September 26, 2015 found me 20 feet up in the air, it was about 6:45 am in one of my favorite hunting spots about 45 minutes west of Edmonton Alberta in the bow zone. I was filled with anticipation and thoughts of moose as there was a slight chill in the air and the smell of fall in Alberta surrounding me.
I had spent the first few hours doing my best imitations of a cow moose with very little success. By about 9:30 am I received a text from my hunting partner that nothing was happening and he was going to work his way towards me and we would check out some other areas for the rest of the morning.
It was about 10:00 am and I heard the slightest sound coming from my left hand side on the cut line. All of a sudden I see a calf moose trotting at a fast pace with his sibling on his tail. I quickly moved my camera in the general direction, stood, drew and called trying to bring the first calf to a stop with no luck. I barked at the second calf and he came to a halt broadside at just over 20 yards. I put my 20 yard pin on his vitals and squeezed my release sending my Muzzy Mx-3 flying.
I heard the thwack everyone hopes to hear but it looked like my shot may have been a little bit too far forward.
About 2 minutes passed and I saw my hunting partner, Matt, show up on the trail. That was who had pushed the calves so quickly passed my stand. I climbed down from my stand and we located the arrow buried in the dirt and covered in blood. I took a quick look at the video that showed what appeared to be a good hit. We started tracking and it is slow at first with little
sign and the calf had decided to head into the swamp. Within about 80 yards we found my calf and it was high fives and pats on the back. I quickly texted home to tell my wife who replies back stating “your son is nuts. He is running around the house yelling my daddy shot a moose!”. We packed out the moose and dropped it off at the butcher’s. What a day.
As any hunter will tell you we learn from every hunt so here are my take aways from this one.
- Always check your stand for any brush that may get in the way. This was my first time in this stand and it was set up for a hunter who likes to shoot from a sitting position. Well, after reviewing the go pro I realized that when I stood to take my shot my upper limb caught some high brush.
- You will see from my camera work that I need to spend more time practicing to ensure proper video is taken. The cut line the moose travelled on was the most likely location to see game but I had to adjust the camera significantly prior to taking the shot. With this is mind, I will be spending a great deal of time practicing taking video and shooting so it becomes second nature.
Until next time remember Alberta Great Outdoors is our responsibility. What are you doing to make a difference?
Equipment:
Prime Impact 60 lb/ 30 “ draw
Muzzy MX 3 75 grain broadhead
Kevin Morris
Parkland Outdoors Pro Team
ABA Member
SPFGA Member
