My First Moose Hunt

After three years of applying for an antlered moose tag in western alberta's foothills i finally was successful in getting drawn. Right from the start i was very committed to getting a bull with my bow. Being a hunting guide I have a couple friends that have guided moose hunters with great success and i got as much information as i could from them about calling, season, and locations. As much as that information was a help to me i knew the rest was up to me so i commenced scouting the area i was planning to hunt. Over the years i had been bear hunting and deer hunting in this area so i knew it quite well and had seen plenty of moose sign so i had a few locations in mind. It was with high hopes that i set out one day in early august to scout some moose hunting hotspots. After a full day of hiking and studying tracks in the mud i knew where i was going to be chasing moose with a bow and arrow come October.

Fast forward to the first week in october. I had been shooting my hoyt trykon bow almost daily and had it tuned to perfection, i also had my calling skills as good as they possibly could be with only a month of practice. I finished guiding my last group of waterfowl hunters and headed out to my moose hunting hotspot. I got there in the early afternoon and set up camp. My camp consisted of a tent and a 3-D archery target. I was planning to stay at least three days and possibly 7 if it took that long, i was determined not to come home without my moose. I got camp set up by 3pm and got geared up for the evening hunt. After a half hour hike i was at my treestand. This was a stand my friends and i call the bushman stand. It is situated at the point of a triangle between a cutline and a creek and is mixed spruce and poplar with lots of muskeg, Perfect moose habitat!! After getting settled in the stand and letting the woods quiet down i commenced calling. Long wavering cow calls accompanied by several bull grunts echoed through the northern boreal forest but nothing happened. i called for 2 hours with no response. More than a little disappointed i climbed down from the treestand about 1 hour until darkness shut down my hunt for the day. I decided to move down the cutline until i intersected the creek and try my calling there, as i stepped out onto the cutline i spotted movement out of the corner of my eye, i turned and froze! there was a moose 20yards away!! After several seconds of facing off with the young bull i slowly moved back behind a spruce tree out of sight of the bull. Knowing the hunt was almost ruined and just hoping for the best i let out a low bull grunt. Much to my surprise the bull returned with a blasting grunt!! tilting his small antlers down and to the side he began to close the distance between us grunting and swinging his antlers with every step. Heart pounding i waited for an opportunity to draw however no shot presented itself. finally at 3 yards looking the bull square in the eye i decided i had to draw my bow or risk getting head butted by a bull moose. I drew as slowly as possible but of course the bull didn't like that and deciding he had been fooled long enough he spun around and charged away, i let out a grunt but that didnt stop him so i let out a long desperate sounding cow call and he froze in his tracks looking over his shoulder at me i had a perfect quartering away shot at 15yards and thats all the opportunity i needed i released and the arrow flew straight and with a solid sounding "Whack" passed completely through the bulls heart low down right behind the shoulder. A perfect hit i thought as i tried to contain my excitement. Watching the bull run 200 yards down the cutline i decided to let out another cow call and managed to stop the bull he started to wobble and ran into the woods with a crash. I found him laying 50yards from the cutline. My first Moose!! With a bow!! I was very proud to say the least.

Want to Learn how to call moose?? Check out the Callmasters, Very good video