[Charles Ek]

in reply to: THEY HAVE GONE TOO FAR…….. #31022

You won’t find me complaining. They’re keeping my shooting lanes open on the range out back so I can focus on getting ready for moose season. Hmmmm ….

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #58973

Plumbob wrote: I drew a tag in Idaho 2 years ago, one of the best hunts of my life. My two takeaways were that I had hunted a bit early as far as the rut was concerned. I ended up arrowing my bull the last day of a two week hunt but I believe the action was just getting good.

The other was the awesome sound you got from a scapula. Just the lightest raking on a tree or brush would emit the most realist sound of a Moose paddle you could imagine. I would never get caught without one on a Moose hunt.

Enjoy!

Thanks. I’ve had a scapula in my garage for several years. It finally gets to see the light of day in October!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #41799

My sub-permittee and I made our first scouting trip this weekend. A local told us upon arriving that there were no moose in the area and he and his wife hadn’t seen any in a long time.

We scouted a bit on land yesterday afternoon and evening, and pretty quickly we found fresh tracks of a cow with a calf.

Got up this morning before dawn and ate a waterside breakfast of pancakes and sausage cooked on my nearly-broken-in Coleman stove (it’s 39 years old.) We were on the water by 6 with my canoe, and by 7:15 we’d seen a cow with calf and an eminently shootable bull. We also saw a Bald Eagle and a couple of whitetail does, and we heard the howling of a distant coyote. Glass smooth water for paddling. It was all very painful to experience.

New official motto for the hunt: “There are no moose in this area.“

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #18987

Dfudala wrote: I’m really excited for you. I used to apply for a tag in Maine every year, having done quite a bit of work up in that area. Beautiful country up there! And I know exactly what you mean about the old Gunflint and the North shore, you couldn’t be more right. I’ll be heading into the south central portion for this excursion. Trade ya some bear summer sausage for some Moose!!!! (Unless things don’t work out… Then I’ll trade ya some Leinenkuegels for some Sam Adams, Lol!?!?)

The first one sounds pretty good – NOBODY in New England understands how to make sausage of any sort.

Stop at the Holiday store on the east end of Duluth for some packaged wild rice, if you haven’t had theirs before. There is none finer.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #18961

dwcphoto wrote: I bet you read the article on birch bark moose calls in Tradbow this issue.

The bark was soaking for the last couple of days. No time to do more with it right now than roll and tie it, as I’m packing to go scouting in the morning. I’ll post a pic if I have something worth showing later next week.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #63021

grumpy wrote: You might stop by the nursing home in Laconia, and ask Mom. She used to see them all the time around the lake.

BTW: Remember to shoot them with an arrow, not your truck.

Thanks. Headed up to scout this weekend. My Honda Element is perfectly designed to put a moose in my lap, but a 17-foot moosecatcher will be mounted on top.

(For any who might not know – moose are designed by nature to be efficient killers of unwary drivers. The long legs and enormous mass combine to strike an often fatal blow right at the windshield.)

No, I’m not planning on hauling a moose home in October with it – my hunting partner has a pickup. 😉

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #48767

Steve Graf wrote:

Get a tape or CD or Video or something to help you learn the calls. I used a tape in the jeep when I was driving. A real birch bark moose call has better acoustics than the plastic crap they sell these days, imo.

They’ll come a running from a mile away when they are interested.

Excellent advice, and I will take it to heart. I’ve been eyeing the woods for suitable birch bark for the last few years. Already got me a moose scapula for scraping. 🙂

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #48757

Dfudala wrote: Very exciting Eids! Hope you have a fantastic time! Got nothing really helpful to offer but I too have struck some “drawn tag” gold and will be hunting black bear in the BWCAW for 2 weeks this fall!!! I hope we both have some extraordinary stories to share afterwards!

Best of luck to you!!!

Thanks, and right back at ya!

Long-term plan here is to return permanently to the scene of my nativity, aka the Zenith City, aka the Head of the Lakes, from where my wife and I will launch frequent forays into the BWCA(W)*, in between watching the tourists scurry up the North Shore with their mouths agape. 🙂

*Having made many a trip on the Gunflint when it was a gravel road, I still can’t get used to that last “W”, however much I appreciate the legislation behind it!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #41567

Thanks.

I hasten to add that I’m already poring over the TBM index, in which “someone” has been kind enough to tag articles for references to moose. That “someone” will be pleased to know that I’ve already garnered a very useful hunting tactic that my sub-permittee and I will employ.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: The best hunting stool #35430

I guess I should clarify. I too see the merit of simply sitting on the ground or a low stump, and I do it often while hunting when the view is adequate. But for sitting still in one place for a long time, it’s hard to beat the Hammock Seat. It allows you to really minimize movement, which is tougher to do when your butt is on the ground. At least my butt.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: The best hunting stool #28805

Gentlemen, if game could be shot here in heavily vegetated and hilly NH while sitting on the ground, I would just carry a rock and not a bow. At an effective visual range of, oh, I dunno, two or three yards, I’d save a whole lot of time and expense just lugging a chunk of granite around. This here ain’t the Lonestar State, and parks are something owned by the state or a municipality, not a term for open expanses among aspens and the like. 😀

And BTW, I do practice sitting on the ground for the possibility of it being handy some day. But the Hammock Seat or a folding stool go in the woods with me.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Get off your duff and go recruit a new bowhunter #33138

Stadig wrote: Hi all.

I have to say its a pretty good read, while I cant say I’m your stereotypical Millennial new hunter being,a veteran and attending school after my service. I have to say the attention and interest from my hipster classmates has been very positive with many of them wanting also to give hunting a try for the reasons listed.

I feel it is hardest for people who did not grow up hunting to get into it as young adults. So whenever we have a chance to “pay it forward” and mentor a new hunter we would help preserve and strengthen the conservation,tradition and all the other great things that hunting provides.

Thanks for your comment!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Getting back into it #16675

1. Find a traditional club or mentor in your area if possible. Here’s a good place to start: https://www.tradbow.com/public/Club-Listings-and-Mentors.cfm

2. Buy The Traditional Bowhunter’s Handbook– https://www.tradbow.com/products/item44.cfm You will not find a better resource for getting started on your questions and others.

3. Carve out some time to read the advice you will receive here from the friendliest group of bowhunters on the planet, bar none.

4. Have fun!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Get off your duff and go recruit a new bowhunter #21180

I take your points about the writing and about the ATA’s direction in general. But I gleaned an insight from it regardless. There are people out there who might be receptive to recruitment because they share some values with us.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Get off your duff and go recruit a new bowhunter #13846

You say cross roads, I say rapidly aging cohort of mostly Baby Boomer trad bowhunters. 😉 This crowd needs fresh blood more than Dracula does.

If there are folks out there who are predisposed to activities that focus on ethical considerations, doing their own thing and outdoor skills, we should go after them with the same energy we devote to deer and elk hunting. Well, almost. 😉

[Author]

Posts