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The large set of antlers seemed to float above the stunted willows as they moved toward me. My guide, Nathan continued calling and scraping the brush as he knelt about ten yards away. After a few steps the front half of the moose’s body emerged from the brush. He was about 125 yards away. My rifles was resting on my pack which was being supported by some willow branches. It was not the ideal rest, but it was the best I could find. The bull took another couple steps and came into a small clearing. He stopped for a moment and then turned up the mountain clearly seeking to work around us to get our scent. Nathan whispered that I needed to shoot as the wind was carrying our scent in the direction the moose was headed. I rested the cross-hairs on the moose’s shoulder thinking ‘Aim small. Miss small’. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger.
This was my second trip with Stan Steven’s Mackenzie Mountain Outfitters. In 2012 I had taken a 60” moose and a nice caribou. I had decided to return to try for a larger moose, and booked the hunt during the 2015 SCI International show in Las Vegas. The area that Stan hunts is both expansive and very remote. Following the three commercial flights to arrive in Norman Wells, NWT and an overnight stay, there is still a one hour float plane charter to Stan’s Mountain Lake camp. One of the reasons I had chosen to hunt with Stan is that he has a helicopter in camp and can get you out to those remote spike camps in minutes vs. the days it would take on horseback.
There were seven hunters on the charter flight into camp. When we arrived at the dock, the previous hunt party was staged to leave. It gave us a quick chance to check out the trophies and talk about the hunting. It just added to the excitement! We met our guides and sorted our gear for what would be needed at the spike camp. I had hunted with Nathan Aasen in 2012 so we were already well acquainted. Over the next 24 hours Stan began ferrying hunters and guides out to spike camps. As it turned out I was the last one to leave the main camp. As we flew the 25 miles out to the spike camp we flew over a couple moose noting they were not quite trophy size.
We landed on a small gravel bar and unloaded. As the helicopter departed the remoteness became more apparent. We quickly set up a couple small tents and then climbed the mountain to do some glassing. We quickly spotted a grizzly bear ambling along a game trail and a small moose above us in a willow thicket. A bit later we noted another grizzly. As darkness approached we made our way back to camp. After a quick dinner I hit the sleeping bags with thoughts of large moose and the proximity of the bears!
After coffee and some oatmeal we headed up the mountain for more glassing. After about an hour Nathan spotted a large moose a few hundred yards away moving in our direction. We watched the moose for some time and he eventually bedded down. Nathan suggested we close some of the distance and try calling him out of his bed. We used the terrain to our advantage and then crawled a bit to get into position about 200 yards from the moose. Nathan took a location with a slightly better view just above me on the mountain. He started calling and scraping the brush with an old moose shoulder blade. After a couple calls the moose stood and his antlers were wagging above the yellow willows.
As I squeezed the trigger the Kimber .325 WSM barked. The moose took a couple steps and crashed down the mountain a few yards then all was quiet. We waited a few moments to confirm the moose was down then made our way across to its location. Even with the moose wedged up against the willows, I could see this one was larger than my previous moose. If you haven’t had the opportunity to hunt these big moose, that first view is a bit of a shock. It literally looks the size of a large horse! Nathan and I wrestled the moose free of the willows and after pictures proceeded to quarter it out. We debated packing it back the mile to camp, but agreed that a small flat just above us would be a suitable helicopter landing site. It was getting near dark so we headed back to camp with the antlers, cape and some meat for dinner.
In the morning we made our way back up the mountain. We carefully scouted for any sign a bear had found the carcass as it is quite common there. The gun shot seems to be a dinner bell for bears that are not hunted. We spent a few hours clearing an area for the helicopter. I asked Nathan how many feet we needed to clear and he was not sure, but we agreed to err on the larger side, despite knowing that Stan is an excellent pilot. We marked the site with a bit of tape and headed back to camp. As we neared camp Nathan spotted six caribou bulls across the stream and up the other side. They were about three miles away. The caribou were late in starting their migration and there were not that many around so Nathan recommended we try to stalk them. I reminded him I was 61 years old not 30 like him so we would need to pace ourselves.
We climbed to a point parallel to the six bulls, and about 800 yards away. They were all bedded down and a light rain was beginning to fall. Nathan believed they would stay there so we needed to close on them. Unfortunately, there was a deep ravine between us. We climbed down and back up the other side. Once back to the top we crawled about 80 yards using the short brush as cover. As I stopped and rested my gun on my pack the bulls were about 200 yards away and still bedded. We agreed on which was the best and I kept my scope on them. Suddenly an Arctic fox appeared and approached the bulls. His activity spooked them and they jumped up and ran about 100 yards farther away. Nathan saw me looking though the scope and whispered, “Wait until they come closer”. I told him facetiously I was lining up the fox not the caribou!
The caribou eventually fed back towards us and when they were about 150 yards I put the cross hairs on the biggest bull and squeezed the trigger. The .325 WSM once again performed well and the bull dropped in his tracks. After a high five we walked over to the bull and situated him for a couple pictures in the fading light. Nathan quartered him out and we packed the cape, antlers and a back strap back to camp.
In the morning we went back to the caribou and finished processing it. The area was clear for a landing so once again we were fortunate that we did not have to pack the meat back to camp. When we arrived in camp Nathan used his InReach to text Stan for a pickup. The reply was that he had a couple moose to pull out so it would be the next day. I spent the afternoon cleaning the antlers and getting my gear ready to pack. We had a dinner of caribou ribs. They were edible, but not near as good as the ones Jodie, the main camp cook, made a couple days later!
In the morning we made our way back up towards the moose site, but as we checked from a couple hundred yards it became obvious Mr. Grizzly had claimed it. Some of it was buried and a couple pieces were dragged away. While it was unfortunate, the law of the jungle prevailed and he kept his meal. Stan picked us up about an hour later. He flew me back to camp, then returned to get Nathan and the caribou.
I spent the next three days in the main camp. I still held a wolf tag, but decided to not hunt rather than risk messing up the caribou hunting for the other hunters in camp. I had taken a pack rod and several small spinners and spent the afternoons catching grayling. After about 40 I quit counting! When the hunt was over seven hunters claimed seven 60”+ moose and three nice caribou, including one that went over 400”. It was quite an experience!
