Alberta Shiras Bull Moose adventure

[bonedogg]

Well after 11 years of applying, I have finally drawn a Alberta antlered moose tag for a region in Southern Alberta that falls within the SCI region for Shiras Moose range. I normally follow most of the B&C standards but do not see the political boundary as the best boundary for the moose as they do not care if its American or Canadian soil they reside on. This land is mainly private holdings with a bunch of crown grazing land similar to the US systems of BLM land, except here its governed provincially and not on the federal level. My hunting partner's sister married into this ranching family some years ago and lets just say sometimes its great to have good friends and family on the speed dial. Anyways, I have been down to scout this region twice thus far and have seen between 12-20 moose per day with several good bulls thus far. Here are a few pics of the terrain to get an idea of the landscape. This area also holds abundant Elk, WT, Mule deer, bears(both blacks and Grizz) and a plethora of raptor bird species and a ton of sharptail and ruffed grouse. We call it PRIME hunting country.....more pics and story to follow.

 

[MT_elk]

Looks like a great area. Can't wait for the rest of the story!

 

[Matt Foley]

Sounds fun! I can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[bonedogg]

the last time I hunted this zone was with a buddy that took this bull two years ago, measured right around 49 inches wide. There is also a cabin on the grazing lease that gets used by the ranchers during the cattle drives and a handful of hunters. The owner of the ranch is also an outfitter for moose as well. He has two tags that he personally guides for during the peak of the moose rut for archery that keeps me out until he is finished which is approx. ten days. Still happy to have the privilege to hunt this land and have a wood burning stove to retreat to every night for a cold beer and a hot meal.:hump:

 

[bonedogg]

The last time I had a tag it was really important to me to try and kill a moose with my bow. I called from a meadow and killed the first bull that came in which was a 2 yr old bull, ten minutes later two more bulls came into the call within 60 yds, the biggest one of them was killed a few weeks later.... here is the picture as the cabin behind him has had the odd drink spilled in it!!!! I hope to get out once with archery tackle before the guide goes in, but going after will not be an issue except for getting in the way of sheep hunting. I have a 5 day rifle hunt planned for the first week of November to seal the deal with my moose or an elk. If I don't find frankenbull in those 5 days.....I will be back til the end of November which is when the season closes.

 

[LCH]

Great bull! Those are some massive animals, Congrats.

 

[----]

Looking forward to following along on this one! I agree on the B&C borders. Some of the biggest shiras bulls entered in the book likely crossed back and forth across the border.

 

[bonedogg]

I ended up having one day to do some hunting last weekend and decided to put off my moose for the time being and lend a hand to two buddies that were drawn in the prairies for Bull elk limited entry draws. The first guy killed his bull on the firday when I was not there, a nice 7x6. the second guy had some action but could not make it all come together. I showed up there 530 Saturday morning and the hunt was on at 9 am when we located the herd that held 30 some bulls in it with about 50 cows and calves. the biggest bull was a 7 x2 monster that I swear was a booner on the one side but had two bats only on the other, it was a beauty in my opinion and by far the biggest bodied, but the typical 8x7 that was palmated on top made him easy to pass up for a first bull. After missing him at 350 yds and watching the whole herd take off in unison made for no follow-up shots. 14 miles of boot leather we were back in business but again my buddy missed at 400 yds only to watch the herd swim a lake and take off out of sight once more. On our way out we happened to see the herd again feeding up a draw and over a hill....here was our chance and we closed the distance to 155 yds and now we had to wait for the herd bull to clear all the other elk for a shot. I told my buddy to stand up and kill that bull......... first shot hit the mark and instantly he was sick. Two more follow up shots and he was down for the count!!!! a couple of fist pumps and the adventure was over, on this ranch they allow for vehicle pick up of game once its down only. A couple pics, first one is Friday's bull and the rest are the second bull taken.

 

[bonedogg]

couple more pics of the big bull

 

[gozz21]

Awesome bull. Sounds like a great time

 

[big28hunter]

That's an impressive hunting property. Pure Heaven!

 

[joelweb]

That area looks prime. I love the brush. Keep sharing.

 

[MT_elk]

Congrats on some great bulls!

 

[bonedogg]

heading out for a day tomorrow, hope to have some pics of some sort to share. Bulls are calling big time, weather is supposed to get cool for tomorrow as well. good luck to all.

 

[walking buffalo]

Hey Bonedogg

That hill is a moose "magnet".

And for elk too. That's where the largest elk I've ever seen taunted me right on the road.

Best wishes on the hunt.

DK

 

[bonedogg]

Well today is the day before our 6 day adventure. Horses are loaded, tracked quad is loaded and in about 24 hrs we should be the same. Two guys are at the ranch already and seen 1 good bull moose right off the bat. Expectations are high but the cold weather we were hoping for is not gunna happen. Hope to have a couple elk and maybe a Whitetail as there will be 6 of us in total . Good luck to all !!

 

[bonedogg]

Back with one hell of a moose!!! Pics and story to come

 

[bonedogg]

Teaser, the one I passed up.....

 

[bonedogg]

My brother in law and I had enough sleep and decided to leave an hour earlier than our planned 5am departure. We headed to a truck stop for breakfast to see it was under construction and no dice on eats for us this am. We made our call to our other hunting partner to find out he was 45 minutes behind due to a blown tire. We proceeded to the ranch and decided to get our stuff together as you never know when stuff happens. As legal light came to fruition, the anticipation of 11 yrs waiting for this tag was starting to play with my guts a bit. I told my hunting partner," not to let me shoot a bull on the first day so I can enjoy this experience". Well that was up for debate on the first bull we seen. He spotted two cows grazing in a willow patch and as I glasses them up I could see a great bull bedded 400 yds away. His fronts and immense size informed me he was an old bull and his paddles were worn down hard with few distinguishing points. It took a bit to turn him for a frontal perspective and when he did I could see a large chunk missing off of his driver side paddle as if the Cookie Monster got a hold of him. Great bull but today he got the pass. Bull pic posted above. As we turned to continue in to our cabin, I glassed up the valley and.......

 

[bonedogg]

I could see another bull moose, and a good one to boot! I settled the spotting scope on him and immediately I was giggling to myself as I thought I was looking at the bull I wanted to shoot. He looked wide with good sticker points coming off his palms which also looked full and long. His fronts were filled in on the sides and I could see at least two on one side and two plus something going on with the other but extended forward close to the end of his nose. It took me all of five seconds of watching him to determine it was time to make a move. There goes my theory of holding onto the tag for at least a day. Oh well, hunting is what hunting is. I ranged him as he fed on some willows at 850 yds and had to drop down and across a steep creek bottom and up the other side to a blister of poplars trees that he was above by approx 250 yds when I set off. After traversing the creek and deep gorge, I could see a big bull moose to my right and moving off that made me think another bull was also in the picture as the bull I had set after should not be there? Well two hundred yards of full sneak readiness produced nothing and I was now second guessing the bull had possibly been the one I had seen moving off to the south west earlier. Here is a picture the brother in law took as he was feeding in the willows while I was making my stalk. At this point , Johnny our buddy that blew a tire crept up to our truck and joined the view from about 850 yds.