jryoung
Well-known member
Many of you know I was lucky enough to to draw a moose tag last year in probably one of the worst moose units in Idaho. I had a long story written up about an unsuccessful hunt that never got published and it is now lost somewhere in cyberspace. It was a great hunt, challenging, emotional, culturally significant as I got to wander along the Nez Perce Trail, and inspiring as I got to help jquigley and by brother each shoot their first deer. Unfortunately, the timing of the hunt was poor due to work, and the weather (rain and fog) made it even more challenging, coupled with some family health issues eventually led to the most expensive bowl of tag soup I'll probably ever eat.
Fast forward to this spring and I put my wife and myself in for a unit with far better chance of success, but far lower draw odds. The boss was lucky enough to have her name pulled out of the hat. I had a similar plan like last year, head to the unit in the summer to understand the logistics then hunt in October. My initial plan was to hunt the rut, but at the advice of a local I was fortunate enough to meet (his wife and daughters have all killed moose in the unit) he said come mid October.
I drove up from CA and spent a few days scouting ahead of her. I really wanted to do my best Mossback impression and spot a great bull have the shooter jump on a plane and arrive in time to shoot it. Fortunately, I'm not that great of a hunter, but my days ahead were useful.
I made the best use of toting a shotgun for some grouse. Never underestimate the deliciousness of grouse served sizzling on shale paired with temperature of the sun starbucks via.
I turned up a few bulls, and a few cows in my scouting. I was able to get a picture of this little guy who was actually just outside the unit.
My wife arrived on Tuesday night and we got to work the next day. Our local friend took us to one of his recommended spots. Some of the most incredible country I have seen. We spotted two bulls, and three cow calf pairs and a handful of elk.
None were in reach that day, so we decided to put them in our back pocket and check out the drainage that I really liked. On Thursday we were walking in to a glassing spot and spotted a big bull on the opposite ridge. To boot he was at the top and very accessible, and it'd be about a mile trek with 800ft of elevation gain. We shed our non-essential gear and began racing up the hill, an hour later we were in position on the backside of the knifelike ridgeline. I began peaking over where we last saw him but couldn't find him. We moved down the peak a bit and peaked again, no dice. I figured one last spot which had better visibility might work. In my haste, I got ahead of my wife as she got slowed by trying to navigate through the potato chip like arrow root balsam. I was looking left as I thought I'd be ahead of him, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a right antler. He was bedded below a bush, and he had me pinned. I tried to deliver coherent handsignals for my wife to drop down and come right up behind me when in hindsight she should have come right too me. I figured he would stand, look and we could shoot. He stood and bolted and was unimpressed with my calls. We tried to trail, but it was too thick and useless so we figured wed let him be and come back to him.
I was frustrated I made a stupid mistake, she was a bit discouraged and we had heavy winds and rains coming in two days. We spent the rest of the afternoon over a drainage just to the north. Another incredible spot and that screams "moose country....moose country that I'm gonna need llamas to pack one out"
Our friend from earlier in the day was at the top of the furthest hill on the left side of the picture.
She loved the places I took her too.
Still being a little discouraged, I turned up this guy and felt the non-resident deer tag in my pocket start to pulse. We were at least 1,500 yards away and light was fading, but this fat bastard looked like he wanted to be friends. I think the gap between his ears was roughly the size of a watermelon.
Unfortunately he started to chase what we think was a sow away from us and it made the decision to call it a night a bit easier.
Fast forward to this spring and I put my wife and myself in for a unit with far better chance of success, but far lower draw odds. The boss was lucky enough to have her name pulled out of the hat. I had a similar plan like last year, head to the unit in the summer to understand the logistics then hunt in October. My initial plan was to hunt the rut, but at the advice of a local I was fortunate enough to meet (his wife and daughters have all killed moose in the unit) he said come mid October.
I drove up from CA and spent a few days scouting ahead of her. I really wanted to do my best Mossback impression and spot a great bull have the shooter jump on a plane and arrive in time to shoot it. Fortunately, I'm not that great of a hunter, but my days ahead were useful.
I made the best use of toting a shotgun for some grouse. Never underestimate the deliciousness of grouse served sizzling on shale paired with temperature of the sun starbucks via.
I turned up a few bulls, and a few cows in my scouting. I was able to get a picture of this little guy who was actually just outside the unit.
My wife arrived on Tuesday night and we got to work the next day. Our local friend took us to one of his recommended spots. Some of the most incredible country I have seen. We spotted two bulls, and three cow calf pairs and a handful of elk.
None were in reach that day, so we decided to put them in our back pocket and check out the drainage that I really liked. On Thursday we were walking in to a glassing spot and spotted a big bull on the opposite ridge. To boot he was at the top and very accessible, and it'd be about a mile trek with 800ft of elevation gain. We shed our non-essential gear and began racing up the hill, an hour later we were in position on the backside of the knifelike ridgeline. I began peaking over where we last saw him but couldn't find him. We moved down the peak a bit and peaked again, no dice. I figured one last spot which had better visibility might work. In my haste, I got ahead of my wife as she got slowed by trying to navigate through the potato chip like arrow root balsam. I was looking left as I thought I'd be ahead of him, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a right antler. He was bedded below a bush, and he had me pinned. I tried to deliver coherent handsignals for my wife to drop down and come right up behind me when in hindsight she should have come right too me. I figured he would stand, look and we could shoot. He stood and bolted and was unimpressed with my calls. We tried to trail, but it was too thick and useless so we figured wed let him be and come back to him.
I was frustrated I made a stupid mistake, she was a bit discouraged and we had heavy winds and rains coming in two days. We spent the rest of the afternoon over a drainage just to the north. Another incredible spot and that screams "moose country....moose country that I'm gonna need llamas to pack one out"
Our friend from earlier in the day was at the top of the furthest hill on the left side of the picture.
She loved the places I took her too.
Still being a little discouraged, I turned up this guy and felt the non-resident deer tag in my pocket start to pulse. We were at least 1,500 yards away and light was fading, but this fat bastard looked like he wanted to be friends. I think the gap between his ears was roughly the size of a watermelon.
Unfortunately he started to chase what we think was a sow away from us and it made the decision to call it a night a bit easier.
