Have you ever shot a moose that was hard to kill

[Ardent]

My theory about moose is that they’re easier to place shots on. They come readily to calls, often have their vitals above the brush, and generally present lots of shot opportunity. The vitals / lungs are also large needless to say, and placed as high off the ground as they get on this continent. I think this adds up to an animal that is pretty easy to put in the freezer.

I’ve been surprised how little it takes to kill many animals when the shot is placed properly, up the Grizzlies and wild Bison. Moose just make it easier to do the right job of it.

 

[Papaclaude]

My theory about moose is that they’re easier to place shots on. They come readily to calls, often have their vitals above the brush, and generally present lots of shot opportunity. The vitals / lungs are also large needless to say, and placed as high off the ground as they get on this continent. I think this adds up to an animal that is pretty easy to put in the freezer.

I’ve been surprised how little it takes to kill many animals when the shot is placed properly, up the Grizzlies and wild Bison. Moose just make it easier to do the right job of it.

You could be right. I have a slightly different theory - moose are not nervous and juiced up on adrenalin, the way deer are. You hit a deer in the boiler room, and they jump. In 3 or 4 leaps, they cover an awful lot of ground. Moose are not nearly as nervous. When you shoot them, 90% of the time, they just saunter off. 10-15 seconds high-tailing it vs. 10-15 seconds sauntering makes a huge difference in terms of ground covered.

If you watch a moose in the bush, they appear almost nonchalant, just going about their business (except cows with calves, etc.), whereas deer are always alert, constantly on the lookout, ready to take off.

 

[Jaaska]

Many years ago me and my crew headed out for a week of moose hunting with 5 or 6 tags . First morning i shot a small bull . Second morning i told the guys to go out without me as i wanted to stay in camp . Way too much liquid sunshine the night before and i was sick . Sitting there in the middle of a new cut by the trailers in a lawn chair beside the wood pile with my feet up on the front bumper . Looked over to the edge of the cut to see a cow standing there broadside 80 yards away . Carefully opened the truck door and the frikken buzzer went off . I quickly pulled the keys from the ignition . The moose didn't spook . Unzipped the rifle case and pulled the Parker Hale .300 Win Mag out and put the mag in . Around the door to the front of the truck and saw the bullet hit around the middle of the front half . She visibly started to tremble and the second shot put her down . With the wood pile in the way i went around the back of the truck . She was standing back up . Hit her again and she took two or three steps and stopped just as bullet number four hit her and down she went . I made my way over the slash to find her dead and 15 yards beyond her was her calf , also dead . The first two shots hit her and then i lost sight of her as i was going for the back of the truck . She was down and dead but i thought her calf , which i didn't see was her . Buddy once shot a bull with a fresh bullet hole through it's rack .

 

[hoytcanon]

My theory about moose is that they’re easier to place shots on. They come readily to calls, often have their vitals above the brush, and generally present lots of shot opportunity. The vitals / lungs are also large needless to say, and placed as high off the ground as they get on this continent. I think this adds up to an animal that is pretty easy to put in the freezer.

I’ve been surprised how little it takes to kill many animals when the shot is placed properly, up the Grizzlies and wild Bison. Moose just make it easier to do the right job of it.

A bunch of good points there...

You could be right. I have a slightly different theory - moose are not nervous and juiced up on adrenalin, the way deer are. You hit a deer in the boiler room, and they jump. In 3 or 4 leaps, they cover an awful lot of ground. Moose are not nearly as nervous. When you shoot them, 90% of the time, they just saunter off. 10-15 seconds high-tailing it vs. 10-15 seconds sauntering makes a huge difference in terms of ground covered.

If you watch a moose in the bush, they appear almost nonchalant, just going about their business (except cows with calves, etc.), whereas deer are always alert, constantly on the lookout, ready to take off.

This also applies... in addition, because of their mass, it take a lot of energy to get moving and keep moving, deflate the lungs and they can't go far without oxygen pumping into their bloodstream... deer can cover ground before it occurs to them that they are out of oxygen.

 

[Ardent]

You could be right. I have a slightly different theory - moose are not nervous and juiced up on adrenalin, the way deer are. You hit a deer in the boiler room, and they jump. In 3 or 4 leaps, they cover an awful lot of ground. Moose are not nearly as nervous. When you shoot them, 90% of the time, they just saunter off. 10-15 seconds high-tailing it vs. 10-15 seconds sauntering makes a huge difference in terms of ground covered.

If you watch a moose in the bush, they appear almost nonchalant, just going about their business (except cows with calves, etc.), whereas deer are always alert, constantly on the lookout, ready to take off.

Likely so on the twitchiness / adrenaline, I haven’t shot a deer in nearly ten years, not for lack of interest in the game I’m just very rarely in their areas and usually higher upslope or looking for bears when at low elevation. But compared to mountain goats, grizzlies, bison, wolves, etc they’re a lot easier to place a shot on just due to their prominence and how you can call them right in. They move slow and methodically until that moment they decide “Nnnnope!”, often turning slowly and providing a range of shot angles and opportunity.

When it’s time to let fly be it a bullet or arrow, they are usually standing pretty still and with their large vitals either close from calling him in, or prominently above the brush and moose lungs make for a forgiving target. Most moose shots are at very reasonable range too compared to say mountain goats or sheep. They cruise the tight trails less than deer and can be found out on the edge or water and meadows in the open, allowing stalks more readily. Just my small change on moose, they’re my favourite hunt aside from Grizz.