Big Game Hunting Moose, elk, mulies, caribou, bear, goats, and sheep are all covered here.
 Nosler

Maine Bull

Old 09-29-2012, 05:09 PM
  #1  
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Abington Mass
Posts: 158
Default Maine Bull

We got back at around 130 am from Maine. We hunted zone 5, basically about 80 miles east of Ashland. My friend (Mark) had the non resident permit, and a local friend of his (Norman) who is a fairly experienced Moose hunter was the sub permittee. We also had my friends brother inlaw (Roger) who work in the forestry field, and knew the area like the back of his hand. Roger has access to some pretty sophisticated mapping software and government and forestry stuff that we do not, and his photo maps proved invaluable, as well as his knowledge of when areas were cut. We arrived at camp on Saturday early afternoon and after setting up the camp, we headed off to scout. We put on about 150 miles in the truck scouting on saturday, and who knows how many on foot. On sunday it was more of the same, and we identified a couple of areas we though we should focus on. We saw numerous moose in the 6 days we were up there, final count was around 22. We also kept track of critters when we got camp till the time we left, and we saw tons of partridge and various other things. On monday morning we hit the area we rated as number one, and after sitting and calling for a couple of hours we move to location 1b. It was at 1b that we called in our first bull within 15 minutes of setting up. We were at a clear cut with a road running parallel to it, and the one running at 90 degrees to it. I glassed the long 90 degree road, while Roger and Norman (the moose expert) focused on the parallel road. About 15 minutes into calling I see a nice bull walk out of a clear-cut about 1000 yards down the road, and he came within 200 yards of us straight up that road like he was on a slot-track . Only problem was that where he stopped was on a plateau before a rise in the road, and we could only see the top of his chest up. After what seemed like minutes he turned into the woods to our right (we had the wind and he knew it) to circle around us and get some scent. He made it through the woods, and crossed the main road too quick for Mark or Norman to get a shot, and he never showed again. There were quite a few cows in this particular area, but there was no evidence that they were breeding yet. Over the next couple of days he made one appearance early in the am, pre shooting time and was gone again. Finally on thursday morning the cows were "blatting" and it was on. About 8am it quieted down a little and Norman hit the call few times. Again the bull came up the road, but this time he had a cow in hot pursuit of him. Also this time Norman and Mark had set up in the first clear-cut on the road closest to where the cows had been hanging around. This time the bull stopped on the road facing them, and when he didn't smell or see the cow he started to walk up the embankment into the clear-cut so they decided to take him. He dressed out at 804lbs, has 16 points and a 47 inch spread. This was Marks first big game animal so we had to coach him on field dressing, but he did a fantastic job, also note the rain gear for that part of the job. We used a rope and the truck to pull the moose onto an old pickup truck liner, then we used that to pull him 800 yards up to the trailer. We then used the truck to pull him onto the trailer. Biggest moose on the board at the check station was 1050 dressed, and average was 500 -800 lbs, they had checked in approximately 60 moose by 3pm thursday.
Attached Thumbnails Maine Bull-dsc02089a.jpg   Maine Bull-photoca.jpg   Maine Bull-photoba.jpg  
specialist1 is offline  
Old 09-29-2012, 06:14 PM
  #2  
Super Moderator
 
Bocajnala's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,505
Default

I can't imagine trying to gut a moose. Sounds like a fantastic hunt though! Congrats to everyone involved
-Jake
Bocajnala is offline  
Old 09-29-2012, 06:35 PM
  #3  
Fork Horn
 
BRUSE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Granbury, TX
Posts: 481
Default

Congrats on a fine hunt. I cant wait to draw a tag one day.
BRUSE is offline  
Old 09-30-2012, 02:18 AM
  #4  
Boone & Crockett
 
Phil from Maine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maine
Posts: 12,548
Default

Congrats on a nice bull! They are a lot of work once they hit the ground..

I had help a couple of moose hunters out up here. I help them load a moose in the back of a pick up truck with a cap on it. The one that had the permit was 80 years old so I knew the other guy with him needed a hand..
Phil from Maine is offline  
Old 09-30-2012, 06:07 AM
  #5  
Typical Buck
 
sdhunter11's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: northernwestern south dakota
Posts: 722
Default

awsome bull, i hope i can scratch that off my bucket list one day.
sdhunter11 is offline  
Old 10-02-2012, 01:00 AM
  #6  
Spike
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 75
Default

Darn nice bull. Congratulations to you folks. Sounds like quite a team effort!
hurricane1 is offline  
Old 10-02-2012, 03:47 AM
  #7  
Dominant Buck
 
Champlain Islander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Vermont
Posts: 22,436
Default

Great bull moose. Congratulations on a good hunt.
Champlain Islander is offline  
Old 10-02-2012, 08:30 PM
  #8  
Nontypical Buck
 
Mickey Finn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,952
Default

Congratulations on a successful hunt. Not to mention, a fine moose.

The truck liner/sled was brilliant!

ATB
Mickey Finn is offline  
Old 10-04-2012, 05:22 AM
  #9  
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Abington Mass
Posts: 158
Default

Originally Posted by Phil from Maine
Congrats on a nice bull! They are a lot of work once they hit the ground..

I had help a couple of moose hunters out up here. I help them load a moose in the back of a pick up truck with a cap on it. The one that had the permit was 80 years old so I knew the other guy with him needed a hand..
Phil I gotta say that Maine people are some of the nicest people in the northeast, hell they even put up with us M*******s..
specialist1 is offline  
Old 10-04-2012, 05:22 AM
  #10  
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Abington Mass
Posts: 158
Default

Originally Posted by Mickey Finn
Congratulations on a successful hunt. Not to mention, a fine moose.

The truck liner/sled was brilliant!

ATB
Yes it was that is good old Yankee ingenuity at it's finest, Norman was prepared for sure.
specialist1 is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.