Bird-doggin For Bullwinkle

The special corner of world referred to by most Canadians as God's Country has long been famous for its tremendous moose hunting. The northwest corner of Ontario, stretching from the town of Sault Ste. Marie all the way to Kenora, boasts possibly the most productive moose woods in all of Central Canada.

Very few moose hunters have fine-tuned hunting with a traditional equipment as precisely as Scott Ellery has. For Ellery, the fall of 1995 will be a year that will go down in history.

Ellery, and his partner Barry White, had already spent a memorable week at moose camp. And by the final day of the hunt, they were in process of packing things in for the year when all hell broke loose!

All that remained on the agenda for the year was to tie-up loose ends, which included the collecting of several boats, which had been hidden on nearby lakes. This task, of course, could not be accomplished without bringing along the proper equipment. It was, after all, still hunting season.

Hey Barry, better grab your .410 just in case we see some grouse, Ellery instructed. He also decided to bring along his recurve bow just in case a moose appeared.

Start Out Grouse Hunting

The hunters chatted like a couple of old school chums, as they drove down the winding road that led from moose camp. The men watched out of the corner of their eyes for glimpses of any spruce grouse that might be out for a stroll. Farther down the trail, just when they had all but forgotten about their northern bird patrol, a nice male grouse poked his head out and trotted across the road in front of them. Ellery quickly turned the ignition off and they coasted to a stop. The plan, as they saw it, was to first attempt a shot with the bow at any bird they saw on the ground. If Ellery's arrow should fly astray, his partner would then finish the bird off with his trusty shotgun. It was a simple, but efficient grouse strategy.

With Mr. Grouse scooting across the road like an Olympic sprint champion, Ellery had to be fast if he wanted a crack at him. In his haste, the arrow shot at the feathered creature fell short. Determined he would get another chance at the bird, he tiptoed through the underbrush in hot pursuit. Suddenly, an odd but distinct sound caught his attention as it reverberated through the northern woods.

Barry, did you hear that? he inquired. His partner, of course, thought he was joking at the time, as poking fun about seeing moose was something they did regularly, even while chasing other game.

I don't hear anything, are you pulling my leg again, man? White responded. This time, the noise was clearer and much closer and both men suddenly recognized it as the familiar call of a bull moose. Although still in grouse-mode, Ellery had no choice but to think quickly and change gears. Instinctively, he cupped his hands and brought them to his mouth, releasing a few subtle cow calls. Fortunately, the wind was in their favor and the calls prompted an immediate response from the nearby mystery moose.

Woof, Woof! the bull moose bellowed.

A Stubborn Bull

Ellery followed up on his initial contact with the bull, with a few more plaintiff cow calls, soon realizing that although the moose was curious, this dominant bull had no intention of moving in closer. Ellery had to pull out some more tricks from his bag, if he wanted this old boy to budge. He found some dry spruce branches nearby and proceeded to break them over his knee. The sharp cracking sound echoed through the underbrush, straight to the moose. The hunter even threw in a few deep moose grunts for good measure, trying his best to imitate a rival bull moose spoiling for a fight.

Apparently, that was all it required to make the big fellow move. Ellery recalls the sounds and the feeling of the big bull as it destroyed a small sapling a stone's throw away.

I knew I had him mad at that point, he recalled. Then the moose began to move in closer, stiff-legged and angry. Ellery's heart was racing a mile a minute. The animal was down-wind and quartering toward him at this point. It was perfect. Without even communicating, the two hunters had put together a nice tag-team plan, hopefully lining the big boy up for a shot. White remained in the dense brush just off the road and continued calling, while Ellery prepared himself on the path, should a good shot opportunity arise. Ellery felt very confident in his partner's abilities, and had a gut feeling that old White would draw the moose right past him.

Ellery had only made it 30 yards off the road when his partner began a barrage of branch breaking and crashing trees on the other side of the road. By now, the giant bull was a scant 40 yards away, scraping his antlers on the nearby brush, in an impressive display of dominance.

Needs To Act Quickly

I knew I had to act quickly, and that any movement I made might be picked up by the irate bull, Ellery said. The bull by this point was in search of an intruder spending time on his turf.

As he sat crouched behind some small saplings, a flood of thoughts and emotion ran through his mind.

Could this animal actually run me over? he thought. Perhaps I should I move laterally to allow Mr. Moose some room to pass by.

The single most important detail he did remember, thank goodness, was getting prepared for the shot at the approaching bull, which had already moved to within 20 feet.

Without warning, the big boy stopped dead in his tracks! Ellery could hear the beast breathing heavily, in slow deliberate breaths. With his blood about to boil over, the anxious hunter didn't know if he could take the pressure much longer!

From his position approximately 50 yards down the trail, White proceeded to break a few branches and squeak out one last grunt. Immediately pinpointing his location, the old swamp donkey began closing in on him again with a slow deliberate, soldier-like gate. His majestic head rocked from side to side like the pendulum of a giant clock. It was mesmerizing. Although Ellery was still unsure if he could remain cool, somehow he managed to draw back on the trusty old recurve. With the bow in position, the hunter picked out the first spot of brown he could find on the massive animal's torso.

The Arrow Is Loose

The arrow was on its way toward the bull with nothing left to do but watch in amazement. Up until then, Ellery had not even realized how close the great bull really was, and in a split second the loud thud confirmed a hit. The arrow found its mark, burying deep behind the bull's front shoulder. The moose lunged forward breaking off the feather-end of the arrow like a matchstick, sending it sailing toward Ellery and landing right at his feet! Like a derailed locomotive, the injured moose broke through the brush toward the road and a few seconds later, all was quiet.

Did you get a shot at him? White yelled as he stood up. Did you see the size of his rack? Man that was close!

After the men met up on the trail and collected their thoughts, Ellery recalled the details of what occurred. It was clear that the bull had been fatally wounded, and would hopefully soon succumb to his injuries.

The hunters sat nervously trailside for what seemed like hours, but in reality was a mere five minutes. The excitement was overwhelming, and the curiosity was killing them. They followed the path the giant bull had taken before he went down, and it wasn't long before they picked up the trail where they had last seen him.

There he is! yelled White, when something black up ahead caught his attention. With their mouths slightly agape and staring in disbelief, they could not believe the immense size of this great bull. His majestic chocolate-colored rack spanned an impressive 58 inches, a stretch for anyone's arms. The symmetry and perfection of this beauty was something to behold. It was truly the answer to Ellery's's hopes and dreams.

In a matter of minutes, a simple back road drive on the final day of the season had spun into most exciting moose hunt ever. While they chatted about game birds and past hunts, Ellery had no idea he would soon stumble upon one of the greatest bull moose ever taken with a bow in Ontario.

Even more impressive is that the animal was harvested with a traditional recurve bow at less than 10 feet. With an official score 188-5/8 inches Pope & Young, the Ellery bull is potentially the largest Canada Moose ever taken with traditional equipment in North America. Thanks to the assistance and support of his comrade White, Ellery had the opportunity to enjoy the unexpected hunt of a lifetime. It could have only happened in God's Country!