Mountain Ranger Guide Service

Jon Prime is a bowhunter from Kittery Point Maine. Jon was fortunate enough to draw a moose permit in zone twelve, and he was looking for a guide. Jon wanted a fair chase hunt for a bull moose. He had no desire to road hunt from a vehicle.

I was contacted by Jon to discuss what I could offer as a guide to meet Jon’s goals. At first I told him that he could probably do the hunt without a guide, but he knew he didn’t have the time or knowledge of the area to insure success. That was what the guide was for.

I told Jon that I would do my best to meet his goals and would scout and find likely areas to hunt. The first thing I did was contact the regional biologist to get as much inf. as possible on habitat and rut habits for moose. Next I spoke with the foresters at Mead paper to get locations of hardwood cuts that fit the five to ten year old age profile. Next came the fun part! The leg work. I find it to be one of the best parts of the job. The first and closest area to Jon’s second home turned out to have the most bull sign I would find anywhere, but it’s best to have as many options as possible.

The weather during the third week of September, the peak of the rut, WAS HOT! I could call and get bulls to answer but not come in. Either they were with cows and wouldn’t leave them or the warm weather was working against me. Twice I had bulls up wind and could smell them.

Jon had sent me an article from Bowhunter Magazine that was written by an Ontario bowhunter on moose calling. The article listed the writer’s home town so I called him up and he gave me several tips. More than anything, he reassured me that I was doing OK with my calling.

On opening morning, Oct. 8th, I picked up Jon and his son in law, Jed Weiss, at 5:30 A.M. There was a light steady rain as we headed up toward the headwaters of the local river. We worked up the logging road and, as we climbed, the rain changed to snow and the wind started to blow hard. We parked my van and started our mile and a half walk to the first area I had chosen. We found fresh Moose tracks in the snow all along the road. Finally, at the end of the old road, I set us up and started calling. Three or four long high-pitched nasal cow calls followed by several bull “burps” then I raked a mountain maple to tatters. I called for 30 minutes. The whole time the wind was blowing a gale. I was not optimistic. We moved a couple hundred yards and I called for ten minutes at an old log yard, again no response. I decided to have Jon and Jed walk along in front of me as I called.

We had gone only 50 yards when Jon stopped dead and motioned that he saw a bull in front of us. I was in back and because of a bend in the road saw only a small bit of antler. In view. I gave two “bull burps” and on came the moose towards us! Jon didn’t want to shoot with his bow because the bull was face on and didn’t offer anything but a brisket shot. At thirty yards Jon decided to let Jed shoot the bull. I stepped to the left to see as Jed brought his 7 MM Mag. BLR to shoulder, and for the first time saw a huge fifty inch bull moose standing looking at us. The rifle roared and the bull did a 180 turn. I yelled to Jed to keep shooting. He shot twice more but the first one had done the job and the thousand pound bull hit the ground!

The hunt was over at eight o’clock after only forty-five minutes of calling. It was one of the most exciting and rewarding hunts in which I have ever participated. I will remember this hunt as long as I live. GOD, I LOVE MY JOB!

Mountain Ranger Guide Service
Sandy MacGregor
Registered Maine Master Guide
1094 Rte 2
Rumford, ME 04276
Tel: 207-221-0798
mtranger@roadrunner.com