A bad start but still ended up getting 3 Gold trophies| theHunter: Call of the Wild

Yukon Valley Nature Reserve is one of the most beautiful maps in "theHunter: Call of the Wild". It is trying to replicate the beautiful landscapes of Yukon Valley located in Alaska. They did a good job in the game, even though my graphics setting was just medium it still looks stunning.

When I joined the game, there were some clouds in the sky and the sun was not fully out.

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I looked at my loadout and packed the Moose caller which was missing. I don't like to pack all the callers for ducks and animals, just for the animals I love to hunt in those maps. In this reserve, Moose are by far the most satisfying kills and you will find them spread throughout the map.

I was looking for my prey on the sides of the river and walking along the shore. Like always, my trusted dog, Sheru, was with me to help me track down any injured animals.

Within minutes, the weather started to change abruptly and it was a lot more foggy now, which made spotting animals a little difficult. But on the other side of the river, I saw a flock of "Harlequin Ducks".

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They were still far and a massive river bend was blocking my way, I could get around this bend but it would have taken me a long time so I decided to take the risk and took the shot from this distance.

I had my.22 LR rifle which is ideal for mid-range small game hunting so I used it and on my second attempt, I hit the duck. It died right on the spot but harvesting it would take longer so I left it there to harvest it later.

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I moved on along the shore and saw a small group of Moose drinking water on the riverside. The river was much shallow at this point so I could even cross from here but first I had to take a good shot.

I was still observing them and walking towards them. Little did I know that a Caribou was just standing close to me and was going to get spooked by the noise.

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I was in no position to the shot on Caribou and taking a bad shot could be risky and it would have scared away Moose as well. So, I left him alone.

As I was moving closer, I got impatient and used my powerful 7mm rifle which was a mistake I guess. I missed the shot and they all fled from the scene. xD

But one of them circled back to the spot and that's when I opened fire, I hit him but missed vital organs which meant I had to track down the injured animals now. Well, it was not going well for me.

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Sheru had to do a lot of work but we eventually found it. That was a big male with a large set of antlers. They are pretty big in general and this one weighed just over 500 kg.

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We had to go into the deep forest to track it down. And while I was getting back to open areas to hunt, I came across a huge predator.

The mighty grizzly bear was standing on its hind legs making a big roar and was ready to attack. I had my bow ready and took the shot hastily. I thought I hit it well but the arrow missed no organs and I was so disappointed.

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No organ hits on such a big predator might mean I have to track it down for miles and even then there is no guarantee it would go down so I missed a golden opportunity to hunt the biggest predators in Yukon Valley!

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It was still drinking time for Moose and I was getting back to the water source. I had already come too far inside the forest so I went back. I was right to go back as I spotted a small herd of Moose standing close to the water.

One of them was male and the rest were females, Those females got spooked by my presence but the male kept looking around and didn't move much.

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Once he calmed down and started drinking again, I got much closer. This time I was trying to use my bow which has superior penetration and can take it down easily.

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I got under a tree completely hidden and I came crawling without making much noise. I was expecting at least a long shot but was aiming at the heart. And I got it somehow.

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A perfect heart shot from 72 meters. This was the biggest one I found today, weighing 544 kg and packing a huge set of antlers. Gave me a gold trophy easily.

With this success, I moved on to hunt more. On the far side of the river, I saw a lone Moose drinking calmly. He was around the same size as the last one. But was much farther away.

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I used my 7 mm rifle this time as it is capable of taking very accurate shots from long distances. I saw him running away but was not sure if I had hit him good or not.

My dog helped me track it down too, and that was not as hard as the first one. I got a good hit this time.

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This looked even bigger and look at the size difference compared to my dog. Such a majestic animal! I have never seen them in real life, would love to see them in the wild someday.

This one weighed similar to the last, just over half a ton. I bagged another Gold trophy from this hunt.

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I saw an unexplored outpost near this area and I was already here so why not go and unlock it? But first I went to pick up my Duck that I killed at the start of the session. I almost forgot about that little guy.

And would you believe it, another Gold!! At the start of the session I was missing all my shots but now I was getting all gold trophies one after the other, what a change of fortunes.

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This was my first "Harlequin Duck" and males have more interesting patterns than females who are just dull with less white and red pattern on their fur (that's what I noticed from the game, not sure how accurate it is).

Okay so back to the outpost, there was a wooden pathway laid in the middle of the forest which takes you to the outpost. I followed it too. Almost got distracted by a Caribou's mating call but I stayed focused.

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I reached the outpost and unlocked it so I could now use the facilities there. The other outpost is just 500 meters away but on the other side of the river and you need to go around to get there. So, this was a nice quick travel point and a good place to restock your bullets and arrows.

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This was a nice end to today's hunting session. I almost killed a Brown beer today and hunted my first Harlequin Duck too! The start of the session was not ideal but it got a lot better at the end with multiple gold trophies. I will see you on another hunting adventure!

Until next hunt...