Hunting Traditions: The
Learning Years Part 2
he floats across
the tundra with a
100 lb. pack like
a fog bank. He
covers country a
bit like a big bull
moose or brown
bear, meaning
he doesn’t look
like he going
too fast, but after
five minutes you
notice that he’s
about 500 yards
out in front of
you.
watching small groups of caribou
filtering through the creek drainage
and crossing the ridge just to our right.
I was watching a small group in my
binos that were about 1,100 yards
away according to the rangefinder,
when they suddenly scattered and
started running like someone had
dropped a bomb on them. I got my
spotting scope on the area and saw
two wolves taking down a caribou.
At 1,100 yards, we knew that making
a successful stalk was going to be a
longshot, but we beat feet down the
ridge. As luck would have it, we made
a successful stalk and I managed to
get one nice sized male wolf down.
We found over 20 kill sites in this
immediate area and while we were
making the stalk, we watched these
two wolves hide behind a small clump
of spruce to let other caribou walk by.
30
They were obviously planning to do
more damage and we were happy to
interrupt their plans!
2007 had been a great year. Mike’s
son Shawn managed to take a 63” bull
later in the hunt and we went home
with another great adventure under our
belts, some nice trophies and everyone
in our party had shot opportunities on
both moose and caribou.
2008
I’d like to think that 2008 was the year
that I finally got it all dialed in. This
was the year that I really learned a
lot about moose hunting, specifically
about cow calling during the rut. Ed
Bulawa, a friend from work, joined me
on this hunt. Now, Ed is about 6’9”
tall, and an ex-Army jock that played
basketball. He has thighs about the
size of a Kentucky Derby winner and
Right off we
spotted a bull
over a mile away
and
walking
dead away from our area. This wasn’t
a bull we were interested in taking,
but up until this point it would not have
mattered. I’d had some success bull
grunting, but I had never mastered cow
calling or hunted with anyone who
had. Up to this point, bulls that were
far away and going in the opposite
direction were a pretty safe distance
from me. Just then, Ed pulled a bull
magnet horn out of his pack and laid
into his version of a love sick cow.
Whhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaatttttt!
That bull stopped and looked directly
at us and after a few more calls, he
turned and started coming in like he
was tied onto a string. Ed called him
in to less than 100 yards and played
with him a little while. The only thing
that bull wouldn’t do was climb up
Wolf Point with us.
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