T.L. Forrest, Jr.

While attending the SCI Convention in Las Vegas with my girlfriend Carla, I had the opportunity to meet Chris Shippmann of Liard River Adventures. After several visits to their booth, many long conversations, and much thought about the fact that this was his first year with the Liard Outfit, I finally decided to book my first bow hunt for Canadian Moose. I waited patiently for a little over a year for this hunt and then due to the recent tragedies I nearly cancelled my trip. Am I ever glad that I made the decision to push forward with my initial plans !
I made my preparations and flew out on September 20th heading to British Columbia. Though airline security was increased, there were no delays much longer than usual. I spent one night in Calgary, and then I left for Fort Nelson the following day Sept 21st. Upon arrival I was met by Thor Shippmann who took me on a scenic 4-hour drive to their base camp on the Liard River. After some much needed rest and refreshments, a small Super Cub flew in and took me to Viser Camp. This camp is approximately 4000 feet above sea level, with a picturesque view from every angle. It was there that I met my guide Floyd and his wife Nora. We talked about the hunt, the chances of success, and the area where we would hunt. From there I spent the rest of my day hiking around the base camp, taking pictures of the beautiful surroundings, and resting up for the beginning of my hunt which would begin with a 3 hour horse back ride to our spike camp the next morning.
My first day proved to be just as exciting as the day I finally harvested my animal, several bulls were called in within range, but either they were not legal (three point on the brow tine) or did not present a decent shot. Each day many bulls and cows were seen and called, but the shots were just not there.
On the fourth day of my hunt we glassed a bull of what the guide said would be a good record book animal. We hunted him for several days and actually got him to come to us, but he had a cow with him; thus making things much harder. He finally figured out that something was wrong and left taking his cow with him. Due to the high altitude the rain or snow was consistent with only a brief period of sunshine, but the bulls still kept coming.
After several days on horse back we decided to try our hunt by foot. We setup at many different locations and made several calls, but as luck may have it ... we had no response. Then out of the blue a cow moose started bellowing for a bull, my guide turned to me and said, "That's the best call we can have!" We started following her and she kept calling, so we got set up and waited patiently about 30 minutes. Next my guide managed to get my attention and pointed to a hillside where I saw two very large paddles coming into clear view. The huge bull began making his way to the bottom of the hill while continuing to make calls back to the cow. Since the bull was not exactly in our area Floyd started making calls and raking the trees to get his attention. Well it worked, and the bull made his way to us within 50 yards and closing. I got my first good look at the bull and I started to shake a little wondering if everything would come together. I was well hidden and was able to glass and get a yardage reading, which put the beast at 35 yards. Floyd softened his calls a bit, but kept raking on the tree and the bull started fast toward the noise, stopping only to look for cows or rake a few trees of his own. I came to full draw and the bull stayed on his trek to me, at 28 yards +/- I released a three blade Thunder Head 125 to the center of the animals chest. The arrow was on its mark and the bull made a fast swirl to the right. My guide was a quick thinker so he stood up and started making cow calls, and to my surprise the bull stopped at 40 yards and just stood still. I remember saying to myself, "Did I miss ?" "Did the arrow deflect?" "Why did he not keep running?" and after what seemed an eternity to me, the bull collapsed taking his last breath. One arrow, one guide, and 8 days into my trip, I finally had my first Moose. Well you know what went on from there, lots of yells, shouts, congratulations, and re-enactments of the hunt, all the things that we love to talk about.
I must say that this hunt was a hunt of a lifetime. The hunt was incredible, the food was great, the cooks, wranglers, and all of the staff treated you as if you were a king. I would strongly recommend this hunt to any hunter, bow or rifle. Moose, Caribou and Grizzly were seen everyday with several other hunters taking sizeable Caribou in other areas near our camp.

Hunting Information:
Hunt provided by Liard River Adventures
(Chris "&" Thor Shippmann)
Office: 250-549-1691
Fax: 250-549-1646
Email: huntlra@telus.net