2023 Moose Hunt Fowler Adventure

[Catchfish]

It’s been a great hunting season and duck closes this week which will end my season until the spring. Got to enjoy the family moose camp with the uncles and cousins but got to take my boy out for the first time for a few nights. The boy is 4 and beyond his age when it comes to the outdoors, hopefully it sticks but he knows how to work around camp and how to keep quiet when hunting.

 

[Catchfish]

We hit it off right away and got in on several bulls the first 2 days. Nothing that was legal but his first bulls to call and get in close on. I think the 1st bull we got within 30 yds and the second bull we got with in 40 yds. He enjoyed driving the wheeler and eating blueberries. He didn’t want me to photograph the the berry patch because somebody might find the secret patch.

 

[Catchfish]

It was good to get on moose but it was pretty quiet and we weren’t seeing the number of cows we were used to seeing. I had to get him back to town so we rode out to the vehicles and the wife met me to take him back to town for preschool.

The week ended with a couple more small bulls spotted and the sign of a brown bear hanging in the area. I was very impressed that he was able to get out each morning, he was able do some scraping which keeps a kid happy. It was definitely funny the questions a 4 yr old has when your in the woods. Could have been a lot easier and restful to leave him at home but it was worth it. He still needs to learn about the afternoon nap, with out them I was getting run down.

 

[Catchfish]

We got back 10 days later for Fowlers second trip for moose hunting. In the evening we started seeing a few cows and calves but didn’t see or hear any bull activity. Did get to watch a big owl hang out for a while though it actually looked like it was hunting little man, or at least watching him.

Woke up before light, he really struggled this morning but while I had coffee he got a mug of hot tang to get him going. We left and headed South from camp and it was drizzly and foggy and figured this may be a short morning due to the weather and keeping him comfortable. My plan was to try and navigate a 1.5 mile trip calling and still hunting.

We got .5 mile from camp and saw 4 cows mixed in the trees. We were within 100 yds of them already, squatted and gave him a pep talk about being quiet and there is probably a bull in the vicinity. We kind of moved in on them and started to scrape. Had success doing the before and making a bull think I was stealing his ladies. Unfortunately one of the cows bumped and it started moose moving east at a slow feeding rate. I did start hearing several more moose moving through the brush feeding. We started trailing them but trying to circle around them to get to the next clearing so we could see them walk through it.

Got to the clearing and we saw 3 cows feeding out into it and then I spotted a bull hanging back 100 yds in the trees just watching the ladies. Gave a little bull grunt and scrape and he fired up grunting and scraping coming right to us. He didn’t look big to me so I started looking for browtines. It was still drizzly and foggy so details were hard to pick up. It looked like an obvious 2 on his right.
He came to 25 yds and started to circle trying to get our wind. Me and Fowler paralleled him not letting it happen all while grunting and scraping. When he got to the last tree he stuck his right paddle out and kept the left hidden. Kid had eyes the size of saucers watching and we were having fun. The bull started moving back into the trees

 

[Catchfish]

The rain started to stop, the sun was rising and the visibility improving. He headed back into the trees to about the spot I first saw him at. I had not seen another bull but I felt like there should be another one in here with the amount of cows I had seen.

I started scraping and grunting again and the bull started coming right back to us again. This time I started tearing up a tree and I could see his left side. He picked his head up perfect and bingo!!! That’s 3 browtines. I had chambered a round when he was at 20 yds, turned gave Fowler a thumbs up, the plug your ear signal. Gave some grunts and let him start coming, when he went around a group of trees. I sent one at him, he humped up, ran 15 yds and fell into a small spruce tree and we watched that tree rock for 20 seconds.

The cows had not moved so I left him sitting behind our trees and started in to check the bull, saw that he was down and done and went back for lil man. I asked him what he thought, he didn’t think the rifle was loud but he wanted to go see the bull.

While we are looking at him another bull starts grunting and came out he was smaller gathered the cows and started heading out then a spike popped out. Fowler asked “can we shoot another one” I said no we have enough work to do now.


Moose ended being 43” 2x3 it is very tasty. We made 140# of burger, 100# breakfast sausage, prolly 50-70 lbs of steaks, shanks and roasts and we still have 46lbs for future grinding projects. Lots of good questions during the cleaning and gutting I mean a lot of questions. Also realized that he was the first person that has ever been with me when I’ve shot a moose. Had other people out hunting but never had anybody watch me shoot before.


Rifle is a Ruger Mark II 300 win mag, 180 grain nosler accubonds again.

 

[Catchfish]

Couple more pics

 

[Catchfish]

Got the skull cleaned up at home, one picture here it is sitting inside another bull that we got at camp on the last day of the season.

 

[realunlucky]

Looks like you made some amazing memories with your son. Congratulations on great moose hunt

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[CRJR45]

Cool Stuff ! Your son is a trooper for sure !

 

[AKDoc]

Well done dad...and well done son! You two will be looking through pictures and telling stories through the winter...and well into the future for sure! Good on you for building those moments together. Thanks for sharing your father/son trip with us...very well done, sir!

 

[Chumsnagger]

Fantastic!

 

[johnnycake]

That is fantastic! Thanks for sharing and way to get after it

 

[bmrfish]

He will remember that his whole life


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[elkguy]

That bull right there probably means more to you than a solo record book bull!

I began taking my boys whitetail hunting a few yards back and it’s all about them now. I haven’t shot a deer since they started going, I let them do shooting now.

Congrats sir!

 

[Adamsfj]

Congratulations that is so great to share with family

 

[SaltySailor]

Love it when the brow tines pop out at ya! Cool story!

 

[Tclhunts]

Congrats!

 

[Rburns28]

Thats Awesome