My quest for Canadian Moose began in 1999 with Jamie and Kate Schumacher of Indian River Outfitters. The property is located in northwestern British Columbia near the Yukon border. That year I spent 15 days in October and came back with a black Timber Wolf, which I shot on Friday the 13^th, but no moose! The next year I headed out to the bush on September 10^th, 2000 looking once again for a moose. I also had a mountain caribou and wolf tag. I ended up with a respectable 50" moose and a nice caribou but far short of my NWT caribou, which green scored over 400 B&C. This year a cancellation by one of the hunters gave me the opportunity to go back mid September with a goal of a 60" moose or better. My guide was Greg Spenner of Dawson Creek, who I hunted with for a short time on my first hunt.

Upon my arrival to Whitehorse, after a successful goose trip with some friends in Alberta, we flew to Line Lake then on to North Ptarigian Lake near the Yukon border. Greg had his family [wife: Lorna, children: Kurt (6) and Cheyenne (4)] at base camp. The next day we went by horseback to South Ptarigian Lake to set up our spike camp. It was about a 3 ½ hour ride, and because we only had one packhorse, we went back to base camp that evening. Early the next day we rode back with the rest of our gear and hunted our way back to the spike camp. Once we unloaded and got the camp set up and the horses settled in, we got in the canoe and motored around the lake. From the day I arrived, the wind had stopped blowing which gave us the advantage to hear the bulls grunting. Our plan was to cruise the lake in the canoe to look for any activity and to get a feel for the area, as Greg had not been there before. We spotted a cow feeding along the shoreline and stopped on an island to see if a bull was with her. After about a half an hour we decided to move on because she had disappeared and never came back. Toward a cove at the south end we spotted a cow and calf feeding so we rowed the canoe closer to take a look. Greg then let out a "grunt" noise and whispered to me that he had heard a bull respond. As we made our way back to camp, with darkness settling in, we heard some commotion in the water and a loud growl. The lake is very shallow so we had to move slowly with our headlamps on. After eating and telling some tall tales we hit the sack around midnight.

The plan for the following day was to head out early and go back across the lake. Well, we started late after over sleeping, and then proceeded to flip the canoe - motor and all into the lake. As I recall, I suggested that we ought to get the horses and hunt near camp. However, Greg felt with no wind and the foggy mist hovering over the lake, we should stick to his original plan. So off we went across the lake rowing the last stretch to hold the noise down. We beached the canoe one cove over from where we had heard the grunting the night before. We walked about two hundred yards in where we found tall and thick willows with minimal visibility. Greg then grunted to see if we could arouse a bull, which indeed he did as the grunting and thrashing began. For the next 20 minutes they talked to each other, meanwhile the bull kept getting closer and closer. Greg toned down his grunting as it became apparent that the bull was heading straight for us. We were just a few feet apart when I asked whether or not he thought he was a "shooter." At that point, while the bull sounded big, neither of us could see him. Greg knew that I was after a 60" moose so I told him it was his call if he sees it first. Within a minute he looked at me and whispered that he was a good one, so off came the safety and I was ready to shoot. A few seconds after I could see about 6" of the top of his paddle, then his head and chest. There was no time to count points, as he is now 30-35 yards away in the midst of the willows so I let one fly. The bull dropped on the spot but as I found out last year, they can take a hit and still get up. So I ejected the shell and prepared to shoot him again but Greg told me to hold off. As you can imagine my adrenaline was pumping, but through the bush we could see him trying to get up but he couldn’t and then he just stopped.

After a few high fives we decided to wait to be sure and have some coffee. That sounded good but we ended up burning our mouths gulping the coffee down so we could go over to see what I had shot. As we approached the bull, we could see it was over as the shot hit him in the heart and lungs, and later we found out that it also broke his spine. You had to be there to appreciate what took place next with one happy cowboy and his hunter with a bull of a lifetime. We knew he was a good bull, but as the 60" tape fell short, we then realized that he was a great one. This was confirmed later with him measuring at 62" wide and a B&C green score in the range of 230. The next two days were spent getting the meat and horns back to base camp. Greg estimated the weight of the moose to be about 1600 lbs.

This is one hunter who will always listen to his guide. Many thanks to Greg and his wonderful family for all the hospitality, which included celebrating my 57^th birthday the day I arrived. Also, my "hats off" to the outfitter, Jamie & Kate Schumacher for deciding which area to hunt.

Jack W. Ahart

Clovis, California