CO Moose Down
11-30-2025 | 04:57 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
Likes: 0
CO Moose Down
Just returned from my native CO. Drew a cow moose tag for units 18/181 and hunted hard. I had over 20 years worth of preference points invested in this hunt. I had been holding out for a bull tag but didn't think it would come through. I am 62 years old and arthritis is settling into my hips and knees and I have 2 screws and a pin holding my right ankle together. So I put in for a cow and it came through and a buddy of mine form PA got an elk tag for the same unit and came out to help me pack meat if I filled t he tag.
One thing really strange this year was the weather. I hunted up to 11200 feet and there was very little snow. Normally this area would have 2 or 3 feet of snow and below zero temps and drifts. Not this year. Even the highest peaks around were barely covered.
I had intended on focusing along the lower creeks where there was a lot of heavy willows and good grass but there was nothing there, not even sign. I had been in contact with 2 of the local game wardens and that was their suggestion but the weather didn't bring the animals down to winter range so we went higher. The first 2 days saw us covering nearly 10 miles each day but the only thing we could find were a lot of mule deer and a couple of ermine in their winter white coats. On the way out after dark I ran into one of the game wardens I had been talking to and we laid out topo maps on his truck to come up with a new game plan since none of the primary areas were panning out. After some consideration the game warden recommended a small side drainage where he said he "sometimes" sees moose but not often and not in great numbers. This became our plan for day 3.
Early on the 3rd day we made our way into the small drainage and found a good place to glass. Nothing was moving as the sun came up but at about 0830 I saw a dark shape in a small grove of really thick aspens. Out came the spotting scope and like magic 5 moose suddenly appeared, 3 adult bulls, one yearling calf and a mature cow. Game on. I left my buddy from PA on the ridge as a spotter while I went after them. They were about a half a mile away and the aspens were really thick with a lot of small trees about should high. I thought 2 people would make too much noise and I also knew I would lose sight of the moose as I made the stalk, so my buddy stayed on the ridge with the spotting scope and I carried my 10x binos so I could get hand signals.
It took about an hour to slowly cover the distance but my buddy kept indicating the moose were still there so it was one of those take a step, stop, listen, take a step type of stalk. There was one fairly tall dead aspen near where the moose had been when I first saw them and that became my marker for closing in. When I got fairly close to that tree I found the ground covered with moose droppings and sign. They had been spending a lot of time in that aspen patch from the looks of it. Since it was so thick I knew it would be a close shot and I had to be sure I was targeting the cow and not a bull. The first moose I saw was the yearling calf. I could have shot it several times and it was a legal animal but this was probably a once in a lifetime hunt and I wanted the cow for meat. I also saw the bulls but it took some time to find the cow and when I did she was in stuff so thick I couldn't shoot.
I was carrying a Rem Model 700 Classic in 375 H&H topped with a 1.5x6 Bausch & Lomb scope and loaded with 300 gr Woodleighs. I know the rifle is more that what is needed but my days of Africa hunting are done and there aren't too many things in North America that you can justify using the 375 on but moose is one of those. I turned the scope all the way down to 1.5X and waited for the shot to present itself while my buddy was glued to the spotting scope watching it unfold. Finally the cow stepped into a window in the trees where I could get a clear shot at about 35 yards and I did a high shoulder shot on her. I lost her in the recoil but could hear her thrashing around so I went forward to where she lay and put a finisher into her. I am not a judge of moose but I think she weighed between 600 and 700 lbs.
I looked towards my buddy on the ridge and saw him standing with both arms raised above his head and I knew he had witnessed the whole thing. I sat down next to the cow and relived it through my mind while I waited for my buddy to arrive with the packframes and gear. This was a somber moment since I had been trying for this tag for a long, long time. When My buddy arrived I wedged a cellphone in a tree good enough to get a pic of us both before the butchering began. I wish I would have taken the time to cut some limbs but that escaped me at the time.
It took about 5 hrs to piece her down with the gutless method and to get her to the truck. After the last load I took one more look across the area she lived in and this was what I saw
It was a great hunt for moose but I never did find an elk for my buddy. We cut 2 sets of tracks and both of those sets went back into Rocky Mountain National Park. I told my buddy we would try again next year without having a moose tag to distract us.
One thing really strange this year was the weather. I hunted up to 11200 feet and there was very little snow. Normally this area would have 2 or 3 feet of snow and below zero temps and drifts. Not this year. Even the highest peaks around were barely covered.
I had intended on focusing along the lower creeks where there was a lot of heavy willows and good grass but there was nothing there, not even sign. I had been in contact with 2 of the local game wardens and that was their suggestion but the weather didn't bring the animals down to winter range so we went higher. The first 2 days saw us covering nearly 10 miles each day but the only thing we could find were a lot of mule deer and a couple of ermine in their winter white coats. On the way out after dark I ran into one of the game wardens I had been talking to and we laid out topo maps on his truck to come up with a new game plan since none of the primary areas were panning out. After some consideration the game warden recommended a small side drainage where he said he "sometimes" sees moose but not often and not in great numbers. This became our plan for day 3.
Early on the 3rd day we made our way into the small drainage and found a good place to glass. Nothing was moving as the sun came up but at about 0830 I saw a dark shape in a small grove of really thick aspens. Out came the spotting scope and like magic 5 moose suddenly appeared, 3 adult bulls, one yearling calf and a mature cow. Game on. I left my buddy from PA on the ridge as a spotter while I went after them. They were about a half a mile away and the aspens were really thick with a lot of small trees about should high. I thought 2 people would make too much noise and I also knew I would lose sight of the moose as I made the stalk, so my buddy stayed on the ridge with the spotting scope and I carried my 10x binos so I could get hand signals.
It took about an hour to slowly cover the distance but my buddy kept indicating the moose were still there so it was one of those take a step, stop, listen, take a step type of stalk. There was one fairly tall dead aspen near where the moose had been when I first saw them and that became my marker for closing in. When I got fairly close to that tree I found the ground covered with moose droppings and sign. They had been spending a lot of time in that aspen patch from the looks of it. Since it was so thick I knew it would be a close shot and I had to be sure I was targeting the cow and not a bull. The first moose I saw was the yearling calf. I could have shot it several times and it was a legal animal but this was probably a once in a lifetime hunt and I wanted the cow for meat. I also saw the bulls but it took some time to find the cow and when I did she was in stuff so thick I couldn't shoot.
I was carrying a Rem Model 700 Classic in 375 H&H topped with a 1.5x6 Bausch & Lomb scope and loaded with 300 gr Woodleighs. I know the rifle is more that what is needed but my days of Africa hunting are done and there aren't too many things in North America that you can justify using the 375 on but moose is one of those. I turned the scope all the way down to 1.5X and waited for the shot to present itself while my buddy was glued to the spotting scope watching it unfold. Finally the cow stepped into a window in the trees where I could get a clear shot at about 35 yards and I did a high shoulder shot on her. I lost her in the recoil but could hear her thrashing around so I went forward to where she lay and put a finisher into her. I am not a judge of moose but I think she weighed between 600 and 700 lbs.
I looked towards my buddy on the ridge and saw him standing with both arms raised above his head and I knew he had witnessed the whole thing. I sat down next to the cow and relived it through my mind while I waited for my buddy to arrive with the packframes and gear. This was a somber moment since I had been trying for this tag for a long, long time. When My buddy arrived I wedged a cellphone in a tree good enough to get a pic of us both before the butchering began. I wish I would have taken the time to cut some limbs but that escaped me at the time.
It took about 5 hrs to piece her down with the gutless method and to get her to the truck. After the last load I took one more look across the area she lived in and this was what I saw
It was a great hunt for moose but I never did find an elk for my buddy. We cut 2 sets of tracks and both of those sets went back into Rocky Mountain National Park. I told my buddy we would try again next year without having a moose tag to distract us.
02-05-2026 | 02:48 AM
#5
Spike
Joined: Sep 2025
Posts: 32
Likes: 2
Just returned from my native CO. Drew a cow moose tag for units 18/181 and hunted hard. I had over 20 years worth of preference points invested in this hunt. I had been holding out for a bull tag but didn't think it would come through. I am 62 years old and arthritis is settling into my hips and knees and I have 2 screws and a pin holding my right ankle together. So I put in for a cow and it came through and a buddy of mine form PA got an elk tag for the same unit and came out to help me pack meat if I filled t he tag.
One thing really strange this year was the weather. I hunted up to 11200 feet and there was very little snow. Normally this area would have 2 or 3 feet of snow and below zero temps and drifts. Not this year. Even the highest peaks around were barely covered.
I had intended on focusing along the lower creeks where there was a lot of heavy willows and good grass but there was nothing there, not even sign. I had been in contact with 2 of the local game wardens and that was their suggestion but the weather didn't bring the animals down to winter range so we went higher. The first 2 days saw us covering nearly 10 miles each day but the only thing we could find were a lot of mule deer and a couple of ermine in their winter white coats. On the way out after dark I ran into one of the game wardens I had been talking to and we laid out topo maps on his truck to come up with a new game plan since none of the primary areas were panning out. After some consideration the game warden recommended a small side drainage where he said he "sometimes" sees moose but not often and not in great numbers. This became our plan for day 3.
Early on the 3rd day we made our way into the small drainage and found a good place to glass. Nothing was moving as the sun came up but at about 0830 I saw a dark shape in a small grove of really thick aspens. Out came the spotting scope and like magic 5 moose suddenly appeared, 3 adult bulls, one yearling calf and a mature cow. Game on. I left my buddy from PA on the ridge as a spotter while I went after them. They were about a half a mile away and the aspens were really thick with a lot of small trees about should high. I thought 2 people would make too much noise and I also knew I would lose sight of the moose as I made the stalk, so my buddy stayed on the ridge with the spotting scope and I carried my 10x binos so I could get hand signals.
It took about an hour to slowly cover the distance but my buddy kept indicating the moose were still there so it was one of those take a step, stop, listen, take a step type of stalk. There was one fairly tall dead aspen near where the moose had been when I first saw them and that became my marker for closing in. When I got fairly close to that tree I found the ground covered with moose droppings and sign. They had been spending a lot of time in that aspen patch from the looks of it. Since it was so thick I knew it would be a close shot and I had to be sure I was targeting the cow and not a bull. The first moose I saw was the yearling calf. I could have shot it several times and it was a legal animal but this was probably a once in a lifetime hunt and I wanted the cow for meat. I also saw the bulls but it took some time to find the cow and when I did she was in stuff so thick I couldn't shoot.
I was carrying a Rem Model 700 Classic in 375 H&H topped with a 1.5x6 Bausch & Lomb scope and loaded with 300 gr Woodleighs. I know the rifle is more that what is needed but my days of Africa hunting are done and there aren't too many things in North America that you can justify using the 375 on but moose is one of those. I turned the scope all the way down to 1.5X and waited for the shot to present itself while my buddy was glued to the spotting scope watching it unfold. Finally the cow stepped into a window in the trees where I could get a clear shot at about 35 yards and I did a high shoulder shot on her. I lost her in the recoil but could hear her thrashing around so I went forward to where she lay and put a finisher into her. I am not a judge of moose but I think she weighed between 600 and 700 lbs.
I looked towards my buddy on the ridge and saw him standing with both arms raised above his head and I knew he had witnessed the whole thing. I sat down next to the cow and relived it through my mind while I waited for my buddy to arrive with the packframes and gear. This was a somber moment since I had been trying for this tag for a long, long time. When My buddy arrived I wedged a cellphone in a tree good enough to get a pic of us both before the butchering began. I wish I would have taken the time to cut some limbs but that escaped me at the time.
It took about 5 hrs to piece her down with the gutless method and to get her to the truck. After the last load I took one more look across the area she lived in and this was what I saw
It was a great hunt for moose but I never did find an elk for my buddy. We cut 2 sets of tracks and both of those sets went back into Rocky Mountain National Park. I told my buddy we would try again next year without having a moose tag to distract us.
One thing really strange this year was the weather. I hunted up to 11200 feet and there was very little snow. Normally this area would have 2 or 3 feet of snow and below zero temps and drifts. Not this year. Even the highest peaks around were barely covered.
I had intended on focusing along the lower creeks where there was a lot of heavy willows and good grass but there was nothing there, not even sign. I had been in contact with 2 of the local game wardens and that was their suggestion but the weather didn't bring the animals down to winter range so we went higher. The first 2 days saw us covering nearly 10 miles each day but the only thing we could find were a lot of mule deer and a couple of ermine in their winter white coats. On the way out after dark I ran into one of the game wardens I had been talking to and we laid out topo maps on his truck to come up with a new game plan since none of the primary areas were panning out. After some consideration the game warden recommended a small side drainage where he said he "sometimes" sees moose but not often and not in great numbers. This became our plan for day 3.
Early on the 3rd day we made our way into the small drainage and found a good place to glass. Nothing was moving as the sun came up but at about 0830 I saw a dark shape in a small grove of really thick aspens. Out came the spotting scope and like magic 5 moose suddenly appeared, 3 adult bulls, one yearling calf and a mature cow. Game on. I left my buddy from PA on the ridge as a spotter while I went after them. They were about a half a mile away and the aspens were really thick with a lot of small trees about should high. I thought 2 people would make too much noise and I also knew I would lose sight of the moose as I made the stalk, so my buddy stayed on the ridge with the spotting scope and I carried my 10x binos so I could get hand signals.
It took about an hour to slowly cover the distance but my buddy kept indicating the moose were still there so it was one of those take a step, stop, listen, take a step type of stalk. There was one fairly tall dead aspen near where the moose had been when I first saw them and that became my marker for closing in. When I got fairly close to that tree I found the ground covered with moose droppings and sign. They had been spending a lot of time in that aspen patch from the looks of it. Since it was so thick I knew it would be a close shot and I had to be sure I was targeting the cow and not a bull. The first moose I saw was the yearling calf. I could have shot it several times and it was a legal animal but this was probably a once in a lifetime hunt and I wanted the cow for meat. I also saw the bulls but it took some time to find the cow and when I did she was in stuff so thick I couldn't shoot.
I was carrying a Rem Model 700 Classic in 375 H&H topped with a 1.5x6 Bausch & Lomb scope and loaded with 300 gr Woodleighs. I know the rifle is more that what is needed but my days of Africa hunting are done and there aren't too many things in North America that you can justify using the 375 on but moose is one of those. I turned the scope all the way down to 1.5X and waited for the shot to present itself while my buddy was glued to the spotting scope watching it unfold. Finally the cow stepped into a window in the trees where I could get a clear shot at about 35 yards and I did a high shoulder shot on her. I lost her in the recoil but could hear her thrashing around so I went forward to where she lay and put a finisher into her. I am not a judge of moose but I think she weighed between 600 and 700 lbs.
I looked towards my buddy on the ridge and saw him standing with both arms raised above his head and I knew he had witnessed the whole thing. I sat down next to the cow and relived it through my mind while I waited for my buddy to arrive with the packframes and gear. This was a somber moment since I had been trying for this tag for a long, long time. When My buddy arrived I wedged a cellphone in a tree good enough to get a pic of us both before the butchering began. I wish I would have taken the time to cut some limbs but that escaped me at the time.
It took about 5 hrs to piece her down with the gutless method and to get her to the truck. After the last load I took one more look across the area she lived in and this was what I saw
It was a great hunt for moose but I never did find an elk for my buddy. We cut 2 sets of tracks and both of those sets went back into Rocky Mountain National Park. I told my buddy we would try again next year without having a moose tag to distract us.
03-07-2026 | 05:06 AM
#8
Boone & Crockett
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 12,716
Likes: 3
From: Maine
Congratulations on getting your moose! Up here they can be hard hunting and other times easy to hunt. It all depends on the weather and the mood they are in. I had drawn a tag here in 2009 and I had sister who drew one in 2019. Both of those hunts lasted 15 minutes each. Then as anyone knows is when the work really starts. I also hunted with my who had drawn a tag in 2021 and we got skunked on the one because a group of around 6 pickups was driving around for a nephew. That blew it for us and their nephew. All those pickups and people running around calling for them pushed the moose away on us. I tried to convince my wife to go to a different area of our zone but she wasn’t having it. I did give her a lot of credit for sticking it out.
