Just got back from hunting the October week of the Maine Moose season. What a thrill! We (my buddy and I) met our guide and drove out to the camp far into the Maine North Woods, enjoying the fall colors and the views of Mt. Katahdin along the way. Arriving at camp, we were promptly directed to pack our stuff for a few days, because we were going to a remote tent site for the first few days. Scrambling, we filled his truck and were on our way. We packed our stuff into a canoe, and motored out into the lake to find our campsite. Finishing camp, we settled down to dinner and to plan the morning' s hunt. I didn' t sleep a wink that night, filled with anticipation, so I just enjoyed the sounds of the loons and the fresh clean air.

The first morning we woke early and had a quick breakfast before gearing up and starting down to the water' s edge. Stalking along the shore, watching the far shoreline across the lake, we paused. A cow was feeding directly towards us, so we were stuck for a bit by a large stump until she passed - and she walked within 15 paces of us. What a thrill to watch. When she was safely past, we continued out to a sand spit and set up a blind to watch the far shore. After a while, shots rang out fairly close, and someone tagged out early. We did not see anything but cows that morning. Scooting back to camp, we had a bit of lunch and readied the canoe for the evening.

We motored down to the main lake and saw plenty of cows, but no bulls, thoughout the evening. Watching the sunset, we basked in a good day' s hunt. Tired and hungry, we ate and slept, and woke early the next morning as well. That day, we launched the canoe and cruised the far bank in the early morning fog hoping to see a ghostly outline of a wide racked bull. Nothing showed this morning, though, and I suspect the sudden drop in temperature from the day before changed their patterns. Our guide had put a lot of work into scouting this area and had be patterning several bulls.

We hunted out of the canoe all day Tuesday, covering a lot of ground. We put aground for the evening and set our blind again, but nothing arrived there, either. We motored back at night, enjoying the stars over the lake. We knew that the weather was going to turn for the worse for Wednesday, so we decided to break camp and head back to the main camp. Into the canoe we went, and back to the boat launch. We arrived back to camp around midnight. The cook woke to fix us some steaks, which never tasted better.

The weather was foul Wednesday morning - blowing 35 mph+ and cooold. Decided we would certainly not find a bull in our tents, we went out again to another region. Hiking in before daylight, we arrived at a remote bog that looked great except for the wind. We used a blow down as a cover, and started calling to try to lure out that dominant bull. Nothing doing. Hmmm.

We ended that hunt early and drove back to home base for lunch. Figuring the rest of the day was a wash, my friend and I figured it was a good opportunity to catch up on some rest to prepare for the next day. Late in the afternoon, though, the clouds started breaking. One of the guides came up to me, looked up and said " get your stuff - tonight we kill a big bull." Needing no more encouragement, we gathered our things and headed to the lake.

We quickly spotted a cow feeding close to shore. We called to her and got some good photos and video. Glassing the shoreline, then, I spotted a glint of antlers about a mile down the lake. The sun had caught it just right. Being the first bull we had seen, I figured we should start the stalk to see what we had. We worked our way down the shoreline slowly, against the timber that bordered the beach. We stalked slowly, and the further we got the more promising he looked. Finally, we reached a spot that was open, and we advanced whenever he put his head down to feed. He was right at the water' s edge. Lying prone on the lake shore (it curled around so we were on the side of a cove), I watched him through my scope. He turned his head, and I saw the healthy looking brow tines, and knew he was the one. He was just inside 250 yards (best estimation - it was hard to pace because of the muddy and/or rocky shoreline that led to him. I settled the crosshairs and squeezed the trigger. The crack of the rifle echoed, and a second later I head the heavy THUNK of the impack and he lurched towards us, splashing as he moved forward. Pausing, I fired again. THUNK! He leaped forward into the water splashing. He paused again and started to wobble, but as long as he was standing, I was going to fire. THUNK! Splash again, but slower this time, and the fourth shot impacted the spine and he went down, now in the water. Now settled, a single palm stuck out fromthe water' s surface.

Sinking hip deep in the mud, we slogged our way out to him and finally saw our bull up close. He was magnificent. His antlers were surely over 48" wide, with nice big palms. Now, though, with him lying in the water with a muddy bank to get through, we had some work. After tagging, we drove back to camp to get a canoe and came back to the launch. Now it was midnight. It was snowing, and the wind was in our face again at 40mph. Now changed into waders, and wearing life vests, we set out to find him. We took our time scouring the shore, and finally saw his bulk as a dark island. Jumping out, I secured a rope around his antlers and climbed back into the canoe. I held his head close to the midships of the canoe as we towed him back to the launch, slowly, but with the wind at our backs. We had about a mile and a half to tow him. Thank goodness they float before they are dressed.

The four of us worked him as close to the shore as possible, and dressed him there. It was cold, so we left him for the night. We came back at first light to winch him into a flatbed. The backslaps and pictures abounded, and we now had a measuring tape - 55" wide. This was great as far as I was concerned. Soggy but satisfied, we drove back to the camp before taking him to the checking station and finally to the butchers.

This was the short version of the story, I hope you get the idea. If you' d like, once I figure out how to scan some pictures, I' ll try to post them here, too. This was my first non-whitetail big game. Thanks for reading!!!

Congrats Grizz!

Great story and a better ending!
Welcome to the Moose Fever Group. Nice bull for your first one.

Sure, lets see the beast.

Enjoy and good eating.

Congrats griz on a Maine Bull! 55 inches is a good one...I hunted the same area in 99 and scored on a 44 inch bull. What did your moose dress? They are some huge animals...Enjoy the meat because it is delicious..

Please send steaks to : JerseyJoe,

JerseyJoe-

He dressed at 730lbs. Not huge (but if he were any bigger I don' t know where I would put the meat! ) The rut was winding down (almost over) and so the bulls had not been eating for a while.

Congrats! That' s a great Shira' s moose! Kinda fun getting them out of the water, isn' t it?

I think the Shiras (Alces alces shirasi) are western/rocky mountain moose, smaller than the other subspecies. He probably shot what' s called an Eastern Canadian Moose (Alces alces americana) which is around the maritime provinces and NE U.S.

BUT - an awwwwfully nice moose and sounds like a great hunt - Try stuffed roasted moose heart!! -zeke

Congrats on the moose....sounds like a great rack. I lived in Maine for 3 years but never drew a tag. I do have a nice set of sheds that measures about 53 inches outside though.

You' re right zekeskar....definitely a canadian moose, eh?

great story, wish i could have been there,, 54 " congratspics would be great

zeke is right - alces alces americana all the way! I' m still working on getting some pictures scanned in.

Congrats Grizzly! I too would love to see some pics if you get a chance.