Check in the hunting magazines for population statistics. I remember at least one of the local magazines had unit by unit population density comparisons, as well as hunter success rate broken down by unit.
Got a quad? Get back off the roads and you can do OK even if the locals have been pounding the crap out of the populations.
Hunted the area just north of Hudson Bay one year, '98 I think. We were poverty hunting (four guys, one quad) so we stuck close to the highway. Lots of skidoo club trails up that way that will get you into the bush and away from the road. Worth finding a map of them, as well as a couple topos of the area you will be in. Lot's of decent size cut blocks for moose pasture.
We camped at the park by the lake just north of the town (it was closed for the season, but we had prior permission from the caretaker) and hunted west of the highway, in the snowmobile trail area, as well as east, across the train tracks and into the swamp going northeast from the same area. We were blessed(?) with about 14 inches of fresh snow the night we arrived and set up camp, so we had a pretty good idea how fresh the sign was. Our party took a decent little bull out that year, and a couple of the guys went back the next and did well again in the same area. Old info though, dunno what the populations are like now. At that time there were some Metis with refer trucks doing what they were being allowed to do, in the area, but they were not getting very far away from the roads, reportedly.
Try scouting the area you are interested in in the summertime, and seewhat you can find for population survey stats and hunter success rates.
Cheers
Trev
