Utah Shiras Moose Hunt Success!!

[elkhunterUT]

My family was very blessed with drawing tags this year-I drew a Utah sheep tag (Rocky/Cali subspecies-November hunt), my nephew drew a Wyoming type 9 archery elk tag (killed a 340” bull on 9/18-posted in elk meat pole) and my brother drew a Utah Shiras moose tag.

After a successful elk hunt for my nephew in Wyoming and with elk bugles still ringing in our ears, we burned back to Utah with sore backs and legs to focus on my brother’s moose hunt. We were on the mountain Wednesday and seeing moose and small bulls every time out-it was just a matter of time before we found a more mature bull. On Thursday, my brother and I covered some serious miles trying to uncover a good bull. At around 11am, we set up a calling sequence with cow moans, bull grunts and raking a dried out scapula bone on the brush. After a couple calls and some raking, we heard a faint bull grunt. Then the bull crested the ridge nearest to us and was on his way to us in a hurry. He popped out of the oakbrush at 10 yards!! He was a beautiful bull, but with only one brow on his left side, my brother opted to pass on him. I was amazed at the self control!!

 

[elkhunterUT]

Friday night we decided to split up to cover more country and to hopefully find a shooter bull. I went to a great vantage point to glass and my brother Chad went to an area to get a better look at a bill we saw at last light the night before. At around 6:30, I caught a cow and calf pop out into an opening and by the time I got my spotting scope set up on them, there was a BIG bull in the view. This bull had noticeably better palm width than any bull we had seen yet and he had 2 brows on both sides-finally a shooter bull and he was hot after the cow!!

 

[elkhunterUT]

Chad loved the bull and we determined he was one of the top few bulls he had found scouting, so we decided to be in that same spot Saturday morning at first light with the hope of getting the bull close enough for a shot with his bow. We set up for a calling sequence close to where I had seen him the night before, but did not hear or see anything. We huddled and decided the bull most likely followed the cow and calf up a different draw towards water.

That hunch proved to be spot on. We made it to a pipeline cut above where we thought they might be and started calling and raking. Then came a familiar bull grunt just over the ridge. I kept calling and raking and very quickly we could hear the bull plowing through the oak brush toward us on a string. Chad set up for the shot and I kept grunting. The bull popped out at 20 yards with that look of frenzy in his eyes and I had such a cool angled video shot with Chad and the bull in the same frame as Chad drew his bow and placed a perfect arrow behind the bull’s shoulder. BUT I DIDN’T HIT RECORD!! I was sick about it, but was redeemed a bit when the bull came back in to my grunt calls after being shot the first time and Chad placed another perfect arrow behind the shoulder.

The bull ran 30-40 yards and piled up. What a RUSH!!! Such a great bull and another amazing experience shared with my brother!!




With some amazing friends and family who dropped everything to come help, we were able to pack the bull out in one trip.



What a way to end our week of elk hunting in Wyoming and moose hunting in Utah. Man, I LOVE September!!!

 

[HuntHarder]

Nice work! Great looking moose and what a helluva year in the draws. Congrats man!

 

[Michael Pawul]

Awesome story!

 

[JColony]

Congrats on an awesome hunt!!!!

 

[TheRepeatOffender]

Congrats, man! That's a great moose. Out of curiosity, what was the pack out distance and how many people assisted? My friend and I just packed out a moose here in CO last weekend and just interested how other guys are getting it done here in the lower 48.

 

[elkhunterUT]

Congrats, man! That's a great moose. Out of curiosity, what was the pack out distance and how many people assisted? My friend and I just packed out a moose here in CO last weekend and just interested how other guys are getting it done here in the lower 48.

Pack out distance should have been 2.5 miles but my brother knew the watershed director in the area that has access to several roads and he drove to a spot we could pack to that cut off about 1.5 miles, so we really only had to pack meat a little over a mile. We had 6 guys to get it out in one trip - 4 took quarters, 1 took loose meat (backstraps, neck meat, and tenderloins), and 1 took the head and cape. Head and cape seemed to be the heaviest load - definitely the most awkward.

 

[FlyinRyan411]

My family was very blessed with drawing tags this year-I drew a Utah sheep tag (Rocky/Cali subspecies-November hunt), my nephew drew a Wyoming type 9 archery elk tag (killed a 340” bull on 9/18-posted in elk meat pole) and my brother drew a Utah Shiras moose tag.

After a successful elk hunt for my nephew in Wyoming and with elk bugles still ringing in our ears, we burned back to Utah with sore backs and legs to focus on my brother’s moose hunt. We were on the mountain Wednesday and seeing moose and small bulls every time out-it was just a matter of time before we found a more mature bull. On Thursday, my brother and I covered some serious miles trying to uncover a good bull. At around 11am, we set up a calling sequence with cow moans, bull grunts and raking a dried out scapula bone on the brush. After a couple calls and some raking, we heard a faint bull grunt. Then the bull crested the ridge nearest to us and was on his way to us in a hurry. He popped out of the oakbrush at 10 yards!! He was a beautiful bull, but with only one brow on his left side, my brother opted to pass on him. I was amazed at the self control!!
View attachment 456896

What a monster. That’s a great picture.

 

[dreamingWest]

This is great, thanks for sharing!

 

[Maverick1]

Congrats! September is awesome. Nice bull!