By Andrea Foley

Registered Maine Guide

The Owners, Guides, and Customers of this Recreational Sporting Camp located deep within the North Maine Woods had quite a stellar season during the 2005 Moose hunt! Owner and Guide, Andrea Foley said that “During the pre-season scouting things were starting out slow due to the unseasonably warm September temperatures that we were seeing in Northern Maine, but after some heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures just a couple days before the September opener, full rut started and everything just came together.”

Andrea herself was fortunate enough to have been drawn as a zone 4 permit winner during the early season, and she started off the September Moose Hunt with quite a bang, literally. She was beginning her Monday morning hunt with a walk and stalk approach with her husband Don Lavoie, also a Registered Maine Guide and owner of Ross Lake Camps, accompanying her on the hunt. After a ¾ of a mile hike in some pouring rain into the target hunting spot a 34 – 36 inch young bull was spotted. Andrea decided to pass on this in hopes of finding a more mature animal with a little better antler spread, and so they decided to sneak through the grass and brush towards the bull in hopes of finding more activity. This turned out to be quite a good decision! After creeping forward about another 200 yards, Don pulled Andrea down to a knee and whispered, “There, on the left.” Sure enough there was a large mature bull tending two Cows. “I had to move to an opening on my right about 3 or 4 yards to get a clear lane past some alders, but was able to make the move without being spotted. There were a few tense moments when I had to wait on the shot because of the smaller bull blocking my shooting lane to the big one.” Don made a couple grunt calls for me and rustled the brush, and that got them moving. The small bull was literally shoved aside by the Dominant male who was ready to defend his cows from another intruder, and that was all that was needed. “I steadied my Knight .50 caliber Muzzleloader on a set of shooting sticks, took aim on the vital area, and squeezed.” What a trophy Andrea ended up with! 17 score able points on a 55 inch wide set of antlers, perched on top of a body that came in at a dressed weight of 1029 pounds on the State scales in Ashland, Maine.