Will Altman had a split-second decision to make.
After four days of not having laid eyes on a moose, an opportunity finally arose for the Brooksville hunter on the fifth day of his 2022 hunt in northern Aroostook County.
Hunting as the subpermittee with his father, John Altman, and alongside his brother, Rye Altman, friend Josh Leach and videographer Nik Weikert — the HuntingME crew — the moment of truth arrived.
Will Altman, armed with a bow, was chosen by his father to be the shooter. They listened and watched as they called a healthy bull with an antler spread of approximately 35 inches to within shooting range. He let it walk.
“It’s a nice bull. I just wasn’t feeling it,” Will Altman said, confident in his seemingly surprising decision.
“Big pass, man. I would have shot him in a second,” John Altman said, in obvious disbelief.
Understanding the decision not to shoot, and viewing it within the framework of the hunting experience Will Altman wanted, both for himself and the hunting party, sets the stage for a dramatic last day of hunting.
The trials, tribulations and lessons learned during the week provide the backdrop for “The Gift,” the latest film produced by HuntingME.
The touching movie highlights the group’s clear focus on their interpersonal connections and the process involved in pursuing Maine’s largest big-game animal, rather than emphasizing the outcome of the hunt.
“The Gift” is a memorable 42-minute journey into the North Maine Woods with a passionate and experienced group of hunters. HuntingME takes viewers along for the frustrating ride, demonstrating the group’s determination and resilience.
Following in the footsteps of “The Dream,” the film recently became the second HuntingME project to be selected for the prestigious Badlands Film Festival held in January in Indianapolis. There, in the feature film category, it was up against some big-name production companies from across the country.
If there’s an overriding message in “The Gift,” it’s that hunters sometimes take things for granted. And the hunt often doesn’t transpire the way they think it’s supposed to go.
But that doesn’t mean the outcome can’t be memorable.
Will Altman’s decision not to shoot the bull created some angst for his dad, but it wound up being yet another moment through which a greater appreciation for the moose hunt was achieved.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” John Altman said, admitting that it caused him to re-evaluate his take on the situation.
“It was Will’s hunt and I was hanging onto some piece of ownership that I felt like, ‘well I gave you the tag so you need to do it this way,’” he said.
Ultimately, even though it was the only bull the hunters had seen in five days, it wasn’t the right one for Will at that moment.
Spoiler alert: I’m going to give away the ending here. So if you would rather watch it unfold, you can view the full-length version of “The Gift” by going to the HuntingME YouTube page.
On the last day of the hunt, daylight was fading as the HuntingME crew ventured back into the area where they had encountered the bull the previous day. They heard a cow moose calling in the distance.
As they approached, hopeful that a bull would be nearby, they jumped a moose that had been bedded down. Will Altman could quickly tell that something wasn’t right.
The injured moose had been resting and an opportunistic coyote appeared, circling nearby to capitalize on the animal’s eventual demise.
The bull didn’t stray far and Will Altman, having traded his bow for a rifle, put the moose out of its misery with one perfectly placed shot.
After a muted celebration, the group approached the animal to discover that it had previously been shot in the right hip.
“It all made sense at that point, why we pushed to the very last hour of the last day. It was so we could run into him,” Will Altman said. “It wasn’t really the bull that I had dreamed about, but then it was exactly the right bull to take, at the same time.”
The most touching moment of the film comes after night descends, with Will Altman and Rye Altman caping and skinning the moose in front of a crackling fire. During that exchange, the older brother imparts his wisdom about what had transpired on the hunt.
He was willing to not get a moose, rather than settle for one that wasn’t what he was looking for.
“You don’t have to get one,” Will Altman said of the hunting experience. “I was going to let this guy go, but I did want to get one … and I wanted us all to get one, and then he was wounded, so it made sense that we should probably take him.”
The circumstances had led Will Altman to pass on a good, healthy moose in order to have the opportunity to end the suffering of another bull that appeared to be destined for a much more traumatic death.
“That was the moose that was given to us. And I think in some weird way, that moose gave meaning to the moose that he passed,” John Altman said.
It was, they all agreed, a gift.
