Shiras Moose - Utah - PART 1

[scoutm]

I was very fortunate to have whipped the odds and drew a Moose tag in Utah's East Canyon Unit. I first discoverd this when looking at my bank account online the balance didn't seem correct. Upon further inspection there was a large charge from Utah's DNR. Not ever believing I could have drawn a Moose tag I called my buddy Chris to see if, even though the amount was too high, this could have been the antelope tags we applied for. His response was in a part surprised and part you idiot tone "You drew a Moose tag". I just about fell over.

 

After confirming I did infact draw a Moose tag the research began. I first started with my buddy, Stephen, who as luck would have it lives in the unit. He gave some places for me to look at on google earth. I also found a Utah wildlife forum and the guys on that site were fantasitic - the were all very excited for me and willing to share what they knew about Moose areas. I would share those areas with Stephen and he would scout them when time premitted.

 

Knowing the mountains in Utah are huge and not wanting conditioning to be a factor I quickly upped my workout regiment and over 3 months I lost close to 15lbs, gained strength and made huge improvement in my cardio health. Happy to report that conditioning did not prove to be a factor. After a couple of days to acclimate to the high elevation I was good to go.

 

I couldn't believe how fast the time passed. With opening day approaching I started to sort out all my gear and load up my truck. The plan was to leave midday on the Thursday before the hunt, drive half way and be in the unit by lunchtime on Friday. We pretty much accomplished that. We met at Shephen's house, unloaded and got settled into our rooms. Once settled we headed to where stephen had seem the largest bull. Just before dark Chris located a cow and a bull near a lake. Not the bull we were looking for but it was a welcomed site.

 

At this point, I have to say how beautiful Utah is in the Fall. Here are a few pictures of the areas we eventually hunted. The mountains and the colors are amazing.

 

 

 

Opening morning arrived and we decided to split up. Stephen went to an area where we had good information that a good bull had been showing on a regular basis. Since Stephen was the only one to have see the bull we were looking for the previous night we thought it best for him to look for the new bull as he could tell us which was the better of the two.

 

We each arrived at our respective areas and not ten minutes up the trail Stephen calls to tell us he has a shooter and to get over to him. We race back to the truck, up the highway and up the hill Stephen is glassing from. Unfortunately, the bull had moved into some thick cover and we weren't able to see him. Confindent he had bedded we backed out, had lunch and a quick nap before returning to the hill side.

 

Back up on the hill glassing and not seeing any activity we started to discuss sending Chris and Stephen back over to the lake to see if they could locate the big bull Stephen had located before the hunt. While discussing the move I never stopped glassing and out of nowhere I see what I think is a branch that just doesn't fit. I start to talk Stephen and Chris into the out of place "Stick" when another "Stick" appears. Without a doubt those aren't "Sticks" that's a big old bull. I setup the spotting scope dialed it in and started to film him. We put a quick plan together and I was off. Like most quick plans they don't workout too well. The area he was in was so thick there was no way I was going to get to him without busting him out and that's exactly what I did. I eventually got to probably 40 yards of him - not really sure as I couldn't see him but boy could I hear him munching and racking on the trees and when he busted me it sounded like a bulldozer blowing through trees. Here a picture of him. I'm in the process of uploading video I will attach later.

 

 

 

Chris and Stephen saw the bull go through a saddle at the top of the mountain and into the next canyon but even with that they were confident we would see him again the next day as there was a cow he was checking in the canyon I busted him out of. I wasn't as confident but even so we went back up into the canyon the next morning.

 

Back in the canyon and with the prime glassing time fading fast, I was getting a little concerned the bull had moved out for good when he came stomping back through the saddle. For such a huge animal it was amazing to me how agile he moved through the cover.

 

I let Chris know he was back and with adrenaline pumping I got setup for the shot. Unfortunately, the cover was so thick that by the time he came into an opening I didn't have a clear shooting lane so I had to relocate. At my new location I knew I was going to have only two small opportunites for a shot. He quickly passed through the first, stopped at a tree and started to rack it. This was my last chance. Setup with a solid rest and the next opening at 400 yards, I dialed my scope and waited for him to step out. I tell Chris to cover his ear and at first movement I fired.

 

It was one of those moments where you felt good about everything, the rifle, the ammo, the practice you put in, the range, the rest, just everything about the setup but something inside tells you that you just missed - I quickly put those doubting thoughts aside. The rest was too good, the target so huge the hours of shooting practice all of the conditioning work, there was just no way you could of missed.but......, I did.

 

We looked for sign for hours walked what seemed like miles in circles with no evidence of the shot being made. Not 50 yards from where he was when I fired he started to work his rub line again. We found fresh urine and scrapes all along the trail he used as his scrape line with no evidence of a hit anywhere. Disappointed I called of the search.

 

Back at the house for lunch I decided I wanted to recheck my rifle so we went out to Stephen's back pasture to fire the rifle. 2" right at 100 yards...WTF. I had checked the rifle the weekend before, I was hitting a 12" target at 550 without exception from hunting type rests without a miss so how/when did the zero change that much?

 

With this new information and with the split second doubt of my shot I'm confident it was a clean miss.

 

We went back up into the canyon everyday of the hunt to see if we could relocate him or birds feasting on him. Never saw any birds and he never showed back up.

 

Aside from being near record tempatures the remainder of the hunt, I had a great time. We saw moose everyday. We saw some amazing country. And I get to go back and do it all again. Part 2 starts October 7th where I will have 9 more days to hunt.

 

Hear are some other pictures I took. I hope you enjoy.

 

Larry

[Shawn]

Great pics! Good luck on the 7th, I look forward to the end of the story!

[AZ8]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your trip. Wishing you the best next month!

[4Falls]

Beautiful photos and great write up. Thanks for taking us along.

['Ike']

Outstanding...Utah and Wyoming for points on my Shiras, can't wait!

[scoutm]

 

Here's the first video I have uploaded. This bull was across the road that divided the two units.

[Big Browns]

I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of you sitting behind your Moose!

[cramerhunts]

Nice job on the recap Larry and great pictures with cool video. Good luck on part two! Even though that was a stud bull I've got a feeling it will all come together in a couple weeks for you.

[Flatlander]

Great write up. I will be anxiously waiting to hear about round 2. It's amazing how huge those things are. When I lived in Utah there was a cow moose brought into the processor at the same time I brought in a Muley. It was pretty hilarious to see the difference.

[Mocha1545]

Great pics and write up. I really appreciate how hard you looked to make sure you hadn't wounded him. Really looking forward to seeing pics of you with your bull.

[scoutm]

 

Here's some video. I also added to the story.

[SunDevil]

Bullwinkle took a dirt nap this morning.