I've been hunting moose since the 80's. They are not hard to kill, thick fur or not. Fur doesn't even come into the equation frankly. Your 7PRC will do the job nicely. Personally, I've never had one run more than one hundred yards, and that was my last bull in 2021 with a 55 inch rack. Not huge but large enough. Hit with a 300WM at less than 100 yards, frontal quartering shot. He stumbled but didn't go down immediately. Don't expect them too. If you can get another shot in without damaging meat or gut shooting the beast, go ahead. Just make your first shot count and it will go down. A spine shot (ie "the shoulder hump") will drop them where they stand and ruin very little meat. It's a small target however. Have a great time!
First moose hunt
- Thread starter eco
- Start date
IronNoggin
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Alberni, Vancouver Island
Copied from the other First Moose thread:
Some sound advise already.
I have taken a couple dozen moose in my span, guided for them and have buddies who do the same.
There are a few "tricks" you might wish to know.
Start watching as many moose calling videos as you can on YouTube and mimicking them. The cow call is the most important IMO, so focus hard on that. For the bull grunt, learn how to do an immature moose bull call (higher pitched, softer and shorter than a dominant bull call). Of course practice with the mature bull call, but spend a LOT more time on the cow and immature bull sounds.
Your Outfitter may do this for you, but it never hurts to be prepared/
Grab some Buck Expert Mare In Heat (synthetic) scent lure. As in the larger size of bottle with a decent sized lid. Available at Cabela's and like stores or online. Caveat: I am in no way associated with the company mentioned. However between myself and quite a few other professionals we have proven this product to be the best available by a large magnitude.
Grab some medium sized scent free tampons. These absorb a good amount of the scent lure noted above, and come with a convenient string to hang from tree (bring extra string).
Go in silent mode. The Outfitter will have determined the best areas to set up on as for sign and potential shooting lanes.
24 - 48 hours before your hunt, sneak in and set out two of the tampons soaked in the scent lure. One as high up in a tree as you can get (extra string and a weight helps). One around 10 feet or so below that and off to one side. Cow call just before you leave around 6 times.
Day of your hunt:
Sneak in under the cover of darkness and allow things to settle for around 1/2 an hour.
Begin with a medium loud cow calling sequence - 4-6 calls, and wait.
Rinse and repeat around every 20 minutes.
If no response after the first sequence, increase the volume (but not the duration).
If you get a bull grunting in response, use both the cow call and the immature bull call lightly to get him to commit.
That trick works well when they hang up just out of sight.
Many times a bull will come in silent, and simply suddenly appear. Be prepared for that.
Moose are big. Your Outfitter will be prepared to deal with it once it is down.
I employed this method last year, and shot this bull at 27 feet.
The method as described has been responsible for dozens of success stories over the past couple of decades.
Simply put - it works.
The scent lure was so effective last year I had another bull come in point blank while I was talking on the phone standing next to the gutted moose and gut pile. Two days later another bull tried to gain access to my buddy's carport outside of Prince George where he had stored the scent bottle - double ziplocked.
Your Outfitter will have done the homework on the best places to set up, shooting, and calling.
If you follow what I and the others above have noted, you will likely enjoy some fine success.
Cheers,
Nog
Some sound advise already.
I have taken a couple dozen moose in my span, guided for them and have buddies who do the same.
There are a few "tricks" you might wish to know.
Start watching as many moose calling videos as you can on YouTube and mimicking them. The cow call is the most important IMO, so focus hard on that. For the bull grunt, learn how to do an immature moose bull call (higher pitched, softer and shorter than a dominant bull call). Of course practice with the mature bull call, but spend a LOT more time on the cow and immature bull sounds.
Your Outfitter may do this for you, but it never hurts to be prepared/
Grab some Buck Expert Mare In Heat (synthetic) scent lure. As in the larger size of bottle with a decent sized lid. Available at Cabela's and like stores or online. Caveat: I am in no way associated with the company mentioned. However between myself and quite a few other professionals we have proven this product to be the best available by a large magnitude.
Grab some medium sized scent free tampons. These absorb a good amount of the scent lure noted above, and come with a convenient string to hang from tree (bring extra string).
Go in silent mode. The Outfitter will have determined the best areas to set up on as for sign and potential shooting lanes.
24 - 48 hours before your hunt, sneak in and set out two of the tampons soaked in the scent lure. One as high up in a tree as you can get (extra string and a weight helps). One around 10 feet or so below that and off to one side. Cow call just before you leave around 6 times.
Day of your hunt:
Sneak in under the cover of darkness and allow things to settle for around 1/2 an hour.
Begin with a medium loud cow calling sequence - 4-6 calls, and wait.
Rinse and repeat around every 20 minutes.
If no response after the first sequence, increase the volume (but not the duration).
If you get a bull grunting in response, use both the cow call and the immature bull call lightly to get him to commit.
That trick works well when they hang up just out of sight.
Many times a bull will come in silent, and simply suddenly appear. Be prepared for that.
Moose are big. Your Outfitter will be prepared to deal with it once it is down.
I employed this method last year, and shot this bull at 27 feet.
The method as described has been responsible for dozens of success stories over the past couple of decades.
Simply put - it works.
The scent lure was so effective last year I had another bull come in point blank while I was talking on the phone standing next to the gutted moose and gut pile. Two days later another bull tried to gain access to my buddy's carport outside of Prince George where he had stored the scent bottle - double ziplocked.
Your Outfitter will have done the homework on the best places to set up, shooting, and calling.
If you follow what I and the others above have noted, you will likely enjoy some fine success.
Cheers,
Nog
Don’t intentionally shoot him in the hump. I made that mistake decades ago on the advice of old timers, can still picture that giant rack running away after he got up from a full roll.
There’s nothing vital in the hump, just some fingers off the spine you’ve got to be lucky to hit.
There’s nothing vital in the hump, just some fingers off the spine you’ve got to be lucky to hit.
When moose come in to the call, they will come in right to where you were calling from. If working as a team, set the shooter up downwind and to the side so that the moose will pass them broadside for a better shot presentation, as they circle to get the wind, if they cannot see the cow they have been hearing.
The Montana cow moose decoy is light, handy and easy to set up for the caller. Use your cow in heat scent on this.
Practice good scent control and watch that wind.
Best of luck on your quest!
The Montana cow moose decoy is light, handy and easy to set up for the caller. Use your cow in heat scent on this.
Practice good scent control and watch that wind.
Best of luck on your quest!
Hi all,
Appreciate the tips. I for one have a cow tag. Any suggestions? Call in a bull and hope a cow comes too? Do a calf call to hopefully call in a cow? While it would be awesome and "cool" to call in a bull, other than take pics it won't (probably) do me any good.
Thanks
Appreciate the tips. I for one have a cow tag. Any suggestions? Call in a bull and hope a cow comes too? Do a calf call to hopefully call in a cow? While it would be awesome and "cool" to call in a bull, other than take pics it won't (probably) do me any good.
Thanks
But beware of that shoulder hump.. it's very deceiving. The spine is quite a bit lower, take a look at a moose skeletal structure before trying that. I've seen a moose with bullet hole through that hump, totally missed the spine.
Moose have very poor eye sight, but have excellent ears & nose, use the wind to your favour and they'll come right in close
In my years of inexperience 
50ish moose and more if you count budds I've been with. Several head shots, when the opportunity is there, several between the eyes. Some say not to because of damage to meat in the neck, never had this happen even with magnums at 20 feet. Heart shots run the most, usually under 50 yards. Lung shots maby 30 feet but often just stand there. Extra holes in the boiler room never hurts.
The thing I have never done is a sholder shot. The guys I hunt with, several which have been guides, will laugh you out of camp and probably not hunt with you again if you do. Those Canada In The Ruff guys would never be allowed in our camp.
50ish moose and more if you count budds I've been with. Several head shots, when the opportunity is there, several between the eyes. Some say not to because of damage to meat in the neck, never had this happen even with magnums at 20 feet. Heart shots run the most, usually under 50 yards. Lung shots maby 30 feet but often just stand there. Extra holes in the boiler room never hurts. The thing I have never done is a sholder shot. The guys I hunt with, several which have been guides, will laugh you out of camp and probably not hunt with you again if you do. Those Canada In The Ruff guys would never be allowed in our camp.
