What’s that “rule”? be in your blind well before legal shooting light. BaxterB and I were putting on our packs at the truck and had about a 12-minute walk to get to the makeshift blind that was up slope from a spring that the moose had been using in Southeast Idaho when Baxter said “Did you hear that grunt?” "No", I replied. But I heard the next grunt 5 seconds later. Damn, what do we do 45 minutes to legal shooting light. I grunted back at the bull moose. A few seconds passed and the bull moose grunted back at me – louder and closer.

A dilemma. Do we back away and risk losing this bull because he wanders off? The first real opportunity in 11 days. Can’t keep calling because what if he comes all the way in? Can't shoot it's too early and won’t be able to see him anyway.

So, I motion to Baxter to follow me and we quietly back up about 50 yards and wait a bit. I grunt again and the bull responds seemingly about the same original distance. We backpedal another 50 yards and I wait a couple minutes and I grunt, the bull responds. Sounds like the same distance. I think this guy is actually keeping pace with us. Can I do this all the way back to the blind? No, that’s a bad plan – he could come all the way in at any time or could circle us and get our scent. I decide to do it just once more. So I back up about another 50 yards and grunt, a response seemingly the same distance again. Still 25 minutes to shooting time. We quietly go the last 400 yards or so to the blind and get settled just before legal shooting time. Very quietly we shrug out of our packs and get set up.

At a few minutes past shooting light I let out a cow call. Wait a minute or so and give a couple of grunts and then rake the trees with my little make shift paddle. A grunt comes out of the woods and its reasonably close. I suspect he was heading to the spring for a drink anyway. I rake the trees again. Another grunt and its louder and closer.

I check the wind. Damn, its blowing across us to the left. The bull is to our left maybe 50 yards and likely about 40 yards out in front us.

A minute or so passes then bad news. I can hear the bull splashing in the pond that is about 30 yards below the spring. There previously have been no moose tracks at the pond, always at the spring. Given the vegetation and trees there is no place to observe both the pond and the spring simultaneously and there is a huge fir tree blocking my view of the pond. The bull could easily get his drink and leave or maybe get our scent any second. I step out of the blind as quiet as possible and move ahead just about 10 feet so I can see past the huge fir and get a view of a small slice of the pond.

There is the bull! He's walking up towards me but he is in a copse of small aspens and birches, he’s got decent but not great headgear (it’s day 11 and the adrenaline is pumping from the thrill of the cat and mouse game and the entire experience tells me to take him). He keeps walking straight in and stops facing me head on. I’ll give him 1 second to turn otherwise, frontal chest shot. He turns. The Kimber in 308 win barks and the bull bolts hooves thundering loud across the ground because he is so close making a wide U turn to his left and heading back in the direction he came from. I loose sight of him for a moment and then I groan "oh no" as I hear splash, splash, splash. He has run into the pond. I scamper down the slope and see him exit the pond and run downhill straight away. Then the faltering starts and he drifts to the left and tumbles down to the ground. He picks his head up, I consider a follow up for a moment but he drops his head and is dead. My 1 per lifetime Idaho moose hunt is over and now the work begins. Three hours to skin, quarter, get the backstraps, tender loins and neck meat.

Shot distance was a whopping 21 yards. Kimber 308 win, Barnes 168 TTSX. Over a load of CFE223 producing 2805 fps. Shot placement just behind the shoulder and thru the heart with an exit wound.

I can’t thank our own BaxterB enough for the great camaraderie and assistance with the field dressing and pack out as well as being great company in the woods.

Idaho Fish and Game provides a specimen sample kit and requests you bring in a "baseball size" chunk of liver, a test tube of blood, 12-15 fecal pellets, and an 8"x8" patch of hide from the rump. So there is a bit of specimen collection work to do which we complied with. Although, since Baxter wasn't the hunter he did draw the line at collecting fecal pellets.

Hunt was in the Caribou National Forest between 7600 and 8000 feet.





The aspens and fall colors were glorious.

Well damn Mike, that's about as cool and interesting as it gets.
Huge congrats on the fine bull moose trophy!

Zeke

I'd be smiling like that too if it was my Moose.
Congrats Mike. A great hunt well rewarded with a fine trophy. Thanks for a very readable report. Makes me miss Moose meat, the finest venison I have ever eaten.
And yep, Barnes TTSX is a great hunting bullet choice. Did you manage to recover it ?
Tell BaxterB to harden up ! Collecting a few fecal pellets is no big drama

30-06king,

No recovery of the TTSX, there was an exit wound.

Oh, BaxterB is more than tough enough and a great hunting companion but I don't blame him for saying you can pick-up the sh*t pellets yourself.

This was the bull I was hoping to find. I had him on 3 different game cams but he seemed to be very random in his behavior. Maybe that is why he got so big.

Look at the black and white photo. His front's are palmated with four points each. But alas, he did not cooperate and since the rut just started hopefully he passes on those genes alot.

.308 great choice. I found moose to be easy to kill, contrary to what I thought before I did it and saw it done.

Good job.That's a fine moose.

Very nice. Congrats!!

Congrats! That's a nice moose.

Great story, I like how you described it. Congrats on the successful hunt too!

Mighty Fine!

Fantastic! Congrats.

Well done! Congrats!

Excellent.

Wonder why they want the liver and the hide?

Great report and a fine bull!

that second one is about as big as they get antler wise up there.

I was just about to come up the road through the gate Saturday night but the people I had with me were too tired from grouse hunting all afternoon so I kept going.

I probably rode the 4-wheeler right past your camp on Thursday [if you were in the big campground]
I didn't see your truck, so I didn't do any 'door knocking'.

Congratulations Mike!

Taking a moose at 21 yards after playing cat and mouse like that is going to be a memory that will last a long time. Well done!

As the one who played observer/assistant on this hunt, I must say I had a fantastic time, and am thankful to Mike for the last-minute call that had me scrambling my schedule to accommodate the timing - it was well worth it.

Indeed that last morning was a nail-biter. As one who has seen one too many videos of angry, rutting, Alaskan moose attacking some unsuspecting passerby carrying groceries to his car, while we hunched by the trail and Mike grunted at the clearly-interested bull, I had macabre visions of the angry/horny bull bursting from the bush and pummeling my face with those saucer-sized hooves. Well, I thought, at least there was a clearing nearby that the helicopter could land in when I (or Mike) had to hit the SOS button on the InReach... Alas, and thankfully, my vision was unfulfilled...

I will tell you that when - as Mike described - after the shot the bull ran into the pond (which, remember, I could not see as I stayed in the blind while Mike moved slightly), my heart sank deep into my heels for that split-second because I thought we had manifested into reality the conversation we had the previous day: how would we retrieve a bull if it died in the water? At that point I'm not sure who was happier to see the bull on dry land - but happy we were.

That the bull was now dead after having forced our hand by those grunts at the truck and rearranging our morning plans via a variable I don't think either of us expected makes the event (to me, at least) a bit dreamlike. As though we were caught up in a plan not necessarily under our control, but one that picked us up and took us with it. It is a very cool feeling to have been involved in that event - it will stick with me for a long time.

The previous morning I happened to notice as we headed into the woods, there, high above, hovering in the sky right over our hunting area was the gleaming constellation Orion the Hunter and his faithful dog Sirius. I don't know if Orion had a hand in our luck that final morning - but you can't say he didn't either, now can you?


A hint: If you ever happen to get a text from Mike that starts with, "You around?" just answer "Yes" - I promise you'll have a great time. Not only is Mike a fine companion in the woods, but he also slings an awfully tasty skillet... ;-)

Congratulations on your moose.

delloro,

All the samples are designed to assess health. Last year they were also asking for a chunk of lung.

I suspect they are looking for liver flukes and other parasites based diseases. Regarding the hide, I suspect it is an indication of general health.

Lamar - we were pretty far west of there. Over on the Sulphur Canyon side.

Congrats Mike on great moose
On that pic, you both look alike there…you related?

Not related. The brown haired guy is better lookin than I am.

Happy day! Nice moose!

thats awesome, congrats!

Other than a giant bull. I dont know what else you could ask for, from a once in a lifetime hunt.

Big congrats to you.

Thunder Head,

Definitely one of those times when you say what is better? A great stalk that results in a "nice rack" or the "super trophy" that was standing in the meadow when you drove past and for whatever reason just stood there while you shot him.

I did exactly what Mike had done
Saw a giant that could not be found when I was actually hunting hunting but then I found great mature bull and called him him at 20 some yards and deal was sealed
Anyway, one more Big Congrats Mike…still think that bull is better looking then you…

You made the right decision.

Congrats on a fine bull!

My father had something like 12 points in Wyoming and cashed his in for a cow hunt about 6 years ago.

He's is 80, and was 74 at the time. Once in a lifetime tags only come once in a life time. He filled the freezer and had a good time.

good thing you got one there then because all the others I have been seeing have been over in North canyon on the Lago side.
[up by red pine canyon and Ant basin]
those are in unit 75 which is on the west side of highway 34.

the only others I know of in 76 are at the top of Georgetown canyon summit back by a little spring I know of.
and one that pops up from time to time halfway between trail and wood canyons.
with all the tree cutting going on near there it's super hit or miss to see him.

Congratulations Mike! That's a terrific bull and a riveting story. With the payoff of wonderful meat and an amazing memory - that is why we hunt.

Congratulations on your fine Shiras moose. Unique trophy... and a hunt made better shared with friends.

Nice Moose, Mike

Congratulations Mike, wish you could have got a crack at that big boy but the one you did get is a fine trophy!
I did almost the same thing in the same place several years ago, seen 37 moose in 27 days hunting, no regrets.

Dick

Keith, Dick, et al;


Thank you for the kind words.

Congratulations Mike! Nice moose and fun hunt.

Duck season is getting close…

WTG!

Lots of hunting to relive over the years.
Relive some of the scenes as you sit there and enjoy eating your Moose!

fix your stove pipe...

Mike...that's a super cool hunt, congrats man! I love southern Idaho...and the moose hunting is fantastic too!

You are becoming a moose specialist. Keep after them, and I hope you get to chase “the big one” soon.

Joshua,

Idaho's limit on Bull Moose is 1 per lifetime. Unless, you happen to draw a Super Hunt lottery tag - those are outside the 1 per lifetime limit.