In Saskatchewan to hunt Moose you can either buy a tag over the counter to hunt in the forest or through our lottery draw system to hunt farmland moose. It can take a number of years to be drawn as there are a limited number of tags, and a large number of hunters putting in for a coveted draw moose tag. After waiting 10 years, I was drawn for a either sex moose tag in my top zone. This means during the season if the opportunity came I could either take a cow or bull moose, within a certain area of the province.
After I was drawn in June the hunt had already started even though the season would not open until early October. With the help of my dad and brother, we started reaching out to local land owners to obtain permission to hunt on their land, and a few of our friends in the area to keep an eye out for moose in the area. Prior to the hunt we went out to scout the area, to see where the moose were hanging out, what areas they may be utilizing, and to make a game plan for the week of our hunt.
With my dad, brother Kyle, partner Drew and myself excited and ready to go for the hunt we loaded up two trucks, a trailer and quad with everything we may need for the hunt and were prepared to be there for up to a week. After we arrived at camp, we dropped off one of the trucks, the trailer and quad, and got ready for one final evening out scouting before the season opened the following day. That evening when scouting, we talked with some of our friends in the area, and saw a bull moose in a tall canola field. This was exciting as it proved that we were in the right area, the moose rut was firing up and we would have a good chance of seeing moose around the canola field in the following days. Even though we would not hunt in the standing canola, we were sure that the moose would move out of the standing canola at some point, hopefully providing the opportunity I needed.
We went back to camp to get ready for the opening day of moose hunting. With the excitement and anticipation of 10 years waiting to go moose hunting I hardly slept and was wide awake when the alarm went off to get ready. Starting the day with a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash- browns we were ready to go. I got dressed in my DSG Re- altree Escape Camouflage with my orange vest and hat, collecting everything we would need and loading our truck, off we went.
We started out the hunt with a long walk into a grain stubble field surrounded by bushes and trees where the moose were known the cross through first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon. There was a cool misty rain as the sun was rising but the adrenaline was running, so we started out. Walking along the brush and staying low we came upon a clearing just as legal shooting time came upon us. At this point I loaded my Tikka T3 Lite with 130 grain .270 Winchester Copper Impact bullets to be ready to shoot, but kept my safety on to keep safe shooting practices. We paused and used our Vortex binoculars to check the area in the front of us. After scanning the area, we did not see any moose, so we decided to move further into the field toward a watering hole. As we moved deeper into the field the mist turned to rain and visibility was declining. As we got near the watering hole, we paused and glassed again to see if any moose were in the area.
Seeing that there were no moose out and about moving around we hunkered down near the watering hole and after a few moments of waiting in silence we tried calling to see if we could bring anything into the area. After sometime, just as the rain was letting up, we decided we should move to another area to see if we could find any moose. After a quick water and snack break, we moved to another spot, to see what we could find.
With the weather improving, visibility was back to normal.
We started in a new area, while moving around we spooked up a cow and calf moose. Getting to be so close to a moose was such a cool experience! I was hoping I would be able to get a bull moose, and with the cow having a calf with it, I decided to pass and let them continue on. After seeing the cow and calf moose we were hopeful this meant we were in the right area and a bull moose wouldn’t be too far away.
After moving around the area, we could not find any more moose, so we decided it was time to stop for lunch and make a game plan for the afternoon. After having a quick tailgate lunch, we decided we were going to move to a different area closer to where we had been the day before, when scouting. We walked into a big wooded area and tried calling in a number of different locations , but nothing was proving to be successful. Just as we were going to get set up to sit for the last portion of the afternoon, our friend in the area gave us a call, on his way home from town that he had spotted not one but two bull moose near the standing canola field we had seen the bull moose by the evening before. We quickly decided to change our plans and head that way to see if we could find the moose he had just seen.
When we got to the area, we saw one of the bull moose booking it back towards the canola field. After a quick glass with our binoculars, we saw that he was a small bull with one of his paddles bent sideways. We decided we would pass on that bull and move to another vantage point to see if we could find the other bull that our friend had seen. It didn’t take long to spot the other bull moose. In fact, he was out in a nearby field along the edge of a wooded ravine with a cow and calf moose. We decided to move in closer so I put on my Howard Leight Earmuffs for hearing protection, and we started stalking in towards the moose. We were able to stalk up the edge of some brush as the moose were now slowly making their way into the trees ahead of us.
Then the cow turned and stepped over a log and into a small opening before turning back and heading deeper into the trees. Her calf followed the same path and we anticipated the bull to follow along right behind them. As I was watching this unfold, I steadied myself on my Bog Pod shooting sticks as the bull wasn’t far behind and my dad whispered 153 yards.
Just as I got set up the bull stepped into the clearing and turned broadside as he had to the make a wider path than cow and calf due to his size. With him turned broadside and the cow and the calf further ahead of him, I was able to take a clean shot. Boom! And with a squeeze of the trigger the bullet landed square in the moose’s chest and down he went.
Even though the hunt was over, the work was just beginning. The excitement of finally getting to go on a moose hunt and shoot a bull moose was unreal. I got my tags out and with shaking hands cut out the month and date and placed them on my moose. We quickly took some pictures so we could get started on field dressing as the sun was starting to set and a drizzly rain was settling in. After taking some pictures and taking a moment to take in the awe of such a large majestic animal we need to get to work.
Luckily our friend in the area lived about a mile away and offered to help us out by using his front-end loader to lift up the moose to help us with field dressing and skinning. Since it was almost dark by this point, we also set up some lights to ensure we could see what were we doing. Using a couple of Outdoor Edge RazorPro L 3.5” Replaceable Blade Hunting Knifes to field dress and skin my moose, we were done in a short period of time. We then took the moose back to camp and cut the moose in half to hang and cool until the next day.
The next morning, we packed everything up to be able to head back home. We wrapped the moose in cheese cloth and loaded into the back of one of our trucks to take to the butcher shop to be cut and wrapped. Luckily, the weather was quite cool so we were not worried about the meat spoiling as we made the long trip home.
Looking back on my moose hunt I was fortunate enough to have my dad, brother Kyle and partner Drew there to assist in the hunt, making it the best experience possible. I was lucky enough to get my moose on the opening day, but even luckier as the weather for the rest of the season turned windy and with heavy rains, making for a muddy mess everywhere in the zone I was drawn in. I truly cannot wait to be drawn for moose again in the future……………… here’s hoping I don’t have to wait another 10 years!
