Go back to February 2018 when my friend, Jeff Mee, and I were at the Hunt Expo in Salt Lake City. It’s a great place to check out everything hunting and all the crazy hunts available around the globe. One caught our attention – Alaska-Yukon Moose. We talked to most of the moose guys at the show and one stood out, Deuling Stone Outfitters. After a few refreshments, the trip was booked and the long year and a half wait began.
Fast forward to September 3, 2019 and we were on our way to Whitehorse, Yukon for what we hoped was the hunt-of-a-lifetime. From Whitehorse, it’s an hour and a half floatplane flight to the remote area we would be hunting. As we approached the lake we would be landing on, it set in that we were really here and about to go on an adventure two years in the making. We unloaded the plane and met the two brothers we would be hunting with, Vern and Dennis. They were two great guys, it seemed, and everything Yukon.
After a six-hour wait, we went out that evening to check the area out and maybe get lucky. They told us it was unseasonably warm and the rut hadn’t yet started, but it was a 12-day hunt, so spirits were high. Day two found us split up and hunting separate areas. I was with Vern at the nearby lake, and Jeff was with Dennis upriver. At 8:00 or so, we heard a shot and then another. It was instant high fives followed by the sobering fact it could have been a wolf, but we decided that was cool as well. Then we heard the purr of the outboard motor and Vern said, “Nope, it’s a bull. Let’s go to camp. They’re coming for backup.” Now I was pumped, and the walk back to camp seemed to take forever. When we got there, our suspicions were proven right. A bull was down, and we had some work to do.
When I finally walked up on his bull sitting in six inches of water in the middle of a river, I couldn’t believe how big it was. The picture taking began, and as I kept taking pictures, I told Jeff I couldn’t take a bad picture of this bull. He was huge. We got as many pictures as we needed and the work began. Three hours later, we had him loaded up and off to camp we went. That afternoon, we sat around camp staring at the massive bull, just soaking in the day’s events and enjoying every minute.
After the successful day two, I had inherited two more guides and we started day three the same as the previous two, getting to a high spot and making some calls and glassing the surrounding areas. To fill the time, I would try to picture where a bull would show and how the whole thing would go down. We ended up back at the cabin that evening not seeing a thing, but with so much time left, spirits were high and day four couldn’t come fast enough.
We woke up the next day to another beautiful Yukon morning full of anticipation of the day to come. A boat ride downstream lead us to the same hill as the night before, and up to the top we went. The calls began, and not even five minutes in, Jeff tapped me on the shoulder, “Hey, you hear that?” It was the slight moan of a far-off bull, and was I excited. Dennis began his ritual cow calls and beating up the nearest tree with his paddle, and the bull continued to answer. All I was trying to do was stay calm and prepare to judge the bull once he showed. Finally, at 527 yards, he walked out and gave us a long-awaited look. He seemed good to me, but in the game of moose hunting, it seems closer is better and the wait continued.
The bull disappeared into the willows, but from the sound of his groan and shaking of the willows, we watched as he slowly came closer. It seemed like forever but maybe only 10 minutes later he appeared on the beach in front of us. The judging process began in my head. It was a mess as I didn’t know what to do. After the long fight with myself, I decided that I had a great bull right in front of me on a beach that the previous day I dreamed he’d be on and finally came to the conclusion it was too perfect to pass up. The first shot was directly through the heart followed by one more in the shoulder to assure he wasn’t going into the river. We all began high fives and hugs. It was such a great feeling to get it done, and with all of us there, it couldn’t have been any better. We went and took a few pictures followed by another great few hours of taking care of the animal.
Later that day, we sat at camp admiring the two pieces of headgear of two amazing moose, and it was only day four. Dennis and Vern were in disbelief that we had got it done so soon and with such ease. All I know is that with a lot of tough hunts under my belt, I’m good with an easy one every now and then. The flight back to Whitehorse a couple days later was the highlight of a great week of hunting. It seemed every animal in the Yukon was showing themselves to us as we flew over the vast area.
I want to say thanks to Dennis and Vern, two great guys who we were lucky enough to hunt with and share some great memories. We spent four days moose hunting, saw two bulls, killed them both, and were home in eight days. It might have been quick, but to me, it was perfect!
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