Drew a Moose License!!!!

[TooTallTom]

That's a really tough call. Especially if you don't know how many other groups are going to be crammed into that area along with you. I don't envy your position.

[NoWiser]

Well, us hunters affected by the fire finally received a little good news. I got a letter from the DNR yesterday that informed us (contrary to what the first letter said) that if we opt out of the hunt this fall, our license will be good for the 2012 or other future season. We do not have to re-enter the lottery. That makes me feel a whole lot better. I do believe that there will be a season next fall, and possibly the following one, but also believe that after that it will shut down for a period of time.

While the area I scouted is almost sure to be closed for the next few weeks I do have two backup spots a little farther from the fire, and accessible from a different entry point (that still isn't open). I haven't had a chance to scout them, but believe that there will be moose in both of them. If both of those spots open up, I will go ahead with the hunt this fall. If not, I will opt out of it. My idea of a moose hunt up there has always been to be able to move around from lake to lake, if necessary, and not see many, if any, other hunters. If a big enough area doesn't open up for that to happen, I'd rather take my chances and hope there is a season next fall.

Tomorrow morning I take off for work again. If you hear from me at the end of the week, it means I decided to hold off. If not, it means I'm heading into the BWCA, searching for a big bull!

[NoWiser]

Well, I'm back from my once in a lifetime moose hunt. I'd like to thank everyone on this site for all the help and encouragement they gave me. Too Tall Tom, the maps you made for me were great. Thank you for taking the time to do that for a complete stranger!

Anyways, here is the story...

Due to the Pagami Creek fire, I was not able to hunt the area that I scouted late this summer. The entry point needed to access the area was shut down, and the area itself was closed. It wasn't looking good, but a few days before the hunt began, the closure area was reduced, and, with a few phone calls to the local wildlife offices in the area, I found an area that I felt confident going into without scouting. Prepared to spend a full two weeks in the wilderness if I had to, I figured I should have a decent chance. I didn't want to risk the state closing down the season before I had a chance to hunt.

So, the Friday morning before opener found my dad, my hunting partner, and myself at the end of the Gunflint Trail, putting the canoes in on Seagull Lake, and paddling against a stiff north wind with the sky spitting rain. We paddled and portaged our butts off all day with the hopes of getting to our destination lake, but it was not possible. Right before sunset, after two especially grueling portages, our bodies couldn't take anymore and we decided we'd have to hunt opening morning on the lake we were on. A quick scouting journey to a meadow off the lake revealed good moose sign, and gave us a starting point for our hunt.

Saturday morning was cold, clear, and calm. It just felt "moosy" out. We snuck into the meadow, let things settle down a few minutes, and I gave out three soft cow calls. Within 5 seconds we had a bull grunting like mad, heading our way, stopping only to rake the trees with his antlers. We couldn't believe it. He got to about 50 yards from us, but just out of sight due to the heavy cover, when a real cow called across the lake. He turned and headed her way, still grunting away. More cow calls and some bull grunts couldn't change his mind, but what an exciting way to start the hunt! That night we hunted a beaver pond that looked more like a cow pasture from all the moose tracks, but no luck.

Sunday morning we headed back to the beaver pond and spent a couple hours calling, but no moose sightings. We made the decision to head to our original destination and return to the lake we were on if we didn't have any luck there. Paddling towards our first portage I looked north and saw a bull on shore! My partner and I quick paddled back behind a point and tried to put a stalk on him, but could never quite get close enough. He took us to the top of a giant hill in the burned area before we lost him for good. They may look slow, but they move pretty good through that rough terrain. There was also a cow and calf with him that we saw, once we began the stalk.

Three portages and lakes later we realized that we forgot our cooking bag on shore where we tried to stalk the moose, so my buddy and I ended up having to portage and paddle all the way back to retrieve it, and then head back to where we remembered. In the meantime my dad was in charge of trying to catch us supper, and setting up camp. On his way to set up camp he noticed a cow with twin calves, and paddled close to get a picture, only to get charged by a bull that he didn't initially see!

By the time we got to camp, it was too late to hunt, and we were too tired to move, so we ate and went to bed early, hoping to find a place in the morning worth hunting.

Monday morning, after getting a good nights rest, had us heading up to a series of beaver ponds connecting another small lake to the one we were on. It was about a mile from camp and we found it using our sattelite photos. It looked promising with moose tracks, but nothing showed itself in the morning. During the middle of the day we paddled the shore, getting out and calling in likely looking spots where the fire a few years earlier missed some mature trees near swamps. Plenty of sign seen, but the warm weather kept the animals bedded, I think. That evening found us carrying a canoe into the beaver pond we hunted in the morning, and heading towards the small lake it connected with. About halfway there we found a nice rock outcropping that gave us a great place to call from, with excellent views of the swamps below.

Right around sunset we turned to the right to see a "small" bull, coming in silently. Instead of coming into the swamp below us, he came right up onto the outcropping with us! He was no more than 10 yards from my dad, and 15 yards from my buddy and I! It was an awesome sight, but if he would have charged, we would have had to either face him, or leap off the 30 foot cliff to our back. Luckily he gave a couple grunts and headed back the way he came. We decided to let him go.

Tuesday, of course, found us right back on the same rock, hoping for some more close encounters. We spent sun up to sun down on it, letting out occasional calls, but nothing showed up. During the middle of the day my dad left to do some fishing, and saw a cow and two calves, we figure probably the same ones he saw a couple days earlier. One thing we did notice was a smoky smell in the air from the Pagami Creek fire, and float planes buzzing us every couple hours. There was also a helicopter doing passes to the south of us. All three of us had an uneasy feeling that they might be evacuating people due to the unseasonably warm, dry weather we were having. It wasn't something we wanted to happen to us during the middle of the hunt.

Wednesday morning we headed back to "The Rock" confident that it was a good enough spot to see more than one moose from. We were right. At about 8:45 a cow and two calves came down the hillside into the swamp followed, a couple minutes later, by a bull. Shortly after that another bull came down to join them, and shortly after that ANOTHER bull came down with them!! 6 moose in the swamp below us, including 3 bulls! None were anything special, size wise, but after some discussion we decided that we would be pushing our luck passing on too many bulls, and that we should take the biggest of the three. After steadying our guns on a log and counting to three, we both fired. The bull flinched and started walking towards the woods. I took one more shot, he stumbled, and then flipped upside down with all 4 feet sticking straight up. He was about 300 yards away, and two of the shots were perfectly place behind the shoulder crease, and right through both lungs. After he went down, the 5 other moose continued to mill around the area.

It took about 1/2 hour to get down to him, and when we did, we couldn't believe how big he was. They are huge animals! The warm weather had us worried, so we got to work immediately and had him skinned and quartered in not much more than an hour. We cut all of the meat, including ribs off of him without gutting and it went very quick. We then got the inside tenderloins out, cut the rack off, and headed towards camp to debone all the meat and get it hung to cool. All the work was done as the sun set, 9 hours after the shots were fired. We ate moose enchiladas that night, knowing the next day was going to be a rough one.

Thursday and Friday were kind of a blur, and among the most painful and tiring days of my life. We got up at daybreak Thursday, broke camp, and paddled and portaged (7 portages) until dark, and set up camp with headlamps. Friday morning we got up just as it was getting light, hoping to make it to Seagull before the wind got out of hand. It didn't do us any good. By the time we paddled across two lakes and did two portages to get there, the waves were already bigger than I'd ever been in with a canoe. The paddle to the south side of the lake with loaded canoes was the scariest part of the entire trip for me. We made it, though, and were back at the truck by 2:00 in the afternoon. We soon had the meat in coolers, on ice, and the pressure was off. My dad had set the trip meter on his GPS, and since leaving camp where we shot the moose, we had canoed and portaged a combined 32 miles.

Saturday, back home, 4 of us spent 8 hours butchering and packaging all of the meat. Not a single ounce had spoiled, luckily. It tastes delicious!

Looking back now, it was the best hunt of my life, by far. We didn't see a single other moose hunter the entire time we hunted, and only saw one other person passing through on their canoe. In a zone with a notoriously low success rate, we saw 17 moose in 5 days, including 6 bulls, and harvested a healthy animal. If I could do it again I'd probably wait for a bigger bull, but its over, and I can look back at it now with a big smile, knowing we did this hunt the right way, and pulled it off.

[skolfoppa]

Truly happy to see a good ending to your hunt. Thanks for the write up. Skol.

[flipper]

Congrats on your hunt. Nice pics.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Awesome!

[Odonata]

Great story! Congrats, I hope to live the adventure someday vs. reading about it. Loved the drudgery and success of the hunt!

[certified jumbo]

Fantastic story. Fantastic pics. One of the best posts with great pics on this site.

Good work, your efforts payed off huge!!!!

Thanks for sharing.

CJ

[TRZ II]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing.

[dmichaelm]

Great story. Made my night.

[Archerysniper]

Congrats on the great hunt and memories made, I had been wondering about your hunt since you haven't been on.

[Sorgy]

NoWiser-

You are a wise moose hunter now! Great job and the moose hunt is truly an awsome experience- Wow did you guys get back in there.

Good job on getting that moose cooled down and hauled out.

Awsome story

Congrats

Steve

[Surface Tension]

Congratulations!

Happy to hear you were able to get out on your hunt of a lifetime.

Thanks for the story and pictures.

[sticknstring]

Those tough grueling hunts are definitely the most satisfying! Going in blind to unscouted areas, you were able to pull it off. Congrats - that's a fine MN bull!

[swamptiger]

Thanks for posting the photos, and congratulations on your once in a lifetime hunt..

[rkhinrichs]

such a sweet story!!

[perchking]

Fantastic recap, that truly looks like the hunt of a lifetime.

Congrats...

[ozzie]

That is a sweet hunt and great pics...thanks for sharing it might not have been the biggest bull in the woods but that is a true trophy with the effort that was put in it!! Congrats

[TooTallTom]

That's fantastic news. I had been wondering about your hunt as well. I'm honestly glad I didn't have to make the decision about going hunting or not. I'm also really excited for you that your decision paid off in a big way. Congratulations!

[Muskie456]

Congrats, great story, great hunt.

[NoWiser]

Muskie, when things settle down here in the next couple of weeks with work I'll shoot you an email. We'll have to grab a beer, I'll get your video back to you, and give you the story.

[ClownColor]

Fantastic story. Fantastic pics. One of the best posts with great pics on this site.

Good work, your efforts payed off huge!!!!

Thanks for sharing.

CJ

agreed!

[jerkbait]

Congrats Nowiser!!! So Glad you were able to go. Awesome story and Great pics.

[slimngrizzly]

Congrats! Great story and pictures!

[TonkaBass]

Great Job and Great Story too! I can only imagine what a trip like that must be like!