Author Topic: Moose hunting  (Read 9035 times)

Offline oldtravler61

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #25 on: December 11, 2018, 07:38:53 PM »
  With moose or elk. The fun all ends when the animal hits the ground..! Oldtravler

Offline Daryl

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #26 on: December 11, 2018, 09:39:48 PM »
I don't even consider moose hunting now. My last one was a 6 month old bull calf, shot October 22nd. We (2 old !@#$%) had to cut it in 1/2 to put it into the back of the truck.
Too much work nowadays.  A HUGE mule deer buck would have been smaller than that little bull which had 2" diameter leg bones.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline OldMtnMan

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #27 on: December 11, 2018, 11:09:47 PM »
I've given up elk hunting too Daryl. Just too much work for my old worn out body.

Black bear with the occasional muley buck when I can get a tag. Mostly bear from now on.

I can't believe i'm done elk hunting but it had to happen someday.

Moose, elk, and bison are for young strong backs. I have a hard enough time hauling a plains rifle around these mountains.

Offline Daryl

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #28 on: December 13, 2018, 12:06:37 AM »
Taylor shot a buffalo last fall - YIKES - a mountain of meat - 2,000 pound animal.
 I used to be able to have a moose calf, ready to load in 7 to 8 minutes and a bull moose in about 20 minutes.
My long-time moose hunting buddy could "do" a bull moose by himself in under 12 minutes - without skinning, of course.
Apparently, it took 3 hours to get that buffalo 'ready' for splitting up & they had a machine to hold it up.
When there are a few guys working on it, it goes much more quickly. That's buddy Keith with the big blade.
He had that back end done, both hind quarters off and loaded on the quad in the time the other guys had got the front end hide peeled back.


Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline bob in the woods

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #29 on: December 13, 2018, 02:19:28 AM »
I hunt for the meat, and since my wife is extremely fond of wild game, I don't imagine I'll be stopping any time soon.  Big game is on my list precisely because it is big ...ie lots of tasty meat  :D  Yes, it is a lot of work, but, what's the hurry ?

Offline OldMtnMan

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #30 on: December 13, 2018, 03:53:51 AM »
Yes, it is a lot of work, but, what's the hurry ?

Heat. Our muzzy hunt is mid Sept. Even at 11,000ft it can get hot. I hunt solo, so getting it out fast alone is a chore.

I could hunt for a calf elk, but I don't think I could shoot one. Shooting a cow is hard enough. I was brought up to just shoot bulls, bucks, and boars. However, dad wasn't hunting alone at my age. He had me and my brother to get the meat out. I have to make adjustments if I want to keep hunting. A calf is where I draw the line. Even though they're bigger than a muley buck it's still a baby.

Offline RVAH-7

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #31 on: December 13, 2018, 05:47:18 AM »
A .58 should be plenty adequate. Whichever you can shoot the best. This thread has runaway to moose hunting. May I suggest any potential moose hunters invest $10 or $12 in a CD "Field Care of Big Game" & "Is This Moose Legal"  put out by the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game.  It is highly regarded in the states & provinces and $ well spent. LOBO was right about a block & tackle (if you have trees) and tundra is really challenging. Look again @ Daryl's moose photo and then try to imagine doing those chores in 4 or 5 feet of COLD water! Do not, DO NOT, shoot a moose in water and/or anchor him before reaching water.
Anyway, good luck in selecting your smoke pole and best wishes in upcoming hunts.

Offline smylee grouch

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #32 on: December 13, 2018, 08:49:44 AM »
Just going through rehab after a knee replacement and hope to go moose hunting at least one last time (hopefully maybe two more times) starting fall 2019. Chances are slim but you have to hope and dream I guess.

Offline OldMtnMan

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #33 on: December 13, 2018, 05:43:10 PM »
Moose hunting is not much of a challenge. They don't fear humans and it's easy to get close.

Elk are more of a challenge if you don't call and I think the meat taste better.

Offline Mike Lyons

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #34 on: December 13, 2018, 08:12:05 PM »
Moose hunting is not much of a challenge. They don't fear humans and it's easy to get close.

Elk are more of a challenge if you don't call and I think the meat taste better.

I totally agree with you.  Finding the moose is the biggest challenge.  The four years I hunted in Alaska the rule was either a spike, fork or 50" and the other place was 4 brow tines minimum.  Finding one that fit the criteria could be difficult.   

I used to hunt Caribou off of the Dalton Highway north of the Brooks Range in Alaska.  It was illegal to shoot a firearm within 5 miles from the highway "which was a one lane dirt road" so we would hike and stay a few days on the North Slope.  I don't even think I could make that trip anymore and I'm in decent health physically.  The tundra is like walking on a water bed and in my opinion, September Caribou meat is not fit to eat. 

Offline Daryl

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #35 on: December 15, 2018, 02:42:58 AM »
I'm with you on the caribou taste - cardboard, or sawdust - Blyet.  August is the month most are killed in Northern B.C., with temps running 60F to 75F. same with mid August moose, when the season starts on the 15th. End of Sept is the moose rut, through 1st week of October, but they will come to the call in mid Sept. through to the 2nd week of Oct., generally. They run hard form the 20th Sept on and those moose oft times will have bright yellow livers- not fit for human consumption.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline bob in the woods

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #36 on: December 15, 2018, 03:17:16 AM »
Moose liver cooked with bacon and onions is a dish fit for Kings,   and fortunately, we peasants get to partake  ;D
I'm lucky to have moose right here where I live.  My neighbour shot a nice sized calf this Fall.  I had to content myself with black bear and deer, but the meat's in the freezer and we're ready for winter.

Offline OldMtnMan

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #37 on: December 15, 2018, 05:58:41 PM »
We have moose too but it takes 20 years of saving points to have a slim chance at a tag.

Moose are a pain. Every time I see one it chases me.

Offline Mike from OK

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #38 on: December 21, 2018, 05:26:21 AM »
Taylor shot a buffalo last fall - YIKES - a mountain of meat - 2,000 pound animal.
 I used to be able to have a moose calf, ready to load in 7 to 8 minutes and a bull moose in about 20 minutes.
My long-time moose hunting buddy could "do" a bull moose by himself in under 12 minutes - without skinning, of course.
Apparently, it took 3 hours to get that buffalo 'ready' for splitting up & they had a machine to hold it up.
When there are a few guys working on it, it goes much more quickly. That's buddy Keith with the big blade.
He had that back end done, both hind quarters off and loaded on the quad in the time the other guys had got the front end hide peeled back.



Fellas, you're going about it all wrong.

My native ancestors had it down pat... The men did the killing. The women took care of the rest. ;D

Mike

Offline bob in the woods

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #39 on: December 21, 2018, 06:26:06 AM »
I think the proper sequence is :    Shoot moose,     move camp to location of moose, stay there 'till moose is eaten. Repeat  :)

Offline Pukka Bundook

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #40 on: December 21, 2018, 04:56:47 PM »
Quote

 

I think the proper sequence is :    Shoot moose,     move-**Family** to location of moose, stay there 'till moose is eaten. Repeat  :)

Fixed your post as I see it, Bob!

Offline craigos

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #41 on: December 22, 2018, 07:12:15 AM »
Your .58 will do fine. Don't take a shot that you can't make, and put it in the vitals. Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement.

Ted Williams shot his with a .58 ...

Offline Craig Wilcox

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #42 on: December 25, 2018, 10:20:00 PM »
I am with Mike from OK - and Creek (Muskogee) women really are a hand at skinning and cutting up fresh meat.
One of the many things I miss about OK.  My buddy, Fat Boy, passed away this past year - his Mom could skin and butcher a white tail in about 15 minutes!
Craig Wilcox
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Offline Roger B

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #43 on: December 27, 2018, 01:39:30 AM »
I've killed 2 bison cows with a .58; one in UT and the other in WY, both with a .58.  The load is 110gr fffg, heavy denim patch, & .575 round ball.  Even with a great shot, the animal will not fall dead.  It will run until it doesn't, however far that is.  If you spook them, they won't run 100yds, stop, and look back; they will run a 1/2 mile or more and then stop to think about it.  Even just walking they can cover a deceptively large piece of real estate over a short period of time. Shot placement is everything.  If you read the old fur trade journals, you will learn that greenhorns commonly shot all of their balls into and around a bison without ever bringing it down.  That's because a bison is a veritable mountain of meat with a relatively small kill zone.  The heart of a bison is way down low in the front of the animal, right behind the front leg & so low that you are sure that you are about to shoot under them.  That is especially true with that big, wooly, coat hanging down under them.  I would keep my range at or under 100yds & use a good rest like cross sticks if you can.  Even if they take off at a dead run, don't assume that you missed.  Follow them up a mile or so and check for blood.  I shot a little too far back on my first cow & liquified her liver.  She still went nearly a mile before she died & lay down once leaving about a 4 foot wide blood spot before that.  If your animal goes down in a herd, they will probably circle it & try to get it up by hooking it with their horns.  The more blood they get in their noses, the more aggressive they get, so let everything settle down with the herd going away before you go to the animal.  I saw a gentleman in UT get charged when the hunter headed over to shoo the herd away from a downed animal.  No physical injury, mind you, but I doubt that he ever wore those skivvies again.  If you have drawn a cow tag, by all means learn some field judging.  We had to spend a day at BYU learning field judging of bison with DNR, and one poor guy still shot a yearling bull, mistaking it for a cow.  Cows generally have necks and their horns tend to curl more than a bull's.  Mature bulls look as if their heads are glued to the front shoulders and their horns tend to be more vertical/less curled for business.  The shaggy belly tends to hide male genitalia, so plumbing may not help.  The bad news is that young bulls and cows look a lot alike & it's easier to make a mistake than you might imagine.  And take plenty of manpower, good sharp knives & saws, & something to sharpen the knives with.  Hanging the animal is really helpful but is sometimes impossible.  I like gutting,  skinning a quartering one side & then rolling and repeating. If you're doing a ranch hunt, you don't have to worry about that.  A good front end loader works wonders for skinning & dressing.  Finally, if you can't get the hide to a tanner quickly, salt it heavily with rock salt & put it folded & angled downhill into about a 5 gallon bucket.  You will be amazed at how much fluid comes out of it.  Repeat again when the drainage slows or stops.  That is pretty much all I remember, so I hope you have a great time & many good meals to come.
Roger B.
Never underestimate the sheer destructive power of a minimally skilled, but highly motivated man with tools.

Offline Roger B

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #44 on: December 27, 2018, 01:42:21 AM »
Sorry.  I saw the buffalo post & decided to write a book on buffalo hunting.  I'm not the smartest guy ever born.
Roger B.
Never underestimate the sheer destructive power of a minimally skilled, but highly motivated man with tools.

Offline RVAH-7

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #45 on: December 27, 2018, 06:13:22 AM »
Roger; This "thread" has kinda' gotten off track of moose, but you wrote a GOOD book. Some people want the buffalo horns, some the head on the wall, others want the robe and most all of them the meat, too.  My nephew in Wyoming brought along a buddy and after tipping the animal over, wanted to experience and try to grasp the sheer physical demand (work) the old timers must've gone through in gutting, skinning & butchering a buff.  Just trying to roll one over........
Anyway, enjoyed reading your "book".

Offline Pukka Bundook

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #46 on: December 27, 2018, 05:39:04 PM »
Well written and good info, Roger.

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #47 on: December 27, 2018, 07:07:34 PM »
Buff taken with a .62 smoothbore, 90gr's 2ff


Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #48 on: December 27, 2018, 08:50:50 PM »
Now there's some fine food.
D. Taylor Sapergia
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Offline Daryl

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Re: Moose hunting
« Reply #49 on: December 29, 2018, 10:19:55 PM »
Young bulls and young cows. There is no better eating in game, in N.A.
Tipping over a full grown bull  might not be possible for one man, without the use of sturdy trees and a block and tackle.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V