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March 12, 2013
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Had a great time in Newfoundland and was able to call this guy into 80 yards and make a nice shot with my deluxe 1936 Winchester Model71 in 348WCF, with a trusty old 200 grain silver tip bullet, always been a dream of mine to shoot a rutting moose with a old lever gun ! Bruce
Aim Small ,Miss Small
January 27, 1992
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Congratulations! A dream come true. Not many can say that. RDB
March 14, 2022
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Congratulations Bruce. That’s the hunt you were telling me about. Who says you need a bolt action with a $3000 scope. Newfoundland is a beautiful province with a lot of moose! Thanks for sharing.
Rick C
December 21, 2006
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Eh, way ta go b’y. Harry
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
December 9, 2002
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Congrats, and thanks for Sharing! 
Anthony
January 20, 2023
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A most proper use for the Model 71. And calling him in surely made it extra-special.
Out of ignorance, I have to ask: How do you get that a carcass that big and heavy out of the woods and reduced to edible packages of venison?
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
December 21, 2006
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Zeb, You just need to look at the size of Bruce, He’d just carry it out whole.
You fellas in Texas have “venison” We have “moose meat”.
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
November 7, 2015
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Henry Mero said
Zeb, You just need to look at the size of Bruce, He’d just carry it out whole. You fellas in Texas have “venison” We have “moose meat”.
As a single guy who doesn’t cook a lot of meat I feel our smallish Texas deer are a convenient size, especially as I do my own processing. Even in Texas we know that when a moose hits the ground the hard work starts. I agree, Bruce appears to be up to the task. Nicely done, Bruce. Thanks for sharing your story and pics!
Mike
March 12, 2013
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A most proper use for the Model 71. And calling him in surely made it extra-special.
Out of ignorance, I have to ask: How do you get that a carcass that big and heavy out of the woods and reduced to edible packages of venison?
You simply debone on the spot and carry it out on your back the way our ancestors have been doing it for years , had a 2.5 k round trip 4 times with 120 lb packs , to a boat then across a lake
Bruce
Aim Small ,Miss Small
October 29, 2011
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Bruce–Great Job, had burgers in Haines Alaska with skiing friends–pretty dam good–very educational to us, on your part..Bill
June 1, 2023
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Great job with a great old rifle!
In my humble opinion, moose is just the finest meat that wears fur. I called in my first bull moose near a lake shore in British Columbia, far from the road. After the moose was down, eviscerated, and tagged the guide and I cut trail with a chainsaw he went back to the truck to get. That took quite a while. Then it was a matter of winching the moose from tree to tree to tree, until we were back to the logging road. It was a lot of work, for sure. When we had finished the little maneuver of getting the moose back to the road, while we both wiped sweat from our brows, the guide told me a story of one of his hunters several years back who had come up from the states and had never hunted anything bigger than a southern whitetail deer. The newbie hunter, knowing next to nothing about moose anatomy, asked the guide “Where is the best place to shoot a moose?” (thinking in the head, or low in the chest, or higher up, etc…) And with a deadpan delivery the guide replied, “Right next to the truck.” Then the guide looked straight in my eyes to be sure I got the message! When I shot another moose a couple of years later, he was only about 75 yards from the truck, with a downhill drag of just a few minutes.
BRP
March 31, 2009
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I’ve never shot a moose but my brother in law and his friends have. Seen a lot of them in Utah while elk hunting. They used a horse with large packs and it still took a few trips to get it all out of the woods to the truck. I tell people that moose tastes like it was marinated with something sweat. No gamy taste.
March 23, 2010
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Great story and well done ,with the old Winchester lever rifle.Never bagged a moose myself,but Dad bagged two that I know of.Both shot with a Winchester Model 94 .30-30.
January 20, 2023
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Chuck said
I’ve never shot a moose but my brother in law and his friends have. Seen a lot of them in Utah while elk hunting. They used a horse with large packs and it still took a few trips to get it all out of the woods to the truck. I tell people that moose tastes like it was marinated with something sweat. No gamy taste.
I’ve never tasted Moose venison but I would admire to try some if it’s not gamey-tasting. I know some people grow up on Whitetail meat and relish it but my experience has been the meat of mature Whitetail bucks in the rut stinks, no matter how careful I am in dressing and caring for it. The very best deer venison I ever had was a hog-fat young spike buck on the first day of the 1986 season. There was a former butcher in camp who broke the carcass down for me and I aged the quarters in a cooler on ice for several days before having Rudolph’s in Deep Ellum package it and make sausage from the trimmings. The chops were tender and mild. A couple of well-fed does were almost as good. But the last mature buck I killed was turned entirely into jerky and shipped to my son and daughter-in-law.
I have gotten picky in my old age about meat of the hunt. Doves, quail, turkeys, squirrel, young pigs — are a lot less trouble to make into a fine meal. We dont have any moose in Texas, sadly,or I would scheme to give them a try.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
March 12, 2013
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Moose and venison are a staple food in my family, some go to the bush for sport ,I go for groceries.
Currently on a beautiful watch on my family farm ,that has been in the family since 1887
with my trusty model 70 in classic 270 WCF
Bruce
Aim Small ,Miss Small
January 20, 2023
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Bruce, you’re a lucky man to be able to hunt on your own land – and with the right instrument, too.
As you probably know, despite it’s size, there’s precious little public land in Texas on which it’s legal to hunt deer. It is possible to draw a ticket to hunt on several State wildlife preserves but those are rigidly organized affairs for a weekend, ordinarily for antlerless only to control population of our huge herd of modestly sized Whitetail deer.
For the avid deer hunter, a hunting lease is a practical necessity, usually as part of a group. This used to run about $500 a gun for a season. Now it’s around $2000 and no quail or guests (as guests, not quarry), except in trophy buck South Texas where some leases can run $20,000 per gun per season. As Elmer Keith used to say, not for Little Willie.
I know family farms aren’t free of taxes and upkeep but it’s surely a better deal. Good luck on your hunt and post any good recipe for mature buck venison!.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
March 31, 2009
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Bad tasting dear is from the junk they eat. In Iowa where I mostly hunted they eat corn, soybeans and acorns. No junk. But in dryer climates with no good crops they will eat whatever they can find.
February 17, 2022
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Bruce, heck of a score. I too enjoy the 348wcf. Damn killing machine that one. I would say the only thing that might have been better was an 86 ELW in 45-90.
I would like to know one thing thought, how did you keep the coyotes off it? here in NH they would have been on that thing somewhere between the second and third trips in!
Bill, I think you find moose meat quite delicious, Over here in NE when some one was lucky enough to get drawn in the lottery, which you might have better odds at powerball now, one of things that was done was to grind it and make meatballs. Which, tongue in cheek here, we simply called moose balls. The roasts are delightful also given that they eat a lot of aquatic grasses here.
Bruce your making me hungry BTW
March 12, 2013
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oldcrankyyankee said
Bruce, heck of a score. I too enjoy the 348wcf. Damn killing machine that one. I would say the only thing that might have been better was an 86 ELW in 45-90. I would like to know one thing thought, how did you keep the coyotes off it? here in NH they would have been on that thing somewhere between the second and third trips in!
Bill, I think you find moose meat quite delicious, Over here in NE when some one was lucky enough to get drawn in the lottery, which you might have better odds at powerball now, one of things that was done was to grind it and make meatballs. Which, tongue in cheek here, we simply called moose balls. The roasts are delightful also given that they eat a lot of aquatic grasses here.
Bruce your making me hungry BTW
We put a coat or 2 around the kill ,seems to keep the Coyotes away’
I actually own a 45-90 elw takedown , but haven’t fired it . Might temp me to take it on a moose hunt
Bruce
Aim Small ,Miss Small
November 19, 2006
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Great story! I love the old school aspect – deboning it right in the field and packing it out (many packs!) and using the silvertip bullet was old school too.
This is exactly what the .348 was made for!
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