Waterloo, Ontario

“Old Dogs – New Tricks”

Because I own an archery shop, for years I wasn’t able to go moose hunting. It is my busiest time of year. However, I did put my name into the moose draw with a group of very successful moose hunters from my area with the agreement that I would go if I got drawn for a tag. Four years ago this happened — I got drawn for a bull tag and went up to Northern Ontario to hunt with the group.

That hunt was a bit of a nightmare. It rained for 10 days and snowed on the eleventh so we were miserable and cold and wet most of the time. In spite of the inclement weather, we got a nice bull moose — the 17th for the group in 17 years. I was hooked! Now moose hunting takes priority over work in the Fall.

I’ve known Alex Gouthro for quite a few years – in fact, we attended Bob Folkrod’s Bowhunting School together some years ago. So when he came out with his Moose Madness Series I agreed to sell them – starting in 2006. When I reviewed the DVD Series I couldn’t stop watching them — I never fell asleep once during the entire four DVDs which for me, means they had to be fascinating. However, I couldn’t get my hunting buddies much interested in watching them — after all, 17 bulls in 17 years – with success like that what could they learn!

Last fall the time came for our 2006 hunt. After a 17-hour drive we found a good spot and set up a comfortable camp. In the evening before going to bed, I decided to review some parts of “Moose Madness” on my portable DVD player. My friends declined the offer to join me.

The next day after scouting, hunting sites were selected and tree stands were set up – tree stands being the normal way of moose hunting for my friends. This year I opted for a ground blind as Alex suggests in his DVD series. My friend Rick Foss set up at the edge of a small meadow and I set up in another meadow about 200 yards from him. Rick started calling and after several fruitless hours, he called me on the radio and suggested I give it a try for the last 20 minutes. Using Alex’s method of calling, I started cow calling. Rick called me on the radio to say a bull had answered and suggested I keep calling. The bull went past him and into my meadow but by then it was past legal shooting time so we quietly left the area.

We were back early the next morning and I started calling. On the first call I got an answer from a bull about 500 yards away. I kept calling and he kept answering and coming closer until he got to about 20 yards from me behind some brush, grunting and raking his rack on some alders. He hung up there because about 100 yards out in front, another bull was grunting and raking alders with his antlers. A third bull came out to stand in the meadow to observe and listen to the other bulls, occasionally throwing his own grunts in just to make it interesting. Eventually the bulls all retreated and slowly disappeared. There were no shot opportunities that evening but, wow, was it exciting!
When I got back to camp and told the story, everybody decided that it should be a movie night to watch the “Moose Madness” DVD’s. They wanted to know what I was doing to get such great response…..

By the end of the week all of us were using ground blinds. Following Alex’s directions new calling techniques were being practiced and we were hunting areas and using hunt setups we hadn’t even considered before. I personally called in nine bull moose that week and saw five of them. Our combined total for the week was 29 bulls called in, with 17 actual moose sightings.

On Friday morning Avard Brown called in a big bull and Tony Sousa made a great lung shot at 25 yards. The 1100 lb 54” moose traveled only 70 yards before dropping.
The rest of day was spent cutting up and carrying moose. Fortunately it was only about 125 yards to a roadway so the job was not all that difficult and we all made it out of the bush safely to break camp and return home.

Alex Gouthro and his “Moose Madness” DVD Series played a huge role in our success this past year and I am sure it will continue to do so in the years to come. The Moose Madness Series is a great investment for any moose hunter — Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks!

George Wagner is a dedicated and successful bowhunter from Waterloo, Ontario who has hunted with a bow since 1978, and who has owned archery businesses since 1980. He has been the owner of The Bow Shop at Shooter’s Choice in Waterloo since 1984.