2020 Newfoundland Moose Hunt

[Joseph2186]

Sorry for the delay work has been very busy lately. That night I was greeted by the best view of the night sky I have ever seen it also got much colder than the previous day. We had a nice steak dinner and set to wake up at 5am to get ready to head out hunting. It seemed to take forever for that time to roll around as I was very excited. After getting ready and stepping outside the weather was perfect and there was a amazing sunrise. We loaded into the boat and set off me and my guide Glenn were going to be dropped off about 0.5 miles from camp and walk from there.

 

[keller]

Come on Joseph we are waiting??

 

[Joseph2186]

Even though I had prepared for this hunt I was not nearly as prepared as I thought, after three miles into our walk to where the moose we spotted a few days before my arrival. We went to a "look out" basically a large rock out cropping with some elevation to look over the area. I laid eyes on my first moose a cow with a calf near by feeding. There were nearly half a mile away but can easily be seen. I was taken back by the size of this animals. Several hundred yards from here I say what looked like red against the green trees. A large bull moose was bedded amongst the trees.

 

[Joseph2186]

Now that I got my camera pictures transfered I can finish. This is the first bull spotted Glen figured him to be low 40s and 14 points and said he had spotted a much larger moose along with that one.

 

[Joseph2186]

It was decided we should continue to the next look out another half mile further from camp which over looked a river and a large valley. At this point it was starting to warm up and the fog was beginning to lift from the valley. Glenn said the big moose was seen walking along the river in search of cows in the timber above the river and there was also a large bog with a couple small ponds where cows were bedded the day before.

 

[Joseph2186]

Once the fog had burned off a cow was seen near the one pond across the river which, I was told you couldnt hear yesterday but today could be heard even 600 yards away. The cow didnt seem to be in much of a hurry ro do anything she would get up walk a short distance then bed down for 5 or 10 minutes. She would continually raise her nose and look to her left. I knew she could not wind us as it was blowing directly into our faces. Then in a small patch of trees and rocks there was movement. I caught the glimsp of a antler which appeared to have very long points. From his angle Glenn was unable to see it and had to move. He said that the big bull had 9 points on its left side. As soon as I had seen the flash of antler it was over and the bull bedded back down out of sight in the patch of pines and boulders.

 

[Joseph2186]

It then became a waiting game the bull could not leave the wooded patch without being seen as it was in the middle of a bog and from our elevated position we could see the whole was around. We decided to move down 100 to 150 yards off the "mountian" to a group of large boulders as I said Id like to keep the shot within 350 yards if possible as I was using my 7mm rem mag with 160 grain partitions. The time was now 0846 the cow suddenly looked concerned and got up and moved around 80 yards further into the bog. Then another cow we had no idea was there emerged from the patch of timber and headed near the other cow. The bull had finally lost his patience and emerged into full view. When I saw him I said wow he looks big to me even though I had never judged a moose before. The saying you know a big one when you see it is definitely true. I had already had my pack laid on the boulder and was in position to take a shot if the ok was given. Glenn said lets watch him to make sure he was indeed the large bull the. The cow wanted nothing to do with him and would trot off and make a loop away from the bull. During this time the other cow slipped away to the north a hundred or so yards and bedded down. Glenn confirmed that the bull we was watching was indeed the big one and we should take him. From our positiong we were more or less stuck due to a very steep drop off and very thick brush. He said that he would try and call the bull across the river to make it a much closer shot. As the middle of the river from our position was 336 yards.

 

[Joseph2186]

He made a few cow calls, the first one the bull did not hear as he was focused on the cow which was still avoiding him. Glen then did a much louder call followed by a bull grunt and some raking. This the bull snapped his head in our direction when this happened the cow made a line directly towards the river into a very thick strip of woods along the river. The bull chased after her but got confused in the timber allowing the cow to slip out and head back towards the pond. The bull in the mean time was running up and down the far side of the river bank looking for the cow. We got excited thinking he was looking for a place to cross. During this time I was following the bull in my scope but with him running I didnt want to risk a poor shot. The wind which was still in our favor also put hope of the bull crossing the river to a end as he winded the cow and moved back to the bog to her location. The cow now calm stood there while the bull walked around close to her and grunting.

 

[Joseph2186]

Concerned the cow may move into the timber soon I asked Glenn how far the shot would be, when he tried to range the bull his range finder would not work. I had asked earlier if I should bring mine along but he said no he had his and why carry the extra weight. Well his range finder only worked to 450 yards at the maximum and this I did not no. The furthest range he was able to get was 368. With the bull standing there I felt I could still make a shot and the bullet still have enough umph to do the job. I dialed my scope to 350 and took aim on the shoulder and squeezed. I had forgotten my ear plugs in my pack and when the gun went off my ears were ringing as the rocks amplified the blast. Glenn immediately said you shot low, I racked another shell and squeezed again thinking I may have pulled the shot I hit the same spot under the bulls front leg this time I saw the water splash two foot off of the pond. The bull couldnt care less what was going on and neither did the cow. I racked another round and dialed my scope for 450 and squeezed this time I heard a loud smack sound and the bull lurched forward. I racked my 4th round and shot again and again heard the smack. With my gun empty i grabbed a round from my pocket while watching the bull with his mouth hanging open the slowly was making his was towards the river into the thick strip of trees. What I thought was a bullet I grabbed in my excitement was my chap stick. I threw this to the side and grabbed a shell and threw it into the chamber just as the bull vanished from view. Glenn reported that he was hit good twice and looked very sick and weak as he lumbered into the trees. I was unable to see but Glenn would for about 20 seconds was able to see the bull moving around in the trees picking up and lowering his head. I figured this was his blood pressure dropping and him trying to stay up. During this time I reloaded my rifle and we discussed what we should do next. We felt best to wait 10 minutes then beging to pick our was down the steep hill. There was another large rock 100 yrds down the hill further off to our right wed get there and maybe get a better view into the timber. Up until this point I was so proud of my self as I had not slipped or went into a hole. Well the ground gave way in a spot and i found myself laying there between rocks staring up at my legs. My rifle was safe as i held it out and it did to hit anything. Glenn checked to see if I was ok and with all the adrenaline from the moose and the fall I felt ok except for a banged up shin and my pride hurt.

 

[Short Track]

I too had a guide named Glenn. He injured his back from the rough UTV ride, and left me after 2 days. They I had another guide finish my hunt. This was 2 years ago.

 

[Joseph2186]

After waiting at the boulder for 20 minutes I said well if the shots were good ad they looked he should be long expired and we should go get him. We made it to the river which is normally less than knee deer to find its almost 3 feet deep. I had a pair of flip flops I brought to camp and to let my feel air out and decided to roll up and pants leave my pack on this side of the river and only take my socks boots and rifle and camera across. Well 4 steps into the river I lost one of my flip flops to the current. Another step and the other was swept off my feet. I crossed the rest barefoot which wasnt pleasant but made it safely. I put my socks and boots back on and chambered a shell in my rifle as we began to slowly pick our way into the thick timber. Visibility was about 3 yards at best. We decided to walk out to the bog when the bull was hit then work our way in there and follow the blood. However 20 yards in it was not necessary. About 4 feet to my left I spotted a antler next to the trail. I jumped back started and intimidated. The bull had expired right after Glenn lost sight of him. He died in the thickest worst spot possible between 2 larger trees and in a depression in the ground.

 

[Joseph2186]

Then the work began before the work of breaking down the animal began. Atleast an hour was spent cutting brush and small trees to be able to get to the bull for pictures and room to work. Finally the bull was revealed he was much bigger than we had though his body was massive and so were his antlers. Glenn said this was the biggest body bull he had seen in his years of guiding and by far the largest set of antlers hes guided a hunter to.

 

[Joseph2186]

After som pictures we began breaking the moose down which was difficult given the limited space we had. I had hit the bull twice within 2 inches and got both lungs. I was taken back by the size of this animal during pictures I was unable to lift the head off the ground. Having eating moose before I could not wait to get the meat home to eat. It was the biggest back stap Ive ever ever cut off a animal.

 

[Joseph2186]

As we finished up removing the meat and putting it in bags for helicopter to pick up dark clouds were moving in. I snapped a picture showing where I had shot the moose from and we grabbed the antlers and went to start heading back for camp. We made it to the river bank when the sky let loose. Getting soaked we just walked across the river with everything on. When we got to the far side we both dumped out our boots and began the long miserable walk up the hill and to camp. My legs had never been so tired before I had to stop many times along the way and kept telling myself 5 more minutes. Along the way I grabbed a awsome woodland caribou shed. With both of us soaked "I had rain gear in my pack but was so wet already didnt bother to put it on". We made it to within sight of the lake our camp is on. Still a mile away we took a break I broke out my orange juice and spit a Hershey bar I was saving to celebrate getting the moose I suddenly had my enengry back. 500 yards from the lake a calf moose came out infront of us about 100 yards away. Fearing the cow may be near by me made a large loop away from the calf before heading towards the lake again. Glenn tried to radio to Tyler to see if he was at camp to pick us up but no answer. We had to walk around the lake to get to camp. Within 75 yards of the door I had to stop a second as my legs had nothing left. Making it inside the camp felt amazing after wasing off in the lake I put on dry clothes and Glenn got a fire going and made some tea.

 

[Joseph2186]

I poured myself into my bunk and took a short 30 minute nap when I woke up I felt great me and Glenn decided to play a joke on Tyler and Dawne. We hid the antler next to the generator and when they returned told them that my gun hit a rock and i had made a poor shot and the bull got away. They had actually heard my shots and asked where the moose was as soon as they walked through the door. We both managed to hold a straight face and Tyler said he was going to fire up the generator. The swearing I heard let us know he found the antlers. And we all had a good laugh. They did not see a single moose on their hunt. We had a good meal and a celebration toast and arrangements were made for me to leave camp if I wished and weather was good which I said yes to. The 3 of them went off to find the moose Tyle had seen a couple days ago and Id stay behind In camp incase Bob came to get me. The weather had gotten much worse with heavy fog strong winds and downpour rains. I heard a chopper in the distance picking up my moose meat then it got closer and landed near the camp. I threw on my rain coat and walked over to find out he was looking for Tyler as he was told they shot a moose and was looking for it to pick up the meat. He also told be Bob was unable to fly as the weather was awful at peter strides and was getting worse at our location also. At about 4 we heard the boat coming and dawn had shot a old mature moose that measured 50.5 inches. After congratulations the helicopter left . We had another great dinner and told stories. The rain stopped that night and sky cleared up and we were told we was going to leave the next day so we packed up most things and washed up. Well morning came around to heavy fog which lingered all day. Then friday rolled around same story until about 2 when it cleared up in our area. I had walked a mile an a half to a hill above camp where you could send a text to let my wife and parents know I was on and successful. And also rebook my flight for saturday. While up there I spotted a small woodland caribou bull and walked to within 50 yards of him by hold my hands above my head like antlers. The weather at Peter Strides was once again unflyable. The weather was supposed to change friday night as was looking good for Saturday.

 

[Joseph2186]

Saturday morning we awoke to fog so thick you couldnt see the outhouse from the window. I prayed that the weather clear so we could all get home and within 30 minutes I started to hear birds. Small patches of blue sky appeared and the first time in 4 days the sun shined through the fog. Within an hour the sky was blue the wind was blowing from the west and animals began to appear. Not 80 yards from.the cabin a woodland caribou chased a cow into out lake and proceeded to swim after her for 20 minutes until they crossed the lake. Shortly after that a giant bull was standing 150 yards from camp and I got some great pictures and video while we waited for Bob.

 

[Joseph2186]

We also took some pictures with our antlers while we waited since camp was all packed up for us. Bob was very punctual and was there at 1pm to get us he had said between 1 and 130. Sadly we had to leave our antlers at camp since they would fit in the plane with our baggage. We also had to pick up the other two hunters at sandy pond. The two new hunters arrived and unloaded their stuff and we loaded ours. And our antlers were carried back to camp to get picked up later that day.

 

[Joseph2186]

Arriving back at Peter Strides after a great float plane ride was both exciting and sad at the same time as I new the hunt was now completely over but also happy to go home. There were about 20 hunters out waiting to get flown to their camps looking at the antlers that had gotten flown back Making them even more excited. There was a cab waiting for us to take us back to deerlake. When we got to town there was only one room available so 3 of us had to share it but it was a family suite and we had all gotten to know each other before this so it was no problem at all. Would I hunt with Effords again absolutely everything that was promised was provided. And I had a great time, everything was well organized.the cons was the communication there was almost none while we were waiting to fly to camp for the 2 days. And the arrangements at peter strides should be better. The camp was comfortable Glenn and Tyler were great and everyone had a safe fun trip. When I left to my knowledge everyone had tagged out except for the one trophy camp I believer salmon brook they did not get their moose. One hunter had a opportunity but his gun failed. And the other passed up on moose. I did not see any bears but saw lots of scat. I would recommend this hunt for sure. Sorry for long winded story and review.

 

[JGRaider]

Fantastic, just a fantastic story. I am so glad you shared this experience with us, and the pics are great. Congrats on a great hunt and outstanding moose. Nice shooting too! My hunt got canceled last year and I couldn't go this year. You got me fired back up to make it happen.

 

[Joseph2186]

Thank you yea it was a real hassle to get up there but was definitely worth it. Hope you can get up there soon