Women In The Outdoors:

Brenda's Moose
So easy "even a girl can do it"

By Clifton Ames

As the logging practices of the north country have changed over the years so has the ease with which moose are taken. Not to say that there are any less moose around, in fact, some estimates are that despite the annual hunt the population is growing. Gone are the big clear cuts of the early 90s that allowed an average hunter a chance to easily find and work at calling out or stalking a trophy bull. Foliage adds to the challenges as hunting seasons have expanded in some zones to September. Shooting an average moose in or from the road has become the more common practice. Now a days, to get a trophy you have to do your home work, be patient, super lucky, and have a few skills such as cow calling and local knowledge. Also you must be prepared to shoot the bull you see wherever that may be as Brenda Cayouett of West Rockport, Maine found out on her September hunt in zone 2 near the town of Ashland this year.

Brenda comes from a long line of hunters including her grandparents, whom I had the pleasure of assisting in a successful moose hunt while they were both in their 80s (that’s another great story). Her three brothers, two sister-in-laws, and four of her nephews are also all successful hunters and have each killed a trophy moose on past hunts. 

Expectations were high, and of course the family wasn’t going to miss out on helping her with her hunt of a lifetime. Brenda, Mark, and their two young sons Ethan and Desmond loaded up the Jeep and headed for the family camp with all the necessary gear to do a long weeks hunt. Mark and Brian, one of the brothers, had done the necessary scouting to find active moose sign. They had pretty much locked down the areas that they felt might produce a nice bull but had not seen a bull that made them excited prior to the morning of hunt. That was all about to change. 

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