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  #31  
Old 11-04-2021, 01:24 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Whatever anyone says, muskeg has a great beauty of its own. The micro (perhaps, mini- is more appropriate?) plant world is quite amazing. I probably have gazillion pictures of all kinds of stuff hiking it elsewhere. Just a few from today:







There is a reason, aside from lack of food, why moose aren’t particularly fans though:



You go in up to knee deep every so often and probably deeper once in a while. And it is somewhat frozen at the moment.

One can probably notice that hunting is a bit more for me than just finding an animal and harvesting it. I really enjoy being out there and taking it all in.



However, sometimes I need to remember and ask myself, what the heck am I here for? Well, in this case - moose, which ain’t there. At this point I had to come up with another plan because, suddenly, what I was doing seemed like a big waste of time as far as the main goal is concerned. It was around three, if I recall correctly. The best thing I could come up with is to go back to the area where I was yesterday and maybe do a bit of driving around to see other available options there. All of a sudden, the spot I was at yesterday seemed like a goldmine in comparison, lol. Funny how that works.

So I did drive to East Haul Road again. I drove a bit further than I did yesterday and then turned into a trail. Instead of walking, I decided to drive further in and it seemed to be going way deep. Why not. Of course, the first thing I saw was that someone shot my moose earlier in the day, lol:



Lots of grouse around. If I had my .22 with me, I’d probably hit the limit fairly quickly. I will probably bring it next time, just in case. I doubt I will be driving lots next time though. Who knows.



Anyway… it’s getting a bit long, lol. I dove that trail for a while. Happened to see a lynx, which at first I thought was a coyote from a distance. By the time I realized what it was and grabbed my phone, it jumped off the trail and I couldn’t, of course, find it (just looking into the bush). Sucks because I would have loved to take a pic to show the kids. On the way out, I also saw an owl whose wing span was pretty close to the width of my vehicle (4Runner). Amazing. Missed out with a pic too.

The cool thing about that particular trail is that it crosses some great looking moose habitat every so often. Of course, I stopped once in a while to look at willow, among other things. It looks good. Except that someone already shot the moose I was after. Laughing.

The thing that isn’t cool at all though, I turned around (way in) when I saw a couple of quads heading out. It was obvious someone drove there before (aside from the moose remains way behind), but I didn’t expect there was someone ahead of me at the time. It was a good time to turn around too anyway because I still wanted to hit the spot I was at yesterday. On the way out, I also met two trucks coming in, lol. “Road hinting” is a competitive sport, lol.

With about 45 minutes left, I drove to the spot I was at yesterday. Parked at the same spot and simply walked the quad trail, taking a few quick strolls off.

Someone was mad as hell:



Found some very fresh bites, almost wet still:



Not sure if it was heading into or out of the valley. I am going to say in because in all likelihood that is what I am doing next time. Also, by looking at the pic above, my hands desperately need some cream. Hahaha.

I need to get way further away from the road, trails and whatever in general. Just didn’t find the right place to do so yet. Also need to get closer to Peace. Not sure if it is the familiarity and “comfort” I am after, but I feel like I will have no problems finding a bull there. Oh well, we will see…

A couple more pics just because:

Cadotte one way:



And the other:



A solid size nest I wish was within reach, but it is on the other side of the river:



Rain in the forecast tomorrow and Friday, possibly. Snow on Saturday, possibly. Saturday is the next day I might be able to get out. If no rain on Friday, I might hit the valley for an elk. Will see.

Side note, I drove just over 220 km today in over 8 hours that I was out. That is likely the most I drove in one day while hunting.

Side note #2, with most still water being frozen, rivers are about the only places to kill the thirst, so valleys aren’t a bad spot to be presently hunting. Whatever little rain they are expecting shouldn’t change much. Snow, on the other hand, might.
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  #32  
Old 11-08-2021, 01:18 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Went out today to the Haul Road again. It snowed in town at night, unexpectedly, and so it did there:



I studied the map a little more yesterday and found what looked like a nice spot to walk with a lot of potential. That on the photo was where I walked in, heading towards the Peace. The plan was to find some tracks that would lead to a moose, ideally a majestic bull. Lol. I actually don’t care for the size (and probably prefer a youngster) because I am looking for meat here and not the antlers. It was pretty quite for roughly first kilometre or so. The only track I ran into up to that point was some kind of predator, my best guess was a lynx, but I am no expert and not even an amateur: it was too big to belong to coyote and too small for a wolf, but mainly I couldn’t see any claws.



Not the best pic, I guess. I know dogs would mainly stick to the game trails. This one didn’t appear to do so. Anyway…

Oh yes, forgot to mention, when I parked and was getting ready to head out, I realized I forgot my gaiters at home. Strike number one. When I was about 20 minutes away from the vehicle, I noticed my hands were getting cold and I wasn’t wearing gloves, lol. Left the gloves in the vehicle. Strike number two. It was just below zero, so I decided that going back would be a waste of time and kept going. The two things I always have this time of year are my hat and my gloves (I guess that’s three things), that may come off and on, but they are always with me. The reason, beside being comfortable/uncomfortable, a person looses tons of heat via head and hands and I am usually very lightly dressed when hunting in these conditions. I may have extra layers in my pack that can be used if needed, but I tend to regulate the temperature quite a bit by simply taking off/putting on the gloves and hat. Only when that doesn’t work I start taking off or putting on the layers. Works great for me.

So… I was walking, not finding what I was looking for, but enjoying the walk nonetheless. The bush is dense in some places, plenty of cover for the game.



Even if there was moose 5 meters in, there is no way one would see it. But then why would a moose be in there? Lol. Deer, sure. Moose, not so much. Finally, the first track of an ungulate, about a kilometre in:



Shortly after, better grounds for moose:



Plenty of sign, “new” and old:



All well and dandy, but no tracks. So I kept walking. My goal was to get as close to Peace as possible, ideally into the valley, but I knew it was unlikely that I would get there today (or ever, unless I find a better access).

Deer tracks appeared to be plentiful now. Another kilometre in and there were well defined trails with lots of traffic.



Scrape after a scrape. I actually started to loose focus, lol.







Then I ran into this one, where the poop didn’t even freeze yet:



With urine all around, all over the place:



What does a guy do? He starts still hunting, of course, lol. In my case, just to see what it is all about because I did not buy a deer tag. Strike number three.

So I did that for about 30 minutes, didn’t find the buck, but I was definitely in his home where he spends plenty of time.





Then, I finally realized that I am wasting time and moved on. Walked some more, hit some dense bush and turned around. I was probably between 4 and 5 kilometres in now. It took about 1.5 hours to come back, almost running, given the terrain. It was just after 3 when I got back to the vehicle. More or less like I planned if unsuccessful.

Next in the plan was to go back to Cadotte and do a quick walk around, then hit the trail that I drove on the previous time with gazillion grouse. I did bring the .22 with me. The Cadotte turned out to be a dud. A sxs and a truck were there before me (which probably isn’t bad, being only two vehicles) and someone actually walked. All looked like a morning run though, so I walked anyway. I also walked an old, now undrivable, trail that everyone overlooks (maybe for a reason?). Nothing.

Ran back to the vehicle and drove to the “grouse trail”. Plenty of traffic from earlier in the day. Drove about 12 km on the trail and only saw two deer tracks the whole way. And guess what? No freaking grouse. Well, that was probably a given because I brought a proper gun with me, lol. I did see three earlier in the day (one almost gave me a heart attack).

So I drove back out, found another trail to drive on and found someone shooting my moose again:



Kidding, of course. I don’t even know what was shot there this time and I didn’t care to look.

I drove a bit further in on the Haul Road trying to build a plan for the next time, but it was too late and too dark. I did see a cow with a calf crossing the road though. So they do exist! Laughing.

Not seeing a single track to follow today is kind of disappointing, being in the prime habitat, all pressure kilometres away. Better luck next time, I guess. I do need to get into the valley. I have little doubt I will find my moose there. We will see what happens.
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  #33  
Old 11-08-2021, 06:44 AM
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Phil McCracken Phil McCracken is offline
 
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That is what hunting is all about my friend.

You will be rewarded soon...

Keep plugging away and good luck...
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  #34  
Old 11-08-2021, 07:17 AM
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58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
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That one area you walked into with all the scrapes, poop and pee I would have hunkered down and got the grunt tube out, that and a combination of rattling might have brought in the fella responsible for the torn up area....keep on learning and adjusting....every time I go into the woods I come out with new intel.
Good luck!
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  #35  
Old 11-08-2021, 10:59 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil McCracken View Post
That is what hunting is all about my friend.

You will be rewarded soon...

Keep plugging away and good luck...
Thanks, Phil. I am hopeful

Quote:
Originally Posted by 58thecat View Post
That one area you walked into with all the scrapes, poop and pee I would have hunkered down and got the grunt tube out, that and a combination of rattling might have brought in the fella responsible for the torn up area....keep on learning and adjusting....every time I go into the woods I come out with new intel.
Good luck!
While walking there and back through the same area, I was probably smiling on the outside and laughing inside thinking about that chair in my very first post that started this whole thread, lol. I was also thinking about Smoky Buck’s tree stands and that he would fit right in at a few locations I saw, lol.

Yeah, it seems I should buy that tag after all. It’s the second outing in a row that I see some really great looking deer areas. I just want to try and concentrate on moose for now as much as possible and not get distracted. Surely put all those spots on the shelve in my head though. Honestly, if I had a blank tag with me and there was cell service in the area, I’d probably switch to hunting deer yesterday, lol.

But where is the damn moose?! Not used to being out 3-4 times and not seeing a single fresh moose track, or a moose even. Kind of makes me really appreciate the areas I usually hunt. Don’t feel like I am getting closer at the moment.

We will see what happens next time.

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  #36  
Old 11-08-2021, 12:49 PM
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Stinky Buffalo Stinky Buffalo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishnguy View Post
But where is the damn moose?! Not used to being out 3-4 times and not seeing a single fresh moose track, or a moose even. Kind of makes me really appreciate the areas I usually hunt. Don’t feel like I am getting closer at the moment.
I know, right? I have been scouring some really "moosey" areas, and I just come away with a feeling of awe that they can just vanish as if abducted by aliens...
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  #37  
Old 11-08-2021, 06:32 PM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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^ Yep. They are there though. Just a matter of finding one. Also, at this point, they have been hunted for over 2 months. Many have probably been taken. The rifle season has been open there since September 1.

Lack of access adds another level of challenge because everyone who hunts the 520 drives the same roads and trails. While it is a pretty great area, access appears to be very limited. Isn’t a problem if a guy is walking. But then you compromise on distance covered and can hit only one or two of those “moosey” areas in one trip. The fact that the East Haul Road is a wildlife sanctuary corridor doesn’t really help either, lol.

Also, just like it happened with the grouse yesterday: while I could limit out in no time (less than an hour, probably) the day before when I didn’t have the rifle as there were dozens of them everywhere, I haven’t seen one I could shoot at yesterday, lol. I bet you I can go and find a moose tomorrow where I usually hunt. If I draw my tag next year, it’ll probably be longer than a day, lol. Funny how that works.

Not sure what plan is for next trip yet, which may be tomorrow (fingers crossed).
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  #38  
Old 11-08-2021, 07:38 PM
Desert Eagle Desert Eagle is offline
 
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I feel your pain on the moose just disappearing.

I’ve been out searching where there has been a ton of sign, just can’t seem to align with getting a look at them. I managed an antler less tag in 357, and somewhat new to the area. It has been a great way to learn the area better though, lots of miles on the boots and the truck.

I hope you have some success soon!
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Old 11-08-2021, 11:08 PM
OL_JR OL_JR is offline
 
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Following with interest. Really rootin for ya, somewhat familiar with that area. It's big country and you are looking for a critter that doesn't move all that much this time of year. I wouldn't be without a whitetail tag...
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  #40  
Old 11-09-2021, 07:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishnguy View Post
^ Yep. They are there though. Just a matter of finding one. Also, at this point, they have been hunted for over 2 months. Many have probably been taken. The rifle season has been open there since September 1.

Lack of access adds another level of challenge because everyone who hunts the 520 drives the same roads and trails. While it is a pretty great area, access appears to be very limited. Isn’t a problem if a guy is walking. But then you compromise on distance covered and can hit only one or two of those “moosey” areas in one trip. The fact that the East Haul Road is a wildlife sanctuary corridor doesn’t really help either, lol.

Also, just like it happened with the grouse yesterday: while I could limit out in no time (less than an hour, probably) the day before when I didn’t have the rifle as there were dozens of them everywhere, I haven’t seen one I could shoot at yesterday, lol. I bet you I can go and find a moose tomorrow where I usually hunt. If I draw my tag next year, it’ll probably be longer than a day, lol. Funny how that works.

Not sure what plan is for next trip yet, which may be tomorrow (fingers crossed).
Carry a crossman pellet pistol for those grouse encounters
https://www.crosman.com/product/cros...an-classic-177
Works wonders at 10 yards...trust me and many times the birds just walk around wondering why Fred is breakdancing so you get a few more too.
Another thing I do is when leaving an area I will call well past sunset just to see if someone will come in and check the area during the night...next day get in to the area under darkness and watch the world come alive then start calling again you might find a bull that was curious from the night before close by.

Good luck
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  #41  
Old 11-12-2021, 02:25 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert Eagle View Post
I feel your pain on the moose just disappearing.

I’ve been out searching where there has been a ton of sign, just can’t seem to align with getting a look at them. I managed an antler less tag in 357, and somewhat new to the area. It has been a great way to learn the area better though, lots of miles on the boots and the truck.

I hope you have some success soon!
Congrats on your moose! And thanks.

It sure is a great way to learn the area. I have been out a few times to 520 now and sure learned a heck of a lot. Especially where to stay away from, lol.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OL_JR View Post
Following with interest. Really rootin for ya, somewhat familiar with that area. It's big country and you are looking for a critter that doesn't move all that much this time of year. I wouldn't be without a whitetail tag...
Thanks, JR. for not moving much, they sure move quite a bit. More on that in the next post. Bought a whitetail tag, lol. Haven’t ran into a buck yet, but did see a few does (not today though).

Quote:
Originally Posted by 58thecat View Post
Carry a crossman pellet pistol for those grouse encounters
https://www.crosman.com/product/cros...an-classic-177
Works wonders at 10 yards...trust me and many times the birds just walk around wondering why Fred is breakdancing so you get a few more too.
Another thing I do is when leaving an area I will call well past sunset just to see if someone will come in and check the area during the night...next day get in to the area under darkness and watch the world come alive then start calling again you might find a bull that was curious from the night before close by.

Good luck
I do have that crossman, Cat. Never bring it with me though because it would just be on my way. I also try to pack as light as possible. Here I was thinking more like when driving on a trail, see a chicken, shoot a chicken; maybe walk a bit on a good trail targeting chicken specifically. Regardless, I haven’t seen a bird in two outings now, lol.

I am not there every day, so I think calling past hunting time can be counterproductive. Not sure about moose, but when elk hunting, it is usually a good idea to stop when you are done for the day. Sometimes, if a bull is close by and moves in while you are getting out and gets spooked, you may have hard times calling him in the next day.

Lol at Fred breakdancing.



So I made a plan on Monday and headed out on Tuesday morning, a bit later than I had hoped. There was snow in the forecast, that is why I chose Tuesday. I am not going to write a lot about Tuesday because it turned out to be a dud of a day. First of all, getting to where I was planning to get didn’t work out because of the gated road that I mentioned in another thread (here). That was a bit of a downer because I didn’t have a plan anymore. It was windy as hell too, so being out wasn’t that much fun either. I still walked quite a bit, checked out a few pull overs and trails. Ran into a few camps, active and not. Some guys are really serious about their camps. Some even build a “real” washroom, lol.



Very sophisticated! Can go out for a swim too before the ice cover:



Another tip for those planning to hunt moose in 520: the further in you go, the busier it gets. And of course, the road is gated at the end of the corridor, so if you are hunting on foot or out of your truck, you are going to be disappointed.

I went back, somewhat midway, and walked a couple of cutlines. Lots of deer tracks again, scrapes, but no moose sign, so I moved on. I parked randomly somewhere and decided to hit the bush. Finally, found some tracks I was looking for. They didn’t look fresh though. Fresh as in from the same day.



I followed them bit, maybe a km or two without much enthusiasm. Mood wasn’t there and the brutal wind didn’t help at all. At last, ran into some urine and it was more or less clear it was a cow.



Weird picture. Not even sure how I took it looking at it now, lol. But it was all over the place kind of thing and didn’t look like it came out of a boy’s “instrument”, if you know what I mean. I could be wrong though, since I am not a pro, by a long shot.

So I went back to the vehicle, drove to the “grouse trail”, didn’t see a thing, of course, and drove home. The forecasted snow only came when I was leaving too, lol. Was almost vertical because of the wind. By the time it was dark, it really picked up:



I should have gone on Wednesday (can’t go both days). Lesson of the day - do not go too far in on the haul road. The further it is, the “zoo”-ier it is.

Someone shot a whitetail:



4 hours later, it was pretty clean and birds were still working on it:



I wrote the above on Tuesday but never posted it and kind of edited today to match the present time, so if there is something weird going on in terms past and present tense and whatnot…

Today was pretty great. But that’s in the next post.
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  #42  
Old 11-12-2021, 02:25 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Now to today!

Woke up, played with the kids, had breakfast with the family, did some chores, whatever. Wasn’t sure if I was going to head out but closer to lunch “she” was calling, lol. Quickly packed up and went. The idea was to go to that area I went last Sunday (?), the post with some solid scrapes and heavy deer traffic after it snowed in the morning. Worst come to worst, I grabbed a grunt tube to see what can come of it. Never had much success with it, but who knows.

So I got there with about 4.5 hours left before sunset. Parked, grabbed the gun, a knife, some rope, binoculars, the grunt tube and “ran”, lol. Not much time left, so I moved rather quickly. First thing I noticed was that someone tried to go with the quad where I walked the last time. I park by a quad trail, so I guess they followed my footprints, that at first followed another older trail and then turn to the bush. They tried going into the bush, but that didn’t work, lol. People are funny/weird. Not sure what the point of the exercise was.

About 500 meters in, I ran into a track!



Looked fresh. Not sure how fresh, but the best I have seen so far. Exciting stuff! Lol. The hooves appeared to be somewhat small, but if I could catch up and meet the moose, that’d be swell. Crossing the fingers for a young bull. In the beginning, I was a little slow and way too cautious, glassing a lot after every few steps; then I realized I am wasting time and sped up quite a bit - almost running at times. At first, it was all good, fair visibility and fairly easy to walk. Then some nasties, heavy bush, etc. Some places one would ask themselves “Why would a moose go there?”





It being a moose, it stayed on trails no more than 20% of the time. Probably a lot less, lol.



Sure glad I remembered to bring along my gaiters!

Anyway… didn’t really notice how much I walked because the speed varied significantly in the beginning, but I finally hit a bed with nothing but a hoof print in it.



Definitely from at least a few hours ago. Well, let’s keep going. A bit later, I decided to start tracking myself on the gps.

The moose track eventually took me to all the areas I walked at the very first time I was there: the tall grass area, the lots of deadfall, etc. It was then I realized I walked quite bit now from where I started.

Quite amazing how even a little bit of snow can change the area and one’s perspective. I always note how easy it is to fall, get hurt, maybe even break a leg or worse when there is no snow on the ground. Once there is snow, even those heavy deadfall areas are nothing special, one can almost run through them.

Finally, some poop:



Doesn't look that fresh. Even has some frost on it. Could be from yesterday even. Damn… Nothing to do, but to follow, and I did. Still no urine though. I still don’t know if I am following a bull or a cow. At some moment I realized I was now walking towards one of the quad trails, the one I mentioned everyone seems to avoid and maybe for a reason. I started thinking that it would be funny (not really, I guess) if I kept on it for the rest of the day and then come to a kill site on one of the trails. But then again, it changed the direction to the opposite a number of times now, so maybe it would turn around again.

Nope, we came to that very trail. And the moose decided to stay on the trail now, going to another trail that is heavily used. Damn… Then I see this on the ground:



Yep, a man was walking next to my moose tracks, lol. I started getting worried a bit that the guy was also following the tracks once he found them. Everything kind of pointed to that. Not long after, however, it became obvious that either a) the moose was there after the guy, or b) the guy had no idea what he was doing. I didn’t care if it was a) or b) because either one was a good answer for me. Eventually, the moose turned off the trail and hit the bush, away from the “busy” trail. Good moose, I thought. But not for long because a bit later it turned and went straight to that trail. Man.. Surely I am going to walk to a pile of guts and moose hide with this behaviour, lol.

Getting to the trail, actually, was a bit of a relief. Because:



The hoofs were the top track, on top of all the existing quad tracks. Isn’t that great? That also suggested that it is very likely a fairly recent track! Then I took a closer look and it appeared only a couple of/few quads drove there after the last snow. Did it snow yesterday there? Or was the last snow on Tuesday night when I left? Who knows. Either way, I found it hard to believe that no one rode there on a midweek day off. That gave me more hope that I would eventually catch up.

The moose followed the trail for a bit and then hit the valley of a river.



So down I went. Way, way down, lol. Ran into some more poop. This one didn’t have any frost on it (was on the sunny side too now), but was still “old”.

It went through a frozen slough. Anyone wants to call a bull or a cow by looking at the track?



When the track got to the river, I lost it. Everything looked like it was going to cross over ice but it didn’t. Some heavy stuff all around.



Took a minute but I found it “crawl” through some thicket and then follow the river and eventually cross it. Another stab at the sex of the runner?



The moose went up the valley. Came to something like this:



It looked like it tried to scrape something out but wasn’t successful and moved on. Moved on back down to the river, lol. Followed the river again, had some dinner and eventually crossed back.



Probably hard to see from that picture, but all the willow is perfectly trimmed, as if being looked after by a professional gardener.

It crossed the river back and forth a couple more times. I figure the moose was quite thirsty. I may be way off and not sure how snow plays into the whole thing, but it seemed to constantly go to water. Even whatever it tried to scrape out near that tree a couple pics above was all ice. I have also been tracking it quite a distance now and haven’t seen a drop of urine. I relieved myself 3 or 4 times by then, lol.

Anyway, it crossed back once again and went back up the valley. And so did I. Funny thing was I had no idea where I was now after all the turning back and forth, going up and down the valley. Who cares though, right? So, up the valley it went and I followed. Climbed all the way up. Shortly after we crossed the “busy” trail again, just way lower, up another big hill where I had to grab on to the brush to climb and… I lost track. It was the sunny side and most of the snow was gone. I looked and looked to no avail. 10 or so minutes later I finally found a track in the soft spot. It lead back to the bush and the second empty bed. Out of the bed it went back to the “sunny” spot, to almost exactly where I lost it. Couldn’t find anything after. I went back down, back up - nothing. However… it finally took a pizz (not resizing this pic on purpose and circled the pizz spot):



Looks like it came from a schlong, doesn’t it? To me it looks like a bull and so does the track. If someone wants to chime in on the subject, it would be great. Don't mind what I think at all and assume I have no clue what I am talking about (probably not far from the truth anyway, lol).

It was pretty much sunset when I was trying to find that track. There was no point anyway because I could likely spend another few hours going after it. So I stayed where I was, right on a ridge, watching the sunset.

Once that was over, I looked at the map. I was only half an hour away from the vehicle, lol. The gps showed that I walked 13.6 km. That’d be after I turned it on.

Unfortunately, I never got to see what I was chasing. I did get an idea of where it “lives” and where it goes. However, I also left a whole bunch of “unwanted” scent behind. We will see how it goes next time.

Great day all around. Would be nice if it ended with packing out the moose, but baby steps, I guess, lol.
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  #43  
Old 11-12-2021, 07:20 AM
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58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
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you know why a moose does what it does? because it can

as for tracks being made by a bull or cow some say this and some say that

sorry I am no help but I know you are enjoying your hunt and that is what matters....good luck.
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  #44  
Old 11-13-2021, 09:10 PM
Bushleague Bushleague is offline
 
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Default Some finer points of Moose excrement.

While I wouldnt call that urine spot 100% conclusive, that is a track I wouldnt give up on after seeing it... especially when tracks are a bit scarce. It does look like it could have been from a bull, a couple things I try to look for when I find a urine spot in the snow:

Is it possible to see from the tracks where the animal stood while it took a whizz? If you can figure this out it will clear things up right away. Any little dribbles and their location relative to the main spot can also help.

Are their any droppings, if so what is their location relative to the pee? Along this line, when I find droppings I look very carefully for any small amount of urine that might have been dropped when the animal crapped. If you can find evidence of pee near the droppings you are most likely on a cow track, if you have some dribbles ahead of the poop it could be a bull.

Too, watching how the animal moves can help, does it steer clear of tight openeings indicating a rack? If it does go through a tight opening can you find evidence of the rack knocking snow off the branches etc?

In the end, its about 60% voodoo trying to say for sure the sex of an average size animal if you cant get an obvious pee spot. The last bull I tracked pee'd 3 times and none of them were conclusive, it also went through some tight spots and never knocked any snow down... worst of all I could feel just a tiny bit of breeze on the back of my neck. For various reasons I stuck with the track, tryed to move fast enough that the breeze wouldnt push my scent too far ahead of me whilst attempting to still scrutinize the bush thoroughly... about a kilometer later we had our bull.

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Old 11-15-2021, 11:55 PM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 58thecat View Post
you know why a moose does what it does? because it can

as for tracks being made by a bull or cow some say this and some say that

sorry I am no help but I know you are enjoying your hunt and that is what matters....good luck.
Haha. Yeah, moose being a moose says it all.

Fun for sure, for the most part. Hopefully, the results will come at some point though

Thanks, Cat.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushleague View Post
While I wouldnt call that urine spot 100% conclusive, that is a track I wouldnt give up on after seeing it... especially when tracks are a bit scarce. It does look like it could have been from a bull, a couple things I try to look for when I find a urine spot in the snow:

Is it possible to see from the tracks where the animal stood while it took a whizz? If you can figure this out it will clear things up right away. Any little dribbles and their location relative to the main spot can also help.

Are their any droppings, if so what is their location relative to the pee? Along this line, when I find droppings I look very carefully for any small amount of urine that might have been dropped when the animal crapped. If you can find evidence of pee near the droppings you are most likely on a cow track, if you have some dribbles ahead of the poop it could be a bull.
Thanks for tips, Bushleague. Yeah, it wouldn’t be possible to tell if there were any urine drops before, after, or near that spot. There was definitely nothing next to the droppings, all three of them. Not that I could see. I was amazed the distance I travelled tracking it and to only find one urinating spot.

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Too, watching how the animal moves can help, does it steer clear of tight openings indicating a rack? If it does go through a tight opening can you find evidence of the rack knocking snow off the branches etc?
I did that through out my hike. There was nothing indicating one way or the other on Friday. However, I was back there yesterday. Spend the day looking for tracks in the last bedding area, through out the bush around, on trails, and so on. In the second half of the day, it hit me that I should head to the river (I thought about it before, but didn’t act on it). I was quite a bit down stream and up the valley. I hiked down to the river and followed it up. A while after, I found some other set moose of tracks that looked like from a couple of days ago, pretty close to where I hiked on Friday. I thought it was probably the same moose and that’s where it went after I lost its track. Only later I realized that it couldn’t have been because I lost it on the other side of the river, lol. It looked like this one stepped onto the ice, changed its mind and went back to wherever it went.



It couldn’t have been the same moose, there is no way. Thinking about it now, I should have taken a note of where they were.

Anyway, further down the river, I found fairly fresh (as in likely today’s) tracks crossing in the exact same spot where the moose I followed crossed last time. Gotta be the same moose.



It crossed where it did last time to go to that icy spot half way up the valley it tried to break. I took another look at that spot again yesterday and it is pretty clear there is a spring there that is now frozen.

Anyway, this time it crossed and went by the spring, without stopping by, all the way up the valley and “away”.

So here are the tight openings I was looking for and you mention. To me it was like “Man, I am following a cow”. Even I went around those:





Both are about 5 feet high. It went right through. Likely a womp womp, but maybe a young bull. I’d be completely fine with the latter, lol.

It probably doesn’t matter though because I followed these tracks pretty much to the border with the 523. I then realized that it was super late and started climbing out. Took me over an hour of walking in complete darkness to get to the vehicle, lol. Luckily, I was able to clear most of the bush in some kind of light. Funny thing is, a few trucks of fellow hunters drove by, not one had stopped to ask if I am alright or anything. Not that I needed help, I just thought it was weird: a guy in gaiters, with binoculars on his chest, and a rifle over his shoulder (bolt in one pocket, magazine in another, and ammo in the third) walking on the side of the road, which is a wildlife sanctuary corridor.

Anyway, thinking it may have been a cow all along. Probably that is why it didn’t get shot yet, lol. Who knows. I followed the tracks quite a bit again and not single pee spot again. Weird. It definitely looks like it went to 523 and out of my jurisdiction. It is snowing quite a bit currently, wish I could go tomorrow. Right now and more overnight in the forecast, probably more there:



The past two outings, likely over 40km, combined, lol. Looks like I am making a hobby out of it come November, second season in a row.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushleague View Post
In the end, its about 60% voodoo trying to say for sure the sex of an average size animal if you cant get an obvious pee spot. The last bull I tracked pee'd 3 times and none of them were conclusive, it also went through some tight spots and never knocked any snow down... worst of all I could feel just a tiny bit of breeze on the back of my neck. For various reasons I stuck with the track, tryed to move fast enough that the breeze wouldnt push my scent too far ahead of me whilst attempting to still scrutinize the bush thoroughly... about a kilometer later we had our bull.

Voodoo or not, looks like you voodoo’ed yourself a nice bull there. Good on you. My moose looks like is one that enjoys its walks. Hopefully, something will come together later on.

Thanks for chiming in, man. Anymore to add, you know I am always glad to hear.
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Old 11-16-2021, 07:33 PM
Bushleague Bushleague is offline
 
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Yeah, tight spots... I spend almost my whole season and much of the winter following game trails. While they are generally a pretty round about way to where I'm trying to go one usually tends to run into less blowdown, ravines, swamps etc. In some of the places I hunt trying simply go from point A-B wont even work, you basically have to follow the critters that know the area if you want to go anywhere...

After countless hours of this I've come to regard a set of moose tracks as only marginaly better than just bushwhacking, their nearly total dissregard for the path of least resistance is borderline freakish at times.
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Old 11-16-2021, 10:06 PM
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After countless hours of this I've come to regard a set of moose tracks as only marginaly better than just bushwhacking, their nearly total dissregard for the path of least resistance is borderline freakish at times.
So true…
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Old 11-17-2021, 12:28 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Yep, did a lot of that in the past few days, lol.

I couldn't help myself with all this nice snow cover, booked the afternoon off and drove there again. Won’t post a lot this time. I haven't seen any moose tracks. I had less time today, so covered about 10-12 km, which takes me to over 50 in the last three outings. I did run into a whitetail buck that was mediocre, but could be a shooter, depending on one’s criteria of such. I wanted my moose though, so I passed. He ran ten or so meters and was pretending to be invisible behind the bush, which gave me good opportunity to examine him quite well through the binos. Maybe I should have shot him. Oh well. Looks like the moose I followed two past outings has gone to 523. Whatever, probably a cow anyway.

Also ran into this guy:



Love foxes. Some of the best looking animals out there. I then watched him hunt and catch a mouse or whatever it was. Perhaps, something larger than a mouse.





Check out that tail! He had some really great looking fur on him (at least to my eye). And here is whatever he caught.



He ate it pretty fast, looked like he swallowed it whole.



I then spooked him, he ran. A few moments later, I went through the ice and touched the bottom of the river with my right foot, lol. Matter of time, I guess, as I spent quite a bit of time on the ice today (moose is smarter, lol).



That would be me going in. Thanks to the gaiters keeping me dry.

Anyway, lots of sign. Lots. But no freaking moose! I had a really good feeling today, lol.

Also, someone shot my moose again, lol:



That shape is the hide under the snow.

So yes… No moose. What are you gonna do.

Oh yes, I thought this was cool from Sunday:



An otter, I am assuming?



Better luck next time.
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Old 11-17-2021, 03:56 AM
Smoky buck Smoky buck is offline
 
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Yup you would be correct thinking otter

Good luck and keep at it
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Old 11-18-2021, 07:48 PM
Bushleague Bushleague is offline
 
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Today I saw a couple bull moose and though of you. Going off the antlers, which isnt always accurate, I would have guessed them to be about 3 years old, one was a bit bigger so maybe a year older. Just a couple nice meat bulls.

Anyhow, not having ever tried to put any hard numbers to a bull track before, I went over and had a look. From toe to dew claws the tracks were about the same size as my gloves, which measured 9" long and about 4.5" wide. From center to center the side to side offset when the bull was walking slowly was around 12", when they were moving faster this closed up quite a bit. I was surprized at this measurement, as I've seen big deer tracks that had an offset almost that big, and the spread doesnt seem to close up as dramatically at any normal pace.

Anyhow, thought I'd pass those numbers along.
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Old 11-21-2021, 11:38 PM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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^ Thanks, Budhleague. Appreciate it.

So… went out on Friday and today. Friday was kind of a short afternoon run (about 3 hours, maybe a little more).

A couple of camps that were set up near by, all moved out, so I was the first one in the area. Isn’t that nice? It is. I also came into some fresh snow and it was snowing on and off all afternoon (myself, not a fan of hunting while it is snowing heavily, mainly because you get wet from outside and inside, if sweating). After some hiking I went back to the trail that the moose I tracked for a couple of days crossed a couple of times and found some tracks covered with snow. It wasn’t possible to say how old the tracks were, but definitely not older than Tuesday, the last day I was there, and it appeared no human has been there since. The tracks followed the trail down the valley and so was (I was heading there anyway). Further down, where the trail turns to the river and another continues on, another set of tracks came from the opposite direction and followed the trail to the river as well. Both animals did some heavy feeding on the willow and it was hard to tell who went where(and how many were there) as the tracks were all over. I then headed to where the moose I was tracking previously crossed the river a couple of times. There were a couple more sets of “new” tracks at the same place. About the only things that isn’t random about moose movement that I found is where they cross certain places in their travels, including rivers, roads, etc.

Anyway, none of the tracks were really that fresh, all were covered with a good layer of snow and I had no idea when it snowed there before. I hiked the river down the stream a bit and ran across numerous moose tracks going onto and off the ice. At the end of the day, I found two sets of tracks of about the same size consistently going west, ie downstream.

The most exciting part of the day was watching this owl:







Big birds. Their head-turning abilities are freaky though, lol.


Today, I got there a bit later than I wanted, but early enough to put some distance on the legs. It snowed overnight, but there wasn’t much traffic of any kind. An occasional deer track here and there, most overnight with different amount of snow covering them. On Friday, deer were really busy moving around; today all was stale. No moose tracks anywhere either. Eventually, I head towards the valley again and downstream. Finally, I found some moose hoof prints that were only a few hours old. Again, on a smaller side (like most of the rest that I ran into so far):



So I followed the tracks that lead to the river, to a feeding ground, here and there, eventually poop (with some urine drops in it, no idea what I can tell from that, lol), a bed, more feeding, blah blah. Then, I noticed that now there were two sets of tracks, maybe. And then… Boom, two beds next to each other, on large and one small, lol:



Not the best pic, I guess, but you can see there is a bed on the left (the larger one) and one on the right (the smaller). The smaller one had some droppings next to it (for confirmation, lol). I even brought one piece from the other pile to show the difference to those interested (the one from the adult moose is circled):



The difference is obvious. Cow and a calf. F’s and other letters in my mind, but what are you gonna do. Why the cow was browsing around on her own previously and where the calf was, I don’t know. They stuck together after bedding down. I climbed out of the valley on the other side, walked around a bit, the day was ending and the mood was a bit on the down side, so I went back to the vehicle. Climbed through the valley again to get back to “my” side, nothing exciting and no more tracks. An occasional deer, probably a fox, some kind of cat, but no moose. Got to the car with 10 minutes to spare. I guess the positive is not having to hike in the dark, lol.

Planning to get out tomorrow. Not sure what the plan is yet. I was hoping to get there before the legal light, but something came up at 9:30 tomorrow, so I likely won’t get there before 11-ish at the earliest. Oh well.

Going to explore some area that I haven’t been to yet. These cows are driving me nuts., lol. Have a feeling that everything I tracked so far was cows. Funny that I haven’t seen one yet.

Looking through the pics now, here is another one likely confirming a calf:



That log is about 3-feet above the ground and it rubbed the belly on it when stepping over.

Here is the droppings with a bit of urine in them, if Bushleague (or someone else) wants to take a look and say anything definitive if possible (not resizing on purpose):

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Old 11-23-2021, 01:37 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Today’s 9:30 thing also took more time than I expected and I got to the WMU after lunch. This and that, by the time I decided where to go, it was around one. Not much time, really. I drove a bit on a trail that no one has been on for a while it seemed. No tracks, not much sign of moose either. I drove to the next spot I wanted to check out. Turned out to be a dud. Well, not a dud, but not something I wanted to explore further at this time. Sitting in the vehicle on the side of the road thinking if I should hike another little river and see what’s there, I saw some sun coming out and the day brightening up. So did my mood. Before that, the day was grey, windy, and cold, though the dashboard showed only 9C below zero. I was kind of discouraged when I left home - didn’t sleep enough, leaving later than I was planning, etc. I even almost stayed home, but did manage to drag myself out. Now that the sun was coming out and some blue sky showing up here and there, I said to myself “F it, I am going deer hunting!”

And so I did. Drove the Haul Road until I found what looked like a nice area to me, maybe with a potential to run into a moose, parked the vehicle, and started packing. When reaching for the knife, I could not find it. Lol. Ok. Of course I have a couple of spares, but definitely prefer the other one (my “back ups” are cheap Buck knives I picked up at Canadian Tire for $15 or something when they were on sale; I think I got a tip here in the found a good deal thread, if I recall correctly… or maybe I bought them and then saw someone mentioning them here… whatever, who cares). So I packed and I went.

Eventually, I found what looked like a fresh track and I followed it. I was fairly certain I was following a buck. Wide steps and real determination. The guy wouldn’t take a pause, walking from trail to thicket, then back to trail… I was cautious, but was still moving faster then I would like since I didn’t know how far behind I was. About 300 yards later (just a number out of my head, maybe more), the buck made his first stop to do this:



It was already frozen, and I know it takes only a couple of minutes at this temperature, but I thought I was behind quite a bit. Another 50 yards and I heard breaking branches in the thicket in front and thought surely I got made and the guy was taking off. I stopped still and listened, trying to figure out which way he was running. I then realized that the noise wasn’t moving anywhere but was coming from the same spot. The guy was making a ruckus just in front of me, behind some heavy brush. What do I do? Do I wait? Do I go? I decided to go. A few steps and the noise stopped. Through the brush, I could now see a buck walking away. And what a freaking buck! It could have been the brush and poor quick glance, but I was under the impression it would be the biggest buck in my personal books and probably the biggest buck I ever saw alive. But he was walking away and I could no longer see him. But I could hear him. I could hear where he was going too. Toward that sunny hill behind the brush:



At this point, I knew that if I was right, I would be able to reach him right from where I was standing, so I didn’t even have to do anything else. He didn’t seem concerned about me either when walking away: the wind was good and while he heard me, it was highly unlikely he saw me. Well, if he knew I was there, he’d be running, lol. So I waited. It was only about 50 yards to the bottom of the hill on a straight line. If I was wrong in my assumption… Well, I would just track him further, until I spooked him or got him. What else can a guy do?

It took a minute, but I finally saw through the brush a body of the deer starting up the hill. I raised my rifle and took off the safety. Looked like I could take the shot now, about 60-70 yards… There, fairly clear now… I yelled “Yo”, the buck stopped, I pulled the trigger. He made a sound like when you’ve got made, but much louder, lower, and deeper and ran up the hill and to the right. He kept making that sound and then it suddenly stopped. Ok, what’s next? I had never heard a deer making this sound before. Guess what happened next!

I saw another deer appearing from the thicket, a bit closer to me and on the left. I was still holding my rifle, so I put it back to my cheek and look at it through the scope. It was the big boy I thought I shot. Wtf? What I did I shoot then? I knew it was a whitetail and a buck (the rack was hard to see, but it was there) because I saw before pulling the trigger. The heart rate went back up (or higher), I could feel the adrenaline rushing in, the tingly feeling, the buck just standing there looking at me now… I knew I could “squeeze it” through the few branches, but I also knew I couldn’t. While I could squeeze it, I obviously couldn’t shoot because I already did at some, apparently, random buck. I lowered the gun, threw it back on my shoulder and grabbed the binoculars. Of course, that process wasn’t unnoticed by the big boy and he took off up and to the right while I watched him disappear through the binoculars. Damn… What a buck! Why?! Actually, more like “Whaaaaaaaaaaai?!” Lol.

I waited a few more minutes and listened. All was quite, so I went to the hill to where the buck I shot was standing. Track walking, changing to track running, and no blood. Not a drip. Common, give me a break, man. And the break I got, about 15 yards up (and to the left on) the hill:



Then more and now I understood why the deer was making that sound running and why there was no blood where it got hit:



While it looks like a close up photo (and it kind of is), but that is all there was in that spot - a few drops and that large whatever you call it. On that pic above, you can see (maybe?) that initially the entry wound was plugged until that particular spot where there is blood, flesh, and quite a bit of hair. Most likely, he got hit in the heart, triggering him to immediately run, but his lung, or both, but at least one, had also collapsed so he was really grasping for breath. Right after that wound opened up, it was very easy to follow and I knew I was going to find that deer rather sooner than later:



Very shortly after, I found the buck:



It was a good hit, a very good hit. I didn’t poke around too much because there wasn’t much time left in the day, but the heart was shot and his right lung was gone (the left side was ok from a very quick look; I didn’t gut it either). I was hoping to recover the bullet and that is why I poked around in the first place, but I couldn’t find. It didn’t exit, that’s for sure.

Anyway, I cut it all up and packed it out in two rounds.







Not bad, probably just over a kilometre to the vehicle. Yeah, I should have cut off the feet and whatnot, but it was a short distance. Definitely not fun walking through the deadfall and thicket in the dark though and there is lots of it in that neck of the woods. And I mean lots, lol.





I dropped the first load (including the rifle) once I cleared the thicket, but the second run was still in the complete darkness. One would think this is it. But there is a twist, lol.

When I finally got to the vehicle with the second load, I threw my jacket on the hood by the windshield on the passenger’s side. Loaded it all up, brought the first load that I left a bit behind, loaded that up and started driving. Not long after, all of a sudden, I saw this shadow passing by in the passenger’s window. Wtf? That was pretty weird. A few kilometres later I realized the shadow was my jacket, lol. So I turned around and found the jacket. Happy to finally be going home now, playing it all out in my head. A few kilometres later, it hits me: I never got the tenderloins out! Damn…

Some would probably keep driving, but I went back. I usually pick the carcass so that the birds do surely complain when I dump it in the woods and this time I didn’t do that great of a job, so leaving the tenderloins would definitely be a sin. So I went back and got them pulled:



Finally, I was on my way home…

P. S. I will post a couple of pics of the deer later. Still not sure how I feel about how the whole thing played out.

P. P. S. That cheap Buck knife did a hell of a job. I had two with me, but one was all I needed. And, in the rush, I did hit a bone here and there quite a few times. The blade sure is short though. Nonetheless, skinning the legs at home with a better knife was surely a pleasure though.

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Old 11-23-2021, 02:23 AM
fishnguy fishnguy is offline
 
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Here are a few pics of the buck I shot “instead”.







Oh, look, I can make him look huge:



Haha.

The reason for the last pic (it just turned out that “yuge” way) is that the guy appeared to be a warrior. Take a closer look at his left antler:



There used be a drop tine that was broken off a while back. His G3 on that antler was “shaved” off fairly recently. Definitely a cool deer. Without a doubt I would rather take the one I thought I was shooting, but what are you gonna do. No complaints on my part.

What happened, I think, was that while the big boy was wrecking the bush, this guy wasn’t too far away and came to check it out. Unfortunately for him (and maybe for me as I am still kind of “salty”), he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Old 11-23-2021, 10:21 AM
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Stinky Buffalo Stinky Buffalo is offline
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Heh! You earned that one, Fishnguy! Nicely done!
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Old 11-23-2021, 10:47 AM
Prairiekid Prairiekid is offline
 
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Nice buck buddy. Shooting that bigger buck wouldn’t make as good of a story!
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Old 11-23-2021, 11:17 AM
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Congrats on the buck. You have been grinding real hard this season!


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Old 11-23-2021, 01:39 PM
Smoky buck Smoky buck is offline
 
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Congrats
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Old 11-23-2021, 02:15 PM
Macdrizzle Macdrizzle is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishnguy View Post
Here are a few pics of the buck I shot “instead”.







Oh, look, I can make him look huge:



Haha.

The reason for the last pic (it just turned out that “yuge” way) is that the guy appeared to be a warrior. Take a closer look at his left antler:



There used be a drop tine that was broken off a while back. His G3 on that antler was “shaved” off fairly recently. Definitely a cool deer. Without a doubt I would rather take the one I thought I was shooting, but what are you gonna do. No complaints on my part.

What happened, I think, was that while the big boy was wrecking the bush, this guy wasn’t too far away and came to check it out. Unfortunately for him (and maybe for me as I am still kind of “salty”), he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I had to cancel my Valleyview hunting trip for Elk/moose this year due to work and haven't hunted 2 straight years in a row. Thanks for the porn and letting me hunt vicariously through your journey, I jerked off to this whole thread, ngl.
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Old 11-23-2021, 03:01 PM
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Sitting Bull Sitting Bull is offline
 
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I enjoyed this very much. I may have missed this noted earlier on, but what camera did you use? cell phone, point and shoot or DSLR?
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Old 11-23-2021, 03:02 PM
Smoky buck Smoky buck is offline
 
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Fishnguy

Looks like you have a real fan
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