My First Moose

By Seth Brooker

September 27, 2024

This month I was invited by a friend to go to his cabin near the Talkeetna Mountains here in Alaska on my first moose hunt. I gave my choice of rifle a lot of serious thought and listened to the advice of veteran moose hunters. I had older rifles in larger calibers, but ultimately decided that shot placement trumps all and chose the one I was most proficient and comfortable with, my Savage 110 in 6.5 Creedmoor. I had developed a very accurate hunting load with 143 gr ELD-X bullets that I had already used to harvest a caribou. At the range I am able to get first round hits on steel out to 800 yards using the data from the Hornady 4DOF app in conditions similar to where I’d be hunting. I was confident that the rifle and load would perform admirably at the 1-300 yard ranges I expected.

On the second day of the season we arrived at a ridge before sunrise to glass the ponds, clearings and drainages below. As we observed the comings and goings of several cows and a small bull, one of our party spotted a large bull about a mile away next to a pond in the valley. We were able to count four brow tines and see that he was in full velvet before he started making his way in our direction. We called hoping that he’d hurry on his way up, but he disappeared into the alders and we saw no sign of him the rest of the day.

Since the morning’s glassing had been very productive, we decided to return to the same spot in case it had taken him a while to work his way up the hill. On the ride in we passed several cows before catching sight of a bull about 500 yards ahead of us on the ridge. Through the spotting scope we confirmed that it was the same bull we’d seen the previous morning, except now his velvet was hanging in large shreds. He’d had a busy night. And now he had two younger bulls tagging along with him.

We began maneuvering through the landscape to try to get ahead of him as he wandered along the tundra. We finally got to a spot where we could see him walking just below a low bench about 300 yards away. We dashed a little closer and I got to a spot where I could get a clear shot from the top of our side by side. My friend ranged him at 205 yards. I was able to take a shot as he walked broadside to us. He broke into a trot but dropped within 100 yards. When we found him I saw that my shot had landed slightly higher than his heart. but the foaming blood at the exit wound indicated a lung shot. The 143 gr. ELD-X had gone through and through and when we skinned him out we found a perfect 1” circle in the ribcage where it had exited.

I gave thanks to God for the blessing of such an incredible animal and all that he represented. His meat would feed not just my family but would be shared with others in our camp. The pursuit of him resulted in new friendships that will endure years beyond when the meat is gone. And his rack will be a reminder to me of just how blessed I am to be able to live and hunt in such a beautiful land.

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