First time Moose hunt, BC

Look for feeding area's, as they will be looking to bulk up for the winter. They get run pretty ragged during the rut. Maybe Google moose behavior to see their preferred feed.
Also bring warm clothe's as it will be colder up there.
Shoot every wolf you guy's see.
 
We were deer hunting in the region last November (Buddy got an LEH doe draw up there) so we've got an idea of what to expect weather/temperature wise. We'll have a shelter with a wood stove (Currently we have a 10x10 shelter, but I think my friend just got a 12x12 from work), so as long as we don't burn the thing down we should be okay.

I don't think we'll have an ATV. I only know one person who owns one and I doubt they'd let me borrow it. Thats okay, whats a first moose hunt without a bunch of work? lol
 
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Deer hunting is very different from moose hunting. The former necessitates much stealth and silence, the latter not so much. Actually, for the type of hunting that I do, doing some noise while hiking in the forest interspersed with some calling seem to work best. The idea is to mimic the sounds of a moose travelling in the bush...

Calling is only a part of the puzzle. Do not overly rely on calling to get the moose to you. A better option is to actually identify areas with suitable cover, and then hike to those areas while calling occasionally. The main thing is to go where the moose is at, especially if it is not responding to calls... Personally, I think that the chances of success are greatly increased by putting less focus on calling near trails and crossings, and spending more time out in the woods where the animals are more likely to be. Many hunters are "afraid" or unwilling to leave the trails and go out into the bush, do not be one of them...

As mentioned by many above, be prepared to work and make sure that you are properly equipped (4-wheeler, chain saw, saw, come along, etc.) to get the moose out of the woods. A moose is much much bigger than a deer... :) The work really starts when the beast is on the ground. Depending how far you are, it can easily take 6 to 8 hours (and even more in really remote areas) to bring the beast back to camp.
 
Moose peak rut and the best calling is at the start of October. There is often a second rut in November but it is less intense then the October peak. When rutting bull Moose will dig holes similar to scrapes in their primary area. They pee in these holes to leave their scent for cows to find and to mark their territory.
If there are earlier hunts in your area and the Moose have been pressured they start to hold tight in grown over cut blocks and hard to access areas. Cut blocks that are full of 10' or so tall very dense new growth are perfect. They bed right in them and just stand up and start eating again when they're ready. If the weather has turned cold and the ponds and swamps have started to ice over the Moose start moving up onto the side hills. They don't like the ice much and start to move to winter range. Once the last of the leaves are gone they start to eat a lot more Birch, Poplar and Willow twigs. If they are in your area you can find small trees that they bent over and broke to get at the top twigs. You will also see where thin twigs are bitten off of branches as moose were feeding.
And just like the other guys said bring lots of rope, sharp knifes, bone saw and try to shoot them where you can get close with a quad or your truck. They are a lot of work.
 
Always be conscious of the necessity of getting the moose out from wherever you drop it. Always remember my brother-in-law's statement as we stood looking at a dead moose in a nasty place, "Nothing ruins a moose hunt quite as much as actually shooting one."
 
rral22 said:
Always be conscious of the necessity of getting the moose out from wherever you drop it. Always remember my brother-in-law's statement as we stood looking at a dead moose in a nasty place, "Nothing ruins a moose hunt quite as much as actually shooting one."
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lol!
 
Suther said:
Why do I want a bunch of good rope?
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Especially helpful if you are by yourself.

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Currently the plan is to gut and quarter (or more) where it gets shot, then pack it out to the truck in pieces from there. We won't be hunting too far from the road, so as long as it doesn't go far from where it's shot, we should be okay... Should be...
 
dont shoot a moose if its in any water. their shoulder= over your head.

dont shoot them across any body of water. when it takes off, you may never see it again.

im envious. have fun!
 
Don't stop shooting till it stays down. Unless you like tracking. Gut it right there. Leave the hide on till it is back at camp. Have a ladder to get a meat pole high enough so that bears can't steal the quarters. Hang beer cans below to hear if it tries. Skin it at camp and then get rid of the hide, unless someone wants it. Put the hide and other discards a couple miles away. Buy a 200 to 600 foot spool of 3/8" rope(https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/3-8-in-x-50-ft-assorted-colour-poly-rope/A-p8689259e). Buy or borrow a pulley to raise the quarters up then tie it off. Use the pulley to pull the next one up. For long retrieves a back packing board is nice. I'm too old to do that so I cut a trail for my atv to do the carrying out.
 
I'll just add that moose are where you find them. Some spots are, of course, more likely than others and that's where you concentrate your efforts but always keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel. I've seen moose way up in goat country and found shed antlers in some very unlikely spots.
 
Oh, bring lots of luck with you. Preferably the good kind. Last year, the brother and I were the first of three trucks that drove in on an old logging road. Didn't know about the third truck until we were headed out. It was less than a minute that it had passed an open area and when we saw the fresh tracks and a cow and a calf standing up on a bank on the side of the road. Coulndn't believe how the third truck passed right by the animals. I don't think the brother had the truck in park before I got out and knocked down the cow. As was previously mentioned, keep your head on a swivel and always scanning.

Another time, walking along the waters edge of a big pond (pond in NFLD is probably a lake anywhere else LOL) and came around a point. Standing there was a 2/3-year-old bull. Could have thrown the rifle and hit him. Don't know who was more surprised, the bull or me. That was a long day getting him out of the woods.

I find luck plays a major role in knocking down a moose.
 
lots of luck and some skill is needed. Moose are either really stupid or really smart depends what time of the season your hunting it. Some hunters have all the time in the world to shoot, moose will just stand there and look at you, there's also times they will bolt as soon as they see you or sense you. The trick is to know what to do in each situation and anticipate his next possible move and be ready for it. Different techniques people use lots of people drive around either on atv's or vehicles, get lucky and drive into one standing in the line of sight. also on foot walking being at the right place at the right time you can walk into one standing in your line of sight. If you cant cow call atleast practice bull grunting because if you do happen to walk/drive into one and they run, a bull grunt has a good chance of stopping the moose to have a peak at what made the grunt. It usually wont stop for long, long enough to get a shot off tho. Also I had times where a grunt wouldnt stop them so I switched to a cow call and it did.
Cow calling is alittle harder to do and is frustrating sometimes using it. Because ive called for days and days with nothing come out or responding and when you do call in a bull that bull will try to sneak right in to get a wiff or a peak of you, pretty much trying to identify you to see if you are a cow. On the other hand depending on the time of year ive had bulls walk right to me with no regards for their own safety. Again play his strategy and anticipate his next move, Ive hunted lots of times solo and learned by my mistakes Ive read about it and ive experienced getting winded. Those big bastards will move down wind ive watched them do it to me a lot of times. they will stay in the thick stuff and slowly work there way down wind to try to identify you they will also wait till the cover of darkness to investigate. Have someone set-up downwind or if solo put scent out down wind and put up a decoy near you, just different ways of doing it. My last calls of the evening are at my atv cow calling away for about half an hourish then I switch it up to a bull grunt while raking trees and off I go and guess what tracks there the next morning, it keeps em in the area. Nothings set in stone on the way they behave, they'll look really easy to hunt or it'll look really hard to hunt depending on who you talk to and there experiences and how they hunted them :) good luck
 
Be prepared for cold. I had a doe draw for Nov. 1 in that region one time and even though we rented a cabin with a stove, our water bottles froze inside the cabin overnight.

Try a deer hunt up there in October and get familiar with the area. There are some big bucks in 3-37. I was only up there for two days (tagged out at sunrise the first morning) and though I found a few likely moose puddles I did not see any sign.

If you don't have a heated wall tent (which I recommend) or camper you can see if Johnson Lake resort has a cabin but as far as I know they are summer-only cabins and cold.

Even with a Stove.

Michel
 
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MD said:
Be prepared for cold. I had a doe draw for Nov. 1 in that region one time and even though we rented a cabin with a stove, our water bottles froze inside the cabin overnight.

Try a deer hunt up there in October and get familiar with the area. There are some big bucks in 3-37. I was only up there for two days (tagged out at sunrise the first morning) and though I found a few likely moose puddles I did not see any sign.

If you don't have a heated wall tent (which I recommend) or camper you can see if Johnson Lake resort has a cabin but as far as I know they are summer-only cabins and cold.

Even with a Stove.

Michel
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I was up in the region last year for a Doe draw in November. It wasn't particularly cold at lake level though (we were in one of the rec sites on the lake, temps dropped to around freezing but I don't think it got much lower.) No snow was on the ground at lake level, but we hit the snow line on occasion while driving up/down the side roads.

I am buiding a wood stove from a 30lb propane cylinder, and we've got two 10x10 easy ups which we'll be making walls for as well. Two years ago, we were in about -15 outside Oliver with one easy-up and a stove made from a 20lb cylinder. If the fire was kept stocked, it was plenty warm in the shelter.

We are planning to hit the area in October for a weekend of deer hunting. Whitetail does are in season from the 10th to 31st, so we'll probably go somewhere in that timeframe to maximize the variety of potential quarry. I'd also like to get up that way this month, but time will tell if thats a possibility or not (probably not).
 
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