Moose Hunting 101

Chuck

Chuck

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Deep River
I'm planning to make my first attempt at moose hunting in 2009. I will be hunting in an area of western Quebec where the season allows for one tag between two licensed hunters and any moose is legal. The area is behind my cottage on the Ottawa River which is accessable by boat only. It's a half hour to 45 minute hike up the hills to reach a lake that I believe has potential as good moose habitat. I'm hoping to paddle the lake to search for moose. If I'm fortunate enough to shoot a moose the basic plan at this point is to dress and quarter it and bring the quarters back down the lake in the canoe to the trail head. I'm also expecting that using a come-along to get the moose winched onto shore for quartering, should it fall in the water, would be an asset.

So right now, I've got an idea and plans for a lot of scouting next year ahead of the season. What I don't have is any moose hunting experience, just deer and bear so far. This is where I'm hoping that the moose hunting gurus can help. As a novice, I'd like the advice, tips and experiences of others to help get me going. Please, educate the newbie who's humble enough to ask!
 
So what were you looking at knowing?

What gun? How to quarter it? Field dressing? Pack boarding?

I know one thing, your gonna love cleaning a moose, it's the same as a deer only instead of getting your hands bloody you get your head, neck, shoulders back and arms bloody!
 
MadDog said:
So what were you looking at knowing?

What gun? How to quarter it? Field dressing? Pack boarding?

I know one thing, your gonna love cleaning a moose, it's the same as a deer only instead of getting your hands bloody you get your head, neck, shoulders back and arms bloody!
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Not if you do them gutless.....:D
 
sheephunter said:
Not if you do them gutless.....:D
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does anyone know where there is a "how to" video or play by play with pictures of the gutless method. Ive tried explaining it to my dad to the best of my knowledge, but he thinks the old fashioned "get right in there" method is they way to go. I figured if i showed him, then he'd realize that there is more than one way to skin a cat...or in this case a moose ;)
 
I've got the rifle figured out. I've got a Remington 700 in .35 Whelen with a 1.5-5x20 Leupold that should do the job just fine.

I'm trying to learn about the things that good moose hunters do, personal experiences I can learn from and advice to make things go well. I've heard about doing it the "gutless" way. Wouldn't that mean leaving the tenderloin behind?

As for quartering, I've heard of people using a chainsaw with vegetable oil in place of bar oil. I'm sure it would be fast, anyone done it? Is it actually a good idea?
 
a_slugs_life said:
does anyone know where there is a "how to" video or play by play with pictures of the gutless method. Ive tried explaining it to my dad to the best of my knowledge, but he thinks the old fashioned "get right in there" method is they way to go. I figured if i showed him, then he'd realize that there is more than one way to skin a cat...or in this case a moose ;)
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Try a Yahoo search for gutless field dressing a few videos and photo essays will come up.......for people that have never used it, it can be hard to fathom but once you do it, it's hard to go back to gutting for anything you can't load whole into a vehicle. Absolutely no need to spill the guts if you need to quarter the animal to move it.
 
I'm trying to learn about the things that good moose hunters do, personal experiences I can learn from and advice to make things go well. I've heard about doing it the "gutless" way. Wouldn't that mean leaving the tenderloin behind?

As for quartering, I've heard of people using a chainsaw with vegetable oil in place of bar oil. I'm sure it would be fast, anyone done it? Is it actually a good idea?
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Nope...easy to grab tenderloins through a small slit in the flank.

As for quartering, I do it all with a 3.5" folding pocket knife. No need to cut bone when removing the quarters and the remaing meat is easy to cut off the bone. No real need to cut any bone with wild game unless you are dead set on having T-bones. Personally, I prefer the backstrap and tenderloin bonless anyhow..........
 
a few tips
where you drop your moose will be the determining factor regarding how you get it out of the bush. Terrain and access are big issues. Be creative.
here are a few things I have used over the years to get Moose out of the bush.
Back pack -trapper nelson -- really hard on the back if you do a full quarter per trip.
ATV/quad- I have strapped quarters to the racks (careful to load both ends or you can flip the quad)
ATV/Quad- pulling a snowmobile skimmer/trail toboggan - works great over most ground a quad can traverse.
Coleman canoe- great for dragging a quarter across any terrain but especially wet ground.
A good sturdy wheelbarrow with pneumatic tire - good for dry ground with a bit of a trail available.
Powersaw winch - a friend and I skidded a whole moose (with antlers removed) for almost 1/2 mile. Then we winched it up a tree and backed the pickup under it. Awsome.

Last - another friend had a "moose extractor" consisting of a 8-10 ft section of aluminum ladder with a front wheel off of a honda trail 90 mounted in the middle. With a man at each end wwe were able to handle a half a moose a a time and move it across country to lake shore and our waiting boat.

The work starts when you pull the trigger. Be creative and resourceful. It will save your back.
 
sheephunter said:
Nope...easy to grab tenderloins through a small slit in the flank.

As for quartering, I do it all with a 3.5" folding pocket knife. No need to cut bone when removing the quarters and the remaing meat is easy to cut off the bone. No real need to cut any bone with wild game unless you are dead set on having T-bones. Personally, I prefer the backstrap and tenderloin bonless anyhow..........
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Well that's a relief! Leaving the tenderloins behind would be a sin worthy of having your own personal hot corner of hell reserved.
 
Getting it out might have some help. The guy that owns the next camp upriver from me has a 3 wheeler and a small trailer for it. Since he lives in Ohio, he has told me to use anytime I like. Once I have the moose back down the lake and at the trail head life will get a lot easier if all works well at that point. If need be though, I could pack it back down the hill and not feel too sorry for myself. I'm sure hard work is part of the game.
 
Campbery said:
Up hill going in means down hill going out right;) Don't bother dragging in a chainsaw, a meat saw will do fine if your lucky enough to connect.
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I agree with Campbery. Powersaws are just extra work and I hate 2 stroke exhaust all over the meat.
In my pack,I carry a carpenters hand saw for quartering. One of those Stanley sharktooth models with about a 10 or 12 inch blade. It is light weight and works great for quartering. It will easily remove legs/feet and head/antlers as well.

If you must quarter in the bush, split the hide along the spine so the saw doesnt pull hair into the cut and mess up your hard earned meat.
I prefer to leave the hide on till I get back to camp. Keeps the meat cleaner. If you have to remove the hide in the bush for weight saving reasons, ensure you wrap the meat with cheesecloth to keep the dirt off.

Good luck in youe hunting. I hope you get a dry cow or a yearling bull for your first one. You wont be able to brag about the antlers but you will enjoy what is on your plate.
 
Chuck said:
Well that's a relief! Leaving the tenderloins behind would be a sin worthy of having your own personal hot corner of hell reserved.
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LOL...no question......seriously though, I've backpacked way too many moose, elk, caribou and a host of other hefty critters over the years and not only can it be done, it can be done fairly easily. There is no need for a saw of any kind and truthfully, the entire task can be accomplished with a small folding knife. It sounds like you are on the right track to success by getting away from the crowds. Most people won't backpack a moose so the odds are already in your favour. Just reduce it to enough bite-sized pieces and pack a hundred pounds at a time and you'll be amazed how quickly you can move a moose. I personally bone out the quarters as well if legal.....I see absolutely no point in packing bone home....or down the hill for that matter.
 
Chuck,

You asked for advice from hunting gurus, and that's not me. But I did do my first moose hunt this year under similar conditions to what you are planning.

We had a come along. We used a 2-ton ratchet action one with a arm lever. I wouldn't go any lighter. It is a huge amount of friction to pull a moose up a river bank. Make sure to have very strong no stretch rope (i.e. not nylon). People laughed at me for shooting a moose in the water (actually we didn't shoot it in the water but of course it died there). But a chance is a chance, and given that little ratchet winch, I wouldn't hesitate at another similar chance.

Dragging a quarter is heavy work for one, and even though we made a stretcher so two could work on each quarter, by the 13th hour of cutting, paddling and dragging moose, it was such heavy work we were ready to pass out. Even on a day trip, bring 2 days worth of food. We worked long into the night, long after the adrenaline and euphoria wore off. Have good nutrition and water.

Shooting from the canoe was interesting. We had no wind and pretty flat water, but even though, the movement was substantial. I practice shooting a fair bit, but now I'd recommend practicing shooting from a canoe. I'd say it is a pretty short-range proposition. We were paddling a river, and so expected to sneak up on a moose at pretty close range. As it happened, he stepped out on us as we were about to pass by the area he was in. If hunting a lake, I'd consider sticking pretty close to the shore.

This next thought might be more a question for the more experienced moose hunters than advice, but I think it is a thought worth considering. As I wrote above, quarters are a lot of dead weight. Furthermore quartering by cutting through spine with a meat saw was a huge task. In the future I will consider dismembering by taking all four legs off, cutting the rib/flanks off, and then cutting the remaining spine/saddle area in three. This would probably get more hair into the meat, but in many situations I think it could be the way to go.

Like you wrote in one of your reply posts, Chuck, you won't feel to sorry for yourself. I've dwelt on the amount of work, but we were very proud of ourselves to have gotten a moose from the middle of a river 11 km from a road out under our own power. Not that I'd probably turn down the use of an ATV for the last leg, it sounds like you'll earn your moose. Getting away from areas full of other hunters sure paid off for us and the long haul is a small price to pay.

RG

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RG, thanks for the thorough reply. Your experience is almost exactly what I hope for mine to be. I'm glad to hear that bringing a come-along with me would actually be a useful idea.

I had wondered how difficult it would be to shoot from a canoe. I might try that in front of the cottage. My lot has a very high bank which would give me a safe backstop when shooting towards shore.
 
Sounds like a hell of a hunt ruffed.....moose are a big critter. After going through all of that though, why would you want to have to cut bone again. You get exactly the same amount of meat and exactly the same cuts doing it gutless/boneless and two people can easily do a moose in 2-3 hours. If it happens to die in the water (experience speaking here) there's no need to drag in onto shore but just close enough that it quits floating. Just curious why people are so intent on cutting bone when they drop something away from a vehicle?
 
Chuck,

My wife and I both tried shooting off-hand at the moose at about 40 yards, after about 10 seconds of neither of us squeezing one off we quickly changed the plan. I think that either of us could have pulled it off, but in the end I stretched out prone and used her lap as a rest for the stock of my gun and made a good shot. Practicing shooting from the canoe is a good idea, and for practice on land, perhaps practicing decisive snap shooting, i.e. off hand, nearly like shotgunning, might be the best preparation.

RG

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SheepHunter,

We considered both deboning in the field and taking the hide off to lessen the weight. But the river bank was very muddy, and we wanted the hide on to protect the meat. There was SOOOOOOO much mud involved that we surely would have had such a loss of backstrap :( I think that my proposed method, done with skin on would still protect the vast majority of the meat.

RG

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Hey Chuck,

Some advice on the 3 wheeler. Make sure it is balanced! I've hauled plenty of critters with them when I was younger. You will find that you will have to almost stand up over the handle bars while driving to keep the front end down on the ground. If you are using the trailer, then only load that, don't put anything heavy on the back end rack.

That being said, I really liked the 3 wheelers. I grew up driving one, so I knew how to overcome the downfalls. They were lighter than the quads and I found they could go some places the quads couldn't.


Sheephunter,
I've cut bone before too and would say that it was because that was the way I was shown. I knew no other way. Now that I hear of a different way, I will have to seriously consider it! Change for the good is always welcome.
 
The trick is to do one side at a time and only work on the top side. This keeps everything out of the dirt. A moose backstrap would weigh 30 pounds at most and is easily cut off the up side and placed straight into a bag. I have left hide on the legs to keep them clean until you can drag them a cleaner place to work on them but again, no saw required. Not trying to criticize what you are doing but after having worked on dozens of moose and elk miles from anywhere I've pretty well seen and done it under every condition imaginable.

I just hate to see a guy like you that obviously worked so hard to get a moose have to work that hard after it's down. There really is an easier way. I started out hunting moose with a bunch of not so bright old guys that did it the hard way and then hunted with a really bright old guy one day that did it the easy way. I haven't looked back since.

There's no reason after you've had a bit of practice that you shouldn't be loading the canoe, horse or backpacks in under three hours from the time you pull your knife out.........
 
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