Calling Moose...

[lorneparker1]

So im looking to do my first Moose hunt this year in Northern BC. MY father and I are doing a DYI Fly in for 10 days.

I feel confident in my ability to imitate the sounds of a moose by the time of the hunt. THere are lots of videos on that.

What there are not alot of videos on is the What to use when, and what kind of candence is used. Also how long to call, and when not to call etc.

I am wondering if some of you moose hunters can point me in the right direction.

We will be hunting right in the heart of the rut.

Lorne

 

[RyanD]

This is an excellent source of information. The videos are a little spendy but well worth it. They are not moose hunting videos, but more instructional type videos.

http://alexgouthro.com/

 

[tater]

Bulls will can take a long time to respond, so patience and belief in your set-up is paramount. I've literally watched bulls come in over a Km and take an hour and a half. I had a bull this fall take almost a full hour to come in 250 yards.

Early rut will see cow calling work well, while later on tending grunts and raking are better bets. Finding areas where the sound travels well (over water, large moose meadows, etc.) with little to no wind is just as important.

A basic mid-rut sequence would be to get set up, wait 15-20 minutes and then start a raking sequence. Break some branches. Wait two minutes then cow call. Wait two more minutes and add two tending grunts. Rake a bit more and then be quiet. The thing to remember is that cow calls are most times a cow seeking to find a defender to get the bull she already has tending to her away from her. This means a younger bull will come in very cautiously, but a bigger bull will come in full of swagger.

Repeat again in 20 minutes, and give each stand at least 45 minutes, and don't move more than 300 yards between set-ups. Most hunters are impatient and often bump a bull that has been coming in moving between calling locations. Above all remember with those huge ears and that big sniffer you can't ignore wind or unnecessary noise.

 

[lorneparker1]

Bulls will can take a long time to respond, so patience and belief in your set-up is paramount. I've literally watched bulls come in over a Km and take an hour and a half. I had a bull this fall take almost a full hour to come in 250 yards.

Early rut will see cow calling work well, while later on tending grunts and raking are better bets. Finding areas where the sound travels well (over water, large moose meadows, etc.) with little to no wind is just as important.

A basic mid-rut sequence would be to get set up, wait 15-20 minutes and then start a raking sequence. Break some branches. Wait two minutes then cow call. Wait two more minutes and add two tending grunts. Rake a bit more and then be quiet. The thing to remember is that cow calls are most times a cow seeking to find a defender to get the bull she already has tending to her away from her. This means a younger bull will come in very cautiously, but a bigger bull will come in full of swagger.

Repeat again in 20 minutes, and give each stand at least 45 minutes, and don't move more than 300 yards between set-ups. Most hunters are impatient and often bump a bull that has been coming in moving between calling locations. Above all remember with those huge ears and that big sniffer you can't ignore wind or unnecessary noise.

THis is perfect! So what about when you see him a few hundred yards away and he starts making noise, if he is grunting are you grunting? how do you communicate back and forth? is there any closing call to get him to close that last 50 yards to get within bow range?

Lorne

 

[tater]

It depends. Bulls will actively put on Km's looking for cows. They will grunt as they do this. This is a different grunt than a tending grunt. Call it a seeking grunt, if you will. This grunt can be responded to with a cow call successfully. There are times when mimicking a bull as he comes in will work. If he stops to rake, you rake louder. If he challenge grunts, grunt back. There is a feel to it. If you are calling a smaller bull, he will usually hang up, especially is he's already been whipped on by a bigger bull. I've skinned out moose with puncture wounds on their hind quarters that were big enough to hide a loaded .338 Win cartridge in.

I'm guessing you will be in a deuce/tri/ten zone which means you will be targeting mature bulls anyway.

If you over call or grunt, and the bull is close, he will be able to pinpoint you by sound and when he doesn't see a moose, he will often clam up and circle downwind. Don't believe what you hear. Moose see movement well within 100 yards, and know within a spatial zone what they should be seeing.
The binaural hearing is insane on moose. They can pinpoint a sound from a long ways away.

The real key for archery is to not overcall. Be patient and let him work in. Force him to come in quartering to wind or better yet wind at his back, and have some form of natural barrier that will keep him from coming in downwind if possible. Don't be afraid to quietly reposition to avoid him pinpointing your location. Sometimes 10 yards is all you need.

The bull i mentioned in my first post that took almost an hour to cover 250 yards ended up at 14 yards broadside for over two minutes. Long enough for me to count points, raise my longbow and say 'gotcha'. He was one point shy of legal where i was. Still a bucket full of fun.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Tater has great advice. I'll add my 2 pennies worth:

from early september to about 10 september (temperature dependent) you'll want to focus on breaking dry dead fall. I like to smack trees with wrist-sized sticks and snap dry brush repeatedly at each camp or new scene. I do this about every 20-30 minutes. Vocal methods like cow calls and bull grunts aren't that effective until after 10 september.

If you have a bull respond to brush thrashing, be cool and patient. Early season bulls are slow to respond and aren't usually vocal. Don't over call, just a few thrashing sessions every 15 minutes or so. Bulls will usually quietly enter camp from the edges of escape terrain. Pay attention prior to your calling session as to where you'll likely see bulls approach (scout for sign ahead of time to ID these trails and tracks).

I usually position a bow hunter between me and the bull, and try to call the bull past the shooter's position.

After 10-12 september when bulls become more vocal, bull grunts and cow calls while floating is hot. Call at every bend and do so every few minutes. Watch for bulls to stand up if they are near the river corridor. At likely spots, you might scout likely areas and break stick, brush thrash, and watch.

Calling sessions every 15-20 minutes while in camp is highly effective.

There's a lot more to it, but watch videos that show these actions. All of our videos contain these lessons, but a great resource is Wayne Kubat's Love Thunder and Bull video series. Great how-to tips, and I use his megaphone on almost all hunts.

Larry
http://www.pristineventures.com

 

[Daniel_M]

Just to piggy back, I'm a big fan of brush thrashin. 9 outta 10 times you'll pique interest or pick a fight. Sept 9 of last fall we laid on some loud hot nasty brush thrashin at the edge of camp. I like to use a 1 gallon coolant jug with the bottom cut out. Beat on a tree for 2-3 minutes, lay off for 10 and repeat. We've had great success doing this all the way up until dark, Sept 10 the calling started around 630AM and 5-6 bulls were coming in HOT. Had one sneak right up to camp across the river, never even know he was there til he went wold on the alders. 3 shots later brown was down.


There's just somethin' about moose huntin that rubs me right, I get the hot nasty moose lovin fever. If I could hunt moose 365 I would!