Last weekend

[Sue B]

So we've been camping in the hills these past two weekends looking for bucks (my ds first season) and we've seen all kinds of beautiful mule deer doe, fawns and youngsters, lots of sage hen, bunnies and the occasional coyote. Yes, we are hunting (flame suit on), but what I love about it is wandering through the brush and trees seeing all kinds of tracks, scat and actual wildlife. Where we hunt, there are very few people and lots of miles of open sage brush ground dotted by large patches of aspen and conifers. The hills are fairly steep and sometimes shaley and often filled with badgers holes to twist an ankle in, and there are small hidden ravines everywhere. You never know what you might drift up on. So while we have yet to find a buck for ds, we did happen upon this early Sunday morning.

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[WheresMyWhite]

Very cool. Where was this?

I'm thinking he's not the buck you were looking for

[Sue B]

Southern Idaho.

[piedmontfields]

What a sight! I am both fascinated and somewhat terrified of moose (I worry about startling them when hiking in northern New England).

I've always wanted to go bird hunting in Idaho. Hope you all enjoy a great season!

[Moutaineer]

They'll be down in my backyard any time soon. I love seeing them, but am not so keen on dodging them to go out to the barn and feed!

[Sue B]

Yes, I was very glad to be safely in the truck. Less than 15min earlier I was skulking thru the trees and had even noted the either moose or elk poop laying about (honestly, I do not know the difference, lol.) Moose scare me, more so when I am cross country skiing with the dogs.

[Rhianon]

:) They'll be down in my backyard any time soon. I love seeing them, but am not so keen on dodging them to go out to the barn and feed!

I bet!

[Moutaineer]

This fellow definitely sent me scuttling back into the house...

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[piedmontfields]

Wow, Mountaineer, what a shot! I would be completely paranoid (esp. after your prior incident with an herbivore!!!).

You must live in a spectacular land---between moose and porcupines!

[PaulaO]

I love moose. They are so gangly and awkward. How are they dangerous--do they charge if they see you?

[Dapple Field]

My sister and I were in the car one day in NH and saw a loose horse trotting up the middle of the road one afternoon. I had a halter and lead rope in the car so we got out to catch the horse. Got closer and opps, the halter was not going to fit. It was a cow moose (female). We felt so silly!! Sue B and Mountaineer, those are beautiful pictures.

[Canyon]

Wow, Moutaineer - close encounter of the Moose kind! Maybe he was hanging around, waiting for instructions on how to help you pick manure in the horse pens.

Moose have been re-introduced to the mountains near me; they are doing quite well. I have yet to see any, but would love to (from a distance). I've gotten quite close to elk on trail rides, before hunting season so they weren't skittish.

[Moutaineer]

PaulaO, yes, they can be very aggressive/protective of their families. The most worrying are cows with calves and bulls during rutting season (which is about now,) and any time they are hungry and feel that you are getting between them and their food source, or between them and their babies, or offering any kind of threatening behavior in their eyes. I stay far, far away from them when I am trail riding. If I see one on the trail I will turn quietly around and go back the way I came. The horses are also scared of them.

I have spent an uncomfortable hour in my hay shed in the dark in the middle of winter with a big cow pacing up and down outside breathing fire, until someone noticed I hadn't come in from feeding the horses...

It's nice to see them wandering through the woods like SueB's pictures. That's where they should be, not standing in my driveway He looks like a healthy, happy specimen, too!

Elk are a different matter, they are just big dumb deer and tend to be fairly benign, and more inclined to run away than to fight.

[exploding pony]

Beautiful moose and incredible setting.

I've never personally been able to align loving the beauty of nature, looking an animal in the eye and then slaughtering it, but that's my personal belief system.

I would love to own some rural property one day - it would be amazing to drink morning coffee in a setting with a view like this!

[Moutaineer]

I have about 4 million deer on my property competing for food with my horses at the moment. We are in a non hunting area, or I would be welcoming the odd hunter with open arms...

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(That's a good-sized buck down at the back, SueB! And I have a couple of other huge ones floating about...)

[Paints]

My sister and I were in the car one day in NH and saw a loose horse trotting up the middle of the road one afternoon. I had a halter and lead rope in the car so we got out to catch the horse. Got closer and opps, the halter was not going to fit. It was a cow moose (female). We felt so silly!! Sue B and Mountaineer, those are beautiful pictures.

Everytime I see a moose I think how hard it would be to find a saddle to fit those withers.

[kande50]

Everytime I see a moose I think how hard it would be to find a saddle to fit those withers.

You'd need to have a custom saddle built on a moose tree.

[Moutaineer]

Narrow twist

[PaulaO]

I figure moose would have be pasture boarded--they couldn't fit their antlers through stall doors.

[kande50]

I figure moose would have be pasture boarded--they couldn't fit their antlers through stall doors.

And if you thought horses were afraid of donkeys, just wait until you take your moose to a show.

[LeoApp]

When I vacationed in Alaska, the natives told me that they would much rather encounter a bear than a moose. They told me moose were EXTREMELY dangerous and are much more likely to charge at you than a bear.
I saw a moose trotted down the Interstate in Maine years ago, and also thought it was a horse from a distance.

[Josette]

I read a story about the Iditarod Dog Races in Alaska. Moose are extremely dangerous to dog sledders and will charge into the dog pack killing sled dogs.

Mountaineer - do you mind if I ask what state you are in - or Canada? I'll use caution if I ever hike in your parks!

[Racetrackreject]

I've been told that moose are extremely unpredictable. My friend in Edmonton said that a moose can be walking around a parking lot just doing what moose do, then it will suddenly start attacking cars. Basically, you know when the switch is going to flip and they are going to come after you.

[Sue B]

Oh man, mountaineer, you are making my mouth water. Ds got his deer, 1 shot thru the heart, just a 2 point but he will be delicious and ds is super proud of himself. He missed the 3 point, but this one he spotted himself, correctly judged the distance and took it down instantly just how he imagined it would be. First deer.

Again, my apologies to those who don't hunt and may even dislike hunters. I have been on your side of the fence and know how you feel and know what assumptions you may have made. Let me just say, we hiked many miles in some very difficult terrain (no 4 wheelers) and logged hundreds of miles in our pickup cruising the hills trying to find a buck for ds to shoot. That does not include the countless hours ds has put in to not only practicing his shooting so he would be accurate, but learning to be extremely safe in his handling of firearms so no one would get hurt. Don't look at the picture if you don't want to see a dead deer.

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[Kyra's Mom]

Happy hunter. Good for him for putting in the time to do it right.
Susan

[Moutaineer]

I was just going to post and ask how he was getting on!

I thought of you this morning as I was leaving the house and here was a big 5 pointer standing outside my hay shed while the rest of his family were in a shoving match for Lucky's breakfast. Poor Lucky. Time to start feeding out of nets inside his stall, I think. What a pain, but I think that would cut back on their access somewhat.

[Dapple Field]

If someone wants to PM me with their email and wants to post a picture of a moose in harness, I have one but can't seem to get it posted.