Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 2015 Western and Eastern big game hunts in the books. Very long read

After 7 years of elk hunting, this year my hunting partner could not get either Colorado elk season off work, so we planned on doing a week in Wyoming for goats and whatever leftover tags we could get. Hoping for Mule deer and possibly a cow elk tag. Trick was, we had to hunt earlier this year due to his schedule. So about the time we realized we screwed up the mule deer draw and missed out on that, we decided to give goats some serious heck and buy all the tags we could get, I found out I drew a Vermont moose tag. So that shortened the Wyoming trip to basically a long weekend, but we already had 11 tags between us. So off to Wyoming we go after a long week of work. Drive all night, taking turns trying to get cat naps in the passenger seat. We arrive in country well after day break and get our things stowed in the barn and start hunting about 10 am. As usual, it was windy in Wyoming and after some decent shots and some not so decent shots, we finished the day with 4 doe and 4 bucks dead and butchered, with three doe tags left to fill. After a decent and much needed night's rest, and some breakfast, we got out hunting about 9 on day two. by 1015, we had out doe tags filled with much improved shooting. After butchering, we screwed around for the rest of the day and got ready for the return trip. Monday morning at dawn we were back on the road east towards Michigan. Got home middle of night and grabbed a little sleep, met up mid morning and finished processing meat and got it all in the freezer. We finished up with 230# of burger and about 70# of straps and tenderloins. Pretty good haul.
I had an emergency call for work that evening and had to deal with that Wednesday morning for a few hours (luckily I was home) and spent the evening re-packing for my moose hunt in Vermont. Thursday morning I was off to Vermont. Made it to within 15 miles of my destination and grabbed a room for the night. I met me guide the next morning and we got things stowed in the cabin and went scouting to pull cameras and double check a bunch of his areas. We walked about 8 hours in 4 locations and found plenty of sign, but nothing smoking fresh and no moose sightings.
We got to bed with a game plan to hunt one of the camera areas first thing opening day. We arrived on the scene about an hour before light and were the first ones there behind locked gate. About a half hour later, a truck pulls in and after a short conversation explaining we had permission and were planning on hunting the end around the corner, the guy leaves......... only come blow past us 10 minutes later with 2 trucks. OK, not playing nice, so we left to go to another spot. A car was there, so to spot three we go. Finally no one there. It's just cracking dawn so up and out we go. After 3-4 hours we cut one fresh track that looked like a cow, but we lost it in the leaf litter. We found one set of quad tracks on the back side that appeared to be going in to recover a moose. We hunted the basin and headed to another spot. Upon arriving at the truck, another vehicle had just pulled in and the guys were basically going right up our tracks. I guess etiquette doesn't exist. Frustrated guide we go to another spot. Hunted a large basin, no fresh sign. Listened to a pair of bear hounds running a bear just above us. We waited to see if they would push a bear or moose past us, but no luck there. They turned the other way. On to the thirds spot with about an hour and a half left of daylight. Pulled into the parking area and found where a moose had been skidded out with a quad. We decided to back track it in hopes it was a cow and there might be a bull in the area looking for it. Immediately on the skid there was a set of bear tracks doing the same thing. After a mile backtrack, we came upon the gut pile, no bear and no other moose sign, but it was a lone cow based on the evidence. We jumped the bear off the pile without seeing it based on the tracks in the snow. (the morning rain turned to hail, then rain, then snow, then hail, then snow throughout the day, and was sticking just a little now) That finished day one.
Day two we went to a new spot and no one was there. We hiked in on a traverse, then up, and up. Got on top of mountain in the soft woods and poked around. Took a spill in a creek bed and had to clean out the barrel of the gun at one point. Traversing some sheer rocks and got stuck on another set of sheer rocks and became a rock climber for a short distance. In the process, my unchambered gun went off my shoulder again and clogged with snow and mud and almost went off a 25' cliff. It got strapped over me like a purse after that until we got on a flat spot on top. 20 minutes later we had the barrel and chamber as clean as I could do in the field with an improvised stick. We moved on and had to drop some elevation to get around some more rocks and back into the hard woods and cut a track from the previous night, late. We took up the track and quickly found a second smaller track. We determined it was a cow and calf. I didn't want to shoot a cow on the second day, but as my guide pointed out, they could lead us to something else. So up we went. Once on top, we found their beds from last night, then up and feeding, just milling around. Guide says get ready as we poke slowly into the soft woods. We were in a little chute that kind of formed a small saddle on top, just below the summit of this mountain. Each step forward it seemed to get thicker, and the moose tracks indicated they were not going anywhere. Suddenly we both saw a moose standing broadside at about 30 yards, maybe 25, with a screen of brush over its front half. After looking a couple minutes we determined it was the cow. A couple cow calls later, the calf stood up right next to it. A few bull grunts and the bull came charging out of the brush from 10 o'clock, running down hill into the chute we were standing in. I see moose, bull, spread, points, some palms. I draw and start tracking it in the scope. I have a light screen of brush, he is crossing, and coming fast. Distance now about 18 yards. I see crosshairs move from guts to front shoulder, I have a tree entering my scope, guide says kill him, bang!, rechamber. Hit em again! Moose has now covered 4-6 more yards, cleared the tree and has turned dead straight on towards us and has not slowed down. I have a fresh round in the chamber, crosshairs on brisket, moving up, Quick thought about if I need to brain him, he is still coming, now at 10 yards, Bang! Hit em again! rechamber. Moose stops at second shot. blood pouring out the front center of his chest like a faucet. As I draw crosshairs on him again, I distinctly see 2 or 3 heart beats in his blood stream. He decides to get out of dodge at this point, and swings back where he came from. In his first bound still at 10 yards, Bang! Now he is at full run up and out of there. Hit em again! Last round enters the chamber, going for high shoulder looking for spine. He is 3/4 away from my galloping to get out of there. I swing through, shooting through the same screen of light brush as first shot, see front and bang!. His head snaps back and he collapses at 22-25 yards. big yell of excitement, quickly top off the gun and approach, making sure he is done. It's over. A pile of photos, and a field dress job, and we started dragging his corpse downhill off that mountain. We had to drop 650' and go .6 miles. We made it .4 miles and most of the elevation until we figured we could get a quad to him. After getting the quad and some back up, we dragged him with four of us another couple hundred yards to the quad and hauled him out. Back at the truck there were 5 guys waiting to see him. They came out of the woodwork. So all 9 of us lifted him into a pickup. Off to check in at the dnr. Officially it weighed 619# field dressed and they measured his spread at 36" with 11 points. At this point we decided to drop him off at a processor so I could try to fill my black bear tag. Next day we headed to where my guide deer hunts and set up a pop up adjacent to a trail where the bears are hammering the corn. 7 bears had been seen in 3 deer hunts that week prior. About 45 minutes before dark we hear leaves being walked on. A quick look out the window confirmed a black bear about 10 yards away, headed straight at us. I got the 30/30 out the window and as I was settling in on the gun, looking through the scope at him, he saw me. At 8 yards, he decided to get out of town and started to swing. I pounded him frontal, which set him on his butt momentarily, I chambered a fresh round and as he took his first bound away I sent one up the back hip. He disappeared, we bailed out of the blind and ran over there and stopped to listen. We heard one fern crinkle then the death moan. We run around a small thicket and see him expiring there. He went 15 yards. Out of tags for Vermont.
I have a pile of pictures, but can't remember how to post if someone wants to post them for me.
And since this is campfire, I suppose you all want to know the guns and loads.
Moose took 4 fatal shots from a 338 RUM loaded with 210 swift Scirrocos moving out at 3200 fps. First shot was a pass through at 18 yards, high shoulder, clipped both lungs, shoulder blades, but missed spine. Moose was spraying blood before his foot touched the ground on the next step. Second shot was frontal at 10 yards. Got lung and liver, missed the heart. Fountain of blood 3/4 inch in diameter was flowing constantly after this shot. Never recovered bulled, no exit. Likely in paunch somewhere. Although we did not see the stomach blown up, so might not have made it that far. Third shot was lower shoulder blade, and stuck in hide on far side after going through both lungs lower than fist shot and lower on both shoulder blades, but missed the heavy leg bones. That bullet has been recovered, not cleaned and weighed yet, but looks like the perfect mushroom. Fourth and final shot missed the high shoulder spine I was looking for and instead entered the head below the ear where the jaw connects, smashed its way forward and exited the eye socket on the same side. Missing the brain cavity and really anything vital. I assume it was a serious knockout, and he expired from other wounds before he could regain consciousness. He took his last couple breaths when we approached him, but you could tell he was toast at that point. So overall, a few people had me nervous about using a bullet that retains 80% on a moose in close quarters, but from what I saw, it was perfect. I have shot elk at 25 yards to finish off through both shoulders and the bullets were so flat they got stuck in the hide on the far side. But since I missed heavy bone, they looked about perfect.
On the bear, I used my Marlin 336c chambered in 30/30, loaded with plain jane 150 grain flat point Winchester ammo. First shot at 8 yards, entered in the chest and exited the butt about 2 inches from the hole, taking out heart, liver, guts and meat. Second shot entered hip 3 inches left of first exit, breaking left hip up high, guts, liver, right lung and breaking front right leg and stopping in the hide of the far side. Bear went 15 yards tops.
Bear was a small male weighed 119# field dressed at the DNr station. The recovered bullet is a perfect mushroom. Very impressed with the 30/30 penetration and devastation.

Sounds like you were busy. Good job. A little tape over the muzzle will keep you from plugging your barrel.

I know. I always do that, but the tape was in the pack I left in the truck. Still kicking myself. Ended up working out, but near disaster.

Congrat's! Good story, and from the sounds of it a great couple of weeks. Not sure of your age, but that couple of weeks would have kicked my butt !! Congrat's again, memtb

41

Dang man that's a crazy cool season right there! I'm about your age and that pace would have me napping!

Shoot me a PM & I'll help ya get pics up.

Great story glad to hear you guys did so well!