# Da moose



## Mike1950

I mentioned about 2 weeks ago that the grandson had seen the moose on the way to school- now remember- I am not rural 1 acre or less lots. Plenty of people. On the way to school down by the golf course I saw a moose in the wetlands. 5 minutes later the bull was at the end of my block- he probably is close to 50" spread this year- healthy and plenty cocky. probably 30 yds from the car- I sat and watched with foot on gas. He could care less about me- 2 dogs were barking behind a cyclone fence and he was irritated by the noise. he moved across the street- kinda slippery for him on the dry asphalt. as soon as he cleared the asphalt he charged the dogs but one antler caught on the stop sign which slowed him down- almost took the sign out. He grunted at the dogs and finally wandered down the middle of the street with people backing up to avoid him. I think he is in the rut and showing his stuff- he would gladly take on any car- at least that is the way it appeared. Finally tired of walking down the street and went into a yard to chomp on some very nice Japanese maple- you know the big dollar ones- he is a moose with expensive culinary tastes. We will start taking the camera in the mornings. I would have loved to have a picture of him and the sign. Moose updates will be in this thread. He is back 2 months earlier - probably not good news......

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## Theburlbroker

Glad the feistiest thing we have here is the occasional bear. Couldn't imagine dealing with a bunch of moose lol.


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## Mike1950

Y

You only need one of these to ruin your day..........

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## DKMD

This moose is rapidly becoming part of my transition to cold weather. There's not much I enjoy about winter, but I definitely get a kick out of the moose tales from the PNW!

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## woodtickgreg

Aw, Mikeys pet is back.....here kitty kitty kitty, LOL.

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## ripjack13

That must be one of those siamese moose cats....you can tell by the coloring. :p


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## Mike1950

Hey it was funny today- our stop sign at the end of the block has a definite lean to it. I got out the slingshot, marbles and bottle rockets. Also the trip to the shop has taken on a new excitement while it is dark.........

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## rdnkmedic

Moose steaks, anyone?


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## Kevin

Are those 3 dry spots in your yard where he was lying around also? Gosh you have snow on the ground man I have to stop complaining.

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## Mike1950

Kevin that was last years picture- just to show someone above- no snow yet but it will be here soon. Yes those spots were where he had been lying down. I think he gets up and stretches quite often.

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## Kevin

I guess the ground gets too warm for him so he has to relocate to a colder spot. Those dumb meese. snicker.

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## Mike1950

Kevin said:


> I guess the ground gets too warm for him so he has to relocate to a colder spot. Those dumb meese. snicker.



Maybe but I was thinking more like a horse haveing to get up and move. He only sits for a half hour or less. Or maybe like a milkcow- chewing her cud. They eat wood so digestive track must be hardy.


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## Kevin

Moose eat wood? As in just chew on to pass the time, or as in eat and swallow for nourishment?


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## Mike1950

Kevin said:


> Moose eat wood? As in just chew on to pass the time, or as in eat and swallow for nourishment?



Moose are principally browsers- they eat wood. If I was to box up a moose turd and send it to you, you would see that it is like a pellet you would burn in stove. When I say he liked to dine on the expensive trees in the neighborhood- I am not kidding. He will stand on his hind legs and get 12-14 feet in the air and rip the branches down. Watching this one at 1000 lbs+- guess- I have a very new great respect for his abilities. Surprises the hell out of me how agile he is for being one of the largest critters on the continent.


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## BarbS

I have a brother on South Hill above the Cheney Hwy. in Spokane, where Mike1950 lives, and they have a resident moose who strips their apple trees, strips their peach tree and then comes to stare in the kitchen window. It's a darn nuisance, but they don't dare go outside and shoo it away! Those things are nasty mean.


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## Mike1950

BarbS said:


> I have a brother on South Hill above the Cheney Hwy. in Spokane, where Mike1950 lives, and they have a resident moose who strips their apple trees, strips their peach tree and then comes to stare in the kitchen window. It's a darn nuisance, but they don't dare go outside and shoo it away! Those things are nasty mean.




Barb tell them they really do not like bottle rockets and silingshots...........


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## woodtickgreg

Mike1950 said:


> Barb tell them they really do not like bottle rockets and silingshots...........


Like mike really needs the moose as an excuse to play with bottle rockets and slingshots, LOL.:D


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## Mike1950

woodtickgreg said:


> Like mike really needs the moose as an excuse to play with bottle rockets and slingshots, LOL.:D




SHHHHH don't tell kathie. You should see that sucker jump when ya bast him in the butt with a marble. BIG grin here The damn deer are so tame the bottle rockets barely get them to look and the marbles do almost nothing...........

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## BarbS

Mike1950 said:


> Barb tell them they really do not like bottle rockets and silingshots...........


LOL.. okay, I will!

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## brown down

crossbow would fix that issue. depends on how far away your neighbors are. moose meats good eating!!

if you have all your neighbors permission to hunt within the said laws, i would be having moose steaks already if i was you hahahah but thats me!


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## robert flynt

My old uncle told me they made good burgers. Hint,hint,hint


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## woodtickgreg

A friend of mine went on a moose hunt in canada, he gave me a couple of steaks to try. They where like brontosaurus steaks, huge! But delicious, very mild and not gamie at all. Excellent table far. But if I had one in my yard I would have to mess with it like mike is, marbles in the butt....Funny!


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## Kevin

Seriously is it illegal to put them in your freezer? Legal or not if he was eating my fruit trees I would eat him. I have no problem doing that.


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## Mike1950

Everyone I would love to put him in my freezer- he looks delicious- but they are hunted in our state by permit only- fine is 2 K-10K and the firing of weapons has it's fines and can carry jail time. I will stick to amusing my self sharpening up my long lost slingshot skills. :) :)

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## Kenbo

Mike1950 said:


> Everyone I would love to put him in my freezer- he looks delicious- but they are hunted in our state by permit only- fine is 2 K-10K and the firing of weapons has it's fines and can carry jail time. I will stick to amusing my self sharpening up my long lost slingshot skills. :) :)




Put some bullets in your slingshot. Just saying.

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## SENC

I wouldn't call this hunting but property protection. Surely there are nuisance animal carveouts in WA for landowners to control beasts that are decimating crops that would apply.

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## Gdurfey

If you drag him across your threshold, then you just say you were protecting your family!

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## Mike1950

SENC said:


> I wouldn't call this hunting but property protection. Surely there are nuisance animal carveouts in WA for landowners to control beasts that are decimating crops that would apply.




There are but I will not qualify- I grew up on a farm- If I was there- this guy would have bit the dust in 2009. He was under the deck -could have bagged him with an ax or bowling ball.
The truth is that we had record snow- 28" overnight. Day before I had oral surgery- I was miserable- and slighty out of it for a couple days- I went out on the deck which the floor is about 5' off the ground and rail is probably 8'. I was thinking about how miserable I was and debating whether I should shovel it. I heard something behind me and he was on his hind legs trimming the tree about 20 ' away and looking down at me- scared the crap out of me. He was way to close- but I was on deck. A cow and a calf that winter decided the west wall of our garage was a perfect spot to camp. They were there for a month. Made taking the garbage out exciting. If you google spokane and moose we have more moose problems then most cities. We are the edge of the desert- not supposed to be that way.

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## Mike1950

Gdurfey said:


> If you drag him across your threshold, then you just say you were protecting your family!




hey they had to shoot one- he fell into a slider and ended up in a basement- made one helluva mess of the basement.

Drag him across the slider - now that is funny- have you ever tried to drag half a ton of dead weight- once he is down- you either need equipment or you need to start cutting. An elk is quite a bit smaller and they are not movable at 7-800 lbs either.

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## Gdurfey

Mike1950 said:


> hey they had to shoot one- he fell into a slider and ended up in a basement- made one helluva mess of the basement.
> 
> Drag him across the slider - now that is funny- have you ever tried to drag half a ton of dead weight- once he is down- you either need equipment or you need to start cutting. An elk is quite a bit smaller and they are not movable at 7-800 lbs either.


Hey, as an engineer, give me a john Deere, a rope, chain, block and tackle,.....and the willingness to remodel that part of the house!

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## Mike1950

Gdurfey said:


> Hey, as an engineer, give me a john Deere, a rope, chain, block and tackle,.....and the willingness to remodel that part of the house!



Kathie already got me to remodel that part of the house- sorry guys- no moose steaks for me- even though he looks delicious.........

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## Mike1950

Funny thing about moose in our part of the country. In the 50's and 60's there were almost no moose. Washington started moose hunting with 2 permits in the 60's Now There are hundreds.
When the settlers settled the valleys the moose lost their range- they are principally browsers -trees and shrubs. Market hunting took it's toll but they did not bounce back like deer and elk once they were protected. What brought the moose numbers up was clearcutting and heavy logging. brush and small trees. Once again moose had available winter food. Now we have more moose the ever- and since people have changed their thinking- the moose have the valley to browse in again.......


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## sprucegum

woodtickgreg said:


> A friend of mine went on a moose hunt in canada, he gave me a couple of steaks to try. They where like brontosaurus steaks, huge! But delicious, very mild and not gamie at all. Excellent table far. But if I had one in my yard I would have to mess with it like mike is, marbles in the butt....Funny!


I have drawn a couple of permits in the past. Shot a 2 year old bull the first time and a 2 year old cow the second time. They were both tougher than shoe leather, good flavor. If I ever get another it will be burger stem to stern.
I have called quite a few just for kicks and giggles they will often come close enough to hit with a stone. I have never had one act aggressively they usually just stand and stare at you with that WTF look on their face.

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