It came as quite a surprise when Garth Jenson from Huntin’ Fool called to inform me that I had drawn a coveted moose tag in Wyoming. Garth recommended I talk to Mike Wakurri, owner of Elk Mountain Outfitters. Mike’s confidence of a successful hunt won me over, and after a long summer of waiting, I arrived in Wyoming where I met my guide, Tony English. We drove out to scout some public land. Late in the first afternoon, we spotted three bull moose emerging from a pocket of timber almost two miles away. Tony was able to locate these moose in his spotting scope and felt that one of the bulls was a “slammer.” Our plan for opening day was set.
On day two, the bulls cooperated and were back feeding along a willow-lined creek. Tony and I slipped over a hill and into the creek drainage leading up to the willows. Tony could see the bulls feeding 44 yards away. I clipped the release onto my D-loop and waited. The smaller bull became nervous and started moving off into thicker cover. Seconds later, the bigger bull got the jitters and moved out with the smaller bull.
The next day, we were glassing the usual spots. Tony spotted our bull on a bald ridge several hundred yards to the west. We had him in the spotting scope for only a few minutes before he went over the top to bed on private land. This ended our morning hunt.
After lunch, we moved into an area between two of the bull’s primary bedding areas. After several hours of glassing, we spotted a cow and calf moose. Five minutes later, our targeted bull came out on the other side of the same meadow. With a mile of open ground to cover, Tony and I decided to hoof it to the lower side of the meadow where the bull was feeding. We were running out of time and daylight to get the bull in position for an archery shot. When the bull dropped his head to rake more bushes, I ranged him at 90 yards and then clipped on my release. The bull started our way, and I went to full draw. He raised his head, and his sixth sense kicked in. He spun his massive antlers and body away from us and dug into a sprint down his backtrail.
On October 4th, I returned to Elk Mountain Outfitters camp for rifle season. Mike paired me again with Tony, and we were joined by a second hunter, Dan, a professional welder from Michigan who had an elk tag. Our hunting was now focused on elevated glassing knobs where elk and moose share habitat.
On day two, within 15 minutes of getting settled into our glassing spot, I spotted a good bull. I told Tony to grab his spotting scope. We whispered to Dan to get his rifle, and once he settled in, I called the shot at 300 yards. He squeezed the trigger, and I could hear the “whump” of the bullet as it hit the bull. He made it just 50 yards down the hill where he piled up.
Tony and I continued on our moose hunt. I noticed a black shape in the woods to our right. Stopping quickly, I brought up my binoculars to determine that it was a bull moose. The bull had long tines on his left side and a nice spread to his palms. The bull turned his head to show me his right side, and I decided this was the mature moose I had come to Wyoming to hunt. I slipped a cartridge into my .300 Win Mag, settled the crosshairs into the middle of his front shoulder, and gently squeezed the trigger. At the crack of the shot, I saw his massive rack and body shudder and antlers snap back at the impact of the bullet. He hit the ground with a thud and was done.
What are the odds of drawing a Wyoming moose tag and then doubling up on two trophy bulls of different species in one hunt? I’m not sure, but I can tell you that I am now a huge fan of these awesome big game animals native to Wyoming and our western states!