BFRO #7139: Toronto Police Officer hunting moose has close encounter

📍 Location

📝 Description

Before I start, let me give you my background.I am 50 yrs old, have 2 kids and 2 grandkids, have been married for over 29 yrs and have been a Toronto Police Officer for over 28 yrs. I started shooting when I was 7 yrs old, started hunting woodchucks and rabbits when I was 9 or 10 yrs old. I did alot of fishing, canoeing, boating, camping and hiking when I was a kid. I started hunting Deer and Bear when I was about 14 or 15 and have every year since, and started hunting Moose about 14 years ago. My parents were Salvation Army Officers and were transferred all over Canada. I have done all of the above all over Canada during my younger years and continue now in Ontario where I permanently reside in Ajax which is just 10 minutes East of Toronto. For the last 10 yrs I have hunted Moose about 30 miles N/E of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario near a small town called Searchmount near Northland Lake. Over the years I have seen all kinds of wildlife but have never laid eyes on what I saw last week while hunting Moose. I thought I was losing my marbles and that thought was reenforced when I told my brother in law (my hunting partner)the story. I later told my wife over the phone my story and she was intrigued by my story. She apparently told a coworker who found your site on the internet. When I called her to tell her I was on the way home she told me of your site and that there were several sightings in Ontario. That's when I realized that maybe I wasn't just seeing things or losing my head. When I got home I checked out your site and figure your the only people I can tell my story to that won't think I'm completly nuts. Anyhow... to my story.....sorry....it's a little long but it doesn't make sense if I don't tell it all..... My brother in law and I were hunting Moose just N/E of Sault Ste Marie. On Tuesday 14 Oct 2003 I went up an old trail to where it came to a dead end. I got stuck on my ATV in the mud but managed to get out and turn around. I went part way back down the trail to where I found a clearing and parked on the West side where I could see about 200 yards North and South. I stopped there at about 7:45 am. I put out some Moose cow in heat urine scent on the surrounding trees and a few minutes later did a Moose Cow call on my horn. I looked at my watch which said it was 8:05 am. At about 8:15 am it started to rain. I didn't want to get my gun wet so I put it back in the gun boot on my ATV. The rain helps hide my scent but at the same time makes it noisey in the bush with the water hitting the ground, leaves, trees etc. At 8:30 am I started hearing footsteps and snapping twigs coming from the N/E of my position. The rain noise disguised this noise until it was very close to me and because of this I wasn't ready (gun still in boot). All of a sudden I heard the destinctive sound of a Bull Moose raking his rack on the brush very close. I looked to my left and saw a huge bull raking his rack about 70 yards from me. I reached back and pulled my gun from the boot but dropped the boot cover on the top of my ATV which made a banging noise. When I turned back to where the Moose was, it took off back into the dense brush. I thought this was a bit strange because I have seen several Moose in the past that just stood there. They don't seem to be afraid of anything and just stand there. I've had them stand in front of me for several minutes before walking off into the bush in the past and couldn't understand why this one took off so fast. I stayed still for about an hour hoping he would come back. During that time I called on my horn and heard him rake his rack on the bush twice and grunt at me as he headed off in a Southerly direction through the bush. It turns out there was a gulley just out my line of sight that he used to walk around me and disappear. I was later able to raise my brother in law on the radio who showed up and went to where I had seen the Moose. He checked the bush and found fresh tracks which showed the Moose had gone around me in this gulley which was just out of my line of vision. He suggested that I sit near where the Mooose had come out and see if he might come back. I then crossed the clearing and sat on my ATV about 5 yards from where I saw the Moose and sat facing East. Again I sprayed some Moose Cow in Heat urine scent on the trees around me and did a few calls on my horn. By this time it was around 12:30pm. I had decided that I would sit there for the rest of the day hoping to see the Bull come back. While there I ate my lunch, got off the ATV a few times to stretch my legs, had a few cigarettes and even had a little snooze. During this time my back was to the gulley that the Bull had used to walk around me. At about 1:30pm I started hearing heavy thumps behind me every now and then. Every time I heard one, I would turn around but there was nothing there. I should mention that it was still raining. The sound of the rain hitting the ground or the leaves was quite loud but these thumps were much loud

🔍 Circumstances

My Brother in Lsw was at the site prior to me seeing it but had left about 5 hours before the sighting

🌤️ Weather Conditions

5:30pm, dull, rainy, daylight

ℹ️ Additional Details

5:30pm, dull, rainy, daylight

🔗 Sources (1)

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