2012 BWCA Moose Hunt Story

[Living_The_Dream]

Awesome story, and the best part of it was you got to do it with your dad. Truly a trip of a lifetime....Congrats dad congrats.

[NoWiser]

I totally agree, DonBo- that's WAY better than the ending I wrote above. Great stuff, Jim!!!

I don't know, Scoot. In your ending the nearly endangered moose lives, while the evil hunters get squashed. I think many would disagree with you!

[TylerS]

Heck yes. Beautiful man, just beautiful. Made my day right there. We ever bump into each other, first beer is on me!

[NoWiser]

I'd like to add one more thing. That is; if you are on the fence about doing a hunt like this, just do it! Apply and see what happens. Don't listen to those people who say only a small percentage of people are capable of a hunt like this. They are wrong. Anyone with the drive to succeed, the stubborness to get work done when it needs to be done, and the confidence to spend many days in the wilderness can do it. If you've got a healthy ticker and are in even moderately good shape, go for it! You will not regret it! You only live once. My moose hunting days in Minnesota are over, but I have the rest of my life to look back at the pictures, relive the memories, and tell the stories.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Awesome! Awesome! AWESOME!!!!

Cheers!

[Sorgy]

NoWiser,

Incredible story. Yours is very inspiring. We did our hunt in 2006 ouside of the BWCA and your trip and recaps are incredible.

The MN Moose hunt is truly a once in a lifetime event

Thanks for sharing

Steve

[paceman]

Congratulations! That is an amazing story. Loved the recap and pictures! Thank You for sharing it with us!

[Scoot]

I don't know that my legs have ever felt so dead, but I don't know that I have ever felt so alive. It was an incredible feeling knowing what we accomplished...

The quote above really hit home for me- I can totally relate and really appreciate what you're getting at there. There is no better pain than that experienced getting a critter out of a he11 hole!

[Scoot]

My moose hunting days in Minnesota are over, but I have the rest of my life to look back at the pictures, relive the memories, and tell the stories.

Awesome! However, your moose hunting days are only over until I draw my MN moose tag. Then I might have to do everything I can to recruit you as a moose guide.

One question for you: have you tried boning out the quarters before you hauled the critter? The first year I elk hunted we hauled the quarters bone in. We had a terrible pack out and it almost killed us- we had several miles and a couple thousand feet climb with those quarters. After that, we've hauled all of our quarters without the bone and the difference is remarkable. I've only dealt with two rear moose quarters in my life and they were massive- I'd definitely think about boning out those quarters before you hauled them out next time. Some guys prefer hauling quarters with the bone in, but I certainly won't ever do it again.

If you ever go elk hunting the same suggestion applies...

Great job on the story, Jim. Thanks very much for taking the time to share it with us.

[Sifty]

Great story and great reading.

Thank you

[Take 'Em]

Great story. You were living the dream. Congrats

[nbadger23]

What a great story! The pictures you took really tied it all together very well and I enjoyed the read quite a bit. I have to admit, I've not come back to read anything since last week, hoping I'd be able to read it all in one swoop :-)

Congrats to your Dad as well and thanks again for sharing!

[jerkin'm]

Yep, thats as good as it gets!! My back hurt just seeing those portage pics...Great job on the story...congrats to all involved!

[Powerstroke]

WHat an amazing story! I haven't applied mostly out of concern that I might actually get drawn. I may just need to do it and see what happens. If I were to do a Moose hunt in MN it almost certainly would have to be a BWCA style hunt.

[mrklean]

awesome story always good to see hard work pay off

[matchset]

I don't really want to give out the lake names we were on.

First $100 bucks gets the names of all the lakes

just kidding! i have been to this spot a few times tho!

[matchset]

very awesome story and congratulations on you're success! that area is truly a test of strength and will power!

way to go guys! reading this story brought back all the great memories i have of mine and my dad's moose hunt in 2010.

[ducksnbucks]

NoWiser,

First off, congrats again on the Moose. In addition, thanks again for all the tips and gear suggestions for our trip this year. It was great talking with you before and after our hunt. It would still be great to catch up with you sometime, and as you mentioned, once mine is back from the taxidermist perhaps you can swing into St.Cloud and see it and we can chat some more.

As great as our experience was this year, I do wish we were able to spend a little more time in the BWCA and hunting. Never going to complain, but being able to do a little fishing, relaxing, seeing other moose etc. would have added to the fun. However, shooting one opening morning I am not going to complain about either!

Scoot,

We also left our bones in the legs and found it somewhat easier to handle on the portages. We left the entire leg in tact all the way to the hoof. We were then able to grab the lower leg, bend the knee over our shoulders and basically just hold on to the ankle portion while the quarter was resting on our back. It did seem easier to carry than the 4 bags of scraps and backstraps that we had. Just my 2 cents though.

Again, great story NoWiser!

[toughguy]

Great story - Thanks for sharing. Only thing you're missing a pic of delicious moose meat on the grill I hope MN is able to support a moose season for years to come.

[NoWiser]

Awesome! However, your moose hunting days are only over until I draw my MN moose tag. Then I might have to do everything I can to recruit you as a moose guide.

One question for you: have you tried boning out the quarters before you hauled the critter? The first year I elk hunted we hauled the quarters bone in. We had a terrible pack out and it almost killed us- we had several miles and a couple thousand feet climb with those quarters. After that, we've hauled all of our quarters without the bone and the difference is remarkable. I've only dealt with two rear moose quarters in my life and they were massive- I'd definitely think about boning out those quarters before you hauled them out next time. Some guys prefer hauling quarters with the bone in, but I certainly won't ever do it again.

If you ever go elk hunting the same suggestion applies...

Great job on the story, Jim. Thanks very much for taking the time to share it with us.

When you draw a tag, we'll talk! Or, more likely, when you draw a tag, you and my girlfriend can talk. If you can convince her, you can convince me

We actually boned out my moose last year and did not like it. We were left with big "blobs" of meat that were really hard to handle. With the bone in it seemed like it was easier to strap them on the pack and get the weight up high where it was most comfortable. This was really nice when you strapped and unstrapped meat from your pack 30 times in a day. I also liked it more when we got home with the bone in quarters. The meat seemed much cleaner and it was easier for me to get the cuts I wanted, probably because it was just like the deer quarters I'm use to working with.

I can definitely see how when you have a couple thousand feet of elevation change during a pack, you would want to cut every pound you could. For the BWCA hunt, though, I much preferred leaving the bones in.

If I ever shoot an elk in the mountains, I will most likely take your suggestion and debone!

[NoWiser]

ducksnbucks, let me know when you get that thing back! I'd love to swing by and see it sometime when I'm passing through your area! Congrats to you again, that is an awesome animal!

[NoWiser]

Thanks Matchset!

It looks like you know the area! You should head up there and do some shed hunting!

[Scoot]

Yeah, I can see how the bone in meet would work better for swapping on and off the pack a lot. The way I deal with the "big blobs" of meat is to use paracord and tie it to the pack in a way that spreads out the meat from low on the pack (down by the chair part of the pack where all the weight wants to collect to) to up high on the pack. I definitely agree that distributing it across all of this distance is a key. If you are unstrapping and restrapping a bunch I could definitely see how this would be a pain in the butt- you'd have to untie and retie the paracord many times over and it'd be a pain in the behind for sure. With an elk, there's typically only one pack out per game bag, so you'd only have to tie it once, then dump it in the cooler when you got to the truck. That's worked for us, but your mileage may vary.

I really don't like bone in quarters though, so I'd consider getting a meat bag that is much more tube like than the Alaskan game bags I usually use. Kifaru makes some meat bags that are thinner and don't expand too much, so they might be an option. However, I think they're pricey and you' need a bag for every last bit of meat (it'd stink to be swapping meat between Alaskan game bags and Kifaru game bags).

Well, if I end up moving back to MN and if I ever draw this tag, all this will become relevant. Until then, there's not much to worry about. When I do draw the tag though, you're sweetie will be getting a call.

[Wes Ellis]

Sweet!!

[weis]

Awesome story. I can't wait until my next boundry waters trip.