# Moose down!



## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

Nevermind........


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## Duck Commander (Oct 20, 2004)

Good job, but I wouldn't have went into as much detail as you did. There are a couple no-nos in that story.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Congrats on a once in a lifetime road hunt... :roll:


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

> Good job, but I wouldn't have went into as much detail as you did. There are a couple no-nos in that story.


Like? I don't see anything wrong or against the law. I wasnt in the vehicle when I shot. The gun wasnt loaded in the vehicle. He wasnt on posted land and the road is fair game.



> Congrats on a once in a lifetime road hunt...


Like you would have done ANY different..... :eyeroll:


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## Duck Commander (Oct 20, 2004)

Well, first of all, your dad shouldn't have been shooting at all because he didn't have a tag. There also was no need to go into detail of how many times the animal had to be shot. No one wants to here that.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

I let him shoot because I wasnt sure where to. I would have, but I just wasnt sure. I'm sure a warden would understand that. I know I would anyway.


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## Duck Commander (Oct 20, 2004)

some wardens would some wouldn't. Should have just asked your dad where to shoot.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

This one's going downhill fast. I agree too much detail and what you did was illegal by letting your dad shoot. That's why the license was issued to you. By submitting your name in the lottery, you agree that you can humanely harvest an animal.

I don't know how old you are...probably in the teens, but I understand you're excited about the kill. It's just my advice, but we didn't need a play by play of the killing. We all know things like this happen sometimes, but they're better off left where it happened. Descriptions like your's fuels that antis' fire.

It's great that you go to harvest a ND Moose...literally once in a lifetime. However, it's a shame it's tainted... :eyeroll:

Someday, after your anger passes, you'll look back and understand why people jumped on you. I made mistakes as a young hunter as well, but will NEVER put my kids in a position to do the same thing.


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## szm69 (Apr 28, 2006)

huntingdude16 said:


> He went down in a slough, we drove along it, and he got out from behind us! We hauled to the road to chase him down, but when we got close enough, I saw he wasnt anything special.
> We made a semi-circle around the particular sunflower field he had mentioned, nothing. We came back, come down the road,]


I don't think that you can chase animals with a vehicle...........you might want to edit your post to remove that part.

Also, where you on established trails when you drove along the slough and made a semi-circle around the sunflower fields???


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

> some wardens would some wouldn't. Should have just asked your dad where to shoot.


Believe me, I did. I just couldnt figure out where exactly he meant, which is why I let him.



> This one's going downhill fast. I agree too much detail and what you did was illegal by letting your dad shoot. That's why the license was issued to you. By submitting your name in the lottery, you agree that you can humanely harvest an animal.


And I can. However, I can't be expected to know the anatomy of the neck of such a large animal to a T, whereas my dad has killed 8 elk in his lifetime. I felt he would know more than I would about exactly where to put it to humanely kill him asap. I'm sure you would have thought the same had you been in my shoes.



> Someday, after your anger passes, you'll look back and understand why people jumped on you. I made mistakes as a young hunter as well, but will NEVER put my kids in a position to do the same thing.


I have no anger. It's just I didnt expect that much of a back-lash.

Anyway, if any of you care to watch, kxmc wanted to do a short clip on the moose. Might be on at 6 or 10, idk.

Going pronghorn hunting tomarrow. Unfortunatly this has left a bad taste in my mouth, so I won't be posting anything about it.

I'll be asking a mod to close this topic.

EDIT:


> I don't think that you can chase animals with a vehicle...........you might want to edit your post to remove that part.


Well, wernt really chasing him, he was running and we were trying to keep up.



> Also, where you on established trails when you drove along the slough and made a semi-circle around the sunflower fields???


I believe so.


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

huntingdude.... probably the best thing you could have done with your post was to edit it in it's entirety. I took hunters safety when I was 8 and that was a LONG time ago. When I passed hunters safety I knew just exactly where to shoot an animal in the event I wounded it. If you are old enough to be responsible to handle a gun, it's your duty to be responsible enough to know how to use it. To take an animals life is BIG BUSINESS, and takes a great deal of responsibility. Your dad should have done you a little better in my opinion by teaching you where to shoot an animal in the event that happened, and NOT ever laid a hand on a weapon to finish your animal for you. If your dad put the finishing shot into that critter as you suggested he did, then by law it is HIS animal, NOT yours. In almost every state in the nation it is who actually killed the animal is who is responsible for it, which means your dad killed a moose ILLEGALLY. It's the same if you wing-tipped a goose, and it sailed into the neighbors decoy spread and he finished it....it's his goose. 
You should have:
1. Practiced shooting in hunting type positions
2. Brushed up on your big game anatomy
3. Finished the big critter yourself even though you may have made a mistake.
OR:
4. Not shot at all
I'm not trying to taint you here, but this is all part of a learning curve huntingdude. I gut shot a pronghorn when I was a kid, and watching that animal suffer for the short time it did made me a better hunter because I learned to appreciate what it is to be a real hunter....one that gets as close as possible and makes humane kills. My dad did not grab the gun from my hand and do it for me...he told me how to do it, and made me do it. It has NEVER happened since. All anyone in the hunting community can ask is that you learn from this, and be a better hunter. I believe in you, hopefully you will keep the belief in yourself.

Oh yeah, by the way...that's a beautiful bull!!
HM


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

Actually, I did take the final shot. His shot, like I said, didnt kill him. I took the finishing shot.
As for learning something, I did. We took the moose into the locker today to have it cut up. When we came back to get the hide and head, he already had him split down the middle. After getting a good look, we concluded that I in fact had NOT hit him in the rear end, and actually shot him in almost the same exact spot, twice. Both shots about 5in apart. The location of both wounds were about 2in above the spinal cord. That would explain why he was partially paralized but could still breath. Remembering back, looking through the scope, I remember I didnt take into acount for how close he was. If I had remembered that, I would have dropped him like a sac of potatoes on the first shot, because it would have been 2in lower.

As for where to shoot a wounded animal, where do you do it, if need be?


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Huntingdude....the logical place to dispatch any animal is square in the forehead. Because of it's unpredictability, it is NEVER a good idea for a novice to try a neck or spine shot on an animal. Generally a good shot is a high shoulder shot with a good solid bullet (which breaks both shoulders, catches vitals, and shocks an animal into falling immediately), or preferably a double lung or heart shot, which both kill an animal in less than 1 minute, and humanely. You, having harvested antelope previously as your posts suggest, should know just exactly where a good kill shot should be placed. Like I mentioned in my previous post it is YOUR responsibility to know these things BEFORE you decide to take a life my friend...anything else is a dis-service to the beast, and your fellow man. Having said that, everyone makes mistakes, and you are learning.....nowhere in your original post did I ever get the drift that the moose was taken under "fair-chase" conditions, or ever really "hunted" IMO, and when an animal runs from a vehicle, and you follow it in said vehicle, you are in fact chasing it, which in many states (including my state of CO) is VERY illegal. This and the fact that your dad shot it are the No-No's duck commander was eluding to. I hope you (and your dad especially) learn something from this ordeal.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

> the logical place to dispatch any animal is square in the forehead.


Well yes of course. The thing is, I had already planned on doing a euro mount, so I didnt exactly want to do that.

As for bullet placement, I know the main targets, heart/lung, and that was my intended target. I made the rookie mistake of not taking into account how close he was, and the shot went high.

As for fair chase, I don't know how else you would hunt moose in the area we were. What our basic plan was to find one somewhere and try to find a way to get up or stalk up to him. Well, he just happened to walking towards from the sunflowers from the other side of the road.

But yes, I did for sure learn some things.


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