Fall 2014 Maine Moose Hunt

Since I was on the last of my three years that is the new mandatory waiting period after holding a Maine Moose tag, I solicited a couple of my friends who were able to draw a tag to write their adventures down to share with everyone.  The first in those installments is below as Lauren Calbi recounts her once in a lifetime hunt for a trophy Maine moose.  She and her hunting partner Brain pursued these racked mammoths in the truest of forms by leaving the truck behind and putting some miles on the shoe leather.  This was also Lauren's first big game hunt.  Sit back and enjoy their adventure!



Guest Post - Lauren Calbi's 2014 Maine Moose Hunt

"I was blessed enough to be chosen through Maine IFW lottery system for my moose permit, a bull in zone 3. Zone 3 stretches from Fort Kent, Maine, east towards Caswell and as far south as Caribou. Route 11 or the “scenic highway” closed zone 3 off from Ashland area north.  My bull permit was for the 3rd week in September, which is the 1st of a few selected weeks through November. My alternate sub wasone of my good college friends Brian, who is also a forester with me at the same private landowner in Northern Maine.

By Wednesday we had hunted hard, walking miles a day through old harvests and battling above average temperatures for September in Northern Maine.  When we had questioned if we could actually get a moose we were pleasantly surprised with the turn of events a few minutes ahead of us.

We had made it to a lake we had scouted for about 6 weeks or so.  There were plenty of mature bulls in the area and we were in the hopes of seeing one for the taking.  I used a Remington 700 7mm-08 that the head forester of our company allowed me to borrow graciously.

I saw some sign and pointed this out to Brian whose eyes lit up with excitement. We walked about 1200 feet from the road and hit a beaver dam. As we waded through the muck and dirty water to work the edge, we heard something move. Frozen in our tracks we turned to see what we had prayed for. A large bull about 100 yards away began to thrash his antlers in some alder bushes. I pulled up my rifle to try to get a good look at him. When I focused I could see antlers attached to a large body. Brian looked at me to see if we had a shot. I couldn’t focus him in to get a clean shot and wasn’t comfortable with myself at 100 yards even after many hours of practicing. That’s when we decided to wait it out. Without making a sound we stood there for 2 hours with our guns perfectly positioned in case we had a shot. The bull checked corners and behind trees to see what we were. My mouth dry, I tried to keep my cool and not blow it. Eyes huge, Brian silently mouthed to me “he’s big”! My left arm began to numb and time was ticking. We decided to try some bull calls to spark an interest and get things moving. We got exactly whatwe were looking for and then some.

Brian called three times and a bull in the distance responded. We were elated and shocked. Once we heard the first bull we saw stand up, my heart started beating fast. We thrashed our guns around and Brian responded to the other bull’s call. There was no difference in pitch or tone when Brian responded, I could tell he had practiced.

The bull in the distance was aggressive. Thrashing and grunting every couple of minutes made it feel unreal. I knew at that point we were about to watch something rare and exciting unfold in front of us. I directed Brian and myself back toward some tall grass to hide ourselves and got ready. I could feel my heart pound and my breath get shallow. I couldn’t figure out if I was scared or excited, probably a bit of both. I got down to position myself on my knee and looked at Brian who was just as excited. He whispered in my ear “I wish we had a camera!” I wanted to watch them fight and have my pick of the two. Brian kindly reminded me that I needed to take a shot on the first bull we saw; we may never have that chance again.

The first bull we saw walked towards us and I knew it was show time. Everything I had practiced, the many hours spent, all boiled down to this moment. He walked towards us and I shot him at 10 yards broadside.  He ran and I picked up again, firing a running shot.  He crossed a beaver damn about 400 yards further into the tree line.

After 6 hours, 2 fours wheelers and 1500 feet of rope we were on our way home! We weighed him the next morning at Quigley’s in Fort Kent.  He weighed a whooping 944lbs and a spread of 51”.  A hunt of a life time ended up successful and more than I could imagine.  I’ll be eating moose meat for a while and that is quite fine by me!!"

Stay tuned for more adventures coming soon!  Some Big Northern Maine Whitetails coming soon as well!

Fall Absence

So yet again I am apologizing for my absence.  I have all of the best intentions and then before I know it, a month has flown by or in this case two.  I have a few stories on the go so in the mean time here are a few pictures from the trapline this fall.

A Few New Supplies from F&T Trading Post!

We had all kinds of weather on the line!

Stay tuned for more to come soon!

Trail Cam Teasers

Just a few shots from one of my trail cams to get everyone thinking about the 2014 deer season!

Chippewa Boots

So I am writing this post quite late and for that I do apologize to Chippewa Boots and the Outdoor Blogger Network.  The delinquency of this post should not reflect poorly on either of them.  Quite to the contrary, both are exemplary in their business.  Ok, now to the review.

Thanks to the Outdoor Blogger Network and the company Chippewa Boots, I was offered up a pair of 6″ BAY CRAZY HORSE WATERPROOF BOOTS to try out and let everyone know what I thought about them.  The benefit to the delay of me writing this review is the added time I have had to put these boots through their paces. (Pun intended!)  To put it short and sweet, these boots are phenomenal!  When I first pulled the boots out of their box, I was awestruck by the beauty and workmanship.  The well oiled leather almost reflected and the stitching was neat and rugged.  To top it off, my chest puffed with pride as I noticed the small metal American flag on the laces to signify the wonderful fact that they are Made in America!

 When I first put these boots on, the support and comfort was all anyone could ask for.  I will be honest, it took a little time to get used to the height as they were the 6" boot and I have traditionally always wore 8" boots, but once I grew accustomed to the lower height, I actually started to appreciate it.  In my professional job, I have a varied work environment, with an office meeting in the morning followed by a lunchtime tour in the woods and an afternoon back in the office on a computer or maybe a morning flight in a helicopter followed by an afternoon of snowshoeing.  I often change footwear multiple times, but these boots do it all.  The finish on these boots can blend in with the best of them in the conference room and then protect your feet as you cross a shallow stream, with just enough insulation to keep you comfortable.

The waterproofing on these boots has held up extremely well as has everything else about these boots.  Another major concern I have with boots is the sole and how much traction they provide.  The Vibram sole certainly has not disappointed and I could highly recommend these to anyone.

In summary I would not hesitate to run out and get another pair of these, but 10 months and counting, these boots are still going strong, so it will probably still be a little while before I need another pair.  I have no fear though as Chippewa has been around since 1901, so I am sure they will be around when I am ready for my next pair.  If you are in need of a pair of boots, be sure to check them out!

Trail Cams

The trail cameras are hung and taking pictures.  I have been very happy with the Cuddeback addition this year.  Here are a few pictures.  Stay tuned for lot's of action coming up.  Bear season is open, goose season is open, fall fishing is just beginning and lots more on the horizon!

Muskie Frenzy

This past weekend we explored some of the far reaches of the North Maine Woods, and were rewarded with some fish.  The size may have been on the small side, but the fight wasn't as these small toothy critters rewarded us with some aerial acrobatics and put up an impressive display.  We were fortunate enough to land 8 muskies in the upper 20 inch class and lower 30 inch class.  The largest was 32", but it was enjoyable just the same.  In addition to the 8 we landed, we had several other follows and lost a couple of others.  One of the fish was heavy enough to snap the tired leader, taking with it one of my favorite lures, but like every favorite, a spare is mandatory!  I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.  Lots of video footage soon to come as well!

Fishing Time!

I will keep this short and to the point and let the pictures do the talking, but the last couple of weeks have been full of fish from brookies to muskies.  It was the time to set personal records.  My wife Heather's uncle Joe came up to visit (you might remember him from my striper fishing trip) and he landed a beautiful 14" brookie, which was his largest brook trout.  It is always nice to see a smile with a fish!  Not to be outdone, Brent came through with a 45.5" muskie that set the record for the largest fish to come to my canoe.  Enough talk … more pictures!  Enjoy!