The afternoon sun was waning as the Pelletier trio headed
into the cutover area in search of a bull moose. Their minds were only half focused on the
hunt, as they were still preoccupied with the funeral they had just left. The patriarch Pelletier had passed away and
the funeral had just ended as they headed for the woods in an attempt to clear
their minds for a few hours. The coveted
Zone 2 bull tag had been drawn and the hunters were as ready as could be
expected due to the circumstances. As
they rounded a bend, a dark form was spotted along one of the harvesting
trails. A glimpse through the binoculars
confirmed the status of an antlered moose and after a minute the head turned to
reveal the size of the bull’s headgear.
It was quickly decided that it was a “shooter” and the floodgates of
adrenaline opened. As the permit holder,
the senior Pelletier let the first lead fly, quickly followed by a round from
the sub-permittee Nick as the moose took off on a run. Nick quickly sprinted to the last place they
had seen the moose and saw it heading up the trail. Another shot quickly anchored it and down it
went. The rest of the party had caught
up at this point and the permit holder headed towards the downed behemoth. As he neared the bull, it mustered a last
dose of adrenaline, rose and charged him.
Despite his best attempts to sidestep, the moose still managed to knock
him to the ground and although unharmed, the experience was one not to be soon
forgotten. The moose was a prime example
of what Northern Maine has to offer with it’s
moose herd, sporting 53” wide headgear and topping the scales at 775
pounds. Congratulations to the hunters!
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