I am an avid hunter with rifle and Bow and have been hunting for more than 50 years. I have taken big game such as whitetail deer, red deer, elk, moose, buffalo, Russian boar and African Plains game
such as Kudu, Gemsbok, Springbok, Blesbok, and Impala and wrote an ebook entitled African Safari -Rifle and Bow and Arrow on how to prepare for a first safari. Ed is a serious cartridge reloader and ballistics student. He has earned two degrees in science and has written hundreds of outdoor article on hunting with both bow and rifle. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife Susan. He is a Patriot Life Member of the NRA.
I am very excited to introduce my grandson Thomas Hale the hunter (age 11).
Above, Thomas holds his first youth single shot shotgun intended for hunting snowshoe hares up in New Hampshire’s North Country.
He has graduated from .22LR and .223 Winchester to 20 gauge shotgun and 6.5 Creedmoor.
Together pictured below with his Dad Jason Hale, Thomas holds a scoped Howa 1500 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor, which he shoots well. The 6.5 CM has less recoil than the 20 gauge.
It gives me great pleasure to see three generations of Hales’ who hunt. Below left is my son Jason who hunted Africa with me and to the right of me is young grandson Thomas.
We believe hunting and fishing are essential for boys and girls to understand the natural beauty and responsibility gained in the circle of life. Unfortunately, hunting and outdoor skills are so starkly absent in our government run K to 12 schools. We as a family, love the outdoors and choose to develop survival and hunting skills that aid in maturing young male and female minds.
Most importantly, where our meat and fish come from, along with the life and ethical death and respect of the game hunted. Importantly, we revel in the bounty of the food harvest, care of the meat, the cooking, and presentation of wild game around the family dinner table. Just imagine a warm venison or rabbit stew in the cold of winter. It put a big smile on my face! Yours too!
Additionally, safety was our utmost concern with Thomas. Accordingly, we spent time training and demonstrating how to shoot hold his rifle/shotgun around other hunters. Thus we created walking and turning drills to always carry and point the barrel in a safe direction. And it was fun too.
In this recent hunt we did not harvest any game but had great comradery on the hunt, told some tales of the hunt, and had some man time with father and grandfather. Hope you can get some too!
Many years ago, before I hunted moose, I was bird hunting with my youngest son Jason,not far from Lake Francis in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. It was early October. We entered the woods off a dirt road. Jason carried a 22 rifle and I had a pump shotgun with birdshot. The sun was shining and the north wood smells of fir trees and falling colored leaves gave us a great feeling to be alive and hunting in the Northwoods.
Ahead of us, we saw some movement, a cow moose and calf appear. “How cool”, I whispered to Jason, who was 11 years old at the time.
I had learned some moose calls with my mouth by pinching my nose, a cupping my hands around my mouth. So, I thought perhaps the cow would hang around.
I pinched my nose and let out an “arr” sound. The cow and calf didn’t like my sounds and melted into the trees ahead.
Suddenly, the boggy ground underneath us began to shake. “Did you feel that? I asked Jason. “Ya dad, what is happening.”
In the next moment, we heard tree limbs breaking from where the cow and calf came from.
A very large bull moose appeared. He was headed straight for us with his head tipping side to side displaying his a huge palmated antlers as he continued his approach. I pulled Jason to a dense group of large fir trees and stood very still. The bull had not spotted us yet but still approaching. I kept large trees in front of us as a barrier.
I realized that we were in trouble.
I chose to move closer to the large group of trees as the bull was advancing.
He spotted us!
Head tipping, he began to step around the trees to get to us.
Jason, tugged on my jacket whispering. “I want to go to the truck now, Dad!” “Shhh, I said as we began to move around the large group of trees as the bull circled. The guns we had with us would be useless, I thought in case of a charge.
Keeping those larger trees in front of us and between the bull was our best defense.
Undaunted, the bull changed direction and circled in the opposite direction to get at us. Jason whispered, “I can see the white of his eyes.”
The bull widened his distance and circled ever widening till he decided to turn and walk away. Whew!
The bull crossed the dirt road, near my truck, when two fishermen campers near the lake appeared with camera in hand.
They followed the bull.
I shouted, “be careful, he is dangerous.” They snapped a photo of the bull and came over to us where we shared our encounter. I asked if they would be so kind to send us a copy of the photo. Here is the bull below.
Safe in our truck, it was clear, after some thought, that my moose call drew in the bull. He thought I was competition for mating the cow.
The lesson here is calling in moose can be dangerous unless you are hunting them, and even then, they are still dangerous.
My wife and I continue our effort in turning our frozen boneless moose parts into vacuum sealed burger, stew meat, steaks and a few roasts.
We began by finding parts to be ground into burger, and found lots of it as you see in our transformed freezer below.
Moose meat has no fat thus we mixed approximately 20 to 25% pork butt in with the burger. Pork butt has pork meat and pork fat to allow burger patties to bind and stick together. Pork is also a key ingredient in making meat balls and pasta sauces.
After around 18 hours of processing we have nearly completed the burger packaging of maybe 130 pounds and 60 pounds of steak and stew meat.
Last night we had moose stroganoff and it was a hit. Meat flavor was excellent with no hint of gamey taste. I prefer steak thin slice 1/4 inch x 2 inches or thinner against the grain for stroganoff as I have made in the past to my families delight.
Most all on-line beef stroganoff recipe’s will work just fine with moose steak, just thin slice it against the grain while raw and partially frozen before you saute it. Just don’t overcook the meat.
Today we cut backstrap butterfly steak, many sirloin steaks,and stew meat.
Note: Some steaks will be made into tips and stews as winter gets here. More to do but it is safe and frozen. We will rearrange the freezers so we have a better inventory. Already we have given some meat to friends and family. Nice!
Our Vacation was among the many bays and coves around picturesque Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland. My wife and I drove our car and spent the last month and a half in Newfoundland in the family cottage overlooking Bonavista Bay.
But the cottage on the bay was a home base from which to explore.
Human life on Newfoundland is centered around the thousands of bays and coves, Inland, are thousands of miles of virgin forests where big game such as moose, caribou and black bears thrive.
And where rivers and lakes teem with Atlantic salmon and trout.
Cod Fishing on the bay is one of my favorite pastimes with friends and family. The cod are market size and plentiful right in front of our cottage.
Cod fishing in front of the cottage
I fished with Mike Hogarth and his friend Jeff Power on one such outing at Trinity Bay just up the peninsula.
The old red building below in Peace Cove, Trinity Bay were formerly fishing rooms where cod were historically split and salted and placed outside to dry, then shipped to foreign markets in barrels.
Peace Cove, Trinity Bay East
Peace Cove Trinity Bay
From shore, below you can see the lighthouse in picturesque Trinity which is part of the Bonavista Bay Peninsula.
Trinity Bay, Newfoundland
Cod Fishing is still very active commercially as this boat below suggests.
Newfoundland is a wild and wondrous place as well as sophisticated in the cities like St John’s I have visited. And the people are very friendly!
My BOG Tripod below worked great. My fleece head pullover kept me warm for hours on stand. In the picture below we were standing in water. You must be prepared.
Hunting in bogs of Newfoundland I found water everywhere, even in the grass and tundra in the bog below. Even trees and leaves were soaked with water.
If it looks like a field, the field had 6 inches of water on average. Slogging in an inferior boot will cut your hunt short. And not wearing your waterproof bib rain suit will soak you to the bone. I made some poor decisions too. I did not wear my rain bib and jacket on one morning and got soaked by water soaked bushes. My gloves were not waterproof and riding on the back of an ATV my gloves absorbed 1/2 cup water in each glove on a morning hunt. Get water proof gloves! My back pack was too heavy. With a guide, I did not need a large or heavy backpack. A walking stick gave me balance.
Below my most prized must-have accessories:
BOOTS – Buy best high calf waterproof boots with good tread
RAIN GEAR – Heavy duty green waterproof rain bib like Helly-Hansen and water-proof jacket too.
I killed my 800 lb cow moose with a new Browning X-Bolt in .270 Winchester with 150 grain Winchester Power Point bullets.
Ed’s Moose taken Sept. 19, 2023
The rifle was zeroed at 100 yards. The .270 is great on deer, good on elk and can easily kill moose broadside but has some distance and energy limitations. On the flip-side, the advantage of the .270 is lighter recoil and improved accuracy.
Distances are somewhat restrictive. Muzzle velocity form this bullet is 2850 fps, thus I calculated drop and energy on-line with JBM Ballistic Trajectory for this bullet before the hunt to determine my limits.
The JBM Ballistic calculation below provides data for the hunter to use in determining max range, energy and bullet drop.
Accordingly, I followed my own rules for energy.limits. I would not pull the trigger when terminal energy is under 1500 ft-lbs. In my case, under 1500 ft-lbs is at 300 yards. Luck would be in my favor with my guides laser distance at 240 yards. Energy was over 1600 ft-lbs and a broadside shot. I held 6 to 8 high from my BOG tripod rest and fired from a sitting position. A second later you could hear the bullet hit with a hollow drum-like thunk.
The moose never moved but you could see she was hit.
My guide says, “fire another shot.” I aimed a bit higher near the spine and fired. She fell like she was pole axed.
Examination of the wound sites showed 2 hits, one high and one low on the chest. The high hit was a few inches below the spine, my second shot. My first shot hit low in the chest. The lungs were a wreck, blood had filled the chest cavity. My guide Matt pulled heart and lungs from the chest along with the lower gut. I wanted to examine the heart. As you can see below the first bullet gashed the gallon-sized heart. This was not luck, it was understanding bullet drop and a good tripod rest. Well, maybe a little luck! We did not see any exit wounds but did not look for the bullets as we had work to do.
For those readers interested in the Ballistics data below is the JBM Data for Drop and Energy. You can see velocity at 250 yards is 2196 thus the bullet will mushroom. Drop is 8 inches and delivered energy is 1606 ft-lbs and did great damage without an exit wound.
Processing a moose can be time consuming if you have to quarter and bone the meat too.
Moose quarters headed to the butcher for boning and freezing
Working with a veteran Outfitter like Gander River makes it easy. They know how to;
Gut and quarter your moose
Prep for trophy taxidermy if needed
Get it out of the woods in excellent shape
Skin and hang the quarters to cool
Get it to the butcher in prime shape for boning and freezing for my trip home to New Hampshire
Yes, you pay a premium for these tasks, but worth every penny.
I drove my frozen boned moose meat home (you need an export permit from your outfitter) and it was still frozen solid after 2 days on the road using 2 large coolers. In fact 2 days after arrival my moose meat was still frozen. I have done this before and it works great.
After cleaning/prepping the kitchen and pans/ trays and grinding equipment, I brought around 80 to 100 lbs inside, incrementally and examined the bundles and labels.
I chose to cut some steaks at first but was looking for meat that will become burger and stew meat.
In addition, I purchased 18 pounds of fresh pork butt and cut it up for grinding to add to the moose burger. I boned the pork and saved the meaty bones for a winter stew. I will purchase more pork butt later for mixing.
All big game meat grinders have a rough grind head (right) and a finish grind head (left).
Below my favorite LEM Grinder, meat pan and cutting board.
Use the rough grind for both moose and pork at a ratio of roughly 4 to 1 moose to pork. This adds enough fat for burger to bind together.
Mix the rough grind by hand in a larger stainless tray and regrind with the fine grind head. Then vacuum seal in 1 to 2 pound increments. Label and freeze. It is best to keep your meat cold and near frozen so work as safe and quick as you can. My wife and I work well at this as a team.
Below, my freezers are full of large chunks moose meat to be processed.
If you have enough freezer space, like we have, you can take a break from processing for a few days.
We use a Food Saver™ Vacuum Sealer and heavy seal bags to store our meat in the freezer. Todays freezers can store meat for well over 2 years provided the vacuum is good and you don’t have freezer burn.
Use sharp knives!
Next is to cut more stew meat for pressure canning!
I will cut tenderloin and backstraps later too.
Good Eating!
PS We had this moose burger for lunch and discovered the meat was tender and very flavorful.
It all happened so fast…Was it a bull? Nope! But she was broadside. My guide lasered her distance at only 240 yards and really Big! But I had a new Browning X-Bolt in .270 Winchester with a Leupold Scope.
Ed’s Moose taken 5pm Sept. 19, 2023
I was hunting with Newfoundland’s Gander River Outfitters.
I contacted the Gander River Owner/Outfitter, and my soon-to-be guide, Matt Romkey. We arranged a hunt date, September 17, 2023 to begin a 6 day Moose hunt with a tag for a bull or cow moose. Their website is https://ganderriver.com/
I was vacationing and cod fishing in Newfoundland, Canada for such a long a time frame, (a month and a half) in a different location, Jamestown, NL on Bonavista Bay, that Canadian Customs would not allow me to take my rifle across the border.
“Gotta go directly to the hunt”, said Canadian Customs. That was very disappointing…to say the least.
As luck would have it, in Calais, Maine there was a sporting store/hardware store (Johnsons) that allowed my to store my own Browning rifle for a fee and pick-it-up on the return home to New Hampshire.
My Outfitter Matt allowed me to use his rifle, a brand new Browning X-Bolt, like mine, but in .270 Winchester with a Leupold “Freedom” scope for the hunt and Winchester 150 grain Powerpoint bullets.
To get to the hunting/fishing lodge along the Gander River we boarded the Outfitter’s famed Gander River Boats; a 21 ft canoe with 15 hp motor.
We met other hunters and received room assignments and shot rifles to ensure they were on target.
We met a father/son team Chase Anthony and his father Dan who came to hunt thanks to a Pennsylvania non-profit organization called Saving Dreams Outdoors. See the facebook link below.
Chase, a handsome lad, is a cancer survivor who was given the hunt. Dan came for support!
Chase was successful thanks to the skill of his guide Sheldon and the support of everyone at the lodge.
Travel to our hunting bog areas is done by ATV’s, mine was a King Quad 500 Ati operated by Matt, a real expert, as all the guides were.
Sunday Day – First Night, I sat high in the back with raised seating, metal stirrups and hand grips while Matt and guides took us on “wild” ATV rides to the famed moose hunting BOG’s of Newfoundland in terrain so remote and hidden. In some cases we made our way through what seemed like miles of old trails overgrown with Alder bush. Bushwhacking really! Can you just imagine!
Our first jaunt was in the aftermath of Hurricane Lee where the clouds hunt low and delivered 30 plus mph winds and sheets of rain.
The black spruce in the BOG bent too-and-fro in the wind as rain fell sideways from branches. I looked forward to a warm meal.
Meals at camp, we hunters were up at 4am, had breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast/pancakes, coffee and juice; back for noon lunch of soup and sandwich. and dinner prepared expertly prepared by the camp cook “Gary”. And served to us by none other than Owner Matt Romkey. Such service, I was overwhelmed with hospitality! And then dessert too!
Our sleep quarters were separate from the main lodge and each bedroom had a private bath and shower. Nice!
Back to the hunt. Luckily the wind subsided during the week but rain was on and off. Temps were in the 50F range.
I learned the hard way by not wearing my waterproof bib and jacket on an outing and got soaked in the process. See the leaves on the Quad…
I was much better prepared on the afternoon hunt via ATV. About 5pm we began walking on a high crest looking down into the bog I named “The Big Valley”.
I was awestruck with this scenic valley/bog as we were high up looking down at the immense beauty.
Suddenly, I gazed over Matt’s shoulder as he looked for a place to set up. I whispered to Matt and pointed…”moose, I said!” He ducked low and excitedly whispered “Set up your tripod and rifle…hurry.”
I was equally excitedly and set up my tripod Called “Death Grip” by BOG. It’s like a bench rest in the field!
It was a huge lone cow standing broadside. Matt laser ranged her at 240 yards. I could not ask for a better setup, be it cow or bull. I made the decision right then to take her.
The rifle was zeroed at 100 yards thus I estimated the drop and held around 6 inches higher above the heart lung area… and squeezed the shot off. Thwack! we heard the bullet hit.
At the shot she stood frozen, as if transfixed and motionless.
Matt said “Shoot again.” And I did. She dropped like hit by Thor’s hammer.
OMG… Matt and I high fived each other again and again. It was picture and tag time, then gut and half the moose.
I noticed the entry bullet holes as I held the chest cavity open to remove blood filled heart and lungs. One hole was low in the chest, my first shot, and one high. Investigating, I said “Hey Matt, pull that heart so I can see it. As he did, Matt replied with a grin, “She never knew what hit her, eh Ed!”
The first bullet struck the heart! See video below! The second shocked the spine.
That night at dinner I had the cook saute some heart slices in butter, salt and pepper for hunters to taste. All said very tender and delish!
Sadly, I ended the hunt on the very next day. The moose went to the local game butcher, de-boned and frozen for our drive back to New Hampshire.
The first 2 weeks at Gander for hunters showed 100% success. All the guides are friendly and eager to find you a moose!
It was a pleasure hunting with Matt Romkey and the Gander River Guides.
Use the rough grind for both moose and pork at a ratio of roughly 4 to 1 moose to pork. This adds enough fat for burger to bind together. 
