To express the many dynamics of emotions a person feels when traveling thirty-six hours, into another country, to hunt an animal they have only seen in a few publications, is undaunting. My cousin hunted with the owner Rick Houweling, and was blessed with taking a beautiful fifty-inch moose on the first morning of the hunt. My father and I hunted with Matt Mann, who worked extremely hard to show us some moose.
On the evening of day three, we were glassing a large clear-cut area on the crest of a hill. Matt called several times and off in the distance I heard the low guttural sound of a bull moose. Matt called again and we got a show of a lifetime. We heard the moose thrashing through the timber approaching our position. Before the moose stepped into the clearing, I watched the bull rake a tree and thrash on several tree limbs. The bull stepped out 155 yards quartered to us and did not present a good shot. Matt called again and the bull turned our direction and began walking up hill. The bull was out of sight on the backside of a hillcrest. The anticipation grew to an unbearable level. Matt expected the moose to crest the hill in close proximity to us, however, the bull walked past our location near the edge of the timber and stopped approximately thirty-five yards to our right rear-quartering flank. Matt called one additional time and the moose gave away his position. Matt and I stood up and crouched down as we crested the hill. I placed one shot on the moose. The bull hunched-up, turned and ran approximately fifty yards down hill. We gave the bull a few minutes and began our short search for the animal. The fifty-inch bull was spectacular.
My father was ecstatic and would have been satisfied to end his hunt after my cousin and I had taken our moose, but the fifth day proved to be his day. The wind swirled and blew hard both during the morning and evening portion of the hunt. We took a beautiful nature walk in the morning and saw a lot of beaver dams, but no moose. In the evening, we went to an area with anticipation, only to be outwitted by the wind a second time. We returned to Matt’s vehicle and began driving to cut blocks. We would get out and call, but no answer. As we were preparing to leave for the evening, we observed a bull and cow moose. The moose were approximately 200 yards down hill from our location. Matt began calling and the cow moved into the timber, but evidently, Matt had the mojo call working that night, because the bull came to within 136 yards from our position. The bull stood facing us, slightly quartered to our left. My father shot the bull one time and the bull ran approximately forty yards and expired. The bull measured forty-two inches and was a beautiful end to our hunt. This hunt was a chance in a lifetime for our family. We took three large moose back to Missouri for our families and friends to enjoy.
The hunt was an enjoyable adventure that more hunters should experience. The guides worked hard and their efforts produced memories for a lifetime.
Brian Daniel, Missouri
Joe Daniel, Missouri
