Idaho Moose

[Slayerz]

Hey Folks,

I am new to the forum but wanted to reach out to see if anyone has been seeing any good moose in Idaho Unit 1-1. I cant seem to find a "shooter" (something with some decent paddles as I have seen several spindly little bulls and I couldn't pull the trigger) and I have been covering lots of ground and glassing. I have mainly been in the SE portion of the unit, East Fork area with a couple ventures further North on the eastside of the unit. I have seen 3 shooters since the season has started, but 2 were over a mile away and I couldn't get on them after closing the distance due to brush/trees. One bull we called in, but couldn't get a shot and he held up due to a rock slide between us (ya, go figure a rock slide ) Anyway, any advise or ideas is appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[muledhunter]

Having hunted this unit a ton it has gone down hill tremendously. However if you drew the long season be patient because the first two weeks of November are the best weeks. There are still nice bulls to be found. Pm me and I will give you a couple ideas on where to go

 

[Slayerz]

Even though I have not harvested a moose at this point, I have been able to enjoy the hunt with both family and friends, which I truly believe is priceless and really adds to this once in a lifetime hunt. Here is my 5 year old helping me glass up some moose from last Saturday.

 

[Coach529]

Even though I have not harvested a moose at this point, I have been able to enjoy the hunt with both family and friends, which I truly believe is priceless and really adds to this once in a lifetime hunt. Here is my 5 year old helping me glass up some moose from last Saturday.

View attachment 81013

That is what it is all about.

 

[Slayerz]

Well, I am finally writing about my hunt. I had the Idaho unit 1-1 tag in 2018 and spent 27 days looking for moose. I ended up seeing 97 moose total with about 15 being bulls and only a couple bulls with decent paddles. Many of the moose were most likely the same moose seen on previous outings, but I counted all sightings. I spent the season calling in the early season and lots of glassing in the late part of the season. On November 19, I glassed up a bull that was a 'shooter' to me at first light and was able to get to about 200 yards of where I had seen the bull from about a mile away. I was able to park and walk the road and he came running down the hill from above and crossed the road. I gave him a cow sound and he stopped long enough for me to put a bullet in him from my Grandfathers old 300 H&H Model 70. He went down where he stood and I was able to finally put my hands on my OIL moose. I was able to winch him to the road whole and moved him around to the shaded side of the hill for processing. All in all it was a long season and I did see one bull that I could have shot that was a little bigger, but he was all busted up, including splits down both of his beams. I have always envisioned a 50"+ bull as I have seen several over the years, but when you have the tag and are only seeing spindly little bulls, anything with a paddle gets you excited! Hopefully with the reduced tags the bull moose can rebound and provide a better age class for tag holders.

 

[bowhuntrben]

Congrats! Sounds like you made the most out of this OIL experience!

 

[Akwoodchuck]

Kudos to you for your persistence and using a classic weapon...that is a great looking bull!

 

[87TT]

That is awesome!

 

[Rob5589]

Congrats!

 

[Slayerz]

Here are a few more pictures of the hunt. The picture of the moose is 2 bulls, the one smaller one standing and another one laying down directly below. I spotted them at first light from about 1.5 miles away as they moved into the timber and I was able to walk right up on them (pure luck that I walked right to them). The one laying down is only about 15 yards from me in the picture and he was the busted up bull I mentioned. I was able to watch them for probably 5 minutes before the wind swirled and off they went. Pretty cool being that close, but also makes you a little nervous.

 

[Slayerz]

One more for Ryan Avery, does this spot look familiar?

 

[teamr2]

Nice write up! Love the fact you used your grandpas old 300H&H.

 

[Slayerz]

Nice write up! Love the fact you used your grandpas old 300H&H.

I was fortunate to be able to hunt with my Grandpa, Dad and a number of my Great Uncles and the majority of them hunted with the 300 H&H as their Dad, my Great Grandpa was a gun guy and that was his gun of choice back in the day. My father and I now have his collection of pre-64 model 70s to keep the tradition going. My Grandpa's hunting grounds were in Idaho as well, so it made sense to use my Grandpa's gun.

 

[Akwoodchuck]

My dad and my hunting partner both have Remington 721s in .300 Ouch & Ouch...solid, no-frills rifles that have put a lot of meat on the table...

 

[idahohikker]

Congrats. That’s a great Idaho moose.

 

[vandalpride]

Great moose. That some cool country. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Grambo]

You gotta love moose hunting ! Thanks for sharing.

 

[HydroMT]

Great story and good write up!

 

[Medusa7MM]

Sounds like work and persistence paid off for you! Awesome pics and thanks for sharing.

 

[gfreidy]

Great hunt and bull!