My son (14) got his first moose after 4 seasons of hunting.
We hunted a total of 14 days in 4 trips this year. By Sept 13 we were REALLY struggling to maintain hope. Much of the season was very rainy and windy.
This trip started the 11th in pouring rain up to a guided sport fishing camp site (they left in July).
The hope was there would be a break in the weather and as the season wound down the moose might start moving around pre rut. The bulls had rubbed off the velvet for at least a week, maybe 2.
It poured all our first night - pelted down hard. Sure glad I added a tarp over our tent to keep rain away from the door.The cook tarp is crude but helps a lot and much lighter than our screen tent. Need to watch weight when using the small boat.We didn't see even 1 moose for the 1st 24 hrs and the whole area seemed dead to all animal and bird life even tho the rain stopped and weather was improving. I think they were in a bad weather stupor like me.
Weather seemed iffy morning of the 13th but sun was poking out and the rain very light and intermittent.Forecast for the coming days was wind and rain again so I hoped the 13th would work.We saw 1 cow across from camp and birdlife seemed to revive tho a lot of waterfowl must have headed south with the NW winds of the previous week.Drifted a slough and spotted a fox in the brush. After we passed we heard Spruce grouse clucking so maybe he was trying to catch breakfast. At least the river seemed to regain some life.With the bad forecast I figured we would have to head home before the season ended. We were heavy with gas so decided to lighten our load and see a lot of country by running up the one channel of the river and down the other, "doing the loop". I should figure out the mileage. But adding a bunch of slough loops makes it even longer. I’m guessing at least 35 miles total.
Early on, we spotted a moose drinking at a slough mouth, it seemed to have more than just ears on its head but we weren’t able to sneak up on it and it got away in the brush.Ran upriver for a long time IN SUN!!!!!!. Nice to dry out a little and feel warm. Poked into various sloughs but nothing.Bumped into an acquaintance in one slough at the upper end. He had flown over that morning to check his cabin and had seen NO moose on the whole flight!Ate lunch and filed the prop on a sand bar just at the top of the return channel. Ben was really grumpy - Dad's dumb, terrible moose hunter, doesn't know a thing, we're NEVER going to get a moose might as well go home......................But lunch revived hope and I rowed downstream for quite a while enjoying the sun.We were drifting along a straight stretch when I saw 3 moose on the edge of a willow jungle on a long low boggy shore. One had small horns.Ben perked up and I rowed hard toward shore. Ben rested his gun on the bow and as I tried to steady the boat he fired at 200 yards.Bang flop moose down at 3:30 - 32 inches. I was so pleased for the spine shot 'cause it was a willow jungle right behind. The moose needed a finisher but was totally anchored and no meat wasted nor animal lost. I'll remember that for the rest of my days. Ben might have even smiled for a a few seconds. We hang up everything orange at the kill site while handling an animal to discourage accidents. 
Darn, got a little bloody goop on the camera lens and didn't know it.Next was the good news when we found we could float the boat to within 100 feet of the moose!!. It was a little mucky at the spot but not at all bad.
Still, I made sure Ben carried the big pieces - I helped balance them on him but I wanted him to experience carrying them so he might be less grumpy when I refuse to walk very far off the river.
By law, the head must come out last - meat salvage is the priority.Nice breeze and mostly sun was pleasant, no bugs to speak of. some rain. The breeze kept all the bugs off - what good luck.We had the moose in the boat by 7:00 PM and back at camp in time to get it hung up by dark. 
We hung it in trees near camp and rigged tin cans and pots and pans as a bear alarm. Happily the breeze blew the scent off shore instead of back into the brush so we had no bear issues. Still I layed awake most of the absolutely still night wondering where the forecasted SE 10-20 gusts to 30 was.
It never came tho we got E at 10-15 on the way home. Pretty lumpy across the Wood R bar - glad I was going with the wind and the tide was slacking.And of course thick fog and rain -its so nice to have GPS. There were periods when I couldn’t see any shore – could easily get turned around in that kind of stuff.
We took our time cutting up the meat over a week. Took tongue, meat, liver, kidneys and some tallow. The tallow was so mild I ground it into the breakfast sausage and burger I made.Oh! Load details etc. Rifle is a Savage Sierra 21 in bbl plastic stock I got here on GB Classifieds. 30-06, 165 old Barnes X flat base uncoated, Rx 19 57gr 
, RP case, CCI primer. I think it shoots about 2700-2800 fps but I haven't had time to chrono it. Ben shoots it well and in that light gun it doesn't kick him so hard as my favorite 180 gr Noslert Partion load. He did mention: "Dad I didn't even feel it kick this time!" 
