Got a moose tag and I know nothing

S

Scott Bear

Regular
Rating - 100%
87   0   1
Location
Prince George
So I put in for a moose tag in the Williams Lake area (BC) and got one and I have never been hunting before. Sure, I've done the six pack, lawn chair and a .22 (CZ varmint + Leupold scope) in Alberta when I was at school and I got a few grouse last year, but I've never done anything like a giant mammal.

Need some advice or some links to some resources for some one starting from zero.

Thanks,

Scott.
 
Best to find someone in your area to hunt with. Hunting alone and taking an animal that size and dressing, retrieving and/or packing out by yourself can be life-altering, and not in a good way. Unless you are a road hunter.:D

If you are not on HuntingBC.ca forum, best to join and ask the locals.
 
Dragging a hundred pound whitetail doe out fo the bush is a lot harder than you'd think. I wouldn't want to try it with a moose. Even if you could manage to quarter it, no easy feat without help, you're still packing out linebacker sized chunks of meat.

Definitely try to find someone that you can hunt with. Someone that may even let you use one of their more appropriate guns so you don't have to buy one yourself. If you do want to buy one, you don't have to spend a mint. Don't listen to anyone that tells you a 30-06 is minimum for moose, as i'm sure a lot of old timers will tell you a 30-30, 6.5x55, or .270 works just fine.

You can get a decent sportered lee enfield for around 150 bucks that will do the job and then some if you do your part. A slip on butt pad will help you deal with the recoil if you've never shot anything bigger than your .22, as with the old brass or steel butt plate, even .303 can sometimes be a little stout. I would reccomend buying at least 3 boxes of ammo and use 2 of them at the range getting used to it.
 
drache is from that neck of the woods. There was another guy that I was busily discussing greasy spoons and bar wenches with but I can't remember his handle. M14Doctor is from somewhere around there as well.

Where did you get drawn? Can you go out in the Chilcotin for them? I got a nice one years ago out south of Nemiah Valley.
 
All I could do is add to the great advice given, get a partner.
Give the details on a posting right here.
What area, bull or cow/calf, time of hunt, etc.
Make it plain that you will give up at least half the meat, depending on what the partner provides.
One can't begin to describe all the requirements of going into a strange area, hunting an animal of which you haven't any idea about dressing and preserving the meat, let alone get it out of the bush in good shape.
If you had a hands on lesson by a good hunter who knew all these things and you ended up with a quarter of good moose meat, it would be a tremendous bargain for you.
 
I got a moose tag for region 5. Making my plans now for the last 2 weeks of October.

Shoot me a PM and we can talk if you like, maybe set something up.
 
Don't listen to anyone that tells you a 30-06 is minimum for moose, as i'm sure a lot of old timers will tell you a 30-30, 6.5x55, or .270 works just fine.
Click to expand...

+1 My dad uses a .270 and has gotten a BANG-FLOP on every moose he's shot. In one side out the other. Someone else mentioned a lee-enfield. fine first hunting rifle. practise lots as mentioned. some can kick like a mule.

Definately bring a friend or other knowledgeable person. First moose I helped butcher (not my shot, but taken by a first time hunter in our party) fell 30 feet down a gravel cliff after being blasted. Was 8pm by the time all five of us got there, with an ATV and a pickup. We needed every man and every piece of equipment to get that sucker up the hill. Halved the carcass after gutting it, screw keeping the pelt. Still burned out the atv winch motor (cheap CT crap). So we ended up push-pulling it up the hill. Good workout. Made the beer taste better at 2am by the time we got back to camp. Oh the memories.
 
I've shot a few while I was hunting solo.... Its a lot of work.

I have used 303, 308, and 7mmRM in the past as my hunting gun and have shot and killed moose with them all. My last 2 moose were shot with a 300WM and it works good too.

For your first time hunting big game you best find someone to help you out.

But for me I have a bull draw this year and it looks like my hunting partners are all going to be away so I'll be hunting solo again this year.
 
Get some help. My brother-in-law once remarked as we walked up to a good sized bull lying in heavy bush at the bottom of a ravine, "Nothing can ruin a moose hunt quite so much as actually shooting one."

Get some help.
 
I would not go it alone, without the knowledge and equipment needed to get an adult moose out...

Unless youre road hunting(as previously mentioned) and are willing to bring deboned meat back to the truck in 100 pound sacks.:D
 
Definitely get help from someone with some experience. Time is of the essence once you pull the trigger and you don't want to have your animal spoil.
 
I tried moose hunting for the first time last year and I would recommend not doing it without an experienced moose hunter to mentor you. You need to know where to find them, how to call them, then what to do once you get one. They're big and a lot of work to pack out. My mentor said a bull moose will charge, never read of anyone being hurt by a moose but I've heard stories of trucks being smacked by them and my mentor said he had heard of a hunter being impaled so I believe there is safety in numbers.

Why don't you post an ad here or locally looking for a partner/mentor? Does the B.C. Wildlife Federation offer mentored hunts? MWF does for deer and waterfowl.
 
Killing a moose is the easy part, the real work begins after you have him down. You need a buddy. If you have to hunt alone, take along 50' of 3/8" poly rope for tying out the legs. A good axe, bone saw is convenient, but not a must, at least one quality hunting knife and sharpending stone, two are better. You can use the axe to make stakes for tying out the legs to allow easier cleaning/gutting if there are no suitable trees/shrubs available, to clear brush and to split/quarter the animal. (a saw is cleaner, less bone chips, but if weight is a concern...)

A large Canada moose quarter will easily run in excess of 100lbs, even with the hide and leg cut off. Even using a pack frame, that is eight trips and a crap load of work if you shoot your animal any distance from the nearest road or ATV trail. In BC I would assume you would also have to worry about bear/wolf/coyotes claiming your kill when you're away.

We've had to pack some moose out before, but I've passed on a lot more Boone & Crockett class animals simply because I knew there was no practical way I could get the meat out before it spoiled and/or bears/coyotes got to it. This is one of those situations where you'd have to take your frying pan and 10lbs of onions and eat the animal on-site!:)

If you're going to be hunting from an ATV, I'd pack along a chainsaw and winch or come-along. Can be a real time saver if you need to clear a few trees to get to a kill site or winch an animal up a steep slope, etc...

I usually keep 1-2 8'X8' tarps or similar size with the bike. Helps keep the quarters clean and free of debris, leaves, needles and hair. I like to get my meat cooled down ASAP, so pack along cheesecloth meat socks. The tarps help keep things clean. You don't want to wrap the meat in plastic however, as it will cause it to spoil a lot faster.

If your province permits, you can tote along the call of your choice, although in areas with high moose densities, you almost don't need to call, just find an area where 2-3 trails intersect and wait for your animal to come to you.

In terms of rifles/calibers...moose really aren't hard to kill. Put a bullet in the vitals and you'll have a dead moose. There are probably upwards of 15,000 moose killed on the island of Newfoundland every year with the just the .303 British alone. The .308Win with 180gr bullet, .30-06, .300 WSM/Win Mag, .30-30 all kill moose just fine. Bullet placement is far more important than the caliber you're shooting.

Know the moose vitals. They're different than for a Whitetail and you should be fine.

Moose hunting is a lot more fun with friends. The trip and good times are just as important as the kill from my perspective. Good luck with your hunt!
 
A glutonous creature in BC to steal your meat in the bush is the raven. They are hauntingly smart. It is common to have a raven follow you along, as you are in the bush hunting. They will just fly from tree to tree, but always fairly close.
A rifle shot in the bush is like ringing a dinner bell. They will immediately come and check it out. If one raven spots a meal, he will have fifty friends there within minutes. I know hunters who shot a big mule deer buck from a logging road in the morning, as they was going hunting. They dressed it out and carried on. When they came back in the afternoon to get it, there was nothing left but bones, with dozens of stuffed ravens in the nearby trees.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom