BOWHUNTING TROPHY MOOSE
There are three sub-species of moose in North America, and they exist in huntable numbers across the continent. The widest ranging sub-species is the Canadian Moose which can be found from as far east as Newfoundland all the way across Canada to the west coast of British Columbia. While most of the hunting for Canadian moose is in the southern regions of Canada, there is limited hunting in New England, Minnesota, and Michigan as well. The largest of our moose are the Alaskan/Yukon sub-species. These are found in Alaska and the Yukon Territories as the name implies, but are also found in good numbers in the mountainous western part of the Northwest Territories as well.
The smaller, Shiras or Wyoming, moose is found in the mountainous western states from Montana down to Utah. While we talk about larger and smaller, trophy class bulls of all three sub-species are substantial animals to deal with.
All moose hunting (Canadian and Shiras) in the lower 48 States is by special permit, which is why we normally think "Canada" when planning a moose hunt. Most, if not all, moose hunting in Canada is done with the assistance of guides, and licenses are reasonably available. In the Yukon and Northwest Territories moose hunting for non residents is accomplished exclusively through guides which all have specific and exclusive areas. Alaska offers guided, outfitted, and self guided opportunities for the big Alaska moose.
Moose hunt costs run the full gambit from self guided, do-it-yourself, hunts that run little more than the cost of the license/tag, to premium 1X1 guided horseback hunts that can easily run over $8,000.00. In addition to cost differences, the reasonable expectation on moose hunts can also run a wide range. On guided hunts, you can pretty much figure that your trophy expectations should run very close to where the hunt cost falls in the overall range. For example, if planning a low cost 3X1 guided hunt in Quebec, consider your group fortunate if you take "any" moose during the hunt.
On the other side, you should expect a very high probability of getting several good opportunities on true trophy class bulls if planning a 1X1 horseback trip for ten days into the wild reaches of western Canada. The old adage, "You get what you pay for" rings more true on moose hunts than possibly any other species. There are good reasons for this. It takes 6-10 years and a lot of "country" to grow a record book bull.
In order for an area to harbor several good bulls, it has to be remote enough to have minimized hunting pressure. Getting back into country this remote, with enough equipment to outfit a quality hunt, is expensive. Getting the animal out is also expensive, and a necessary part of the arrangement. To these direct expenses you must add the cost of running an operation with a very limited client base, and then factor in something for the supply and demand factor.
To get a better understanding of these "indirect" expenses you need to compare these hunts with more common hunts. A quality moose operation will only take one to two dozen clients (at most) per season, and against that number has to amortize costs for advertising, purchase/financing of the operation, guides, equipment (perhaps including private aircraft and strings of horses), and make a profit to feed their family. On the other side of the coin, a typical caribou operation in Quebec will take 200-1200 clients per season, doesn't need horses, and will subcontract the use of planes to control/limit overhead. When you look at the big picture, it is easy to see why caribou hunts can run half the price of a quality trophy moose hunt. The "supply and demand" factor also plays a part in the pricing. As there are much fewer quality moose hunts available, they can bring a somewhat higher price, especially at "proven" outfits.
Lets face it, if an operation has a waiting list for clients, they don't need to be as careful to keep costs down to rock bottom and just cover expenses!
There are some real "bargains" to be found in moose hunting, for those willing to do the work involved. Possibly the biggest bargain has to do with special permit hunts in the States. Because the moose hunting in all these areas is strictly limited by the number of permits, the trophy potential is very high. Draw a limited entry moose tag and you have the opportunity to hunt trophy moose for "short dollars'. Most of these areas have guide services that are also very reasonable once you have the tag. This, once again, has to do with the "supply and demand" factor. In this case the tables are turned in the hunter's favor because there are very limited clients with tags and many guides competing to serve them. This has a tendency to drive prices down. Beware however that the services don't drop below acceptable levels as the prices drop. One thing I always suggest clients keep in mind is that any hunt is going to carry a personal cost for tags, travel, and time away from work.
In the overall scheme of things, a few hundred dollars more to hire the services of a reputable guide is not going to dramatically effect the overall price of the experience, but can certainly make the difference between success and failure, or an exciting and fulfilling experience and a nightmare. When you consider all a guide can bring to the table, the costs might become very reasonable.
There is no doubt but that it would be more rewarding to self scout an area before the season, and then go deep into that remote area on your own and take a monster trophy on your own terms, you against the beast so to speak. In reality, however, most of us don't have the time to do the scouting ahead of time, and spending your whole hunt trying to figure out where the animals live is foolish (especially on a once in a lifetime limited draw hunt!). How many of us have the equipment needed to make a safe/comfortable camp back in the remote bush, and then pack out 400-1000 pounds of meat, antlers, and cape? A good guide takes care of these problems and then offers the possibility of calling the trophy into bow range. Add it all up, a guide could very well make the difference between having a challenging but safe experience in the back country, resulting in a once-in-a-lifetime trophy, or suffering for two weeks and coming home empty handed.
The best time to hunt moose is during the fall rut. Depending on the area this could be as early as late September or as late as the end of October. The few weeks of pre-rut may be just as good, but harder to time. The reason for hunting the rut is simple, moose become very vocal at this time making them easier to find and receptive to calling. The cows will "bellow" during this time to advertise their presence. Moose are usually scattered over a large area and these vocalizations help potential mating partners find each other in time to take advantage of the limited estrus period. Bulls also become very vocal at this time, however their guttural grunts don't travel as far as the cow's bellow.
The most common and successful method of bowhunting moose involves getting to a remote area before first light in the morning and beginning cow calling. The area should be one frequented by moose, and a place where moose would come to feed over the evening. You should stay at it for a while, as moose will travel long distances to find receptive cows. When the bull gets close, you should hear his distinctive grunts, and perhaps the thrashing of trees. While he might come to with-in five yards of your calling position, it is more usual for the bull to "hang up" 40-80 yards out. The reason for this is that he expects to see the cow that has been calling by the time he gets that close, and will usually start becoming suspicious if he doesn't.
This is why it is best to have someone else do the calling, with the hunter 20-40 yards out in the direction the bull is answering from. Don't worry about getting in front of the caller before the bull answers, you won't be sure of his direction. Besides, you should have time to move into position after he responds. There are two ways to get into position. The hunter can move toward the bull, or the caller can move away from the hunter. Noise is not a big factor, as long as the noises are not human or metallic. Foot steps in wet ground, breaking brush, and general movement through the bush all will help convince the coming bull that there are other moose in the vicinity.
You may be successful with only cow calls, however it helps to have a few other sounds in your bag of tricks. Throwing in the occasional bull grunt may convince a shy bull to come in closer/quicker to defend his rights against a competitor. To continue the illusion, racking brush imitates the display of a frustrated or angry bull, and can further convince the incoming bull that he has competition. The bush racking can be done with a stick or axe handle, however a more realistic sound can be made using a moose scapula saved from a prior hunt. Dried, and with a small lanyard on the joint end, these are light weight and easy to carry. Another trick that can be useful where legal is the display of a cit out silhouette of a moose head with antlers. This provides further substantiation that the sounds the approaching bull has been hearing are coming from a competitive bull.
With decent calling ability, and assuming you keep the wind in your favor, you should be able to get shot opportunities at 30 yards or less. Many times the bull can be brought into with-in 10-15 yards for a "chip shot". Once the shot is taken the real work begins. The good sized bull can weigh up to 1800 pounds and yield 1 half ton of great meat for the table, plus 30-40 pounds of antlers, and a cape that can weigh another 40-70 pounds. As a result, careful planning is required to deal with getting all the spoils out of the bush.