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This Moose Hunt Was a Total Team Effort

October 06, 2009 - NEW PORTLAND -- As unlikely as it was for Jennifer Frey to win a moose permit after 19 years of trying – and then to go on the hunt when she was eight months pregnant – the way she got her trophy bull was even more unlikely.

It was textbook.

The hunt was the stuff of how-to videos, from the posturing of the 891-pound bull that responded to the calls to the clean rapid-fire shots that Jennifer and her sub-permittee, husband Daniel Frey, took to drop the moose.

It was also a classic Maine story of how a hunt can bring a family together.

Jennifer and Daniel Frey relived the hunt Wednesday as they processed the meat at their home in New Portland with the help of of family and friends who were part of the hunting party.

"We're taking turns cutting. It'll save a little money and help the family," said Nate Lattin, a friend from New Portland, of the work normally done by butchers. "With friends and family helping, you get it done a lot faster."

Planning for the hunt began two weeks ago, when Frey's father, Dennis Dawes, went north with his wife, Pam, to scout the area around Allagash in the hunting zone where his daughter won a permit.

They stayed at a friend's camp, and Dennis got to know the swampy, thickly wooded area well enough to find a few choice patches of moose habitat. One in particular would end up being the one where Frey took the moose on the second day of the hunt.

Frey's brothers, Nate and Jason Lattin, also of New Portland, guided the hunt with their moose calling, which they had learned from years of deer and elk hunts.

"Nate and Jason called, and we heard cracks in the wood. Then we heard feet in the swamp and mud. The next thing, it was calling back. We knew it was coming, so we got in position," Jennifer Frey said. "And all of a sudden, the trees started shaking. Then it came out.

"Dan had the best view, so he shot first. It was amazing, and so much fun. It was a nice team effort."

Imitating the noise made by moose antlers drew the moose right out into the clearing – and everyone participated, Frey said.

"We beat the bushes, and as it was coming, it stopped," said Daniel Frey, a lifelong deer hunter. "We beat the bushes (again), and then he came full bore right for us. It was pretty cool. If we didn't have guns, it's one of those things where we'd want to get out of there."

The entire family did research on moose hunting, moose calling, habitat and the area they would be hunting to make the hunt a success.

Jennifer's in-laws flew in from Pennsylvania to watch her two small children so the family could conduct the hunt from dawn to dusk.

For Dennis Dawes, who guided his daughter on whitetail hunts for years, the main thrill came from sharing the hunt with his wife.

"She's never been on a hunt. It was pretty neat just to see her excitement," Dawes said of Pam. "Now she might go turkey hunting with me."

Jennifer Frey said the hunt was a singular outdoor experience to share with her family – especially as the Maine clan is about to grow by one.

"We like to joke that I got to take him hunting first," she said of her son, who is expected in a month.

"My daughters go with us in the woods – they look for deer, they know how to track in the woods, they know which dropping belongs to which animal."

Despite being Maine natives, Frey said she and her husband drive through Aroostook County only occasionally, and have never been so deep in the North Maine Woods. The remote location made the hunt a magical event, she said.

"It's a hobby my husband and I both enjoy. It was worth it. This was a really special week," said Frey after spending 18 hours hunting the moose, tagging it and driving seven hours back to New Portland.

"Obviously, I don't recommend it (for pregnant women), but I couldn't pass it up. It was a once-in-a-lifetime. I really enjoyed the company, and we were in those beautiful woods, out in God's country."

DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald, October 1, 2009


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Regions: Rangeley, Presque Isle


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