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Post by hurricane on Jun 28, 2011 12:09:16 GMT
Well, we got our work cut out for us! My brother-in-law got lucky in the moose draw.  He's lived in NH for the past forty or so years but hasn't done much of any hunting in that WMU. I'm pitching in to help him with some scouting, but know even less than he does about the lay of the land there. Got some good leads from a few folks already about where to start scouting, but it never hurts to get the word out. Anybody local or who has hunted that WMU, any advise MUCH appreciated. Thanks, Jay Can't wait 'til October 15th to start doing some of this stuff.  (my friends from Hampstead, heading into the woods on their 2009 moose hunt)  By Sunday afternoon  |
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Post by ecgreen on Jun 28, 2011 12:57:21 GMT
Good luck! Let us know what you find.
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Post by hurricane on Jun 28, 2011 15:20:20 GMT
Can't go wrong on Mt. Kearsarge The Blackwater river flood control area between the Salisbury dump and Webster holds a good number of swamp donkeys. Stop in to Marshall's Firearms in Boscawen, Brad is very helpful and will give you some good spots as well. Thanks for those tips Ken. Appreciate them very much! Bob (my brother-in-law) had mentioned buying a couple of guns off of Brad in the past, and was guessing that he'd be a good guy to talk to. Guess this confirms it!!!!!  - Jay ps. EC, thanks for the "good luck". No worries, pictures and stories (some true) for sure. |
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Post by Swamp Donkey Adventures on Jul 14, 2011 18:20:35 GMT
You might end up running into some other hunters on Mt. kearsage! but well worth it to try! Usualy ends up being pretty crowded over there. For number of moose might be a better bet to try Flood control first, a few very nice bulls over there!
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Post by hurricane on Jul 15, 2011 9:03:33 GMT
Thanks for the advise Chet. Bob and I are itchy as all get out to start getting familiarized with the area. - Jay |
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Post by hurricane on Sept 13, 2011 11:44:04 GMT
FINALLY!!!!! got a day off to do my first moose scouting trip over in I 1. It felt great to get back into the woods again. My strongest impression was how your senses come to life - the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes (yup, the blackberries are ripe) and the fun of exploring new areas. My intention for this solo trip was to kind of reconoiter the whole general area just to get a feel for the lay of the land. That lasted about an hour, when I went into the first spot I had chosen to look at and immeadiately got sucked into poking around slowly and just seeing and enjoying as much as I could. So much for the best laid plans....  There was not however, a moose behind every tree.  But that's OK. Wouldn't want to see them all the first day anyway. I did run across some old sign and a few moosey looking areas though. Got a feeling that the local advise that's been offered here is going to come in handy. Lotsa turkeys sighted and a pleasant lack of "Posted Signs". Back at it next week. Pics coming soon's I get my friggin camera straightened out. - Jay ps. Oh yeah. The second strongest impression was that it's time to start doing my two mile hikes again. I was huffing like a steam locomotive on those uphill stretches. 
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thunderchicken
Turkey Contest Staff
Impatience is hard to ignore , but patience puts the bird in your truck!
Posts: 1,102
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Post by thunderchicken on Sept 13, 2011 13:23:28 GMT
Hurricane,
I grew up in Boscawen and know a few good places to find Moose in that area..........If you need more info PM me and I can give you exacts......
Good luck
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Post by hurricane on Sept 13, 2011 15:30:45 GMT
PM's are flying from Shapleigh to Loudon. Thank you!!!!! - Jay |
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Post by hurricane on Sept 20, 2011 10:47:39 GMT
Ahhhh, a second scouting trip in the books. Great day weatherwise and saw a heap of new territory - some of it held some promising sign. This was the first trip where the timing worked out so that Bob and I could go together. We blabbed away incessantly the whole time talking planning, tactics and the logistics of getting our expeditionary force together. Yup, we're excited!!!!! No moose on the hoof sighted yet but we MIGHT be beginning to get a glimmer of a clue. Still lots of places to check out - back at it again next week. And the blackberries still taste mighty fine. - Jay |
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Post by hurricane on Sept 30, 2011 9:46:40 GMT
Well the third scouting trip went pretty well. Bob and I headed out (a little late - got his sorry azz out of bed by pounding on the back door ). Headed to Marshall's and donated some Maine money to the State of NH Fish and Game License fund, bought somemore 180gr 30-06's and talked moose with Brad and some of the locals. Gave three new spots a look and revisited one of last weeks spots to see if there was any fresh sign. Still a little too much "truck time" but got into the woods for a few hours too. Felt great. The mosquitos seemed to have tamed down but the blackberries were a mite sparse. Still haven't seen anything live on the hoof but that'll come, hopefully. First session of target practice Sunday with the -06. Bob got his .340 pretty much dialed in last week. That friggin thing's a beast - prbly kill a moose about three zip codes away. Camera's still frigged up a bit so no pics this week either. Back at it again next week! - Jay |
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Post by hurricane on Oct 6, 2011 11:04:40 GMT
Whew!!!!! 10/05/11 Well it took a while but Bob and I finally got into a good amount of real fresh sign. Checked a couple of new areas yesterday and now it's time to narrow down to the "honey holes" (we wish! ) for some indepth poking around and maybe a bit of calling. By in large my impression is that this I1 WMU has a big holding capacity for a larger moose population than the tracks would indicate. At least this year there is tons of food. Another impression is that so far we haven't stumbled across a whole lot of bull in pre-rut/rutting time sign. Gotta keep workin' it I guess. Gonna start hittin' it early early next week. Note to self: Keep a sharper eye out for track. Bob has busted me twice now for walking right past some sign. On the receiving end of Major Ballbusting.  He's got a pretty sharp eye for such stuff. Target practice sure as the dickens got rained out last Sunday, so it's off to the range for some shootin' this morning. - Jay |
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Post by hurricane on Oct 9, 2011 10:42:18 GMT
I thought I was all through working up a sweat while scouting. Wow, I was wrong. Gorgeous day Saturday but WAY warm by midmorning. At least for hoofing it up some of the foothills of Mt. Kearsage.
Checked out a couple of new spots that held some promising moose sign and jumped a beauty of a doe in the process. Listened to a coyote pack yipping up a storm a few hundred yards away, early morning (fresh kill?).
Gettin' ready to start packing gear up and heading to my "spike camp" ;D (Bob's house - about 20 miles from I 1)
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Post by hurricane on Oct 16, 2011 1:27:14 GMT
Whew, long day in the woods! (Pooped  and ready to put the heads on pillows. Awesome day with a bit of wind, rain, sun and moose sign but nothing brown to take a shot at. Wait'll tomorrow!!!!! Big thanks to the many folks here that have pitched in with help and advise. MUCH appreciated!!!!! - Jay |
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Post by hurricane on Oct 17, 2011 10:08:37 GMT
No such luck yesterday but an awesome day out of doors nonetheless. Fresh sign was a bit sparse for us yesterday so off to the Plan B spot today. Hey, it could happen! Legal huntin' in about twenty minutes! |
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Post by hurricane on Oct 20, 2011 9:38:20 GMT
Thursday AM - The "Aches, Pains and Altzeimers Moose Expeditionary Force" is still in hot pusuit of Bullwinkle. Puttin' in a lot of miles in some great looking moose territory. Hiked up to some cuts on top of a pretty steep piece of New Hampshire Tuesday. Can't say how high it was, but there were discarded oxygen bottles left by previous hikers along the trail. Thought Bob and I was gonna get a nosebleed and altitude sickness. Calling has produced a big fat zilch for us so far, so we're shifting into more of a still hunting mode, hoping for some shitluck that we walk up on 'em. No critters yet but we're back hot on their trail after the rain lets up a tad. (Altzeimers moments - "I thought you brought the sandwiches!!!!! ) |
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