A MT Moose update

[thecrittergitter]

Not much for pictures today.......cut two bull moose tracks again today and man did they ever give me a day. Ever have one of those days that nothing goes right? Yea, that was my day. Wind was swirling every direction so sneaking up on bedded moose in the timber was pretty much worthless but instead of coming home and getting some things done, I decided to track them and hope they were dumb enough for me to kill one. After nearly 7 hours of tracking and bumping them, I threw in the towel. WInd killed me no matter what direction I tried coming in from.

Moose 43, Critter 0....

 

[thecrittergitter]

Well, lots more miles and wear and tear on the knee. Spent the weekend with the kids and hit it hard again yesterday.

Lots of deer tracks, bear track, wolf track, and lion tracks...........

Did find a couple bull moose but once again, no shooters.

 

[thecrittergitter]

And I got a tip from another hunt talker here locally who has been hunting deer in my area. He sent me this picture with a caption that says, saw this guy yesterday, might be worth a closer look.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Being in agreement with him, I packed in early as it is not in the friendliest place to shoot a moose ....or anything for that matter. I knew exactly where he had seen the moose before and knowing that 8 days later, they are not likely to be in the same place, I thought I would at least start the glassing there. Couldn't believe it, not 500 yrds away from his photo, I pick out two bull moose. And right away, assume its the same two. I decided that the bigger one was sure a nice one but elected to hold out till the end for the next caliber bigger.

 

[thecrittergitter]

It actually wasn't till an hour later when I was looking at the photo he sent, then looked at the moose, back to the photo, back to the moose....etc.. It wasn't even the same two moose!!!

So dang it, now I have to hike my arse all the way back up there to see if I can find the one I went looking for in the first place.

Knee is definitely not doing good. Was all I could do to get back to the truck after 9 miles yesterday.......forgot my walking sticks and knee brace. Apparently those are the only thing half saving my bacon at the moment.

Come on moose, we are running out of time here!!!!!!

 

[Dave N]

Dang! Was hoping to see a grip and grin!

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Critter...I have to give the credit where its due and this hunt for me would have been over long ago. Keep it up ...Im really enjoying this thread...feel like Im there....thanks.....

 

[fowladdict]

Critter...I have to give the credit where its due and this hunt for me would have been over long ago. Keep it up ...Im really enjoying this thread...feel like Im there....thanks.....

Exactly! Most guys would already have the moose back from the taxidermy!

 

[elk_hunter]

Dude, keep your brace on! Don't prematurely end your season! Fingers crossed you can locate the other one and that he's worthy of a kill shot

 

[Nameless Range]

I also keep opening up this thread expecting to see your sandwich paws wrapped around some giant antlers. But then, this thread would be over. Thanks for taking the effort and time to take us on your search for a big moose. The pictures, stories, effort and discipline have been great to read.

 

[stillkickin]

Keep at it Matt, my money is still on you getting "Big Hank" of moose fame.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

How long left in the season? Are you starting to get concerned that maybe you have passed up animals that could have been as good as what lives in the unit thinking that something special was over the next mountain? You have turned up lots of bulls, and certainly got the most out of the tag, fingers crossed it comes together for you.

Do biologists have an estimation on the number of moose/bulls that live in the unit, it would be interesting to compare it to the number of male moose you have put the optics on?

 

[Elkwhisper]

Do biologists have an estimation on the number of moose/bulls that live in the unit, it would be interesting to compare it to the number of male moose you have put the optics on?

I am guessing the biologist just dropped his population estimate by 1 bull this afternoon!:hump:

 

[jryoung]

I am guessing the biologist just dropped his population estimate by 1 bull this afternoon!:hump:

Spoiler

 

[BiggWimm]

Is this true? Has the saga ended?

 

[SWMontana1]

I hope so!! Won't believe it until I see it though

 

[jryoung]

There has been a great disturbance in the force.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Do biologists have an estimation on the number of moose/bulls that live in the unit, it would be interesting to compare it to the number of male moose you have put the optics on?

I'm pretty sure I know more about the moose in this unit than any biologist at this pointLOL

 

[thecrittergitter]

Just rinsing off blood to get to basketball practice.............but my montana moose tag is lighter by two small triangles

A bull I have not yet seen this year, and one I had to make a really fast decision on which I hate, but I feel I made the right one

Be back soon guys, sorry to drag this out and thanks for following along this year, glad to take you along on a fun saga....

 

[MtnWest]

Congrats, look forward to seeing pics.