This is a story of some possible activity on Cathole Rd in Claremont, NH. Claremont is a city in Sullivan County, NH.
I’m disabled so I don’t get out in the woods as much as I would like. Mostly it’s only to places I can access with my 4 x 4. On this day I was driving up Cathole Rd. in Claremont, NH and stopped where there is an old log landing area I use to target shoot. I was up there testing an AR-15 that I built when I stopped shooting to get another magazine. I swore I heard voices so I stopped what I was doing and walked from the rear of my truck to the driver’s side door.
I could still hear the voices but a bit louder. My first thought was that it was hikers so I turned to go pack up. Suddenly I see, within 10 feet of me, a full-grown moose with absolutely no fear of me or my gun. This all went down within a matter of a minute or two.
Not knowing what this animal was going to do, I backed up and put the truck between us and when I did, it came up to my truck and laid down next to it, a mere five feet away.
Then I noticed the voices had stopped. But now I can’t even move my truck because of the position of the moose. After about five minutes I fired a couple of shots into some old logs on the other side of the logging road and the moose stood up and walked very slowly into the woodline, but stayed standing at the edge, about 30 feet away. I finished firing another ten rounds but still it didn’t move, seeming to have no fear of me or the gunfire.
As I was driving away with my windows down I got a whiff of something I’ve never smelled before. It was a cross between a ferret and the worst body odor you’ve ever smelled even though it only lasted one or two breaths. None of this made any sense to me.
I thought, what would scare a moose so much that moving near a man with a rifle would be the safer choice? This is why I suspect it was some sort of encounter even though I never saw anything.