Moose Hunt in Saskatchewan
By Mary Harter
We left for Saskatchewan on September 26, 2022 with Tim Schafer and Dawn Miles, taking three days to drive the 28 hours to Missinipe and the 15-minute flight through Osprey Wings to Hepburn Lake. We were driving Tim’s truck so we could bring home all of the moose meat we anticipated harvesting. Tim had borrowed a huge homemade cooler and we had several other smaller coolers we hoped to fill.
After an evening spent near the docks on Otter Lake, we flew out at noon for Hepburn Lake and Arlee and Darlene Thideman. We had all been there in the spring for a successful bear hunt for each of us and Don and I had been there several times before but never at this time of the year. The walk to their cabin was covered with delicious blue berries and during the short windows between hunting times, we picked a few. Darlene gave me a lot more so I could make pies for Thanksgiving.
We hunted the first night, Arlee was Tim’s guide, and Doug Hayes, a friend of Arlee’s was my guide. Arlee gets two tags per year, this being only the second year, and Don and I were going to buy both tags but Tim wanted a moose and a family can only eat one moose a year, so Tim bought the second tag.
Our first stand was an elevated tent overlooking a large marshy area with a pond in the middle. We hunted here three days with no luck. Doug did a great job of cow calling but the bulls just weren’t in rut. Then we went to a double tree stand near camp. This stand overlooked the lake on two sides and was in a beautiful location with scrapes on two of the trees but still no luck. The bulls just weren’t interested. The next day we caught three lake trout on the way to a blind at the end of the lake. Hepburn Lake was just beautiful with the golden aspen and birches backed by dark green colored black spruce, jack pine, and a few other minority species.
We were rained out one day plus had high winds but there were several calm, smooth water days. One day was foggy and it was getting colder. One night we were afraid the water to the cabin might freeze so they brought in buckets of water to flush the toilet but it never froze. The blueberries did freeze and leaves began to fall. The color was leaving the trees. We had a skiff of snow one day.
On day 8 of hunting, Tim and Dawn went to my tent blind where we first hunted and a bull answered Arlee’s cow calling. With a little persuasion, out he came and Tim made a great shot and down he went. The bull fell in a convenient spot where they could retrieve him by boat. He was a great moose with perfect tines on his rack. None were broken. One down!! What an exciting evening!!
Well, now the pressure was on. Arlee and Darlene’s son, Ken, had flown into camp with Doug’s wife, Rita, so Ken, Arlee and Doug took me to a lake where Tim had hunted three days with no results but there was lots of moose sign. It looked like their barnyard. Don sat up in the tree stand with a great view and they seated me on the ground behind a grassy edge and Ken began cow calling. Immediately a bull answered!!
Ken had put out a moose decoy we had named “Susie” and a lot of scent. He had done a perfect job as we could hear the moose coming. The wind was blowing right his way. Ken told me to get ready and, of course, I was. The moose kept grunting and Ken kept cow calling. The edge of the lake was clear back quite a way with trees dotted throughout. The first thing I could see was his head and antlers. He was huge and his antlers had palms. He was coming to the cow calling and scent. He was head on so I waited. Soon he saw Susie and turned. Just as soon as I could get a clear shot, I took it and he buckled but ran to the lake edge and went in. I racked in another shell and took another shot. Down he went, but in the water. He was secure.
Don, who had been able to see him before anyone else, came down from the blind, and hugged me. This was at 7:15 a.m. the morning of the 9th day of hunting. We had walked to our spot in the dark with flashlights as it doesn’t get daylight until 7:00 a.m. This was our first moose sighting after 52 hours of hunting and Don had been out with me every one of those hours.
After much celebration, we had to decide how to retrieve him. Arlee and Ken decided to go back 6 miles to the cabin, load the four-wheeler on the boat and bring it in by clearing a path using a chain saw. They also brought the canoe so Ken could paddle out to the moose and tie a rope on his antlers. We had walked about a mile back in to this lake. The job seemed enormous. We stayed, they went and returned, a path was cut and everyone at the cabin came to help. The edge of the lake was soft and every time they tried to pull the moose out either his antlers or feet got stuck. A moose is a huge animal and not easy to maneuver. Eventually, they got him on land, cut him up, loaded him on the four-wheeler which hauled the canoe, which was also full of meat out to the three boats. My moose had been fighting and had a hole in his side plus very bruised ribs. What did the other guy look like?
Two down, let them cool and age on the meat pole, and go fishing.
When we decided to cut up the moose, it was a beautiful, sunny day. Dawn and Rita did all of the wrapping in saran wrap covered with freezer paper. Eight of us boned and cut up the moose, Tim’s in the morning, and mine in the afternoon. That is a lot of meat. We waited a couple of days for the meat to freeze solid, called for the plane, and returned to Tim’s truck, loaded the well frozen meat, and headed for home.
At the docks, they said my rack was the largest they had hauled out for the year. Wow!!
What a wonderful trip. The advertisement for Hepburn Lake Lodge is in this publication. Call Arlee. You will not be disappointed with fishing, bear hunting, and/or moose hunting!