I finally got drawn!!
 

I will be hunting Moose up here after applying for over 20 years.. They had the annual drawning of Maine Moose tags and mine had finally got picked..:) Whooo Hoooo I will be hunting the area in which I live in and my tag will be for a bull only. I read on line and was I ever shocked.. I am glad I never gave up applying for one.. I hope to have a nice story and pics to show you all after my hunt. It is for 1 week during the second week of October! I will soon be doing my scounting and putting up my trail cam.. Sorry to carry on like this but it has me quite surprised after all this time..

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Congrats! I also got a bull tag, area 10-October, after 14 years. Good luck. I'll post pictures of my trophy also.

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Congrats to you as well !!!! I will be hunting in area 19, the same area I have grown up in.. I also hope you have some great luck so we can see some pics..

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

That's great guys!!!

Today is NH Moose lottery (11AM-internet postings will be available) and I've applied AGAIN, much like your story, tick-tock!!!

I hope the best for all of you - GOOD LUCK!

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Congrats guys !! Best of luck this season.

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

That is terrific!!!

Congratulations...I can't wait to hear the story of a "hunt of a lifetime"!

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Thanks everyone!!! I can hardly wait as I have waited so long for a permit..

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Conglads on the tag. I've been trying in Colorado for right at 20 years----no luck yet. I drew a bull moose tag in WY a couple years ago----after 8 years of sending in.

Your in for a fun & frustrating hunt. Sometimes they just seem to disappear. Then when the times comes----there he is. Moose meat is the best table fare, IMO. Much better than elk. CB

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Great news guys!

So, do you guys have places in mind that you feel you can connect on a bull?

Do you see them often in your areas?

Get those cameras out and get some pics:D

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Thanks Guys and yes we do see them quite often up here. September is the best month to call them here. There is a group of hunters hunting the last week of September and then a group ( including me ) in October heading out. I have scouted some and saw five moose yesterday. Two cows and two bulls and then one that all I got to see was the back end of it as it disappeared. I could only get a pic of one bull though along with a cow it was with. i had first thought they might have been twins that thier mother may have booted off. After looking at the pic and the size different I do not think so anymore. Here is a pic of the cow and bull for you..

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Now the bull that was with it. he appears to be a quite a bit taller and heavier. Also the base of his neck is much larger and as you know it's not rutting season yet. i will be checking these ones out a little later on..

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Awesome Phil!!! Best of luck to ya bud!!!!

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Great picture Phil!!!

I hope ya get one man..
:)

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Congrats again Phil!!!!! Good luck... I am sure you will connect on a whopper...

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Good luck to you, I live and hunt in Qc Canada, I get a moose lisence every year (Bull or calf) but this year I FINALLY got drawn for the cow tag too. I have applied for many years as well. I have had great luck but a couple of years I have sat in my stand looking and taking pictures of great cows. Last fall was one of those years and I came home empty handed but still had a great week in the bush with friends...

I hope we are all successful!!! Rodney

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Congratulations, that is a once in a life time chance. What kind of moose are they?

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Thank everyone! I am pumped after waiting all this time for a chance at the hunt I always wanted to do.. Also good luck to you Rodney towards your success as well! I know what you mean by just seeing cows. It happens sometimes here as well. I am hoping to be able to see a bull during my season but as you know there is no guarantee. I did learn that last year they respond better to a cow call during the October hunt. During the September hunt they will respond greatly to the rutting bull call however. With only a two week difference it is hard to understand why the difference but it is there.

Maine moose are some what smaller than the ones in Quebec or Alaska and the likes. A moose here normally tips the scales around 700 to 800 lbs dressed. Although we have had some pass the 1,000 lb mark dressed. For as far as what kind they are i am not real sure on what you mean by that. We just call them moose..

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Eastern Canadian are the type of moose that are in Maine, Newfoundland. Basically the north eastern part of North America.

Most only recognize;

Shiras (seen in Yellowstone and western US)

Canadian

Alaskan/Yukon


Others seperate Canadian and Eastern Canadian into two different sub species


You guys have got to be excited. Any plans on having your hunt video taped by one of your buddies?

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Thanks for the info I was just wandering. Hope you get some more pictures as the summer progresses.

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

I have only applied for 1 nonresident moose tag and that was for New Brunswick last September.. Bull or Cow tag. It was late September. Only a 3 day season, so i guess you can't be too picky. Called this guy in a couple hundred yards across a 3 year old cut. He was raking everything w/ his rack on the way in. He stepped out at about 20 yards... i would have loved to have had my bow w/ me. These are the same size moose as Maine. He field dressed 870lb.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...oseHunt017.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...oseHunt027.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...oseHunt032.jpg

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Good for you man, best of luck and happy hunting. I hope the weather is good for and don't forget to post your pics back here so we can see them.

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Heh, Phil I'm Glad you got your chance... I'll be one of those hunters hunting the September season in zone 19. I got a 917 lb moose back in 1994 in zone 19 so I'm glad to go back. Good luck Ill report how I do.

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Congrats Phil, thats great news, good luck hunting.

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Thanks again everyone.. This is my first draw ever in this hunt and I can't wait.. The September hunt is what I was hoping for but I was lucky enough to get my area of choice so I can't complain none that is for sure. Let alone get to be drawn, a quite a few that I have talked with has gotten thiers for the first time as well. I have found calling them out is easier during the hunt you have so good luck to you. I am hoping to have some great luck as well. I will be beating my way around those back roads as well my friend. I have help quite a few get loaded on to the trucks and trailers over the past years.. ;)

RE: I finally got drawn!!
 

Great luck with the draw Phil. Good things happen to good people and now your luck is changing. Enjoy the day!

Just got back from my Moose hunt and I am glad to say I was success-full on the opening day with a 560 lb. dressed, 30" rack bull. Shot with my Winchester Mod 70 338 winmag with Boss and my own reloads of 225 grain spire point interlock. We busted brush till about 1:30 and took a break at the truck to have a little something to eat. While sitting there here come this, it looked like a giant woolly mammoth to me, bull stopping just off the edge of the woods looking at us. I jumped out of the truck, grabbed a few rounds and get one in the chamber, getting to the edge of the road asking Giby, my uncles brother in law who was guiding me, if it looked like a shooter and he said it looked good and if I was going to shoot do it now before another car came up the road and it took off back the way it came. The location of it made my decision for me so I took the shot, he was quartering towards me so I got the shot as close to the shoulder as I could. He just walked out like nothing happened. The next one he was crossing directly across and the I put the shot right thru both lungs, he shuttered a little and walked away. I put another one in the same spot and he just walked into the woods like nothing happened. All this happened in 20-30 seconds max. Going back to the truck we decide to wait a little prior to going after him. My father in law went up to where he went into the woods and said we don't have to wait he was right there. 100 feet into the woods exactly, that is the length of the cable on the winch we used to get him out. Here are a few Pics.

good job, ya I don't get why guys who have applied for 10+ years ever quit applying...

I've heard numerous accounts of guys with 10sheep pts etc... who quit years ago....
Aside from not having money to apply, I'd never stop building pts, especially when I have 20pts etc...

Congrats to you!! It is great to see that you had good luck as well..

My sub and I agreed long before the hunt the first bull we see would be taken. I regret that in some ways though as I wanted a big rack for a keep sake of our hunt.. I am still glad to get one as well as being able to give it a try anyways.. Here is the story to it and a pic to follow threw..

We started out around 15 minutes later than planned so we never really started hunting at the time I wanted to. We drove down a dirt road and stopped and talked to a logger and a mechanic that was working on a log truck. I asked them if they had been seeing any moose on the roads. They stated not for a while. The road that we was on we traveled for a total of 5 1/2 miles and turned left and drove for another 2 1/2 miles before turning a right into an old cutting from a year and a half ago. We drove into this road for roughly 1 mile and stopped to try calling as there was fresh moose tracks in the mud. ( I had found this place scouting earlier. )
I called and we wiated for about 15 minutes with a steady wind blowing. I did not think 1 would come to the calling because of the wind. We then drove into the rest of the road, which was about another mile. When we drove back out to where I was calling a moose was standing in the cutting. The moose was only about 20 yards from us but due to the leaves we couldn't see any antlers. So we thought this was a cow moose. I tried calling some more hoping to see a bull that I thought should of been with her. When she was about 45 yards I thought I could see a small set of antlers but wasn't sure. When it got out to around 65 yards on a ridge we both could see the antlers then.
My sub mentioned our agreement that the first bull we see would be shot. So I said go ahead then as that was what we had agreed to ealier on. He shot it with a Savage 30-06 using a 150 grain bullet. He shot it low into the front shoulder and the moose ran about another 65 yards into the woods. I went in and tracked it. It had left no blood trail but was fairly easy to find because of the size of its tracks. I came across some rasberry bushes that looked like the moose had a hard time going threw them. I turned and looked to my left and there was the moose laying there. It was killed by the first shot. Upon field dressing it I discovered both lungs to look OK as well as the heart. The bullet did enter the ribcage just in front of the heart and lungs so I am thinking he got lucky and hit the main artery to the heart and that is why it died quickly.
Now let me tell you trying to drag an animal this size out of the Maine woods up here is not an easy task. We did get him out after 5 1/2 hours of steady work using a come-a-long, chains, and rope. But we did it and mission accomplished even though I would of like to try for a bigger moose with a wall hanger rack that tourists would like as well as myself..

P.S. I was using a Quakerboy Cow Grunt tube that I purchased about 20 years ago and it still works great today. I let a friend use it ealier this year and he got a 6 pointer with it. He was very happy with the results of this call. Now he wants to record me using the call. So, that he can get one out during the rest of his hunts in the future. He is an Indian that can hunt yearly and is around 70 years old. I have known him for quite some time and we have been great friends over the years..

Congrats on your moose hunt. He'll eat mighty fine!

A pic of me with the moose I called in for my partner. Friday am week awoke to a hard frost, headed to a spot that has proved itself over the years. We set up with the wind on our nose adjacent to a pine ridgeline on the opposite side of the creek. As the sun arose we could see across the creek that a moose had been their earlier as the frost was knocked of the vegetation. I figured we may have actually spooked him, so I started cow calling. My second set of cow calls I got a response from the ridge and after a few pleading calls he was on his way. My partner stayed put as I backed up into the willows to continue calling. My partner knew it would be best if the bull came across the creek to us but I wasn't to sure he could hold out being he hasn't killed many bulls in his life. Still sticking with the cow calls the bull apeared but hung up a touch, appearing nervous about not seeing miss. I decieded to get a little agressive with him and grunted a few times which brought him crashing out. Then using a shoulder blade I started raking the willows and then presented a flash of the blade for a visual. That was all he could take and he came a huffing, my partner put 1 in the base of the neck as he came trotting towards us, the bull dropped 30 yards or so from his position. He was shaking pretty bad and it took him a few minutes to calm to let out a yell...of that was freaky awesome! His first one who actually charged in. Special thanks to a bull who was cooperative this time, we were able to hook onto him with the ATV and pull him out of the muck to the trail vs dealing with him in the bush.

Congratulations to you on your moose hunts!

Congrats to you as well skeeter... I have found it a lot of fun calling in those moose let alone being able to get one..

Good job guys. That kicks the ole heart a pumping.
I've applied for a tag for the past 12 years in montana and never got drawn and the sad thing about it is, I see the dang things in my yard here from time to time, but I applied for an antlered moose tag here in alberta and got drawn my first year. This is going to be nov. 1 along with a cow elk tag and antlered whitetail tag along with a couple antlerless mule deer tags.
Congrads on you guys success. Life is good.:s4:

Bobby

Congrats on your Moose.

Hi Phil,

Nice to see you finally get lucky!

I remember swapping PM's with you back in '06 when we got drawn for district 3. You were a big help then and I'm glad you finally got your turn.

Got drawn as an sub-permittee in '07 - SKUNK!!!!!!!!!!!! , and then tagged along with a friend on his NH moose hunt this year - 660 lb cow.

I hear you about the work just starting once the moose is down. We were 8 hours to the tagging station.



- Jay

Thank you Jay! Also congrats to your friend and you on the cow.. Some great eating you have there...
I also could not believe all the ones that got " skunked " in the same area I was hunting.. I can not figure that one out at all. I had some pretty decent luck calling them out this year.. I wished we would of held out for a bigger one but maybe it is a good thing we got the one we had gotten..

Phil,

I know what you mean about the "SKUNK". It was a pretty glum feeling going home with an empty trailer in 2007. Makes this year feel all the better though.

What town did you finally drop yours in? How was the success ratio for that district in general in previous years?

Seeing as most folks like moose porn, here's a couple more from NH.

- Jay

The young fella in the first pic was about 100' away when I spotted him. Once I stopped my truck he walked up to within 25' of it. They don't call 'em swamp donkeys for nothing!

I shot mine around 5 1/2 miles southwest of Topsfield, it was a pretty quick hunt.
The ratio I am not real sure of but is has been pretty darn good here. Last year it dropped a little but not all that much. This year the September hunt was quite low. Alot of leaves and those big clear cuts hasn't happened here for ages. All those trees have grown up. Another factor is the wrong calls being used IMO. I am still finding a quite a few moose around though but the numbers are down for some reason. Some of it is the brain worm they get and I am thinking perhaps all the deep snow we gotten over the past 2 years.. I am not sure on the snow part though.

Congrats you guys!! Glad you had success, I hunted 8 days and just got a glimps of 1 rear end.. no time to shoot and it disappeared... It will be bigger next fall....Rodney