Wyoming Dream

Shiras Moose | Wyoming

Story By: Gary Colbert

At 80 years old, I decided this would be the last year I would put in for Wyoming moose. I had 23 points, but I still didn't think I could draw. While waiting for the draw, I kept telling myself I wasn't even sure I wanted the tag. Well, I drew the tag, and my son, Brandon, and I started to plan.

I called my good friend, Logan Hedges, in Wyoming and told him about the hunt and that I was feeling a little anxious. He assured me I would have a great trip and also gave me a plan to rent a cabin for the week.

The first morning, Logan called and told us to meet him at what they call "the parking lot." Once there, he gave us some ideas on where to look for moose. My son and I spent the day glassing and did spot a cow and baby moose.

Day two started, and as the sun came up, my son spotted a couple of bulls about two miles away. We could tell one was a shooter bull. We watched them for about an hour and then they went into the trees.

Day three started the same way with both bulls out feeding early and then retreating into the trees about an hour after light. I called Logan and he suggested Zane, his son, bring up their horses after school to see if we could locate the bull bedded in the trees. At 80, I am not that fond of riding horses, but that bull was on my mind.

We met at the parking lot at 1:30. When we got there, Search and Rescue was there trying to rescue an old man who had fallen off his horse and was badly hurt. We went to find my moose. After five hours of walking through deadfall, we had seen elk and deer but no moose. When we got back to the horses, a small bull walked past me at 150 yards. He was so majestic but not as big as I was looking for.

I talked to Logan again that night, and he told me to be patient, that the bull would make a mistake and come down lower. That night, it snowed a little bit and I had high hopes that it would bring the bull down lower.

On day four, my son and I went back and started glassing. After about an hour of not finding our bull, we tried another spot that was close by. About one hour later, Logan called and told me his nephew, Jaxon, thought he had spotted our bull. We hooked up with Jaxon, and sure enough, my moose had made a mistake and was down lower and in a position for us to put on a stalk.

After a short hike across the creek and up the hill, we were at 600 yards and out of cover. I set up a Weatherby .300 Magnum, and three shots later, the bull was down. I was in disbelief at what had just happened. I called Logan to tell him what had happened and where we were. He said, "I'm on my way with the horses." He arrived shortly thereafter with the horses and both of his sons to help us. We took the meat to a butcher shop for processing.

Two days later, my son and I loaded up the meat and stopped by Logan's house on our way out of town. I will never be able to thank my friend, Logan, and his family enough for everything they did to help me out. Logan will always be a good friend and a very special person to me as I haven't stopped smiling since. My son, Brandon, has 24 moose points for Wyoming, and I can't wait for his turn.