When Lennon and McCartney wrote “With a Little Help from My Friends,” I doubt they were thinking about moose hunting in Idaho.
I grew up in New York City and was always fascinated with the concept of hunting. The problem was that not only did I not know anyone who hunted, but I also didn’t know anyone who knew anyone who hunted. Enter Hank Ortiz. I met him when I started dating his daughter, Viola. Not only did Hank hunt, but he also had an infectious enthusiasm for everything outdoors. Boy, did I catch that bug!
This, of course, worked out very well for me since a couple of years later, Vi and I got married and Hank become my father- in-law. Hank only had daughters, and he used to joke that I was “the son he never wanted.”
At first, Hank and I would hunt deer and small game in the Catskills and Adirondacks. A few years went by, and I went on my first travel hunt. I brought back two bears and a wolf from Alberta. Hank had created an addict! I would return from hunts with pictures and stories. After a while, I think my wife got a little jealous. We went to Texas together on a safari-style hunt, and she took a nice eight-pointer. She said she had more fun in Texas than she did on any Caribbean vacation. She was hooked! Her only disappointment was that her dad was getting older and had become too ill to accompany us on a hunt. Sadly, he passed away in 2004.
As time went on, Viola and I did more travel hunting. It took a few years, but I came to an important realization – I had created a monster! They say in hunting that it’s better to be lucky than to be good. Well, my wife is lucky and she is good.
It was just a few years ago when she insisted that I put her name in for some of the hunting draws across the country. During those years, I haven’t had much luck. However, Vi has drawn tags for moose in Vermont and Maine, elk in Nevada and New Mexico, and mule deer in Nevada. She is living proof that you have to be in it to win it.
Last spring, I opened up an email from Idaho Fish and Game and was blown away. Vi had drawn a once-in-a-lifetime tag for Shiras moose in Idaho. I called her when she was on her way back from church. She started screaming so uncontrollably that she had to pull over.
After some research and some false starts, Dan Wyant of Dan Wyant Adventures connected me with Kyle Hawkins of H & S Outfitters. He explained to me that it was going to be a tough hunt since the unit Viola drew was a patchwork of public and private land. He assured me of comfortable accommodations as he was going to set us up in a hotel. It turns out the closest place to sleep when you are hunting in southeast Idaho is Wyoming.
We flew to Salt Lake City and made our way to Afton, Wyoming. Afton is a nice western town close to the eastern border of the Idaho. Over its main drag is a really cool archway made of elk antlers. We stayed at Colter’s Lodge, and the staff there is very accommodating to hunters. They provided comfortable rooms, delicious homestyle food in their restaurant, and they have a great western-style bar.
On the first day of the hunt, we hit the road two hours before the sun came up. We parked in darkness where Chris Hammonds, our guide, had spotted some bulls the week before. As daybreak approached, I gained glimpses of the rolling hills of bitterbrush, sage, and dried grass dotted with patches of juniper and stands of aspen. To me, this didn’t look like moose country. I was used to hunting moose in the bogs and cedar swamps of New England and Newfoundland. This looked like elk country, not moose country.
A second later, Vi whispered, “I think I see a moose.”
Chris manned the spotting scope and spied the black shape, which seemed a mile away. He said, “It is a moose, and it’s a nice moose.”
It was time for action. As we threw on our packs, Chris cautioned us that the bull was on state land, but it was feeding toward private land. He planned a stalk so we could intercept it before it got there. He warned Vi that she was going to have to anchor the bull so it stayed on public land.
We started our steadily-paced ascent. It was about an hour later when we found ourselves on our hands and knees, trying to get into position. The bull and two cows were feeding some 275 yards below us. Chris was coaching Vi to shoot with some urgency. I could see Vi was getting a little nervous trying to get ready quickly but also from seeing a great bull so close. I watched her fumbling with her gun and her scope and shifting and reshifting her position. I was worried she was not going to be steady for her shot or run out of time. I looked to the sky and said under my breath, “Hank, I know you’re around. You wouldn’t miss a hunt like this. Talk to your daughter. Tell her to calm down. Tell her she can do this.”
A few seconds later, Viola became glassy-eyed. Suddenly, she settled down and got down to business. She eased into a steady position, squeezed the trigger of her Weatherby .30-378, and sent the 180 grain Accubond bullet three football fields away. One shot anchored the magnificent bull firmly on the turf of the Idaho state land. It was 8:30 a.m., and Viola’s moose season was over. All that was left was taking a ton of pictures, butchering the moose, and packing it back to the truck.
Vi and I had five more vacation days. After spending a day relaxing and arranging for processing the meat, we headed for Jackson, Wyoming and took in some of the best scenery on the planet in the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
I want to thank Huntin’ Fool for providing intel and Dan Wyant, Kyle Hawkins, and Chris Hammonds for providing us the opportunity to hunt moose in the beautiful state of Idaho. I also must acknowledge the “little help from a friend,” Hank Ortiz, who continues to guide us on every hunt and throughout every day of our lives.
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