My first experience moose hunting was one that demanded a lot. My dad was 49 years and 364 days old when we took our first moose together. We shot the bull three and a half miles away from camp, which meant that on my dad’s 50th birthday, we spent the entire day packing out our 64" moose. Regardless of what anyone thinks, this was the best 50th birthday party.
A great friend of mine, Austin Atkinson at Huntin’ Fool, has handled state applications for my father and me for several years. The majority of the time, we collect bonus points, but sometimes you strike gold. In May of 2018, I received a phone call that informed me that I had done exactly that. As soon as I learned that I had drawn the only non- resident tag for Shiras moose in the unit, I knew I needed to start preparing.
The first and most important thing to?me on this hunt was that I would be able to experience this with as many friends and family members as I wanted to invite. I reached out to Mossback Outfitters, and they were extremely helpful in customizing a hunt that would allow me to reduce time away from family and work. This was something that my wife was extremely happy about.
Colten Petersen, who works for Mossback, was a tremendous help. He put in numerous hours of scouting and helped me locate a big bull. One thing we agreed upon was that when the hunt started we were going to hunt one specific bull. Over the months leading up to the hunt, we identified two or three other bulls in the unit that were very respectable and mature animals; however, with this being my only opportunity to hunt moose in Utah, I was after more than something that was just respectable.
I remember driving my two daughters to softball practice and looking at my phone and receiving a picture of a bull with a massive drop tine that a friend had sent me. This was in August, roughly a month before the hunt started. This bull stood out far beyond anything we’d seen on camera. After several months of scouting, it was evident that this was our bull. With the help of good friends, we were able to identify this bull’s location. After identifying the area that this moose lived in, Colten set up numerous cameras in the area. When we arrived a couple days before the hunt, we were a little flustered as the big bull never hit a single camera. The only pictures we had were from friends who had sent us pictures back in August.
After a couple days of scouting before the hunt and several hours of glassing with still no sign of the big bull, it was evident that the pre-rut had already started. I was nervous that the?big dropper?bull we were?after could have traveled several miles out of our area as is common for bulls to do during the rut.
The night before the hunt, I had several friends show up to camp after work. We put a game plan together the night before utilizing our onXmaps and surrounded the area where we last knew the bull was three weeks prior. We split up into groups the next morning and got to work glassing in the trees and doing our best to position the sun to our backs. Immediately, we had some action, glassing up several cows and calves, thinking that the big dropper bull had to be nearby. Over the first couple hours, we saw several bulls, but at close glance through the spotting scope, it was evident that none of them were the bull we were after.
I’ll never forget the quiet shout from my good buddy, Austin, as he said, “Ren! I need you to get over here right now.”
I quickly asked, “What do you got? What are you looking at?”
As I hustled over to his side of the ridge, he told me that the big bull had come fully out of the brush and it was the dropper bull we were after.
I walked over to him slowly, knowing that I had to calm my breathing and relax. In my hands, I had my Best of the West custom muzzleloader ready to go. Together, we slowly crept over the crest of the hill. There he was at 189 yards, moving to the right in and out of the brush. I lay down and settled the crosshairs high on the bull’s front shoulder just as he trotted over the ridge and out of sight. I stood and looked behind me to see all of my hunting buddies and family members ready to head down to the lower knob in front of us to try and get a clear shot before the bull hit the trees.
After hustling down the ridge to the next knob, I leaned over Kevin’s tripod and settled in for a shot at the bull that was now at 222 yards. As the bull started to walk, we let off a short cow call that got him to stop perfectly broadside. Once he did, I carefully squeezed off the shot. The 327 grain bullet hit the bull mid-shoulder and passed through both lungs. The bull stumbled, went a few yards, and dropped in plain view. The excitement and celebration were louder than when the gun had gone off. It was unreal and a feeling that I’ll never forget. As I looked up the hill behind me, 10 of my closest friends and family were all able to enjoy this with me. For me, that made it all worth it. I was so glad that I got lucky and connected on the shot because the group of guys, my dad included, wouldn’t have let me live it down if I had missed.
With so many willing hands to help, we were able to move the moose whole into a good photo position and load him up into the back of Russ’ Ranger. We got him to camp in one piece for another quick photo session in the shade of a pine tree that allowed us to cut and quarter my once-in-a-lifetime bull!
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