The Scribe would like to thank life-long Jefferson County resident, Nelson Sherrer for sharing three bow-hunting stories. 

September 23, 2004

I paid my deposit down at the St. Louis Boat show back in Feb. of 04.  Bud Dickson of Canoe Canada Outfitters, had a booth at the show & offered all kinds of fishing trips, bear hunts and moose hunts.

I had also talked to another friend of mine, Larry Woodard and Larry said this place(Canoe Canada Outfitters) was a sleeper.   I had hunted there for moose before and was successful with a 32-inch bull, not a trophy by any means but a Bull Moose with a bow! I wanted a 50-inch Bull, however since I had never shot a bull moose before with a bow and I know the meat is excellent I took the shot. It’s not wise to pass up a shot with a bow as it really isn’t that easy to harvest a bull. The country is rough, wet, boggy, and the weather changes daily. So I booked another hunt with my good friend Bud Dickson.

Well it has finally arrived, the day I leave for my Canada Moose hunt, Sept. 19, 2004. I drive most of the day and end up getting a room for the night as I was driving by myself. I get up the next morning and get started further north. I arrive at Atikokan, Ontario on the 21st of Sept. The weather is less than desirable and we can’t fly out till the weather gets a little better. I am ok with that, as I know weather changes this time of year means cooler temperatures, rain, and snow, etc. This is exactly what the doctor orders for a great Moose hunt. When the weather changes like that the Moose get a lot more aggressive and helps bring them into the rut. Well on the 22nd of Sept. I go and pick up Greg McGraw in Wilson, Mn. I pick him up at 6am and we drive over to Canoe Canada Outfitters. We arrive at approximately 9am and get all the paper work completed, hunting license, etc. We then head over to the Lake where the plane is and start loading. Greg McGraw, a good friend of mine, is going with me to call and challenge the bull if needed. Greg lives in Wilson, Mn. I am excited and can’t wait.

Let me pause just for a minute and tell you about Greg. This guy is a walking encyclopedia on deer hunting and has taken 4 Bull Moose in five attempts, wow! Greg knows his stuff. I say I am excited and I really am, however I also know that the best time to hunt is during the rut and that may be few days off. I still want to look over the area and do a lot of scouting. In country that big and full of vegetation you need a lot of time.  This is a fly in trip, which means you fly a Beaver Plane and land on the water. You can’t have over 70lbs per person and that includes food, gear, bow, and sleeping bag, etc. This is a safety issue and I am not complaining, as I want to land safely. I ask Phil the pilot to do a fly over of the area I will be hunting.  This will help me get organized in my search for an area to hunt moose. There are thousands of lakes; rivers, clear cuts and I want to select an area with the greatest possibilities. You also have to be mindful of how far to travel, as you can’t get four wheelers, horses or anything else to help you get the meat out. It’s all you and I mean all you! You best be in shape and have done your home work, getting out 1600lbs of Moose walking with knee high boots, and going across bog areas will be a difficult task at best.

Well we get into camp and unload the plane. We just threw it all in the cabin and get ready for an evening hunt. I started up the outboard on the boat and load my bow, back pack and Greg’s stuff. Greg has a spot that he thinks will be productive and off we go. About 20 minutes later we are walking up to a cleared area and get into position. Greg starts making some cow calls will no success. We cover about a mile of clear-cut and bogs and hear or see nothing. It is really too warm to suit me and I mention to Greg to head back and get supper started. We work on the cabin for about an hour, cleaning, organizing and getting ready for the next day’s hunt. I practice my calling a little and with Greg’s help I don’t sound too bad. Moose calling is not difficult and there is no real science to Moose calling as every Moose sounds different. We really need some cooler weather and both Greg and I are hoping for the best. It showers a couple of times and we feel a weather change may be forthcoming. As Greg and I are sitting around the cabin we listen for any Moose in the area at night. We hear nothing. Greg then picks up a paddle and walks over to a tree and starts beating up the tree with the paddle. Has this man gone nuts? He then starts grunting and cow calling. I beginning to think he may need a couple of aspirin? He then explains to me what he is doing. When Moose are fighting or scraping the trees they sound a lot like what Greg is doing. I am somewhat relaxed now and ready for bed! We did all this a midnight! I have taken one Moose and did not know that sometimes calling at midnight can bring bulls in closer to the area for your next day’s hunt. All Greg was doing was preparing for the next day’s hunt at midnight! I knew I was with the right guy and my excitement was rekindled. Now all I can hope for is to be able to sleep. I should have just stayed up as my excitement was too great and anticipation was over the hill!

We get up at 4:30 am and I cook breakfast. By 5:30 am, a full hour before daylight, we are firing up the boat and headed up the lake some 4 miles to a location Greg had success last year. We walk about a mile and hit an older clear-cut, one that has much larger trees and vegetation. Greg starts making calls again. He makes several calls over the next hour or two with no success. You cannot be disappointed because of no answered calls because the Moose have not really started rutting yet and until the weather changes for the worse, I mean rain, snow, and or just plain colder temperatures. We hunt till about 10am with no success and head back for the cabin. On the way back I mention to Greg of a small lake I would like to scout before we get to the cabin. I saw it from the plane and it just looked like a likely place for a Moose to be. Greg parked the canoe and up the hill we went. It was tough walking because of all the water in the ground, deadfall, etc. It was like walking in a swamp. However the further we got up the valley and just before the lake I told Greg lets try calling a Moose and banging on trees to imitate a bull thrashing a tree. There were no return sounds from any Moose; however it is the middle of the day and really too warm. We scout the area and flag our way back to the boat so as not to get lost after dark as we are going to hunt this in the evening.

We check the compass and I set my Megellan SportTrak. You can get lost real easy in the day in Canada let alone at night so we are double checking everything. It is wise to use a GPS system and only hope it doesn’t fail you when you need it. That’s why Greg set his compass, as a back up. I had several waypoints in my Megellan GPS so I felt sure we would be ok. We get back to the cabin and have a little lunch, then head off for another area to scout and find a really good prospect and decide that we would hunt that the next morning. Back to the cabin we go to get ready for our evening hunt.

I mention to Greg lets take a couple of sandwiches as a safety measure, just in case we have to spend the night out there. You can get turned around real easy and one must be prepared for the worst. In our backpacks we have lots of emergency stuff in case we get lost. Well we arrive at the spot were I wanted to hunt this evening and tie up the boat. I walk about a mile up to where the clearing was which was about a quarter mile below a small lake. We sit and wait for about 30 minutes before we make a sound to let things settle down a bit.  Greg starts to make some Moose cow calls and at the same time mixes in a Bull Grunt call now and then. We hear nothing and about an hour pass by.

It is now about 6pm and I mention to Greg that I am going to make Moose cow call. Sometimes a different call is all it takes to get the bulls stirred up enough to get excited. I made a real long cow call, just as soon as I quit the woods fired up and the excitement began. It was a bull answering my call and he was mad. He was coming at a fast passé toward me and I was thinking he was mad because Greg had made those Bull Moose Grunts earlier and this bull thought that another bull had enter his area. While Greg was cow calling this bull didn’t answer because he didn’t think this cow was in season and when I made the longer call it must have been what triggered him. You could hear his antlers raking on the trees as he was coming and coming he was.

I soon notice him standing some 75 yards north of me and Greg was just behind me. I mention to Greg that there he is. The bull came another 10 yards or so and turned and walked up a hill. My heart just sank to the bottom as I thought he had seen me or winded me. I had my Scent Blocker suit on and was sure he did not wind me, but why had he turned and gone up hill away from me and out of archery range? I wasn’t really sure, all I knew was when I saw him it looked like his antlers were ten feet wide, wow, and now he was out of sight and walking away from me. What to do, what can I do?

Greg quickly whispered to me to follow him to those short willows. I stopped at the willows and Greg went out into the clear cut and started waving a piece of plywood cut like antlers over his head. Greg was challenging the bull. I wasn’t sure it would work but if Greg was doing it he had to have experience it before and remember out of five hunts four bulls by Greg McGraw! I was waiting, the bull was still grunting and raking his antlers on trees, he was getting madder and madder and I knew if he stayed in the area and toyed with Greg I still might have a chance. I was anchored by those willows and sure enough the bull started down the hill toward the clear-cut to where Greg was waving those antlers. Greg had turned his Scent Blocker suit inside out so that the color was black and put his hood on. Greg, to the bull moose now looked like a challenger and coming he was. He walked down the hill and all of his attention was on Greg McGraw (the other bull moose) I pull by Hoyt Bow back as the bull was coming.

The bull got to with in 30 yards of Greg and 20 yards broad side of me and I released the arrow tipped with a 100 grain Thunder Head broad head. The arrow hit its mark just behind the shoulder and about one inch above the heart. As the arrow hit its mark the bull busted and ran about 20 yards north then Greg grunted again and the bull stopped and started walking back to me, then fell over dead. The bull hadn’t gone 15 yards before expiring. All I had dreamed of my Canada Moose hunt had just come true and Greg somehow videoed the whole thing, wow. Now the real work begins, getting the Moose ready to be packed out. It’s about 9:15pm and to dark to start quartering the bull up. I field dress the bull for now and we will begin the task of getting him out the next day.

Folks I could write another 20 pages telling you of this hunt however I think you get the point, this was the hunt of a lifetime.

The following are the green measurements on the Bull Moose:
52” Wide
22 measurable points
1600 lb approx. weight
7:10 pm (the time I shot him)

One more thing I would like to mention, Greg McGraw had broken his shoulder just one week before we went hunting and he still went to call for me, an exceptional friend, great sportsman to say the least and a love to hunt!

The following is what I believe helped make this hunt possible for me and to all those I list, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Canoe Canada Outfitters, 807-597-6418, tell them you saw this story.
Bud Dickson
OutDoors in the Heartland by Larry Woodward
Scent Blocker Suits, see them at Dunns Sporting Goods, Pevely Mo.
Greg McGraw
Dunn’s Sporting Goods, 636-475-4240
Hoyt Bows, provided by Dunn’s Sporting Goods
Phil the Pilot, he showed me those lakes
Mid American Hunting Scene, By Jerry Rapp/Brad Strauser
 

The Scribe would like to thank life-long Jefferson County resident, Nelson Sherrer for sharing three bow-hunting stories. 

September 23, 2004

I paid my deposit down at the St. Louis Boat show back in Feb. of 04.  Bud Dickson of Canoe Canada Outfitters, had a booth at the show & offered all kinds of fishing trips, bear hunts and moose hunts.

I had also talked to another friend of mine, Larry Woodard and Larry said this place(Canoe Canada Outfitters) was a sleeper.   I had hunted there for moose before and was successful with a 32-inch bull, not a trophy by any means but a Bull Moose with a bow! I wanted a 50-inch Bull, however since I had never shot a bull moose before with a bow and I know the meat is excellent I took the shot. It’s not wise to pass up a shot with a bow as it really isn’t that easy to harvest a bull. The country is rough, wet, boggy, and the weather changes daily. So I booked another hunt with my good friend Bud Dickson.

Well it has finally arrived, the day I leave for my Canada Moose hunt, Sept. 19, 2004. I drive most of the day and end up getting a room for the night as I was driving by myself. I get up the next morning and get started further north. I arrive at Atikokan, Ontario on the 21st of Sept. The weather is less than desirable and we can’t fly out till the weather gets a little better. I am ok with that, as I know weather changes this time of year means cooler temperatures, rain, and snow, etc. This is exactly what the doctor orders for a great Moose hunt. When the weather changes like that the Moose get a lot more aggressive and helps bring them into the rut. Well on the 22nd of Sept. I go and pick up Greg McGraw in Wilson, Mn. I pick him up at 6am and we drive over to Canoe Canada Outfitters. We arrive at approximately 9am and get all the paper work completed, hunting license, etc. We then head over to the Lake where the plane is and start loading. Greg McGraw, a good friend of mine, is going with me to call and challenge the bull if needed. Greg lives in Wilson, Mn. I am excited and can’t wait.

Let me pause just for a minute and tell you about Greg. This guy is a walking encyclopedia on deer hunting and has taken 4 Bull Moose in five attempts, wow! Greg knows his stuff. I say I am excited and I really am, however I also know that the best time to hunt is during the rut and that may be few days off. I still want to look over the area and do a lot of scouting. In country that big and full of vegetation you need a lot of time.  This is a fly in trip, which means you fly a Beaver Plane and land on the water. You can’t have over 70lbs per person and that includes food, gear, bow, and sleeping bag, etc. This is a safety issue and I am not complaining, as I want to land safely. I ask Phil the pilot to do a fly over of the area I will be hunting.  This will help me get organized in my search for an area to hunt moose. There are thousands of lakes; rivers, clear cuts and I want to select an area with the greatest possibilities. You also have to be mindful of how far to travel, as you can’t get four wheelers, horses or anything else to help you get the meat out. It’s all you and I mean all you! You best be in shape and have done your home work, getting out 1600lbs of Moose walking with knee high boots, and going across bog areas will be a difficult task at best.

Well we get into camp and unload the plane. We just threw it all in the cabin and get ready for an evening hunt. I started up the outboard on the boat and load my bow, back pack and Greg’s stuff. Greg has a spot that he thinks will be productive and off we go. About 20 minutes later we are walking up to a cleared area and get into position. Greg starts making some cow calls will no success. We cover about a mile of clear-cut and bogs and hear or see nothing. It is really too warm to suit me and I mention to Greg to head back and get supper started. We work on the cabin for about an hour, cleaning, organizing and getting ready for the next day’s hunt. I practice my calling a little and with Greg’s help I don’t sound too bad. Moose calling is not difficult and there is no real science to Moose calling as every Moose sounds different. We really need some cooler weather and both Greg and I are hoping for the best. It showers a couple of times and we feel a weather change may be forthcoming. As Greg and I are sitting around the cabin we listen for any Moose in the area at night. We hear nothing. Greg then picks up a paddle and walks over to a tree and starts beating up the tree with the paddle. Has this man gone nuts? He then starts grunting and cow calling. I beginning to think he may need a couple of aspirin? He then explains to me what he is doing. When Moose are fighting or scraping the trees they sound a lot like what Greg is doing. I am somewhat relaxed now and ready for bed! We did all this a midnight! I have taken one Moose and did not know that sometimes calling at midnight can bring bulls in closer to the area for your next day’s hunt. All Greg was doing was preparing for the next day’s hunt at midnight! I knew I was with the right guy and my excitement was rekindled. Now all I can hope for is to be able to sleep. I should have just stayed up as my excitement was too great and anticipation was over the hill!

We get up at 4:30 am and I cook breakfast. By 5:30 am, a full hour before daylight, we are firing up the boat and headed up the lake some 4 miles to a location Greg had success last year. We walk about a mile and hit an older clear-cut, one that has much larger trees and vegetation. Greg starts making calls again. He makes several calls over the next hour or two with no success. You cannot be disappointed because of no answered calls because the Moose have not really started rutting yet and until the weather changes for the worse, I mean rain, snow, and or just plain colder temperatures. We hunt till about 10am with no success and head back for the cabin. On the way back I mention to Greg of a small lake I would like to scout before we get to the cabin. I saw it from the plane and it just looked like a likely place for a Moose to be. Greg parked the canoe and up the hill we went. It was tough walking because of all the water in the ground, deadfall, etc. It was like walking in a swamp. However the further we got up the valley and just before the lake I told Greg lets try calling a Moose and banging on trees to imitate a bull thrashing a tree. There were no return sounds from any Moose; however it is the middle of the day and really too warm. We scout the area and flag our way back to the boat so as not to get lost after dark as we are going to hunt this in the evening.

We check the compass and I set my Megellan SportTrak. You can get lost real easy in the day in Canada let alone at night so we are double checking everything. It is wise to use a GPS system and only hope it doesn’t fail you when you need it. That’s why Greg set his compass, as a back up. I had several waypoints in my Megellan GPS so I felt sure we would be ok. We get back to the cabin and have a little lunch, then head off for another area to scout and find a really good prospect and decide that we would hunt that the next morning. Back to the cabin we go to get ready for our evening hunt.

I mention to Greg lets take a couple of sandwiches as a safety measure, just in case we have to spend the night out there. You can get turned around real easy and one must be prepared for the worst. In our backpacks we have lots of emergency stuff in case we get lost. Well we arrive at the spot were I wanted to hunt this evening and tie up the boat. I walk about a mile up to where the clearing was which was about a quarter mile below a small lake. We sit and wait for about 30 minutes before we make a sound to let things settle down a bit.  Greg starts to make some Moose cow calls and at the same time mixes in a Bull Grunt call now and then. We hear nothing and about an hour pass by.

It is now about 6pm and I mention to Greg that I am going to make Moose cow call. Sometimes a different call is all it takes to get the bulls stirred up enough to get excited. I made a real long cow call, just as soon as I quit the woods fired up and the excitement began. It was a bull answering my call and he was mad. He was coming at a fast passé toward me and I was thinking he was mad because Greg had made those Bull Moose Grunts earlier and this bull thought that another bull had enter his area. While Greg was cow calling this bull didn’t answer because he didn’t think this cow was in season and when I made the longer call it must have been what triggered him. You could hear his antlers raking on the trees as he was coming and coming he was.

I soon notice him standing some 75 yards north of me and Greg was just behind me. I mention to Greg that there he is. The bull came another 10 yards or so and turned and walked up a hill. My heart just sank to the bottom as I thought he had seen me or winded me. I had my Scent Blocker suit on and was sure he did not wind me, but why had he turned and gone up hill away from me and out of archery range? I wasn’t really sure, all I knew was when I saw him it looked like his antlers were ten feet wide, wow, and now he was out of sight and walking away from me. What to do, what can I do?

Greg quickly whispered to me to follow him to those short willows. I stopped at the willows and Greg went out into the clear cut and started waving a piece of plywood cut like antlers over his head. Greg was challenging the bull. I wasn’t sure it would work but if Greg was doing it he had to have experience it before and remember out of five hunts four bulls by Greg McGraw! I was waiting, the bull was still grunting and raking his antlers on trees, he was getting madder and madder and I knew if he stayed in the area and toyed with Greg I still might have a chance. I was anchored by those willows and sure enough the bull started down the hill toward the clear-cut to where Greg was waving those antlers. Greg had turned his Scent Blocker suit inside out so that the color was black and put his hood on. Greg, to the bull moose now looked like a challenger and coming he was. He walked down the hill and all of his attention was on Greg McGraw (the other bull moose) I pull by Hoyt Bow back as the bull was coming.

The bull got to with in 30 yards of Greg and 20 yards broad side of me and I released the arrow tipped with a 100 grain Thunder Head broad head. The arrow hit its mark just behind the shoulder and about one inch above the heart. As the arrow hit its mark the bull busted and ran about 20 yards north then Greg grunted again and the bull stopped and started walking back to me, then fell over dead. The bull hadn’t gone 15 yards before expiring. All I had dreamed of my Canada Moose hunt had just come true and Greg somehow videoed the whole thing, wow. Now the real work begins, getting the Moose ready to be packed out. It’s about 9:15pm and to dark to start quartering the bull up. I field dress the bull for now and we will begin the task of getting him out the next day.

Folks I could write another 20 pages telling you of this hunt however I think you get the point, this was the hunt of a lifetime.

The following are the green measurements on the Bull Moose:
52” Wide
22 measurable points
1600 lb approx. weight
7:10 pm (the time I shot him)

One more thing I would like to mention, Greg McGraw had broken his shoulder just one week before we went hunting and he still went to call for me, an exceptional friend, great sportsman to say the least and a love to hunt!

The following is what I believe helped make this hunt possible for me and to all those I list, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Canoe Canada Outfitters, 807-597-6418, tell them you saw this story.
Bud Dickson
OutDoors in the Heartland by Larry Woodward
Scent Blocker Suits, see them at Dunns Sporting Goods, Pevely Mo.
Greg McGraw
Dunn’s Sporting Goods, 636-475-4240
Hoyt Bows, provided by Dunn’s Sporting Goods
Phil the Pilot, he showed me those lakes
Mid American Hunting Scene, By Jerry Rapp/Brad Strauser