This year we had a group of 7 hunters with a bull and cow tag.
We started hunting in an area we’d hunted before and had experienced a degree of success with answers and sightings, but no success.
Some of the gang saw a moose on a clear cut at night, and there proved to be a lot of sign as well, so Monday afternoon we moved our operation there, but I left one of my pop-up blinds at the first spot in case we went back.
The area was a clear cut with a logging road running down the middle of it from south to north. As we went north the clear cut got wider. There was a creek, and two guys set up at the edge of the bush south of it, the other 5 set up north of it. The first 3 were at the edge of the cut on the west side, the farthest north was Paul our caller. Irene set up at her truck about 150 yards north of Paul along the road on the west side. I set my blind up about 170 yards from her in a small stand of young spruce 40 yards east of the road. I was about 250 yd. from the edge of the cut.
As evening approached, I heard a noise inside the edge of the bush east of me. As I watched in that direction a very nice bull moose stepped out - I’d estimate his rack at 50+ inches and easily making the book as a crossbow kill.
He turned directly toward me and began walking. I’d guess he was orbiting Paul, trying to get down wind of the “cow” before coming in.
After about 75 yd Paul resumed his calling - he hadn’t seen the bull, and I slipped up by not letting him know. On the first call the bull merely looked in Paul’s direction but continued toward me. On Paul’s next call however, the moose turned toward him and continued walking.
This meant the moose was now walking almost directly toward Irene. It passed by me at about 100 yd but as it approached the truck, it got antsy and would stare at the truck, moving hesitantly and often side to side as well as forward. From my position it appeared that the bull was within forty yards of the truck but she said it was over 60 yd away. At this time Irene was hiding behind the truck sticking her hand up with the camera phone and peeking at the moose.
The bull finally turned away from the truck and crossed the road in a north-westerly direction I got ready to do some bull grunts to entice him back, when he abruptly turned around and stepped back up on the road looking again at the truck. He then turned around and walked north along the road.
I had a spruce tree at the corner of my blind, and at about 75 yd the bull began disappearing behind the tree. I switched my focus from my south facing window to my west window, readied my bow and waited for him to come into view again so I could shoot. I waited - seemingly forever - but no moose. I leaned back in my chair, and saw the moose through the evergreen staring right at my blind. I don’t know if he saw me in the blind, or if the blind looked wrong to him, but he eventually turned, walked back down the road a way, and then angled south/east away from us. I later lasered his footprints to my blind and it was 61 yd.
I gave a few grunts, and he stopped a couple of times, but was too spooked to come back.
Later in the week a couple of guys reported seeing a bear “near an old wrecked blind”. It was mine.
Later they set up on it and killed the bear.
On the last day Paul saw a yearling bull at 150+ yd but couldn’t entice him in.
