The author of this report is Melissa Webster (IDO member “AntlerQueen). She and her husband Justin Webster (IDO member webstj) drew a once in a lifetime tag for a MN Bull Moose and this is their story!
So we were the lucky ones; drawn for the 2009 Minnesota Moose Hunt on our first attempt!! Unfortunately we had not planned on getting drawn our first time so we both had Elk trips planned, with JJ’s overlapping the MN moose season. This only left us four days to hunt for our trophy moose.
As bow hunters we naturally planned on harvesting our moose with our bows, but did bring a friend’s 30-06 for backup. I had been shooting all summer in preparation for my Colorado Elk hunt and had my Matthew’s DXT set at 58 lb draw weight. I felt ready to go, however we knew bringing down a moose with a bow is not an easy feat! JJ and I planned that if we somehow got the moose within 25 yds I would take the shot with my bow, JJ got the shot between 30-60 yds and everything after that was up to me with the 30-06.
We arrived in Isabella around 11pm on Friday night and luckily got a cabin at the Knotted Pine. Originally we had planned on camping but the weather did not allow for it.
DAY 1
At 4:45 am the alarm went off and we geared up and headed out into the cold/rainy weather. The temp never topped 40 degrees and day one brought about three changes of clothes and soaking wet boots. We decided we were going to put our time in and cover as many miles as we could, wet or not. We started out in a large clear-cut that had good sign 3 weeks prior but now was void of any moose sign. JJ got us set up along the edge of the clear-cut and did a bunch of calling…after sitting for a while we moved along and completed this sequence again and again with no results. With all the moving we had done we were getting sweaty/wet so decided to drop our pack (containing compass) and extra clothes near our truck and head out with just our bows. At one point I felt as if JJ was leading us in circles. I finally asked if he knew where we were at and he said “I think so.” Eventually I had to pull, “you know Bear Grylls says that moss only grows on the north side of trees.” At which JJ said, “I knew that was north.” Turning south we were back on track within 5 minutes. We decided it was definitely time for a change of clothes and some food and then onto the next spot. Did I mention that I forgot my extra set of boots and got the “wilderness speech” from JJ?! Either way I bucked up and changed my socks and pulled those wet boots back on.
Spot two was not part of the plan but we had noticed numerous road hunters driving it and there were fresh moose tracks from a dandy bull! We moved from spot to spot calling…glassing…waiting. The spot looked great but nothing ever came out. Needless to say, there bull is still there, because again after a 4 mile walk or so and a few calling sequences, we came out empty handed and wet. On the way back to the cabin I saw a large figure up ahead of the truck and said “Holy Crap, that’s a moose!” We then proceeded to follow this small 2 1/2 yr old bull trotting down the middle of the road. I couldn’t believe that he was just walking down the road with us right on his tail, after about a mile or so he veered off on another road. I was so pumped as this was my first encounter with a moose and they are huge!! Just for reference, driving behind him in a full size truck put us eyelevel with his manly moosey parts…those animals have crazy long legs on them!! Given our chilly/cold/miserable day I was just happy to see a moose on day one!
DAY 2
With my boots still wet we started out heading for Plan B spot only to find a truck already parked, bummed, we set off to Plan C spot. With only a brief scouting of this area we decided to give it a try as in previous years two additional moose were harvested there. Given the bleak previous day JJ had convinced me to leave my DXT at the cabin and carry the 30-06 instead.
We headed to the back of the long clear-cut and immediately noticed a lot more sign than the other areas. After a 1 hr stint of calling…glassing…waiting we decided to walk the edge looking for a more “moosey” area. About halfway around the clear-cut we found a “cattle-trail” leading into the nearby bog/swamp. We decided to follow the trail and set up on the edge of the swamp joking about how much work it would be to actually get a moose out of there.
JJ and I set up on a large rock and began to do some calling. I kept trying to convince him to use the “moose trumpet” but he was resistant as it was so loud and we weren’t exactly sure of what we were doing. Frustrated he gave the trumpet a blow within 5 minutes I was staring at 2 paddles approaching through some trees. I immediately tugged on JJ’s pants and said “holy $/*#t there is a moose!” He turned just as the moose stopped and I said “I think that’s a moose but now I am not sure, do those light spots look like paddles to you?!” JJ started to slither off the large rock we had been sitting on and said “oh yeah that’s a moose, get ready and get your scope on him!”
Mr. Moose was about 15 yds back in the trees staring out at us directly downwind of us. JJ ranged him at 89 yds. I asked if he wanted to try to sneak up on him and get a shot with his bow, since that had been our plan all along. He said he would give it a try but to keep the scope on him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw JJ making all these crazy movements, with his bow above his head, and calling. He stalked to within about 75 yds of the moose, got behind a bush and started thrashing the bush wildly. This only encouraged Mr. Moose to step out into the clearing and start thrashing a willow. At this point JJ and the moose were in a stare-down and I had a perfect broadside shot. JJ then stated “if you have a good shot take him” before he could finish that sentence I let the lead fly!
The moose appeared uninjured and took a few steps to the side, at which point JJ said “hit him again!” I again let another shot fly and, to me, the moose looked perfectly healthy. (Remembering the instructors of the moose class saying “follow up every shot, these creatures do not act like they have been hit when they indeed had.”) After my second shot JJ said “that’s good” but I was worried and did not want this monster to get away so I let a 3rd shot go and JJ said “he’s done!”
From JJ’s angle he watched the monster drop in his tracks a few yds away. After my 3 shots were over and JJ informed me that he was dead I began shaking uncontrollably and couldn’t walk to JJ through the swamp without sitting down a few times because my legs kept buckling and wouldn’t allow me to move.
Walking up to this enormous creature was unreal. I knew that moose were big animals but standing next to one gave me a real appreciation for these amazing animals! Looking back on the hunt we are both still on cloud nine! I cannot begin to describe how amazing the experience was and how wonderful it was to experience this with my husband!
The wildlife biologist figured that he weighed between 1000-1200 lbs. His spread was 54 1/4″. He has 20 score-able points and his eye-guards were 22″ long. They guessed his age to be 6-8 yrs. His hooves were bigger than my hand. His head was much larger than a horses and it took two people to prop his head up so I could hold him up to take those pictures!
Again it would have been amazing to get him with a bow, but the opportunity just wasn’t there and we didn’t want to miss a chance of a lifetime. We know he is well over 135″, which is a P&Y but definitely short of the 185″ required for a B&C. Either way I am extremely pumped…now it’s back to bow hunting those whitetails and JJ is off to Montana this Friday for Elk hunting!! We have had a GREAT fall so far!!
Melissa Webster (aka… AntlerQueen)
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