That's interesting. In BC the rut is pretty much on time Sept 26ish for 7 to maybe 14 days of activity then it's pretty slowed down. Temps seem to dictate the intensity of the rut not duration. That's when I've focused most of my hunting. A few times being out late October and November tend to find the moose in post rut mode, cows seem to be alone and the Bulls and grouped together. Didn't realize they still might want to breed. I guess I should call more.
I must be friggen crazy .... moose hunting solo
- Thread starter 45ACPKING
- Start date
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
BC spans 11 degrees of latitude right up to 60 North like most of the provinces, and I can assure you from personal experience the rut is not by any means identical for the whole province.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
well folks, all packed up, camper is loaded, quad is on the trailer , rifles are ready.... ruger m77 mkII 7mm rem mag (custom by dlask) and my LRB M25 .308 is gonna join me as well as a back up and camp gun with the "enfield" mags on hand
I'm leaving in the wee hours of the a.m. , see ya'all in a week !!
well what do you know I have the same rifle
its killed a number of moose over the years. Its been relegated to backup moose gun now that I have a 300WM. But it is my primary for Elk.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
similar to how I do it. However I have a 1500lb winch mounted in the box of the truck so I can winch the moose in whole
I see you live a few miles from me too.
similar to how I do it. However I have a 1500lb winch mounted in the box of the truck so I can winch the moose in whole
I see you live a few miles from me too.
I'm interested in the winch idea. Is it a permanently mounted rack or is is easily removed. Could you post a picture ?
IF you get close enough....I think they might respond to calls anytime of season....I have heard cow moose and bull moose respond to Elk calls on Sept.15th....I imagine they are just saying hello...Iam over here....please stay out of my area??
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
permanent mount to the headache rack.
I welded 3" angle iron to the uprights across the front of the box and then just bolted the little winch to that. The angle iron sits flat on the box with the lip running down on the outside of the box near the cab.
I'll see about pics. Might be easier if you PM me and I can text you a photo later.
bring mineral Salt or salt block put it in a puddle of water near the road
There is lots of moose crossing on the roads in the marshy arias
Dive out early before day light and sit in your truck drink coffee and let the moose com to you with sum luck you will get him right on the road
It's about time you started hunting like the old guys up north lol
I feel bad I can't make it this year but the money is to good to pass up
At lees this year I get to do sum hunting on days off with luck I will make it up for your elk hunt
I bin thinking hard at getting a set of hok ski-shoe's for early winter hunting cheeper then getting a sled and more portable lol
There is lots of moose crossing on the roads in the marshy arias
Dive out early before day light and sit in your truck drink coffee and let the moose com to you with sum luck you will get him right on the road
It's about time you started hunting like the old guys up north lol
I feel bad I can't make it this year but the money is to good to pass up
At lees this year I get to do sum hunting on days off with luck I will make it up for your elk hunt
I bin thinking hard at getting a set of hok ski-shoe's for early winter hunting cheeper then getting a sled and more portable lol
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I'm back..... no moose for me yet. The only way i'll get one now is by chance in one of the remaining immature bull seasons but I'm not keeping hopes high LOL
no worry tho, had a real good time hunting solo and did come close.
I ended up cold calling a 70 year old buddy of mine who used to hunt lots and raised his son a hunter who has been a guide in BC and alberta for many years now. Anyhow, he jumped at the chance to tag along and did ride up and walk in to "my spot" with me the first day but after that opted for the comforts of camp LOL It's understandable.... warm camper, fire pit, gorgeous lake front view. He couldn't stop thanking me for taking him along and was great for my moral after each day of pounding the wilderness in search of antlers. On the second day I went in to my spot early in the dark and an animal circled me at what proved to be about 100 yards out in plain sight but was still dark and I could only make out a faint shape to relate to the sounds of the crunchy snow. Later after calling for several hours and just sitting there soaking it all in, I wandered down to check for sign and sure enough, bull and cow tracks , circling my spot in the dark
to make matter worse, on the 3rd day I went up the mountain, parked the quad, walked in and spent about 2 hours before heading out. Only to find nice large bull tracks and 4 cows had walked up the trail for over 100 yards, right in my quad tracks. I attempted to follow them as it could have been any time in that 2 hours but was met with crunchy 4 inch deep frozen snow and after couple hundred yards realized they were headed into the 20 foot tall new growth pines which is a near impenetrable fortress for hiding moose LOL
anyhow, weather sucked ballz, high winds, fast low rolling clouds, snow squalls and some rain here n there. One would expect that cold weather to get the moose moving during the day but full on rut activity is keeping the bulls and cows in the thick #### all day. I did see a nice bull leaving in a locals pickup truck on the 4rth day from an area north of me closer to Babine. Otherwise, most other hunters I talked to, including locals, were all saying the same thing, the low pressure system was keeping the moose in the thick #### and the big bulls were still with cows (rut).
I don't know if it's first rut or second rut for these moose in the lower area of the Skeena region but I can tell you..... single bulls travelling with cows can only mean one thing hehehe. We saw 3 separate sets of tracks in my hunting area that were single bulls with cows travelling at night. One set of tracks had 6 cows and the bull track was just enormous.
Anyhow, had a lot of fun , got home safe, no breakdowns and all the gear is ready to go for my next adventure
region 6 moose are safe from me this year LOL now to see about a region 3 spiker maybe..... needle in a haystack hunting trip anyone??
no worry tho, had a real good time hunting solo and did come close.
I ended up cold calling a 70 year old buddy of mine who used to hunt lots and raised his son a hunter who has been a guide in BC and alberta for many years now. Anyhow, he jumped at the chance to tag along and did ride up and walk in to "my spot" with me the first day but after that opted for the comforts of camp LOL It's understandable.... warm camper, fire pit, gorgeous lake front view. He couldn't stop thanking me for taking him along and was great for my moral after each day of pounding the wilderness in search of antlers. On the second day I went in to my spot early in the dark and an animal circled me at what proved to be about 100 yards out in plain sight but was still dark and I could only make out a faint shape to relate to the sounds of the crunchy snow. Later after calling for several hours and just sitting there soaking it all in, I wandered down to check for sign and sure enough, bull and cow tracks , circling my spot in the dark
to make matter worse, on the 3rd day I went up the mountain, parked the quad, walked in and spent about 2 hours before heading out. Only to find nice large bull tracks and 4 cows had walked up the trail for over 100 yards, right in my quad tracks. I attempted to follow them as it could have been any time in that 2 hours but was met with crunchy 4 inch deep frozen snow and after couple hundred yards realized they were headed into the 20 foot tall new growth pines which is a near impenetrable fortress for hiding moose LOL
anyhow, weather sucked ballz, high winds, fast low rolling clouds, snow squalls and some rain here n there. One would expect that cold weather to get the moose moving during the day but full on rut activity is keeping the bulls and cows in the thick #### all day. I did see a nice bull leaving in a locals pickup truck on the 4rth day from an area north of me closer to Babine. Otherwise, most other hunters I talked to, including locals, were all saying the same thing, the low pressure system was keeping the moose in the thick #### and the big bulls were still with cows (rut).
I don't know if it's first rut or second rut for these moose in the lower area of the Skeena region but I can tell you..... single bulls travelling with cows can only mean one thing hehehe. We saw 3 separate sets of tracks in my hunting area that were single bulls with cows travelling at night. One set of tracks had 6 cows and the bull track was just enormous.
Anyhow, had a lot of fun , got home safe, no breakdowns and all the gear is ready to go for my next adventure
region 6 moose are safe from me this year LOL now to see about a region 3 spiker maybe..... needle in a haystack hunting trip anyone??
I didn't take any pics LOL nuthin to take pics of except for low clouds and snow squalls haha
Moose season isn't over yet , I have another location that has been very good to me and folks I've sent that way , for the November immature bull season just south of me.
I've scouted a few times and there's a good number of moose around there so we'll see.
leaving for another solo adventure on Saturday to see if I can put the ambush down on a big Bonaparte mulie and will keep my eyes peeled for white tails as well.
season ain't over yet and my rig is ready to roll
ya MD , it is a nice area but it really needs an army of CO's around for that opening and the couple weeks before it opens. The night time road hunting we witnessed by "non native" locals was pretty blatant and disgusting to see. I saw the same trucks heading in towards Babine every evening around 4 and then one at a time rolling thru "moose corner" around 10 pm thru midnite.
Heard a shot close to camp about an hour before legal shooting light .... by the time I left camp 1/2 hour later, the two young locals were already winching the moose into the truck bed. Sweet rig with the mini crane on board..... fuggen poachers. People complain about the natives in that area yet all I witnessed was dirt baggery from non native locals.
I've got a pile of info I collected on my blackberry and stuff I wrote down so will be writing a letter with attachments/evidence for the region 6 CO's to chew on.
anyhow, hopefully next year will be successful tho we may move on to a different area much further north in the future.
Heard a shot close to camp about an hour before legal shooting light .... by the time I left camp 1/2 hour later, the two young locals were already winching the moose into the truck bed. Sweet rig with the mini crane on board..... fuggen poachers. People complain about the natives in that area yet all I witnessed was dirt baggery from non native locals.
I've got a pile of info I collected on my blackberry and stuff I wrote down so will be writing a letter with attachments/evidence for the region 6 CO's to chew on.
anyhow, hopefully next year will be successful tho we may move on to a different area much further north in the future.
Just got back a couple days ago from a scouting mission for big bucks in one of my favorite spots. Found some good sign and a few nice smashed up trees and rubs, hair stuck in the tree sap and some nice tracks around what looks like a small mineral pocket in the ground. Not enough sign to pattern and I didn't find any buck beds near the scrapes.... but it's still a tad early. Witnessed a big doe from a group of 4 , purposefully hunch up her back, stick her tail in the air and she pissed all over the ground by the smashed up pine...... you smell that boys?? Rut is ON!!
will be making several trips in this month and into December if I have to. I'm looking for monsters only. The last one from my spot was 9 years ago on rememberance day and final scored at 165 1/2 (4pt typical). I'm not normally an antler hunter but for this particular hunt I'd be lying if I said it was only about the meat hehehe
as for moose, there is a Bullwinkle season (immatures/spike fork) that runs to the 15th November so if I see one, I do still have a tag. Over this past weekend (sat to Tuesday) I counted 23 deer (5 bucks) , 3 moose, all cows. Checking a few real moosey spots in the area and I found several different bull tracks, all of them appearing to be younger bulls due to the smaller foot print.
anyhow, the adventures continue........
will be making several trips in this month and into December if I have to. I'm looking for monsters only. The last one from my spot was 9 years ago on rememberance day and final scored at 165 1/2 (4pt typical). I'm not normally an antler hunter but for this particular hunt I'd be lying if I said it was only about the meat hehehe
as for moose, there is a Bullwinkle season (immatures/spike fork) that runs to the 15th November so if I see one, I do still have a tag. Over this past weekend (sat to Tuesday) I counted 23 deer (5 bucks) , 3 moose, all cows. Checking a few real moosey spots in the area and I found several different bull tracks, all of them appearing to be younger bulls due to the smaller foot print.
anyhow, the adventures continue........
