Post by bigugly on Sept 29, 2007 15:10:29 GMT -5
After our normal drive to Hearst to spend the night at the villa and have a few pops we carried on to Geraldton the next day with high hopes of bagging our first archery moose. After going to the in and out store we headed off to our home away from home. We have went to Wildgoose Lake Lodge for 5 years for 4 moose hunts, we took last year off, the owners Bill and Helene are the greatest people you'll ever meet. Once we were unloaded the scouting began. Nick, not sure of his forum name, and I headed out first while Simon and Quickshot (Doug) waited for Quickshots Dad Glen. We agreed to meet at a place we call Heartbreak Ridge where 5 years ago I had a bull come to 60 yards. We had all found some sign but nothing Nick and I saw looked as good as what Quickshot and his father had found so we tried it out. We hunted there Saturday, Sunday, we did hear some sounds but not really positive if it was moose but there was no mistaken the wolves were everywhere. The wolves were still howling till 10:30-11:00 AM, we think they must of had a kill they where guarding to be howling at that time. The next couple of hunts we concentrated on Heartbreak Ridge with no success plus Nick said if he had to sit on that cut one more time he was taking hostages. WE then decided to scout an area that Quicshot and myself had always wanted to, on the maps it looked like a short cut through the bush but we found before its a long haul but with all the new cuts in the area we were able to get to it easily in the trucks. What a classic area, fresh cut, new browse, water, ridges and poplar stands it was too good to be true, we new this is where we would hunt for the rest of our week. We hunted there on Monday night and Tuesday morning on watches we had picked out for everyone. After the Tuesday morning hunt we took a little more time and did more scouting in the area and we all found new spots to sit and a great spot for calling. Next morning we went in some with new hope and some think why am I here. We where all set up by 6:15 and I started doing my calling routines iin the water in front of my stand was doing just water calling with some very low cow calling to see if anything was in area before I started calling louder. At 7:30 my calling routine was interupted by a Bull well of in the distance I actually put my calling horn to my ear to make sure I was actually hearing a bull, there was no doubt. I did some more calliing and he was slowly and very quietly making his way to our set up. At 8:00 I went back in the water to echo my call farther, when my calling was over I heard a loud crash on the ridge in front of me, I hunched down and watched a cow just roar down the ridge, crossed about 75 yards of water without taking a stroke she was going so fast then it slowly trotted towards Simon. Everything now is Simons story so I'll do my best to match it. Simon had also heard the crash and watched the cow surf into the pond, he thought it was going to go to the cut but got out of his chair and posistioned himself for a better angle if she came his way. As soon as he was set there she was. I should say Simomn uses a xbow with a redot scope which had low batteries so he was leaving it turned off till he need the dot, well he goes to turn on his scope and she stops, he looks through scope sees black and shoots, he made a great double lung shot without a dot at an amazing 4 yards or 12 feet or as Simon likes to say 144 inches. She went out in the pond about 50 yards and stops, even myself and Glen could here the maning she was making with a bolt throught the top of her lungs. Simon thought she was going down there but she looked back from where she came and ran up the ridge across the pond Simon was confident of a good hit and thought she went down so we all meet out in the cut to have a celebratory cigar. While watching Simon shake and recounting the hunt we heard a lone scout wolf howl out and knew we had to get to our cow. WE found her or Quickshot smelled her as soon as we entered the pine on the other side of pond. When we found her the wolves had stripped the fur off her back, removed her eyes and lips plus her vulva and butt. Luckally we lost very little meat. Now the work was to begin, the gutting which I actually found easier than a deer, cutting trails, dragging, pulling, hauling etc. We had the moose on the trailer at 2:00 in the afternoon. After that it was a nice day of easy celebration and comeraderie. In ending to a long story I would like to thank Mable the moose you gave us all many memories and taught us a lot, our maps all now have a name on a lake that was never named it will forever be known to us as Mable Lake. Glen, Simon, Doug, TJ, Nick
