Idaho Moose-Once in a lifetime hunt

[Markleo21377]

My buddy was the fortunate recipient of a once in a lifetime Idaho moose tag this year. Like many of the western states Idaho moose has taken a beating over the last few years from predation, disease, and ticks. We didn’t know what to expect, however harvest data still showed a very high success rate on hunts.

My buddy traveled to the unit over the summer to get a feel for the landscape, acquire the necessary access permits, speak with the biologist, and learn the road systems. After that trip we felt optimistic and all we had to do then was count down the days until November. This would be a hunt after the rut, so food was key. These giants are worn to nothing after the rut and spend the majority of the day browsing.

My wife and I flew in the evening before to meet him and his wife at the Airbnb and after an evening of beating the girls in cards our egos were overinflated and optimism was at an all time high 😂.

Opening day was on par for November in Idaho…fog..then rain…then snow….then fog and snow. We continued covering country all morning glassing when we could and as the snow started to stick looking for fresh bull tracks to try and walk down. We spotted a few cows and calfs in the morning.

Shortly after noon we cut two bull tracks and a cow crossing a logging road. We started on the track and about two hundred yards in we saw the cow. The fog and aspens were thick and we could not locate the bulls. After a minute or so we felt the wind switch and her head came up on alert. The hill erupted with moose and they were gone. 

We went back to covering ground and with it being midday started focusing on dark timber directly adjacent to feed. About two o clock we found two bulls bedded and one was nice. My buddy tried to get on him as he stood and started moving off but the fog and snow was thick and a good shot never presented itself. We hopped back in the buggy and circled to an upper road in hopes of picking them up from a better angle. 
As we start glassing from the high spot we see a black body moving through thick aspen below. A good bull pops out at 185 yards and my buddy anchors him. Such a cool experience! Average bull for that unit over the last five years was 34 4/8”. My buddy’s was 37 2/8”. We were able to get him broke down and packed out with daylight to spare. For those that haven’t had the privilege of eating moose it is extraordinary! 

 

[RNGRDOG]

Nice, congrats!

[CatfishKev]

That's awesome man!

[bigorange]

Very cool…congrats!

[PRDATR]

Well I guess doing some prescouting really paid off. Nice that he was able to get it accomplished on opening day. I'm sure he was very happy to have you there.

[Crazymonkey]

Nice job guys! That's a hunt I'm definitely  looking  into myself.  

[RJ75]

Awesome, congrats !

[Big Browns]

One of my dream hunts.  Congrats!!!!!!

[Sam]

Congratulations to your buddy - what a great hunt to share with him. Agree, moose meat is great. I think it tastes better because of all the work involved with getting one broken down and into the freezer. 

[Markleo21377]

7 minutes ago, Sam said:

Congratulations to your buddy - what a great hunt to share with him. Agree, moose meat is great. I think it tastes better because of all the work involved with getting one broken down and into the freezer. 

I agree. These Shiras are big but not nearly as big as Yukon. I spent two weeks DIY floating for moose in alaska this year and broke down some giants…when they are 35 yards away tearing trees to pieces they look like dinosaurs. 675 lbs ready for plane off 62” bull
 

 

[twistzz]

That's the real deal right there!  You the Man!