Moose Quest
Avid outdoorsman Howie Pentony of Saxonburg embarked on a hunting excursion from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3 in British Columbia, Canada.
Accompanying him were his friends, brothers Lou Iannucci of Troy, Bradford County, and Robert Iannucci of Philadelphia.
“We were looking to do something different and a moose hunt was something we hadn't done,” said Pentony.
As Canada's westernmost province, most of British Columbia is wild or semiwild.To arrange the hunt, Pentony contacted outfitter Allan Tew, who operates Chilanko Forks Outfitters in the Cariboo-Chilcotin area of British Columbia.“The outfitter provides food, rooms, transportation, horses, saddles, everything,” Pentony said. “Basically, hunters just bring clothing, sleeping bags — one of the most difficult things you have to learn is to not overpack.”The trio first embarked on a short bear hunt then traveled deep into the wilderness for a moose hunt, much of which was spent on horseback.The bear hunt lasted three days, but the hunters had no luck, Pentony said.The moose camp was about 30 miles away and required an arduous journey over rough terrain.“Basically, getting to the moose camp took two hours driving on a paved road and one hour on a gravel road,” he said. “It took an hour to drive the last seven miles; it was not much more than a wagon trail.”When the group reached Chilanko Forks Outfitters, they found two rustic log cabins for sleeping, a cook's shack with a kitchen and two bedrooms, a cabin for the outfitter and his wife and a barn for the horses, Pentony said.There was no electricity, and spring water had to be filtered for drinking.
On a typical day, the group was awake by 4:30 a.m. and riding out of camp before daybreak, Pentony said.“You get on the horses and ride to wherever you want to hunt,” he said.In an environment with such thick, dense forest, hunters rely on the horses to travel the trails.“Our horses were great,” he said. “They can virtually walk in the dark and they did find their way through the trails.”Even though some of the trees have been cut down or fallen naturally, the hunters still must search for wide, open spaces, he said.“Hunting in the forest is impossible; the forests are so thick and the trees are so close together, you have to be in the open,” said Pentony.Pentony described the region as wet and marshy with ponds, lakes, streams and rivers.He estimates they rode about four hours a day, and sometimes as many as six hours.The outfitter provided quality horses, which makes a difference, Pentony said.“If you get hurt out there, if you fall off a horse, you're four hours from the closest hospital,” he said. “Everyone is always happy when there are good horses.”<B>The thrill of the hunt</B>The outfitter also provided one guide for every two hunters.“I was lucky,” Pentony said. “There were three of us, so I hunted with one guide.”Although Robert Iannucci estimates the friends have about a hundred years of hunting experience between them, he said the guides were extremely helpful.“You always defer to the experts,” Robert Iannucci said. “We're in their home, we're in their area, so why not use that they've learned?”Hunting in British Columbia is nothing like hunting in Pennsylvania, he continued.“If you're in the woods in Pennsylvania and you get sort of lost, you just walk in a straight line and in probably two hours, you'll come to a road,” he said. “In British Columbia, it could be two or three days before you come to some sort of road.”The weapons used were Pentony's .300 Weatherby Magnum, Lou Iannucci's .300 Remington Ultramag and Robert Iannucci's 7 mm Remington Magnum.“Moose are big animals, between 800 and 900 pounds,” Pentony said, adding that most hunters use some sort of magnum for big game. “You need to take a weapon capable of harvesting an animal that big.”The Iannucci brothers each harvested a bull moose during the hunt and ended up with a total of about 600 pounds of boneless meat.The fact that he killed the moose wasn't the most significant aspect, said Robert Iannucci, it was the shot he took.“It was just shy of 400 yards and for me, that's a long shot,” said Iannucci, who killed a moose the last day of the trip. “I tend to shy away from shooting that distance, but at that point, I had no choice, it was either that or not have a chance at the bull.”The animals had to be quartered and transported out by horse, a lengthy task that took one horse two trips from the site to the camp.The unseasonably warm weather, reaching the mid-70s, affected the hunt, Pentony said.“It's not good for seeing moose; moose are black and if they go out and get too hot, they go back into the forest,” he said. “We hunted until mid-afternoon if it was hot and if it was a cool day, we'd hunt as late as dark.”
Pentony did not bring down a moose but has no regrets.“That's why it's called hunting and not killing. It was a very fun opportunity and a good hunt in a good location,” he said. “We've gotten beyond the killing stage of being a hunter. If we see animals and have a good time, we don't have to kill anymore.”The region is home to wildlife including black bear, grizzly bear, mule deer, cougars, moose, mountain caribou and wolves, said Pentony.In addition to seeing the wildlife, the trio was impressed to learn that outdoors author and television personality Jim Zumbo was hunting there at the same time, Pentony said.“It was good to find out he was going to be in camp,” he said.Pentony said it was a moderately challenging physical hunt because they were on horseback for much of the time, which can be difficult if hunters aren't used to riding.The most important preparation is simply getting some exercise before the hunt, he said.“You're wearing 10 to 15 pounds with boots and clothing and you're carrying your gun and your day pack,” he said. “There are probably 30 pounds or more on your body that you're not used to.”Another thing hunters can do in advance is get comfortable with their weapon, Pentony said.“You want to try to shoot your gun and get comfortable and make sure that it's sighted in accurately,” he said.The moose hunting trip combined the best of both worlds, Pentony said.“I like the solitude, but I also like the camaraderie of coming in and being with old friends,” he said.
Sharing his snapshots is Howie Pentony, 63, of Saxonburg.Pentony is a client portfolio manager associated with Commonwealth Financial Network and writes a financial column for the Butler Eagle.Pentony became friends with Lou Iannucci, 65, through work and through him became acquainted with Robert Iannucci, 60.The trio has been hunting together for about 10 years.Lou Iannucci is retired and lives in Troy, Bradford County.Robert Iannucci is retired and lives in Philadelphia.One of Pentony's favorite photos from the trip shows the friends sitting shoulder to shoulder in front of a cabin.“One thing that's always the same is we always laugh a lot,” Pentony said.
