Autumn Clark, a hunter from Swanville, was drawn for a zone 6 moose permit last year, but at 36 weeks pregnant, she was granted a medical deferment to hunt in 2025. When the season rolled around, she set out for the hunt with a unique challenge: carrying her 11-month-old daughter, Ophelia, on her back.
While bringing her baby along to scout, call and pack the moose out made the hunt more challenging, Clark felt it was important to include Ophelia in the experience.
Clark, who had scouted the area back in 2015 for a successful bull moose hunt, knew the region fairly well, but she still spent a month scouting for the hunt.
With many road hunters in the area, Clark, along with her subpermittee and another friend, decided to move to a more secluded area for their evening sit, which was a bog about 700 yards away from a road, and no trail to access it.
“As soon as we got down to the bog, we saw the bull on the other side of the pond,” Clark said. They quickly set up, made a few calls and within 10 minutes, the bull was right in front of them.
“It was a clean, easy kill”, Clark said. Her husband brought the baby down right afterwards.
Their hike was a brutal one in, and even more brutal on the way out. Clark’s bull, which weighed 746 pounds, took six hours to haul out using a truck bed liner and a chainsaw winch.
Clark noted that hunting with a baby required some adjustments.
“She was crankier in the beginning of the day when she needed a nap,” Clark said. “We had to hope she wouldn’t be too fussy or loud.” Her husband was a huge help, taking their daughter when needed, she said.
Clark said their daughter attempted to mimic their cow calls. “We didn’t mind the help,” Clark said. “She was just happy to be outside and then fell asleep in the backpack carrier.”
