had moved out but was now covered by trees. I could see his antlers now and knew that if he presented a shot I would take it.
It took another few minutes but one of the cow moose moved towards him and covered him up and I got a little worried that I might not get a shot. He must have finally lost his nerve because he took about 10 big steps out in the clear and gave me the perfect quartering away shot at an estimated 130 yards. I can still see the sight picture in my head. The cross hairs were mid chest and the bottom of the vertical retical was covering his offside leg. I was chanting to myself "pull,pull,pull" and the trigger broke. I don't think I could have had better form as I was able to catch the impact in the bottom of my scope. Unfortunately, the bull didn't seem to react at all and started leaving. I cycled my Winchester M70 and got back on him and saw a big steaming hole in his side and he just stopped. I was about to send another bullet his way when I saw him start to stagger. He swayed a couple times and turned to face me and fell over. I was pretty scrambled at that point. I was joyful, thankful, sorrowful all at the same time.
Let me tell you I am glad he fell where he did as I was able to get my truck next to him to help me get him processed. That is all the animal you want when you are hunting solo. Anyway I got him home to process but it was a monumental task for a 58 year old guy who goes a buck sixty.
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