Cody Cassidy specializes in calling in big bulls. The size of these swamp donkeys is remarkable. So is the sight of them walking about in the mixed alfalfa and bush typical of central Alberta. While hunting with Cassidy, my son came within 40 yards of two big bulls, but his archery skills were not up to the task. We ended up settling for an average trophy on the next-to-last day during rifle season. A rifle hunter from the US in camp at the same time got a 47-inch double drop tine bull. Another hunter took one in the 45-inch range.
The Cassidys operate in east-cental Alberta. They charge $7,500 for a six-day moose hunt. Clients pay 50 percent upon booking the hunt and the balance only if they kill a moose. Moose hunts run the first week of November. You can combine a moose with a deer and hunt 10 days for $8,500. The Cassidys house their hunters in a new lodge on the Battle River.
Mark Parsons of Anchor Bar Expeditions is another rancher/outfitter who takes out moose hunters. He has been 100 percent on moose over the last seven years. Parsons hunts southwest of Calgary, just west of the Porcupine Hills and south of Chain Lakes. Moose in this area are classified as Shiras by Safari Club International, and Parsons reports 50 percent of his moose make the SCI book. Parsons runs six-day rifle or archery hunts on........(continued)
