Lessons From Moose

September spilled in to October for the first week of Moose, September 27-October 3. We were fully booked and four of our trips were guided. Darren and Ted Davis (NY) were guided by Mike Michaud for a bull; a husband/wife team from Augusta with a bull tag were guided by Wayne; cow hunter Josie VanOtteren (GA) was guided by Kevin Pelletier; and I guided Ron Webber (ME) and “Team Grumpy Old Men” for a cow. John Cox (ME) was after his own bull.

Josie VanOtteren is a 10 year old who takes her hunting very seriously. Her father Ed has been hunting with Josie for as long as she can remember. Last year she killed a 9 pt buck, a10 pt buck, and a doe in Georgia. She killed 10 rabbits with bow and arrow, and more pigs than she could keep track of. Opening day she was guided by Kevin Pelletier to a cow and with a single shot from her 7 mm mag, she dumped a moose! She had been practicing with her firearm and knew what it was capable of and knew her limitations. Hers was a half-week hunt so the pressure was on. Both hunter and guide performed their jobs well so the Van Otterens can enjoy moose meat this winter.

John Cox and his dad killed a beautiful 48” bull opening day then quickly left camp to participate in another moose hunt in one of the southern zones.

Team Grumpy Old Men came up short opening day. We saw seven bulls and not a single cow. I had my dad (shooter) riding shotgun, with Ron Webber (permit holder) and son Duane riding in the back seat. We were followed by Jeff Morrell, Henry and Colby Barnes, and Ron’s grandson Tom in Jeff’s truck. Tuesday I changed areas and 15 minutes in to our hunt had a cow down! It was a sentimental hunt, likely being Ron’s last. He suffers from Alzheimers and is one of the best hunters, marksmen, and sportsmen I know. He was lethal with a rifle and shotgun; I watched him shoot a watch in midair with a rifle years ago! Our families have hunted and fished together for as along as I can remember: ducks, deer, rabbits on occasion, and moose. Mr. Webber’s reality is now different from ours but his mind still holds memories even when he can’t recall them. We love the man he was and the man he is. It was an honor to be his guide on this last hunt. Once the moose was down “the team” was ready to assist. Duane guts a moose with surgical precision, Henry and Jeff prepared the rigging to drag her out, and Tom and Colby dragged her and propped her up for pictures. Everyone had a role in the hunt and the pictures are priceless!

Darren Davis, guided by Mike Michaud ended up with a very nice 45” bull midweek. After, Mike took them out for the last day of fishing and landed some beautiful brook trout then they went grouse hunting for the rest of the week. They even assisted with Wayne’s hunt on Friday.

Wane had a challenging week. He tried calling trophy bulls the first two days, bulls we’d scouted in the weeks prior to the hunt. He had no luck calling so switched tactics. On Thursday his client missed a bull in a clear cut; firing once and missing, gun jammed, and he fired again and missed. Friday morning his client’s tentative reaction to a cow and a bull in the road ruined an early morning opportunity. Later Friday I held a bull at the edge of a clear cut while Wayne got his client in position. I called and raked saplings for several minutes while pointing out the bull. The bull was suspicious and on the move several times before I could stop him and point him out again. The client didn’t take the head-shot, all that was left, after trying to keep the bull position for a shot. Sadly, Wayne’s client went home empty handed. They’d seen eight or nine bulls and many cows. We both watched in frustration for the hunter when he just didn’t display a desire to kill a moose, his gun jammed, and he could make a clean kill in three different scenarios at 55-120 yards.

Ken Hopkins and Marie Crabtree were in for a few days of grouse hunting. Marie’s father and retired game warden John Crabtree paid us a visit and shared warden stories from the days he was a warden in this neck of the woods. Dennis Libby and friends were in for an end-of-the-week grouse hunt; Kevin Harris, Lon Ruddock and a friend were in all week hunting grouse. All found plenty of birds – it is a banner year for grouse! The Friday before our second week of moose both Wayne and I had an unanticipated day off together. After running errands in the morning we took advantage and went bird hunting with our German shorthair pointers Grace and Alli. By 4:30 p.m. we both had our limit of grouse, came home, breasted them and froze them to enjoy long after our hunters have left for the season.

Vicky Foster and Mike and Sue O’Donnell were up for a week of bird hunting the 10th-17th. We had five more parties of moose hunters in for the October moose hunt: Wilson Hess (UMFK President) guided by Mike Duni; Capt’n Bill Doughty and his grandson Jake guided by me; Dan McClure, accompanied by Dave and Anthony McClure was guided by Wayne; Dion and John Dietlen (ME) hunted a bull on their own; and Willard and Steve Cass (NY) were guided by Kevin Pelletier. Kevin broke his arm days before his guiding job but insisted on fulfilling his obligation so he recruited his dad, retired game warden Gary Pelletier, to assist. It was a wonderful pairing of client and guide. They all became fast friends and successfully harvested a cow the first day even after I mistakenly had Kevin scouting zone 3 when his client’s tag was in zone 2! It was my mistake and discovered before opening day – Kevin, the professional guide that he is, never missed a beat and gave his clients a great hunt.

I’ve never had clients kill a cow opening day and this week was no different. We saw a bull, bear, fox, barred owl, numerouse grouse, Harris hawk, red tailed hawk, and listened as a cow moose called Monday evening, but didn’t see a cow all day. We all agreed it had been a great day even if we didn’t get our cow. Tuesday we changed location and again, minutes in to the hunt Jake made three perfect shots with his .270. He hit the cow twice in the heart! Not bad shooting for this 16 year old and his first big game animal. Grandfather Bill had him practice all summer with the .270 so Jake was comfortable and confident firing it. We spent the remainder of the week grouse hunting and were accompanied one morning by Ron Webber’s wife Mim. She and daughter Dee were in town bringing Tom back to the university after a long weekend. We harvested close to a dozen grouse in three days.

Wilson and his guide killed a young moose Wednesday and John Dietlin killed a decent bull on Friday.

Wayne had more tough luck with the McClure party. Monday they wounded a large 58-60” (or better!) bull when Dan took a shot too high. They tracked the bull for about ½ mile before they all agreed it was a minor wound and the bull would be fine; although the hunters were disappointed they’d missed a real trophy. Tuesday they shot at and missed a smaller bull, Wednesday and Thursday they saw smaller bulls but wanted a larger animal. Finally, Friday they shot and killed a beautiful 51”, 822 lb. bull. All were elated. It had been a long, hard week of hunting but their persistence paid off with a nice trophy and lots of meat. Wayne developed a friendship with the family and we look forward to seeing them again in the future.

Today is the Sunday after the second week of moose. We still have several parties of grouse hunters to go – Tom Sternal and Dennis Mackley parties next week, and then Dewitt Davis the last week of October.

After six years of guiding moose hunters with 100% success on cows and 90% success on bulls among 80 or so clients (some guided and some not), we have learned some lessons from the moose:
1) Know your firearm; shoot, shoot, and shoot some more before your hunt so you know where your bullet will hit to make a clean kill and minimize wounding or missing.
2) Bulls can shake up the most seasoned hunters; therefore hunters must remain focused and calm.
3) Moose rarely stand still for hunters; therefore hunters must be ready to load, aim and shoot quickly and accurately.
4) Six days is not much time for that “once in a lifetime” opportunity so never quit; keep your head in the game and be alert at all times.
5) Never bring a malfunctioning firearm on a hunt.
6) Kids have displayed more self discipline and focus than many adults.
7) Trust your guide; they’ve spent many hours observing and learning from moose. They know their behaviors so shoot when they say shoot!
8) Be prepared to take 100 yard shots. Some shots will be less than that, some may be more, but 100 yards down a road or across a wide open clear cut is not a difficult shot to take if you practiced rule number 1.
9) All this applies to archers
10) Some of my best memories have been made while learning from moose, either on a hunt or while studying them in the wild.

We have another week of moose in November and a couple weeks of October grouse hunting to go. Whether you’re hunting out of Fish River Lodge or some place else, we wish you the best of luck and many memories during this, our favorite time of the year!