HPW
New member
Having had two close encounters with moose in the past 9 months alone, the stay still and quiet and wait for them to leave method doesn't work much.
Elk hunting this year I was charged by a big bull. Saw him at about 40 yards coming straight for me, I had a round chambered and gun pointed at him instinctively when he stopped about 15 yards. I was pulling the trigger as he stopped, there wouldn't have been a nice convenient warning shot 90 degrees from him. As he stood there I put a few scrub pines between us, which wouldn't have done a thing. He stayed for several minutes pacing back and forth shaking his head and deciding if he should charge. I finally made myself look big and made noise and he trotted off. If you haven't been up close with a moose you have no idea how quickly they can cover ground.
This past week I had another encounter while turkey hunting. I was actually getting my call out to try for some coyotes when my buddy grabbed me by the shoulder as a bull trotted into the clearing in front of us. He stood for about 5 minutes false charging. We backed behind a large boulder, but he didn't leave until I again waved my shotgun in the air and made noises. We were both convinced that if we had been in the open he would have charged and we would have only had #4 shot to fend him off.
I've had similar experiences in the past with moose and bears. The point I'm getting at is that some animals really don't fear humans, so thinking that by you standing there everything is going to run off and leave you alone is a bad idea. Sometimes in the woods you have to appear to be too much of a hassle to mess with.
Putting the video up wouldn't be my choice based on the crazies out there that will threaten to kill a fellow human for hurting an animal. But saying he shouldn't have defended himself, or shouldn't have been carrying a gun, is ridiculous. This is exactly why you carry, as you never know what might happen. And driving off a trail around here in the deep snow is going to end badly.
If a coyote had charged him and he dropped it with his Glock everyone would be cheering his marksmanship. I'm not glad he had to shoot the moose, especially if it was Wyoming, because it means less tags for me to have a hope at drawing. But I don't fault him for shooting once it charged.
Elk hunting this year I was charged by a big bull. Saw him at about 40 yards coming straight for me, I had a round chambered and gun pointed at him instinctively when he stopped about 15 yards. I was pulling the trigger as he stopped, there wouldn't have been a nice convenient warning shot 90 degrees from him. As he stood there I put a few scrub pines between us, which wouldn't have done a thing. He stayed for several minutes pacing back and forth shaking his head and deciding if he should charge. I finally made myself look big and made noise and he trotted off. If you haven't been up close with a moose you have no idea how quickly they can cover ground.
This past week I had another encounter while turkey hunting. I was actually getting my call out to try for some coyotes when my buddy grabbed me by the shoulder as a bull trotted into the clearing in front of us. He stood for about 5 minutes false charging. We backed behind a large boulder, but he didn't leave until I again waved my shotgun in the air and made noises. We were both convinced that if we had been in the open he would have charged and we would have only had #4 shot to fend him off.
I've had similar experiences in the past with moose and bears. The point I'm getting at is that some animals really don't fear humans, so thinking that by you standing there everything is going to run off and leave you alone is a bad idea. Sometimes in the woods you have to appear to be too much of a hassle to mess with.
Putting the video up wouldn't be my choice based on the crazies out there that will threaten to kill a fellow human for hurting an animal. But saying he shouldn't have defended himself, or shouldn't have been carrying a gun, is ridiculous. This is exactly why you carry, as you never know what might happen. And driving off a trail around here in the deep snow is going to end badly.
If a coyote had charged him and he dropped it with his Glock everyone would be cheering his marksmanship. I'm not glad he had to shoot the moose, especially if it was Wyoming, because it means less tags for me to have a hope at drawing. But I don't fault him for shooting once it charged.