2008 Hunts are brought to you by: Click on a logo to visit the sponsor's website                                                 2008 Archery Moose With Rifle Tags    -- By Keith Beasley --   Keith and Paul were thrilled when they drew a rifle bull tag for the Thunder Bay district. They were even more excited when friend and legendary moose guide, Joe Dampier, invited them to tag along with him. Opting to use archery gear, Keith harvested this young bull at 30 yards after the big animal answered the call. Keith also was lucky enough to arrow a calf as it fed 18 yards away in the bay.             The truck was loaded, the bows were tuned, the gear was packed and as work ended, Paul and I were on the road to Thunder Bay. It was a familiar road trip that is always accompanied with high hopes of a great hunt. We always travel straight through, swapping drivers when needed but past experience has shown us that adrenalin usually carries us the majority of the way.     We were en route to hunt moose in the Thunder Bay District during the first week of rifle season. We had many sleepless nights awaiting this hunt after drawing a rifle bull tag. The plan was to travel to Thunder Bay and stay with the Dampier family before heading out the next morning on our 4 day adventure. Our relationship with the Dampier's goes back a few years when we met at an outdoor show. Paul and I were busy scoring racks at an event and Joe Dampier came by the booth to talk hunting; little did he know that we wouldn't let him leave until he pulled out his photo album and told the story behind every picture right down to the finite details. A relationship, built on a common bond, was started that day and now a friendship between several families has grown. Joe is not just any hunter, he is an avid and successful archer who chases bull moose all over Northern Ontario. After hearing his stories, and him hearing about our Southern Ontario turkey population, the ball started rolling and hunts were soon planned. Joe had been here and shared some exciting turkey hunts with us; one included him harvesting the largest turkey on record in Canada with archery tackle; a true trophy.     We soon arrived after 14 hours behind the wheel and settled in for a restless night. Paul and I had trouble sleeping as we mulled over the many scenario's we had in our minds. We talked of rutting bulls, mating calls, a calf tag and any other moose topic we could think of. This was a unique trip for us as we had drawn a rifle tag but opted to target these moose with our Hoyt Katera XL's. We brought the rifle along "just in case" but were really hoping to call a bull into bow range.     After help from Joe's family, we were soon stationed at camp. A small make shift cabin would be home base and we would hunt a series of bays and ponds on the edge of a lake. Joe explained that the best portion of the rut had passed but bulls would still be responding to calls in mid October. Having an expert guide in the woods sure calmed our nerves; especially since Joe's clients had gone 5/6 this year already with the 6th guy making a very poor shot. With a track record like that Paul and I were glad we were hunting in a different area as it sounded like all the moose were gone!     We were short for time on the first evening hunt but we still managed to sneak into a quiet bay and set up before Joe began working his magic. We watched as he walked back and forth through the knee high water, calling every so softly, then slowly increasing the volume. Not 30 seconds after his first call, a large branch snapped directly ahead of us in the thick timber. The night was quiet and the sound echoed across the bay. Paul and I looked at each other knowing that something was on its way. As we readied ourselves for an approaching moose, Joe sprayed powder into the air only to find that the wind had shifted and was now at our backs. We needed to move and do it fast. In the process of trying to relocate we never did see a moose that night. The wind is a never ending enemy for any hunter and it reared its ugly head on us that night.     The next morning we spotted a large cow grazing in a back bay. We quietly worked into range but could not see a calf with her. We worked that area hard hoping a bull might present himself but could not locate one.     After a hardy meal we left the cabin early for the evening hunt to make a long journey to a distant bay that held moose year after year. As we quietly paddled our small boat the wind and water was calm. It was a perfect night to work a big shallow bay as the calls would carry well into the thick cover. As the three of us quietly approached we could see a moose feeding on the far side about 300 yards away. We stopped and placed our Zeiss binoculars on the magnificent animal and as he raised his head out of the water from feeding the sun shone on a 40" rack. "A bull," Paul and I shouted simultaneously. Joe whispered back, yeah and there is another cow just to his right. We sat in amazement as these two giant animals fed with their heads under water for 20-30 seconds at a time before emerging for air. There was a large island bluff in the middle of the bay and we could hear another moose feeding behind the island. We now knew that we were in the middle of heavy moose activity and needed a game plan. Joe was confident that we could slowly paddle back out of sight from the bull and cow as they fed and quietly sneak to the island.     The game was on! Paul would watch when both heads were down to feed and Joe and I would paddle, after a pain-staking effort we were soon out of sight and on the shore line of the island that separated us from the 3 moose. We slowly pulled the boat onto shore and tied it up.it would be a long swim if we ever lost that! The wind was still calm and in our favour so we began the sneak across the island to see what the moose on the other side was, knowing when we got there that we would be roughly 100 yards from the other pair and could devise a game plan.     You can imagine the 3 of us trying to listen for moose lifting their heads from the water and then slowly cross the island without alerting them. Step by step we followed in synch, the splashing water of feeding moose got louder and our hearts pumped faster. As we got 20 yards from the far shoreline we stopped and could make out the third moose through the trees. It was a mature cow feeding only 75 yards from shore, so the plan was to make it to the edge and figure out if the bull was a shooter and how we would work him. As we crept along with all three moose in sight, the serenity of the walk was soon interrupted by a loud splash not 40 yards away; unsure what caused it we all stopped in amazement that another moose could be that close to us and unaware of our presence. The sound was so close to shore yet we could not see what it was. Joe slowly crept 10 yards further to see. He soon turned back and explained it was a calf only 15 yards from shore feeding heavily in belly deep water. Paul and I were amazed at the options before us. With a rifle slung on our back, Hoyt compounds in our hand, and a bull and calf tag in our pockets; we had it all within our grasp. We spent the next few minutes deciding if the bull was one that Paul wanted to target as it was his turn to choose. We glassed him for 20 minutes, watching and determining what to do. The dilemma wasn't whether or not we could get him, the dilemma was whether or not we could do it with the bow. The rangefinder told us it was a 180 yard shot. That was a slam dunk with our .270 shooting the Winchester XP3's. After much discussion we opted to move in on the calf and take it with the bow while the other three moose had their heads in the water feeding. After that shot Paul and Joe could paddle around to the shore in attempt to call the bull into bow range.     I led the stalk and whenever the 4 animals had their heads in the water feeding we would make up ground. Paul and Joe both followed, each with a camera on their shoulder. Using this method to gain ground I was soon in position at 18 yards. The calf was still in mid-belly deep water feeding broadside only 15 yards from shore. I was 3 yards from shore on an elevated bank so the situation couldn't have been better. As the 4 moose were all down feeding, and Paul and Joe each had a camera rolling, I quickly drew my Katera XL and settled the 20 yard pin of my G5 Optix XR sight. I placed the pin just where the water met her belly and tucked in just behind the shoulder, I ensured that all heads were under water and let the Easton Full-Metal Jacket fly. As my arrow, tipped with a G5 Striker, connected it was like an eruption as the calf jumped into deeper water forcing her to swim. When the other 3 moose lifted their heads from feeding all they noticed was the calf swimming towards its mother. The calf swam only 30 yards and as she did, giant pools of blood gushed out each side. As the calf stopped swimming the last large air bubbles pushed out the exit and entry hole. The fixed blade Striker had blown clean through her and stuck in the muddy bottom below. I was pumped and could not believe I had just taken a calf moose with my bow; it was an amazing hunting experience.               I sat with the camera in that same spot and began to take footage of the remaining three moose as Paul and Joe began their approach. I sat studying these massive animals and soon watched a second calf join the bull and the cow. I could not help but sit in awe at the 40" bull as he lifted his giant head from the water, filled with green forage and his bell dripping water. The footage was amazing and I was enjoying every minute but hoping we did not pass Paul's only opportunity. The cow that was with my calf busted their stalk and the moose soon ran for heavy cover.     The following morning we worked the swamp with no success. With only an evening hunt remaining, Paul and Joe returned to the same spot hoping to get the 40" bull within bow range. I sat 200 yards away on another bay but within sight so Joe could work the calls for both of us. Hours passed with no sign of moose. Joe had been making exceptional calls and it seemed nothing was listening. I really wondered if our disruptive hunt the night before had caused the bull to stay away. As light faded on our last hunt, I felt bad that Paul had not shot that bull. With only 15 minutes of light remaining Joe let out another series of calls. From 300 yards away across the bay I heard a loud crack. As if on a rope, a year and a half old bull with a visible rack walked out to the edge of the water and looked in Joe's direction for the balling cow. I looked intently with my Zeiss binoculars and knew it was not the bull Paul passed on the night before, but knew in my heart that if came within range I would take him. Joe kept calling and that eager bull walked straight to me across that bay. He was in belly deep water at times but never slowed; he grunted with nearly every step. It was like a dream as the deep "Ough", "Ough" echoed through the evening air.     The bull had no idea I was there and when he reached 50 yards, he veered to my left which was going to bring him by me at 30 yards. The bull splashed out of the deeper water and continued to grunt. He was in knee-high water when I stopped him with a subtle cow call. The bull paused and stared into the heavy shore line where I was hidden. Already at full-draw, I wasted no time in settling my well lit G5 pin on his lungs and sent the arrow on its way. The huge animal turned in an instant and charged back the way he came. I immediately cow called again and he stopped at 50 yards to turn back and look. Through my Zeiss bino's I could see blood pouring out into the water on each side of him. The bull then turned and sauntered off. When he reached the 75 yard mark his pace slowed to a walk before he stopped and stood still, facing away from me. I watched the giant mammal teeter back and forth and then as he swayed back to the left, could not catch himself and crashed in a huge splash in two feet of water. I watched eagerly for any movement but with his nose under water and one side of his rack pointing upwards, the silhouette of my fallen trophy lay still.     Paul and Joe soon arrived and hugs and hand shakes followed. We found my Easton Full Metal Jacket arrow and G5 Striker broadhead, stuck into the mud on shore, 20 yards from where the bull stood. This hunt was one to remember and the bull we passed will be bigger next year; it's still Paul's turn.     Click on the videos below to see footage of the bull and calf and listen to Keith Beasley and Joe Dampier as they recount the events surrounding the hunt and the rutting activity in the area. The picture above is the entrance hole on the calf moose that was taken with a G5 Striker broadhead on the end of an Easton Full Metal Jacket arrow.