FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE BORED AT WORK YOU CAN READ ABOUT MY MOOSE HUNT. THIS IS NOT A STORY, JUST MY JOURNAL ENTERIES I MADE WHILE I WAS HUNTING. IN FEAR OF RUINING SOMEONES FAVORITE HUNTING SPOT I HAVE REPLACED ALL THE LAKE, CREEKS, AND ROAD NAMES WITH XXX. I ALSO REMOVED ALL THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ME WITH THE HUNT BUT I CAN NOT THANK THEM ENOUGH!
9/20 MOOSE HUNT BEGINS
Got off work at 7am, packed up coolers and truck, drove to Layton to meet 2 old friends who were in town from N Carolina for a week and ate breakfast. Headed to Idaho at 1030am And reached Shelley just before 1pm. Loaded up the razor and fire wood and headed for Ashton. Stopped off to top off gas tank then off to find a camp site. Set up camp, well at least the new Alaknak 12X20 tent. Unloaded truck and went for a razor ride. Drove up XXX creek road all the way to end, and saw only a doe but moose tracks along the road. Headed to my buddy?s cabin And met his uncle and his son. Ate dinner and went to bed.
9/21
Woke up at 6am and ate breakfast. My buddy who owns the cabin and I Hiked from the cabin while everyone else went to XXX Lake. We hiked down to XXX Creek and up to XXX draw. Great drainage but saw or heard nothing. Couldn?t find a way across the two creeks so had to take off socks and shoes and wade across, burr!
Hiked up to main trail and headed towards XXX gate. Dropped down to XXX creek, where my buddy shot his bull a couple weeks back and hiked to gate. Picked up by his uncle by 130 and headed back to cabin. We heard bugles most of the day but didn't see any elk or moose. Later that evening around 5pm mark and I headed to XXX Lake to check his cameras. He had a bull moose on there from 3pm that afternoon and yesterday morning. Did some moose calling with no response until dusk. Hiked back to razor and let out a bugle, instant response. My buddy and I ran down the road and up a trail calling and raking trees. Exchanged bugles multiple times w 2 diff elk and called one into 30 yards but no shot, it was too dark! Great ending to a second day of moose hunting in Idaho!
9/22
Woke up at 6am And all four of us drove up to XXX Lake. I hiked down to the lake while others hiked down trail for elk. Checked trail cam first thing and nothing new but did find other videos from earlier in week of deer, elk, bear and more moose! My buddy showed up at lake by 930am. They were done elk hunting as they saw or heard nothing. He checked new videos and I built 2 blinds. That afternoon we all drove down to sheep falls, I stopped at Thompson?s hole and called for 45 min with no response. Drove back up to XXX Lake and sat in blind from 330-6pm. My buddy n his son arrived at 430. We saw nothing so I decided I wanted to hike around the lake. While on the other side I heard a bugle so I radioed my buddy and he said let's go after it. I met Both of them at the razors and let out a bugle and he answered back, seemed pretty far away but we went anyways. We took off down the same trail as the night before bugled a few times before getting response. Hiked up the mountain, through some pretty thick cover and bugled down the other side. He responded pretty far away still so as we were discussing on which way to head back to the razors since it was almost dark, his son heard something and before we could react the whole forest sounded like it was crashing in on us so I let out a bugle and the next thing I heard from my buddy was ?it's a fXXX bear? Both his son and I pulled bear spray thinking is was a Grizz. I stood up and started waving my arms in the air yelling ?Hey Bear? ? Hey Bear? the bear lifted its head and we realized it was a Chocolate black bear so my buddy ended up taking a 25 yard shot but somehow missed. His arrow was laying in the middle of the trail facing the opposite direction missing a blade with no blood or hair on it. We hiked back to the trail and razors in the dark and headed home. This was their first bear they had seen in the wild, very cool day!
9/23
Woke up at 6am And drove to XXX ridge. 3 cars already parked there and another guy walked in with us. We made our way towards my trail cam and found a well used wallow. After checking the trail cam and seeing deer, elk, cows n 2 bull moose we hiked up to XXX Lake but there was a guy with his dog, which had a collar in him making a very loud beeping sound, and the guy kept blowing a whistle, I'm assuming they were bird hunting? So we headed back to XXX lake when something big splashed out of the water and into the willows but never saw what it was. Hiked back to the truck so my buddy and his son could head home. Finished setting up camp since my old man was on his way! Drove up XXX Cr road in razor again, stopped off at the ledge n called for 45min, nothing. Stopped to make sure rifle was sighted in, took 2 shots at 100 yards and both hit target 2.5 inches apart but both were on the same horizontal plane. Im not the best shot out there with a rifle, but I felt good about it. Rode back to camp, chopped up fire wood n waited for old man to show up. That evening we started hiking to lower XXXX lake at 530pm. Shot grouse on hike in. Reached lake and found it was almost dry and overrun by grazing cattle. Hiked up and over the ridge to XXX Creek, beautiful views but lots more cattle. Hiked back to truck in dark and back to camp by 845.
9/24
Woke up at 6am, cooked breakfast and got packs ready for the day. Loaded up the razor and drove back to XXX Lake. 1 other truck road hunting for bear on the way up. Checked trail cam and had bull moose on there from yesterday and day before, but were coming in at 2-3am, most likely because of the full moon. Old Man and I sat in the south-east blind at 730am heard elk bugle, saw two whitetail doe at noon, heard 1 gun shot at 2, and seen a grouse. We packed up n headed out at 330pm. That evening we started hiking to a different lake at 530pm, shot pine grouse along the way. Reached the huge lake with ducks and geese everywhere. Hiked down to XXX Creek, a beautiful drainage, and called until sunset. Didn?t see or hear any moose but the elk were bugling nonstop along the Idaho/Wyoming border. Picked up trail cam on way back out and made it to truck at dark. Pics of cow moose n 2 calves on camera from over 3 weeks prior.
9/25
Woke up at 6am And drove to XXX road. Hiked to trail cam with cattle sign and atv tracks everywhere with 4 new salt licks placed by waterhole. Grabbed trail cam and hiked back to truck because cattle was everywhere. Had pics of deer, a group of elk w a 6x6 bull with them and a pic of a calf moose, by its self. Drove back to XXX lake w no new pics on trail cam. Was set up in blind by 945am. Had 3 whitetail does walk by at 1130am. Wind was swirly and unpredictable so we decided to pack things up and head across to the other side of the lake, even if that meant using the rifle. This was a bull worthy of taking w a rifle. We packed up at 115pm And was settled in our new place by 130. After eating lunch and being entertained by a squirrel with its frequent trips to drink water from the lake, I heard the very distinct sound of paddles scrapping the willows as a bull moose walked behind us at just 40 yards away. Then the sound of a bull grunt came followed by the sound of a bull moose trotting away because he caught the scent of a human. I tried to see where he went but found nothing. Back to sitting in my chair by 240 and looking across the lake to where he will hopefully go to get a drink of water this evening. Squirrels, pine grouse, and Whitetail deer all came to get a drink around 6pm. Ducks and geese flew overhead to their nesting areas at 630pm, while a faint bugle, first one of the day was heard in the distance at 705pm just as the sun was setting. The old man and I sat on the N end of the lake until 745pm with the last of the ducks flying off and 1 more faint bugle to end our night.
9/26
Woke up this morning around 2am to a bugle off in the distance. Then was woken again at 230 by cow mews n chirps. Then I heard the tickling of some antlers as two bulls began sparing. Then more cow talk and the antlers crashing together started becoming more and more violent This continued throughout the night and when I finally got up at 330 to relieve myself they were still going at it right across the creek we were camped at. Antlers clashing, cows talking and bulls bugling all night even into the morning while making breakfast. I had a hard time sleeping that night to say the least, but that is a memory I will never forget. It also didn't help that our neighbor left camp at 445am. I finally rolled out of bed at 610 and we headed off towards XXX lake in the razor. The plan was to hike to a different \ lake and if not much sign then head back to the other lake to check trail cam and wait til dark. We took a very round about way by following a trail that took us along XXX Creek to some meadows and then back around to the lake we wanted to be at, but only saw cattle the whole way there and at the lake. We did some calling along the way and some raking w a shoulder bone we found but no luck. We arrived at the lake around 1030am And left at noon since all we saw were cattle coming to get a drink of water. It was a big and pretty lake with of course bear prints along the shore. After leaving this lake we stopped at a marshy area with a few different wallows with lots of tracks and rubs on the willow branches. And of course bear prints in the mud here as well. We called and waited from 1230-2pm but heard or saw nothing. Continuing back to the original lake I shot yet another grouse and found another wallow. We sat on this wallow from 330 til 5 but didn't see or hear anything, wind was swirly. Continued our hike back to XXX Lake, bumping a bull elk along the way which let out a wimpy bugle before taking off. Made it back to lake by 6pm but nothing than a couple deer on the trail cam. At 615 pm a beautiful chocolate bear came out to quench his thirst for the evening. But he exited the lake just as fast as he showed up. Heard an elk bugle again in the distance at 630. Left lake at 7pm And drove to the cabin to heat some food, freeze some food, shower ,clean up and call the wife. No moose sightings today. My Nephew from Utah arrived at camp at 11pm.
9/27
Woke up at 610am ate breakfast with sounds of a few elk bugles before dawn. We loaded up the old mans truck and drove to a gate. One other truck there already but started hiking by 730am and sat on XXX lake from 8am til 11pm with only the sounds of deer and cattle on the other side of the tall pines. Heard a few elk bugles below and was fortunate to see a beautiful red fox trot across the open meadow. On the hike back to the truck I shot another grouse and we headed back to camp. Drove the razor back up to XX Lake and set up a trail cam on opposite end of the lake where we had the encounter with the moose and bear. Checked other trail cam but just the deer again. On the way back down we stopped and talked to a couple really nice guys in a gray Toyota pickup truck and he gave us some (hopefully) valid moose sighting tips. Also says he's seen a really big grizz in the area. So that evening we decided to hunt XXX draw since according to this guy he sees a moose come out almost every night. After crossing over a couple creeks and getting the wind in our favor we started our hike towards where we thought he would come out. We heard him grunt that night but never seen him. We also heard an elk bugle several times and saw a skunk on the hike out. Another great day full of animal sightings but yet another day without seeing a moose.
9/28
Woke up at 530am ate breakfast and headed south to XXX road since the biologist suggested to spend most of my time there and I could cross it off my list of areas to explore and leave no rock unturned. Just after entering national forest we were welcomed to the area with 5 cow elk n a nice bull pushing them across the road. We parked the truck and started our hike to ##### creek. The hike started off nice but getting down and especially getting back out of the creek was a ?#####? w no animal sightings. If the creek wasn?t a beautiful view with absolute solitary, I'm sure my nephew and my old man would have been very upset with me for making them go all the way down there. After finally making it back to the truck we drove to XXX reservoir to rest, eat lunch, and hopefully catch a moose coming in. After hiking around the lake and seeing nothing but cattle sign we headed back to the truck. We left the lake and drove to our next hiking spot where we had seen a few deer, grouse, n heard some elk bugle and ran into a cow elk on the hike back out but no moose sign or sightings. This hike was much better than the first and would make a great elk hunt hike. On the drive back to camp we saw another skunk running down the road and a herd of whitetails in a field. Back at camp while cooking dinner in the dark we had a bull moose grunting and walking in the creek bottom, go figure! He was a decent looking moose and if it wasn?t past shooting hours I would have had no hesitation on shooting him. But I finally saw a moose!!
9/29
Woke up at 6am, ate a quick breakfast and was planning on coming back around noon for brunch and break down camp since it was suppose to rain the next couple days. I decided instead of trying to find moose in new areas it would be best to stay in the area where I know there are moose. So we drove back up to XXX lake and hiked down the main road, which was closed to motor vehicles. Along our hike we saw some Whitetail does, and some grouse. I had picked up an eagle feather that was laying in the road and placed it in the back of my hat as we continued hiking down the dirt road. About 2 miles into our hike, my nephew and I heard my dad let out a relatively quiet bird like whistle as he was 30 or so yards behind us. We both turned around and he was pointing into the thick brush on our left and giving us the signal he spotted a moose! We both slowly turned back around and realized we had walked right past the beast and there he stood just 37 yards off the main road. It was too thick of brush to shoot with my bow so I dropped my pack and grabbed the rifle. There were 3 small aspen trees blocking his vitals, all I could see was his guts back to his ass. I asked my nephew how big he was and he told me it's the big one from the trail cam with the drop tine! As badly as I wanted to take that shot or possibly try and sneak a shot past the trees into his vitals I didn't feel comfortable about it even tho he was only 37 yards out. Most of the moose?s attention was focused on my dad but when I grabbed the rifle from my pack he did notice both us us and started staring in our direction. I tried sneaking toward him and to the right to get off a shot but he spooked and took off down the mountain. I ran after him with rifle in hand hoping to catch him in the sage flats below or crossing the river, unfortunately I never heard or saw him again. Disappointed, frustrated, and replaying the scenario over and over in my head, asking myself if I had made the right choice not to shoot, second guessing myself about not having a clear shot, I mean I had been hunting for 9 days straight and had finally seen a moose, not just any moose but the moose I wanted to take home and hang on my wall! Although it was only a few easy miles back to the truck it seemed like an eternity with very little talking along the way. Once back at camp we made brunch and broke down camp and was going to spend the night at the cabin for the next couple nights. That evening we decided to go walk the same road in hopes he would return. We left camp at 430pm And started hiking by 5pm. Tired, and still replaying the scenario from the morning over in my head, I was walking in front of my nephew and the old man as we were making our way back towards the same area when I picked up yet another feather and stuck it in the back of my hat hoping it would bring me the same luck of seeing that moose again. We had only made it about a half mile from the truck and I'm pretty sure I was walking with my eyes closed since my eye lids were so heavy from 9 straight days of up before sunrise and asleep after sunset, when I suddenly felt like I was being pulled backwards from some unknown force. I turned around to see my nephew gripping my hunting pack with his right hand and pointing up the mountain with his left hand at a black spot only 70 yards away. Sure enough a cow moose was watching me stumble down the old dirt road half asleep and she had a bull standing 10 yards further behind her. My nephew and I stood there for what seemed like an eternity with her eyes focused directly on us, her nose up in the air, tongue out licking the air trying to catch our scent but fortunately the wind was drifting slightly down hill from her and so she cautiously began feeding once again. I slowly took off my pack and pulled the gun up to my shoulder trying to find the bull in my crosshairs. I found the black spot right away but once again I had no shot as he was covered in thick oak brush and aspen leaves. I whispered ?I dont have a shot and I was having a hard time keeping the cross hairs on him with no support.? My nephew then slowly walked in front of me and told me to shoot off his shoulder. Now he is about 5 in taller than me so I told him he would have to squat down. With his hunting pack still strapped to his back we decided I would shoot off that as he squatted down in front of me. Since he was in a squat position he had a hard time staying still, plus he was still trying to see all the action. Unfortunately I still had no shot on this bull as he fed deeper into the brush. Every time the cow decided to put her head back down to feed I would tell him to slowly stand back up to give his legs a rest, we did this 4 different times until finally the bull disappeared into the thick cover. Knowing he would not leave this cow we waited hoping he would reappear and get a better look at his antlers. A few minutes went by without the cow moving and no sight of the bull. My dad was still 20 yards behind us trying to figure out what was going on. He could see the cow, but he has no idea there's a bull behind her that we were waiting on to give me a shot opportunity. Just as I was going to wave my dad to come closer, I caught a glimpse of white to the right of the cow and there the bull stood making his way to an opening. I asked my nephew how big he was, as I have made it a habit not to look at the antlers of any animal that I'm about to shoot so I can just focus on the shot placement and not the rack. He said he's not the big one from this morning but he does have palms, which we could tell from earlier, just not sure how big. He said he's a medium size bull. I thought for a few seconds thinking how close we are to the truck. Then I remembered that my dad had to leave in the morning and head back home and I've made him walk all over this unit for 6 straight days and I will never hunt moose with my old man again so I told him ?I'm going to take him! I'm going to shoot off your shoulder, I'll tap you when I'm going to shoot.? Placing the barrel of the 30.06 over his shoulder was the perfect height for the shot that was angling slightly up hill. As the bull walked into the meadow just 80 yards away I tapped his shoulder, took the gun off safety and whispered, I'm going to shoot. As soon as his hands covered both of his ears I squeezed the trigger and watched the impact of the 180 grain bullet hit it's mark, and it hit hard as the bull buckled and stood there not knowing what had just happened! My nephew got so excited he jumped up, grabbed his binoculars and yelled out, ?you got him, I see blood coming out of his nose!? While I was reloading I was remembering everything I read and all the videos I'd watched about moose hunting saying if he's still standing you better keep shooting! If you let them run off they will make it hell for you to get them out! So I quickly told him to get back down I'm shooting again. I steadied the rifle on his shoulder and let another bullet fly striking the bull once again. As he still stood there, hasn't moved an inch, I shot once again with the same result, except this time the bull decided he better get out of there and slowly started to move to the right. With only one more bullet left in the mag I squeezed off the last round and the bull dropped right there!
After a lot of emotions, hugs, high fives, laughter and tears all 3 of us slowly walked up to the bull, with the cow still standing there watching us. For the first and probably only time in my life I put my hands around a bull moose! After a quick evaluation we noticed the first shot went right through the heart, the next 2 punctured the lungs and the final shot went straight through the neck. I tried to radio my buddy, who was hunting with his son just right up the road but could not get through. So after picture taking, the old man walked back up the road to retrieve those two and bring them down to help while my nephew and I would start to quarter him. Not long after my dad left I received a phone call from my wife telling me congratulations, I was a bit confused, I just shot this bull not even 15 minutes ago. Apparently my dad texted his girlfriend, who was with my wife watching the BSU game. So after giving her a short version of the story she reminded me to be careful of bears and always be on the lookout! It was just a few nights before where my buddy took his shot at a bear less than a mile away. Once everyone arrived back to the harvest site more hugs, thank you?s and congratulation where exchanged and we quartered everything up, strapped it to our packs and hiked the very short distance out in one trip and drove back to the cabin where we hung it and cooked the tenderloins and heart for dinner. This was all of our first times eating heart and it was actually really good! If you didn't know it was heart you would have thought it was a really good steak! The tenderloins were the best piece of meat I had ever put in my mouth and if the rest of the moose tastes this good, this def will not be the last time I hunt moose!
After dinner we all cleaned up, I called my wife and we went to bed. What a great day!!!
9/30
After a well deserved day of finally being able to sleep in we woke at 8am And cooked breakfast. Afterwards we loaded up the old mans truck with most of my camping gear, to make room for the meat in my truck, and he headed back to Ogden. I had to make some phone calls to get in touch with an officer since it was Sunday and offices were closed so I could get the head inspected before heading back to Utah. So after cleaning up the cabin, loading the truck up with the razor and meat we headed into Ashton and ate lunch. After lunch my buddy and his son headed home to Roberts, ID but not before making arrangements with a butcher for me to drop my meat off. This is the only time I have ever given my meat to someone else to take care of and I'm still I little nervous about it, but I'm hoping since it's moose that's what I should be getting back! After meeting with the Fish n Game officer, who was a pleasure to work with n meet, my nephew and I headed out to drop off the meat in Idaho Falls. We then made our way into Shelly and dropped the razor off at the in laws and washed it. Of course my mother in law had dinner ready for us so after dinner my nephew and I said our goodbyes as he headed to Spanish fork and I to Riverdale.
Looking back on this hunt I wouldn't change anything about it! I'm glad I didn't shoot a moose on the 1st 2nd or even 8th day, I had to earn it and put in many miles of hiking with early mornings and late evenings. Although I didn't shoot a huge bull to be mounted and hang in my home, I have no regrets about the bull I did take. I would much, much rather have taken the bull I did and share that experience with my nephew, my good friend with his son, and of course my dad, than shoot the new state record moose while on my own and have no one to share it with.
STILL HAVING A HARD TIME POSTING PICS BUT WILL GET THEM LOADED AS SOON AS I CAN
But unfortunately I am one of them now but am very excited to be hunting in my home state again!! 
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