I finally got me first big game animal and with my bow to boot.
I picked up my hunting partner for an afternoon hunt on October 21st. We got to our spot that we have been scouting all summer with trail cams, never seeing anything but mule deer does. We have been saving this spot as a fall back to fill a late season tag. The afternoon started off pretty quietly. Nothing seemed to be moving. We finally spotted a doe up on a ridge. So off we went chasing after a doe. By the time we crossed the creek and made it up the hill she was no where to be seen. We kept searching the ridge only to spook off a pair of does higher up the hillside. We decided to sit and scope the hills and ridges. We kept hearing a constant buzzing that got louder and then faded away. Well it turns out there was a drone circling overhead. We watched this thing circle around over and over for a half hour before deciding to head back accross the creek away from this drone. We came to a "Y" in the trail and decided to split up as both paths lead to different sides of a pond that we have seen lots of activity at. I got maybe 50 yards away and got busted by a mullie doe. I stopped dead in my tracks and stood as still as I could. While I'm having a staring duel with this doe, I could hear some rustling behind in the direction my hunting partner was. This rustling starts getting louder and louder. I'm starting to wonder what is going on. I didn't want to turn around as I'm still staring at this doe. Finally the noise is even louder. I can't not look anymore. I turn around just in time to see a moose running towards me. It must have caught wind of me as it stopped right before getting to the trail that I am standing on. It turns it's head only to have a tree in its line of vision. I drew back my bow and waited. It took a few steps forward into the trail and is facing me head on 20 yards away. I held on and waited for what felt like forever. Finally he turns to give me a perfect broad side shot and I release. Perfect shot he runs 20 yards into the bush and crashes. I stood there for 10 minutes listening, not moving a muscle. I finally sneak away to find my partner. I find him searching feverishly for something. So I asked him "did you see the moose?". "Yes" he says "I saw a bull moose! He made me out at the same time as I made him out. He started running. So I tried running after him. Did you see it?". "I shot it. It's dead over there in the bush". After celebratory high fives we waited an extra 20 minutes just in case (longest 20 minutes of my life!) and went to find the bull. We found him 25 yards away from the trail. After saying thanks to the big man above we took a few pictures
It was one of the most exciting and memorable moments of my life. I will never forget it!