So after hunting 2 shiras moose this season here are a few thoughts and observations-
"Moose are everywhere around here" I heard this more times than I can remember. I saw 3 bulls total on my 2 hunts and shot 2 of them. I saw another 6 cow/calfs. Thats with 11 days in the field. Moose are low density animals in general. Weather matters even though we cant control it. Heat shut them down in Colorado it seemed and the rain/fog/moon (maybe even some wolves) made Idaho hard. Be ready to not see much. And they can hide better than you think. I also will say, dont get frustrated if you dont see any. They're still there and we just have to play the cards we're dealt.
I mapped out previous kills and hunts based on public data. I also talked to several previous tag holders in both units. Having ample time to sort things when the season is going is important.
Game bags- I bought 4 kuiu moose bags and used an additional 3 elk/deer bags I already had for 7 total per moose. The kuiu large moose bags probably are better suited for Alaskan size moose but worked nice. I think you could get away with large elk bags on a shiras quarter, or at least 2 moose bags if you didnt want to buy 4 new ones. If you dont cut the ribs out, I think you could get away with 6 total bags. Or just spread the loose meat out a little more. I think both my bulls were around 900 - 1,000 lbs and 4-6 years old. Looking forward to hearing from the states on ages.
Moose are big. I know people do it solo, especially in Alaska and my hats off to them (I cant imagine a 1500-2,000+ lb bull). Breaking one down and packing it out solo or even with two people is hard work. Its exponentially easier having multiple people, not just linear. Not to mention if they go down in a suboptimal spot. Preplanning recovery equipment/buddies is crucial.
I asked a lot of forums and hunters about rut timing. Sounds like moose start responding to calls mid September and the rut heats up the end of September/Early October. Based on my very limited experience, shading to the later dates and hunting October and being flexible with weather would be better. But bulls are still called in throughout September. I think the outfitter in Idaho is going to always recommend the first week of October after my experience. It was a toss up on which I came up and we guessed wrong.
My 500 grain arrow had a clean pass through. My 300 win mag was double lung. Both moose were down in less than 60 yards (not counting rolling downhill). Luckily neither got their adrenaline going.
Take your time. If I only had one tag, Id have been prepared for 2 5-7 days hunts or at least spending 10 days or more hunting one. I just did not have the time or ability to be gone that much on both tags. A victim of my own success there.
I bought two 120 quart igloos max's and had a 75 quart yeti. Those worked perfectly with ice for the meat on my bulls when I drove . The larger coolers were needed to hold the bigger quarters. I do frozen water jugs for ice.
I bought some cheap 45q walmart coolers in Idaho for bringing meat on a plane. The extra baggage fees were much cheaper than any quote I got for next day air or refrigerated truck shipping.
A comealong, ratchet straps, sawzall, extra rope, a tarp and hatchet were all good tools to have in the truck for breaking down the moose. Since I forgot my sawzall blades, the hatchet worked great on the ribs. I kept all these in one bag so if a buddy had to go to the truck while breaking the moose down, he could just grab the whole bag.
My wife gave me the gerber double knife with the tendon tool. I also was looking forward to the bigger stiff knife blade instead of my normal replaceable blades. The knife came very dull and I cant get it sharp. I gave up on it halfway through just splitting the hide on the back on my first moose. We did both moose with havalons or outdoors edge knives. Im frustrated enough I plan to call gerber about it.
If anyone has any other questions on moose or moose hunting Im happy to share my thoughts. The rest of my gear was just like any other September elk hunt.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
