Tips for first Moose hunt

Hi all, Going on a first time moose hunt this fall with 3 buddies. We are doing the Archery/ Muzzleloading WMU 18B. We also will have 2 tags for WMU 18A. Anybody ever hunt these WMU's ? It will be a non-guided hunt. The lodge host said he can offer suggestions as to hunting locations, but I dont want to rely solely on that. I ordered the topo maps for that area . Do topo maps show logging roads that have been around for a while? I assume not. We will be getting there the day before the opening so not much time to scout . Have a list of what to take and have been practicing calling. We will have 2 trucks , one mybe two 4 wheelers and mybe 1 canoe. My idea of a moose hunt is paddling down a small river or creak calling as I go. I assume most groups do the clear cut, logging road hunting? Who here hunts with bow or muzzleloader for moose? any insight would be appreciated.

Dont limit yourself to creeks/swamps. We shoot more moose off of high ridges then swamps at our camp.

Well I can't say that I have ever taken my bow out for Moose but I do have a good collection of topo maps and depending on the scale, show everything that is there when the map was printed. They are a great resource.
Good Luck!!

I don't use a bow but call them in close enough to use one..lol.. The bull in my avatar pic was shot in the swampy edge of a creek that leeds into a small lake large pond thing.. These along with cut's new and old are a good start.. But as Blaster Saber has mentioned they are not only swamp dongkey's they rather enjoy the feed that is up on the higher ground as well.... I must say, 90 % of my moose have been in the swamp s in the cut, or neer the water... We have good success hunting the river's edges in the late fall, as the moose are eating the red willow's at the river's edge's...For the bull's I like the pond's and small lake's for the sound efect's while calling in the cool morning's... But the bull I shot last year, I called him out to an old logging road in the middle of th afternoon... Calling and moving work's well.. Call a fiew set's wait 30 min or so if nothing move on.. Keep doing this ti'll you get an answer or see track's in the area the following day.. Then work the area.. Good luck I hope you are successfull.. Cheers ..


A Ray

If you bow hunt and are calling paddleing down a creek or river isn't best practice.Call & stay in 1 place for a while,see if you get any response,I've had moose come in to my call within minutes & others can take hours.

great stuff guys, keep it coming!

first off welcome to the forum, second practice calling lots and if bowhunting practice shooting in stressful situations, a moose is a "BIG" animal and shot placement is key. as for locations we always stand hunt hardwoods between two ponds, lakes, streams, etc.(like a funnel) and always see moose travelling their regular routes, as for calling again we will bring them through the funnels or into a small cut. but its different hunting in differnt areas, spend the first day of your hunt learning the layout of the land and pattern the moose. good luck

I was lucky enough to get a film called Guthro's Moose Madness for my birthday last year and I must say, aside from it being painfully boring there are a lot of good tips and advice in it. You could look into that if you want, his main focus is on Ontario moose, I think he hunts near Sault Ste Marie.

The best thing you can do is to read up on it and or watch videos and then get out and practice what you have learned. You can ask for all kinds of input on what to do but the best thing one can do is get out there and learn what moose do....!!!!

just read your letter

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Originally Posted by Hawkens54

Hi all, Going on a first time moose hunt this fall with 3 buddies. We are doing the Archery/ Muzzleloading WMU 18B. We also will have 2 tags for WMU 18A. Anybody ever hunt these WMU's ? It will be a non-guided hunt. The lodge host said he can offer suggestions as to hunting locations, but I dont want to rely solely on that. I ordered the topo maps for that area . Do topo maps show logging roads that have been around for a while? I assume not. We will be getting there the day before the opening so not much time to scout . Have a list of what to take and have been practicing calling. We will have 2 trucks , one mybe two 4 wheelers and mybe 1 canoe. My idea of a moose hunt is paddling down a small river or creak calling as I go. I assume most groups do the clear cut, logging road hunting? Who here hunts with bow or muzzleloader for moose? any insight would be appreciated.

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http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...ighlight=Moose

Many groups will go up earlier and spend days scouting for them. Find the travel routes, and beaten paths. Just like fishing, fish where the fish are.

I've killed 10 moose with a bow and been in on tracking and removing another 32 bow kills. Just remember a moose will come from a long way to a call. Paddling miles off a road and shooting a moose that goes 1/4 mile in will be an adventure you might not want to experience. We still have a few guys that want to go DEEP, too deep most times. I've carried a lot of quarters out on stretchers and some say my arms look abnormally long in my old age! I usually talk those deep guys out of it! You might be a hero killing the moose but you won't have too many friends when it's all over. Kill a moose like a farmer. Don't do it out in the back field. Walk him right to the hoist .. then wack him. Good luck with whatever method you choose!

Listen to the advice on here, lots of great pointers.

One thing that I have benefitted from is "google earth". Study the terrain and water flow where you are hunting. Save a few screen shots of the area on your iPhone if you have one, and I do like the post from SK3. You can't just sit on the tailgate and call though. Haha

Not a lot of access in either of those units. Most hunters hunt off the old abandoned rail line. Topo maps are good for showing water and well-established roads, but they aren't up to date to show most logging roads.

Go to the MNR website. they have a free feature called "Make a Map". Under Map Layers, you can switch between a topo map and aerial photographs. The air photos are about 7 or 8 years old, but should be OK for the units that you are interested in.

This thread is almost 4 years old lol pretty sure this guys first moose hunt is over

ha ha I got halfway through this post before realizing it was mine from 4 years ago. That was my first and only moose hunt to date.

How did you make out hawkens? Success?

Hey Guelph, just answered that question in a private message. Here it is,,,,,, Hi, we did not get a moose , but myself and buddy had a good time. Other 2 guys not so much. We went up the 1st week and turns out we were a week to early, to warm. The cottage we stayed at in Nakina told us we were only a 20 min drive to 18b . But as it turned out we were 45 mins . We just ended up hunting the cuts. Saw fresh tracks but never saw a moose. Saw a few other groups in the general area. I didn't have any hunters in my area. I would park the truck and walk in about 2 km down the logging road to where it ended at a small lake. Very moose habitat looking. One day when I walked back to the truck for lunch there were moose tracks over my tracks that I walked in on. That got me going for sure. The part of the logging road with my tracks was soft sand so very clear to see. Another day I went back to a spot that I called from the very first morning and a small tree a few feet from my watch was all torn up from a bull. Been dreaming about another hunt but have not done a second one.

I hope you get the chance to do it again. I love to get out moose hunting....just being out there is part of the experience in itself. Once the moose is down though, that is when the work begins.
My wife and I hunt down east where there is a decent moose population. It took 3 years of scouting and work, but last fall the work paid off.