To hunt moose successfully you must prepare in advance. This is exactly what Yves and I did. We went to visit our territory and were accompanied by Raymond, the owner of Pavillon Richer.
I must say that our hunting territory was perfect for moose hunting. We had a small footpath through a forest that is typical of the Outaouais region. There was a swamp and a little lake, and everything was just perfect for fishing but better still for moose hunting.
Raymond stopped at a small beaver dam and said: - "Keep an eye on this little lake. There is a big buck that stays around here. Nobody is hunting here because most hunters prefer bigger lakes. This would be a perfect place here for a cache and another one in the swamp area would be good too. You would both be on the same footpath in case of need".
Saturday at noon, we brought our equipment to our cache. When we arrived, we noticed fresh tracks that were headed towards the second cache at he swamp. I stayed at the little lake.
One hour later I started to call the moose. I waited half an hour and called again. Nothing. All of a sudden, I thought I heard a noise coming from the swamp area; then nothing again. Hunting is a waiting game!
At about 5:00 PM, I decided to call again but still without any results. I was hoping to hear a gun shot in Yves' direction since the tracks were going towards the swamp and some noise was coming from this area. I was listening to the silence... which was only broken now and then by a beaver or a duck.
Six o'clock came and I tried my call again "Ouf, Ouf". All of a sudden, I heard him: the buck was about 20 meters from me, behind my cache. He was so close that I was getting extremely nervous. It was my first time moose hunting! I shot once and pierced the tip of its ear. I'm sure he didn't even feel the sting of the bullet, but he turned back and I fired my second shot. He fell in his tracks just as if I had cut his four legs with one blow.
With 54 3/4 inches wide antlers and 23 points...
It was a beautiful buck!
Michel and Yves