Wayne in BC
New member
As my eyes recovered from the recoil i saw the Moose laying flat and unmoving, mentally congratulated myself for hitting the back of the long neck perfectly while i trotted down the hillside to my quarry some 30 yards away.
I stared down at the Moose happily and hearing a sound, turned with a big grin on my face to see Grant only 20 feet away and coming from my right side. In an instant he raised his rifle to his shoulder and in one motion fired while my eyes bugged out in horror and incomprehension! The muzzle blast shocked me into paralysis! I did not know why i had not not fallen down as i was sure i was dead while wondering why on earth my friend had killed me!
The next thing i remember was Grant saying....never turn your back on one of those suckers buddy! Now my mind was clearing some and i realised that i had heard a "splat/whack" sort of thing.....which was the 180 grain bullet from Grant's 06 splattering the head of the Moose who had risen up and was aiming a deadly hoof at my head! It still took some time for me to sort out my thoughts and remember movement as i turned, but it had happened so fast that my brain focused only on the rifle coming up.
Grant had approached and as he drew near he saw me turn as i heard him only now, the moss and damp leaves underfoot muffling his footfalls. At that moment he saw the Moose rise up part way and immediately draw a front leg back for what he knew to be a possible killing blow apparently aimed at my head! He acted....
Moose although seemingly big clumsy creatures are faster than one would ever suspect and have often been known to kill a wolf by driving a heavy sharp pointed hoof right through its rib cage! It is done much like a Karate blow, but even faster! It appeared that he was aiming right at me in that split second, but in fact his rifle was pointed a few feet to my left and his fast reaction, cultivated by many years of dealing with animals on the trap line and farm bore sweet fruit in saving my sorry butt! I have never known a person other than Grant who could or would react that quickly, making the right decision in a heartbeat. I knew what i had done wrong but......
We turned to butchering our Moose into quarters that we could carry between us on a pole over our shoulders. That was a nasty job as usual and it took nearly three hours before it was stowed in the truck and we went looking for another one. While we were doing this we looked in vain for my bullets path. There were no marks on the neck or any other part of the body! How come that critter had dropped like a stone if i missed? Only when dealing with splitting the hindquarters did i see a bloodshot area on the last 8 inches of spine from the base of the tail forward. Because the Moose had been running away and moving up and down, my bullet had, instead of hitting the base of the neck, gone low and entered maybe 2 inches above the little hole under the tail that drops those "chocolate Almonds" that Royal likes so much
The 130 grain 270 bullet had travelled directly into the base of the spine, destroying about 8 inches of vertebrae and instantly dropping as well as temporarily paralyzing the animal. The wound was pretty much invisible. It had regained its sense and risen only on its front legs while cocking one back to defend itself, which i did not see, but Grant did.
Hope you all enjoyed a laugh at my expense, we still reminisce about that incident and a few others which i may remember soon........
I stared down at the Moose happily and hearing a sound, turned with a big grin on my face to see Grant only 20 feet away and coming from my right side. In an instant he raised his rifle to his shoulder and in one motion fired while my eyes bugged out in horror and incomprehension! The muzzle blast shocked me into paralysis! I did not know why i had not not fallen down as i was sure i was dead while wondering why on earth my friend had killed me!
The next thing i remember was Grant saying....never turn your back on one of those suckers buddy! Now my mind was clearing some and i realised that i had heard a "splat/whack" sort of thing.....which was the 180 grain bullet from Grant's 06 splattering the head of the Moose who had risen up and was aiming a deadly hoof at my head! It still took some time for me to sort out my thoughts and remember movement as i turned, but it had happened so fast that my brain focused only on the rifle coming up.
Grant had approached and as he drew near he saw me turn as i heard him only now, the moss and damp leaves underfoot muffling his footfalls. At that moment he saw the Moose rise up part way and immediately draw a front leg back for what he knew to be a possible killing blow apparently aimed at my head! He acted....
Moose although seemingly big clumsy creatures are faster than one would ever suspect and have often been known to kill a wolf by driving a heavy sharp pointed hoof right through its rib cage! It is done much like a Karate blow, but even faster! It appeared that he was aiming right at me in that split second, but in fact his rifle was pointed a few feet to my left and his fast reaction, cultivated by many years of dealing with animals on the trap line and farm bore sweet fruit in saving my sorry butt! I have never known a person other than Grant who could or would react that quickly, making the right decision in a heartbeat. I knew what i had done wrong but......
We turned to butchering our Moose into quarters that we could carry between us on a pole over our shoulders. That was a nasty job as usual and it took nearly three hours before it was stowed in the truck and we went looking for another one. While we were doing this we looked in vain for my bullets path. There were no marks on the neck or any other part of the body! How come that critter had dropped like a stone if i missed? Only when dealing with splitting the hindquarters did i see a bloodshot area on the last 8 inches of spine from the base of the tail forward. Because the Moose had been running away and moving up and down, my bullet had, instead of hitting the base of the neck, gone low and entered maybe 2 inches above the little hole under the tail that drops those "chocolate Almonds" that Royal likes so much
The 130 grain 270 bullet had travelled directly into the base of the spine, destroying about 8 inches of vertebrae and instantly dropping as well as temporarily paralyzing the animal. The wound was pretty much invisible. It had regained its sense and risen only on its front legs while cocking one back to defend itself, which i did not see, but Grant did.
Hope you all enjoyed a laugh at my expense, we still reminisce about that incident and a few others which i may remember soon........
