Local fills moose tag in Boles Meadow area

SEELEY LAKE – After 24 years of putting in for a moose tag, Austin Dillree finally got his chance. Less than two weeks into the two and half month moose season, he filled his tag with a 40-inch bull that he dropped with one shot in the Boles Meadow area.

Dillree's first memory of hunting was riding on his Dad's shoulders when he was four-years-old. He started hunting himself when he was 12 and has made it a lifetime sport hunting elk, deer and antelope.

"I love the solitude," said Dillree. "I live for this time of the year."

Even though he enjoys hunting with his daughters and some friends, he said 90 percent of the time when he is successful he is alone.

Dillree said moose have always amazed him. He frequently comes across their tracks when elk hunting and they have always seemed really docile.

When he found out he had been drawn at the end of June, Dillree started planning immediately. He headed out to Boles Meadow area and started scouting. "On the Fourth of July I was scouting."

Dillree chose to focus on Boles Meadow because people had been saying they've seen a nice bull up there for the last several years. He hadn't heard of anyone getting one but because it is so close to the Reservation line, the moose could have been shot by tribe members.

"It was kind of a gamble to go up there with [tribal members] hunting there too. Not seeing any fresh sign I was pretty sure they got him," said Dillree.

Dillree also watched YouTube videos to learn more about moose behavior and where they frequent. His friend Rick Butler, who hunted moose in Alaska, taught him how to do a cow call, "but I can't hardly do the call without laughing."

Dillree parked his camper up on top of the mountain in the Boles Meadow area. Dillree was committed to hunt the rest of the day Thursday, Sept. 26 but then he planned to relocate.

"I've been watching that swamp all summer and nothing was ever out there. I didn't see any fresh tracks or any fresh sign at all," said Dillree. "Then all of a sudden there was a moose out there. It was amazing."

Dillree had never seen a big bull so he didn't know the difference between a big bull or small bull. Even though he wanted to call him in closer, he was afraid to try.

"I thought he might turn and run the other way. I've never heard one so I didn't know if I was good or bad [at calling in a moose]. I had a good, clear shot so I took it."

Dillree hit the moose in the neck at 387 yards with his Browning 300 Winchester Magnum. He dropped him with one shot using a Barnes VOR-TX 180 grain bullet given to him by Butler. He called his buddies Tripp Mincey, Jake Livingston, Tom Montgomery and Wyatt Styler.

"I owe these guys a lot," said Dillree. "Without those guys I wouldn't have been able to get him out of there."

Dillree said even though it wasn't very far, he dropped in a swamp and he was big. They had him butchered, quartered and out to the road in four hours. They estimate the bull was about three and a half years old.

"It was total relief. I didn't want to eat the tag," said Dillree and laughed. "I wanted a decent bull and he looked like a good one. I felt really lucky – get the tag and then get the bull – that's what a lot of people want."

Dillree added, "I'll never put in again, even after seven years [the amount of time required after getting drawn for a moose tag]. I want to give someone else a shot at it. It was a fun hunt."