There are long-held preconceived notions about how to execute a Maine moose hunt.
The process often includes a crew of several people, pickup trucks, capstan winches, long lengths of strong rope and plenty of ice to get the animal from the ground to the tagging station.
When temperatures are warmer, especially early in the moose season, it can be tricky to get the harvested animal out of the woods and the meat cooled down before any can spoil.
Ian Sawyer was intent on taking a simpler approach with his first moose permit last week.
The Registered Maine Guide from Lyman, who specializes in striped bass fishing during the summer, has spent many days on and around the Allagash River.
Sawyer has hunted deer in a particular area — often moving along the river in canoes — with no results. But in June, when the chef was selected for a moose permit in Wildlife Management District 2, he knew a return to his old stomping grounds would yield an excellent opportunity to shoot a moose.
“It was amazing because I’ve been hunting this section of woods for deer for a long time and never see deer up there, but see a fair amount of moose sign,” said Sawyer, who used cameras to see what was moving through the area.
“We like hunting there, and it’s nice because there’s never any people,” he said.
Sawyer opted not to take a typical path in his approach to the hunt. He planned to camp and shoot a moose deep in the woods, then cut it up and pack it out.
On Sept. 26, opening day of the 2022 Maine moose hunt, Sawyer realized his dream when he shot a large bull moose while hunting with a friend.
It was the culmination of years of experience in the woods and months of planning. The men spent Saturday and Sunday walking the woods roads to determine their plan of attack for Monday morning. It included liberally spraying cow moose urine in an area where they believed a bull was lurking.
They crept in under cover of darkness and about a half-hour into legal shooting time began calling. It was a quiet, foggy, rainy morning.
They jumped a cow and a calf early on, which heightened their excitement, but didn’t hear any responses to the calls until they reached their third calling location.
“We could hear grunting far away, but we just couldn’t get him to come down,” Sawyer said.
They continued walking and hearing distant responses, but the thick woods discouraged the moose from closing the distance. Finally, they made their way onto a ridge where the wind was in their favor and his subpermittee’s calling was rewarded.
“This time we were right on top of him,” Sawyer said. “He came within a minute, charging, running with his head up like a goofball.”
Sawyer made a good, 20-yard shot with his rifle to down the bull, which had a 41-inch antler spread. It was 9:10 a.m.
Now, they had their work cut out for them. Sawyer unpacked a roll of 14 sharpened knives he had purchased for culinary school and began cutting up the moose.
“You can find a lot of videos on that, and I’ve had some experience butchering my own deer, but I’ve also butchered a lot of pigs in my career as a chef, so I was pretty ready for that,” Sawyer said.
Sawyer’s aim was simple. He wanted to get the hide off the moose to expose the meat and allow it to begin cooling as quickly as possible.
Once the rear and front quarters and all meat had been placed in breathable cloth bags, the men began the laborious process of carrying it all out to the truck.
“You need to pack with the ability to get out of Dodge as fast as you need to and make sure that you have the right tools for the job,” Sawyer said.
From where the moose fell, each round trip was 1.3 miles and the men combined to make 11 or 12 round trips to get everything out.
“The pack-out was really hard work, but I wouldn’t do it any other way,” he said. “Even if I was on a road, I’d pack it out just to get that meat cool.”
If it had been a hot day, Sawyer said, he would have delayed his hunt to coincide with more favorable conditions to ensure the meat would not spoil.
Hunters who harvest a moose and transport it whole often pack the body cavity with as much ice as they can fit. Sawyer pulled off his extraction without having any ice on hand.
“It’s a great option to pack out if you can,” Sawyer said.
When they got the meat to the butcher late in the afternoon, they witnessed another moose being processed. It also had been shot at mid-morning. When the hide was removed, steam could be seen coming off the warm meat.
Sawyer said he respects moose hunters who prefer to harvest their moose in the more conventional way, but that’s just not his style.
“I feel like it’s really a more rewarding experience,” he said of the pack-out method. “To me, it has more of an appeal, and I like the challenge.”
The precision and execution of the hunt also had other benefits for Sawyer. Even though he missed an anniversary with his wife Megan on Monday, he was back Tuesday in time to celebrate his birthday with her and their sons Jackson, 5, and Richmond, 4.
“It worked out amazing,” Sawyer said.
