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Posted: 9/5/2005 7:07:17 AM EDT
Yesterday was my first moose with a Beuwolf. When you put two 400 grain Hawks on the shoulder and they just look at you it makes you wonder. He finally tipped over then the games began. I promised myself for the forth or fifth time it would be my last moose. 
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The two shots happened about as fast as you can pull the trigger at 194 lasered yards. I was confident of the shot and the bullet impact sounded as authoritative as hitting the 200 yard steel gong I practice on. It was probably 30-45 seconds after the second shot that he went down but seemed longer The games involved packing 10 loads uphill about 700 yards to a small lake where a friend with a Super Cub made my day. After I put him down I called him with a hand held VHF as I was only 3.7 miles from my house. Photo shows the shot placement . 194 yards off hand. Both 400 grain Hawks were mushroomed under the off side hide and totally pulverized both front shoulders. Just can't believe anything would stand and look at you after taking those two shots. 
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Very nice, and good shooting. I have had moose once, a roast. It was excellent eating. I have helped with butchering beef while growing up on our farm. We always had a big John Deere with a front end loader handy. I knew IMMEDIATELY what you were talking about with "games," although not first-hand 
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Awesome pics! The expansion of those Hawk bullets is great... and they held together well, even after busting up all that moose bone! To think you start with a bullet that's ALREADY 1/2" in diameter and they expand that much. WOW! Bambi better watch out this fall! |
| There was a wound channel through both shoulders bigger than the expanded bullet. It went through all bone no organs and lodged just under the hide on the off shoulder. Like a bear I like to break them down first. I've had two of them that have ran to water after taking a 300 grain 375 H&H through the lungs. The only thing worse than packing out a moose is butchering a moose up to your crotch in mud and water. |
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Norge: Be careful about volunteering for a moose hunt. I was on a subsistence hunt for year round residents of our unit only. Designed to give the local residents a chance to get there winter meat before the sky whores (air taxi's) and guides bring in the pay for view crowd. The only role a non resident could play in the hunt is the butt ugly part of packing. I've had volunteers for that job but nodbody ever volunteered the second time. |
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Alpha Getting all geared up for the howlers this winter. Just received my GAP AR10 in 260 and will have my 6.8 SPC as soon as the camo people finish it and am waiting for a 6.5 barrel for my 6.5 WSSM at Dtech. Add all them to my Grendel and I will be able to throw all the 6 somethings a t the howlers this winter . |
| Great post! That's why I bought my Beowulf. I really want to bag a moose. They are the best tasting game animals in my opinion. Unfortunately moose tags are by drawing here in MT. I'll have to settle for elk this year. It's good to see that the Beowulf is "enough gun". |
Went back to the kill site the other day and got the antlers out. A bear had buried the head/horns and the rest of the scraps in a huge mound. We fired a couple rounds of shotgun bird dispirsal flash/bang rounds on him and he left. Had one guy on the Beowulf fulltime while we dug the horns out as I expected him back to protect his digs but it was uneventful. 
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Forgive my ignorance but why actually aim to shoot him in the shoulder blade? I have seen this several times in several big game hunts that have been televised or shown on high quality video online. I've always wondered why? Is there a reason that you know of? Or you just do it cause it works/worked in the past? I have only hunted whitetail deer and I aim right behind the shoulder as best I can. Insight??? Thanks. Good kill. |
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Shivan: There is a very big reason why I try to break them down first and that is because all the meat and some bone goes out on your back and where they go down is where they stay untill you cut them into portable pieces. Taking out both shoulders like I did makes them immobile and in the case of moose that is advantageous so they don't run to water and you end up butchering them up to your crotch in water and mud. Been there and done that and no t shirt. The other animal I break down first is a Brown Bear for the same reason to make them immobile. They don't run to water but they will eat your ass given the opportunity. For a non munching non water seeking animal I would probably punch the lungs as they are a bigger target and will kill faster. |
Yes, the animals I have seen purposely shot through the shoulders were Cape Buffalo at sub-100yds. I figured it was to stop mobility RFN, but was unsure. Thanks. |
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James: I don't know what a mature bull weighs on the hoof. Have always wondered. Have heard that the total weight is roughly double whatever your processed meat weighs. We kept all the salvagable meat including rib, neck tongue, liver etc. We pack out the four quarters and ribs with the bones still attached the rest is cleaned off the carcas and put into meat bags and humped out. The only thing left was the hide and that was done for two reasons. Number one it is extremely heavy to pack out and when you do it is extremely expensive to tan. I hate to waste anything but it just doesn't make sense to me unless it is an easy pack and you are willing to tan it yourself. I don't know what the total weight of the processed meat was since we only kept one quarter and part of the backstraps and one rib rack because that is all my wife and I can eat till next year. The rest went to three other family's down in the village. I would guess the total processed meat was around 700 lbs. Here is another photo that gives a better idea of the size. That photo was taken about the time you realize that all of that has to be cut up and taken out on your back. 
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That is a nice moose... Looks like a solid 55" spread or so. Glad to see that the Beowulf worked so well. I had always heard those fat, stubby AR rounds were good only out to 100 yards or so - more if you practiced alot. Moose are pretty tough animals and the fact that one fell to two rounds at 194 yards really says something to me about the Beowulf. And to go back to get the head after a resident bear "claimed" them says something even more! I hear you about the fun being over! I use to hunt with a guy up there that said keep shooting - five, ten shots... because as soon as you stop, you get to gut it, haul it out, butcher it - lots and lots of work with an animal that weighs about 900 - 1200 pounds... Your pack doesn't seem as bad as my friend who just took a dall sheep. They were 18 miles from their boat. When they got back to the boat, the river had started to dry up and we now a half mile from the boat... He said if he hadn't gotten a 40 3/4" sheep that hunt would have sucked... Man, I bet the 6.5G would be an awesome sheep rifle... Spooky |
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Spooky: My original estimate for the horn size was high 50's but for some reason that set is very deceptive. Look at the first photo I posted with the Wolf in the horns and do the math. They actually measured 66 7/16 with a steel tape with three seperate people. I was surprised. I don't know which is more work sheep or moose. Two of the sheep I took were in the Brooks where we humped 16 miles from the lake we landed on to make camp then took sheep 6 miles the other side of camp which required a double trip to hump the meat and camp back. The other sheep I've taken weren't quite as bad but don't know of an easy sheep and that is what makes it what it is. I got my son within 18 paces of his first ram on his 16th birthday and that still remains my hunt of hunts. I used a 338 on all my sheep hunts because every hunt up here is a potential growler hunt. My Grendel is a lot of gun but its not a growler gun and it weighs more than my .338. |
You know, after looking at the horns a second time and the size of the rifle I started to think that it had to be 60+ inches. A standard stock 16" barrel rifle really should be around 34" and that rifle would fit in there twice! That, my friend, is a keeper! I know it isn't the freak 80" that comes out of Alaska once a year, but that is a very nice moose! I would have shot it! Sheep are more work for the pure distance and altitude involved! Luckily they don't weigh anywhere near what a moose does! Moose are brutal because of their shear size. Anyway you cut it, those quarters weigh well over 100 pounds and sometime push up against 200! A lot of the moose hunting I did up there was with three and four wheelers and some tracked rigs (hell, one was a bulldozer with wide pad tracks) and it is still a lot of work... Spooky |
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[taking a slight tangent] Bob, what kind of solar panels are those, and what kind of price range would I be looking at to outfit a place with some? [/tangent] Nice moose, btw. When I lived in Maine I knew a couple guys who shot moose that ran into the water. That kind of misery almost makes you regret pulling the trigger. |
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Cool pics and some good eats. I am getting ready to go solar, and for my system it is going to run $21,000 (I have been quoted as much as 30k). In Oregon, I will get a $6000 grant that goes directly to the contractor, so the initial cost will be 15k. Thenn starting in 2006, I can get tax credits of $6k from the state and federal government, which are split up over the next 4 years. In the end the system will cost $3k, and I won't have to pay for electricity. |
Nice kill. The .50beuwolfs are some kind of sweet.
You might want to try this for fun or more power while you're at it, some people have built windmills to power their homes at night for electricity, further reducing the draining of the power stored in the batteries that the sollar panels have to charge during the day. And plus it could help during a SHTF blizzard scenario. 3kw DIY windmill Other projects Do they have any regulations or "net-metering" agreements in your state, that states any surplus power produced at your residence and returned into the neighborhood grid, that the power company that runs the grid has to pay you for the extra electricity you have provided to the grid? It's always nice to get payed some extra money. The more power you have the more you get paid, only if it is metered of course. One example Another |
Not enough wind here for a wind mill. I will however have full battery backup in case of blackouts. We do have "net-metering" I will be credited for any power that I return to the grid. |
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