I remember the first time I saw a moose, actually, the shoulder mount of a bull moose. It hung in a building which belonged to the Massey family in Columbus, Texas, the town closest to the rural Zimmerscheidt Community where I grew up. I was 8 at the time. I stared and marveled at the moose’s size, both the bull’s palmate antlers, massive shoulders and head. No doubt the moose had been bigger than any horse we owned, even bigger than my grandad’s Brahma bulls. Totally awed I told my Dad, “I’m gonna shoot a moose someday!” I suspect my Dad thought it would be an unrealized dream. Dad simply smiled.
Interestingly a few years later scanning hunting magazines at Texas A&M University Library I found and read an article written in an early 1950’s “Outdoor Life” about the hunt that produced the big bull. The article was titled “We Hunted Off the Map”. It had taken place in an area of the Far North, which at time of the hunt was still “unmapped” in Canada’s Yukon Territories.
College, having children and working long hours as a wildlife biologist prevented me from pursuing moose. But that did not mean I did not dream of some day hunting America’s biggest deer species.
Every chance I had to visit with someone who had hunted moose, I asked many questions. Did you call him in, knowing moose responded to calls, both those made by bulls and cows? What did you shoot him with? Tell me all about your hunt, please! I learned much including most who had hunted moose were more than willing to tell you their stories, thankfully.
In time I quit the employment of the State of Texas as a wildlife biologist and started my own wildlife consulting company, which included my doing a considerable amount of outdoor writing, and later outdoor television as well. I yearned to hunt moose in Canada and Alaska, and started applying for limited drawing tags in several States.
Then the hoped but unexpected happened in 1995. I got a call from Ken French, then a honcho at Thompson/Center Arms, telling me I had been drawn as an “sub-permittee” for a moose license in Maine. “When you come up for your moose hunt, don’t bring a gun. We’ll have one for you to use.” Sounded good to me. I suspected T/C was introducing another muzzleloader.
When I arrived at the T/C plant in New Hampshire Ken handed me a 20-inch long package and instructed me to open it. I did, and found a single-shot handgun, that looked like a “beefed up” T/C Contender. I quickly noticed .308 Win stamped on the barrel. Later the gun would be designated the “Encore”!
We made several attempts to call moose on that hunt using a variety of calls. Those calls included sounding like a seductive and amorous cow moose to “glunks” made by bulls (both calls made from a birch bark moose call), to bulls thrashing brush with their antlers. The only moose we called was a bull calf, that I suspect responded more out of curiosity than anything else.
Thankfully in spite of our calling efforts I was able to a really nice bull, which was the first animal taken with the T/C Encore handgun, as mentioned a .308 Win shooting Hornady ammo. A dream had been realized!
My hunting partner back then. wildlife biologist and fellow writer, J. Wayne Fears had also been drawn as a sub-permittee. We tried more moose calling, but did not get one to respond. Toward the end of the hunt J. Wayne shot a nice bull with the rifle version of the Encore.
The week previous to leaving for Maine, I learned I had drawn a Shiras moose tag in Colorado as had my friend Jim Zumbo, then hunting editor for “Outdoor Life”. Prior to leaving for my Maine moose hunt I had made arrangement with Jim and his wife Madonna to camp next to their travel trailer. Jim graciously offered to allow me to eat with them while on the hunt.
We met three days before the moose season opened to do some scouting. Jim had a permit for the unit adjacent to mine. During those pre-hunt days, we spotted several outstanding bulls, including one that would have ranked very near the top of the B&C Record Book list.
I slipped away that first afternoon of the scout and doing my version of what a love sick cow should sound like, I “called in” a very small yearling bull. Actually, he kind of responded. At least he stopped and looked my way when I called…
Unfortunately, the local elk season started the same day as the very limited moose season. Where previously there had been open meadows with bull moose, the day before the hunt these turned into huge campgrounds, covered with people. The moose departed to parts unknown!
I did find a young bull bedded well behind a “No Vehicular Traffic” sign. He was bedded. I started calling. He stood up and stared my way. Just then on the slope above him I saw a couple of cow elk. Immediately I heard hunters coming up behind me at a trot. For a moment I thought I might be run over by them. Needless to say the young bull bolted. The elk cows spooked over the ridge followed by their pursuers.
Last morning of the hunt a young bull crossed a road in front of me. I followed and a few minutes later shot him with my .308 T/C Encore handgun.
Other moose hunts followed in Wyoming where I also drew a tag. We tried calling every day, but never had a response. Finally, Brent Hillman and I got on the track of bull in the snow. We spent two day tracking him down. I shot that one with my with .30-06 T/C Encore handgun.
That hunt was followed with in far northern Alaska on the north side of the Brooks Range. We tried calling, called in a semi-interested young bull, as well as a couple of cows, not the response I hope for with calling. Last day of the hunt I shot a very nice older bull with t
he same .30-06 T/C Encore handgun I had used on my Wyoming bull. It was a long arduous hunt fraught with many adventures, including grizzlies feeding on moose and caribou quarters hung around the perimeter or my tent, ending with a tremendously tough pack out of moose meet three miles away over a twelve-hour time frame. Story best left for another time.
My next moose hunt was in British Columbia, Canada in the Prophet/Muskwa, an effort to take the remaining subspecies of moose in North America, those being the Eastern Canadian, Shiras (the smallest subspecies, but still big), the Alaskan-Yukon (the largest) and the Western Canadian from the southern areas of western Canada. On that hunt I used a .375 H&H Mag T/C Encore rifle and as with the other hunts, appropriate Hornady ammo.
We hunted hard, rode many miles, glassed huge expanses, called unsuccessfully many times, and finally found a really nice bull.
Then it was back to Alaska for a short float trip hunt. We did manage to call in three small bulls, but even they seemed only half interested. I did not take a moose on that hunt, but in the waning moments I did shoot a nice grizzly. On that hunt I used a .300 RCM bolt action rifle.
I was uncertain I would again hunt moose, until I got a call from Mossberg’s then (www.mossberg.com) Linda Powell, “Want to hunt moose in British Columbia with Love Brothers and Lee Ltd (www.lovebroslee.com). John MacLellan said he’d go if you would.” John and I had long been friends from our days at Thompson/Center, but we had never hunted together. Today John heads Mossberg’s marketing programs.
Linda continued, “Jeff Johnston will be on the hunt. Ron Flanders, who you know as well from visits with him and his wife, Brenda Nelson, at the DSC Conventions is the outfitter. He says it’s primarily going to be a calling hunt.”
Before she could continue I said, “I’m in!”
“The fourth hunter will likely be Bill Brown our new product manager. He’ll also join you on a hunt for whitetails in Texas during December.” Added Linda.
That is how I happened to be in far northern British Columbia, Canada the first days of October (2025).
We hunted hard, but only saw grizzly and black bear for our efforts. One day, when we got back to camp, using a small boat to hunt the different areas of the lake we were camped next to, we found Ron glassing the slope across the lake from camp. “Nice bull just above the snow line. Once you guys get him in your binoculars I’ll give a call to see if he can hear us and possibly come down the mountain to water’s edge.”
A couple of minutes later Ron uttered his call trying his best to sound like a love-sick cow moose, looking for male companionship. Soon as he started the bull, well over a mile away, immediately looked our way, stood still for a few moments and then started running down hill. Jeff, Bill and their guide Christoph Muigg loaded in a boat and headed across the lake.
The bull kept coming our way until he disappeared into the dense trees just up from the lake’s shore. Ron continued calling but the bull failed to appear where Jeff might have a chance at him. Bill had killed a nice young bull the day before after a long stalk and a very lucky discovery.
After a while Ron quite calling and the hunter and guide returned. “You’ll call him in, in the morning.” Suggested Ron.
And…they did! The following morning Jeff, Bill and Christoph headed across the lake. John, Jared Marshall (our guide) and I headed to the south end of the lake. Midmorning we heard shots from Jeff’s .375 Ruger Mossberg Patriot loaded with Hornady’s 300-grain DGX.
A little later we headed toward we hoped the hunters were. As they came into view we could see a huge bodied and antlered bull moose on the shoreline. We headed their way and soon I extended a congratulatory hand toward Jeff.
“Most exciting hunt I’ve ever been on, after years of hunting around the world!” He proclaimed, then continued, “Soon as we started calling he was walking really fast our way, a little over 200-yards away. We hurriedly cut the distance to a hundred. There I readied to shoot. He looked HUGE as he came our way. I waited for him to turn broadside, which is exactly what he did. When he did I shot him behind the shoulder. He turned and walked into the little pond (which we were standing next to) and once in the middle he went down. Thankfully Ron had watched the entire thing, arrived wearing chest waders and carrying a rope. After wading into the muck-bottom pond Ron tied the rope to the antlers. It took all we could muster to pull him to shore. He’s huge! Most exciting and best hunt I’ve ever had!”
Indeed, the bull was huge, had responded to calling in a classic manner, and was not only big of body but also antlers…53-inches wide with extremely long brows!
The last day of the hunt we called to another bull, not as big as Jeff’s but at least decent. The bull was high up the slope. At the initiation of the calling he started coming toward shore’s edge. He came promisingly, until he got into the tall trees. We suspected there he encountered a cow which diverted his attention. Unfortunately, we never saw him again. My moose hunt was over.
In spite of never chambering a round, outside of sighting-in, I had a fabulous time, plus got to finally see, in real life, a moose properly responding to calling, something I had yearned to see to see for years.
Hopefully there will be another moose hunt in my future!
