Newfoundland Moose - Last wk of Sept

[mzldr2]

Hi all,
I am a month away from departing from SE Pa to NL for first Moose Hunt. It will be my first time in NL or Moose Hunting. I "think" I have everything I need, but figured I'd ask a few Q's.

We are hunting an area south of Gander and Glenwood with the NW Gander River going through middle of it. Has anyone ever hunted this part of NL? From what I can tell, it is pretty much wetlands, clear cuts, and patches of woods and the terrain in the zone doesn't appear to be very hilly, couple spots with a 300-400ft elevation change.

The last thing I need is actual rain gear. All of our hunting clothes are "waterproof" but not only midline stuff (No Sitka, Kuiu, etc.) as there really isn't much need for technical gear in SE PA. I was told that the ground cover and vegetation in the zone is not that tough on clothes. The issue is we both have tons of rain gear that works fine for around here for sporting events, hunting, etc. I don't want to spend a fortune on rain gear that really isn't needed after we get back. I was looking at Helly Hanson Mandal jacket and pants as an option. If I am not worried about tuckamore, etc, how heavy duty do the pants need to be? Just looking for some feedback based on some others experience.

Thanks!
-mz

 

[keller]

I hunted last year sep 17 to 25. Only wore rain gear one morning to retrieve a bull because rained through the night and vegetation was wet.never had any issues with durability wore kuiu attack and guide pants with gaiters kennetrek boots worked great for me.

 

[RichP]

The guide wear Helly Hanson
I wore Kuiu and it held up fine.
don't step in the muddy spots. There is no bottom

 

[PorterNY]

I drove from upstate NY last October 24….The locals and guides wore rubberized hely Hansen/ carhartt type rain bibs. Those will work fine for you. I highly recommend a tight fitting knee high rubber boot. I wore regular green lacrosse burly and worked very well for me. It is very tough walking in the bog. Good luck and
Pm me with any other questions.
Steve

 

[PA Hunter]

You wont find many Newfi guides with any camo Kuiu or Sitka rain gear they all wear rubberized whatever. I go up every other year and use Kuiu Yukon gear but I go every other year and also Alaska. If you are only going once or want to save some $$$ get some Helly Hanson impertech or equivelant and you will be fine. Make sure you have below knee rubber or muck type boots and follow your guides foot steps without looking around constantly or you may be waist deep in a bog to ruin your morning. Layering clothes in dry bags in your pack are highly recommended as well as a pack cover. Where I go there is water everywhere even on tops of their hills oozing out of the ground. You may think its 4 inches deep but you may be in 5 ft or so a few inches off on your step. No walking around in the dark where I go either. I will be up first week of October good luck.

 

[bmejia]

I used the Cabelas brand that packs up the size of water bottles. It got a little ripped up but worked just fine. I'm assuming you are going to be in a lodge or cabin at night so you should be able to dry clothes overnight too. Good luck! I'm thinking of going back in next few years

 

[mzldr2]

Thanks everyone for your comments!!!!

 

[TrueAt1stLight]

I’m headed to Newfoundland to hunt moose with an outfitter the first week of October. My buddy, who has hunted there five seasons now has me convinced that rubber boots are the ONLY way to go. After watching a Remi Warren short video series on YouTube where he and his crew are hunting moose, they’re all wearing tall leather boots and gaiters. Seems so odd to me that I wouldn’t be wearing tall leather (Kenetreks) boots while hiking up to ridges road glass. My buddy is ademant that it’s a waste to bring them so I’m thinking to heed his advise.

Anyone with any other suggestions? Based on the vegetation I’ve seen in videos, I’m also wondering if bringing a prone bipod setup is a waste too and just bringing standing shooting sticks. Also have any of you hired the processor to ship back your venison? The prospects of bringing two big coolers wirh 100+ lbs of venison back via commercial airline seem daunting and expensive, however I’m guessing to ship back 300-XXX-hundred lbs of venison is “hitting the easy button” but expensive as hell. This is my first moose hunt so I’m as green as you get!

 

[mzldr2]

I’m headed to Newfoundland to hunt moose with an outfitter the first week of October. My buddy, who has hunted there five seasons now has me convinced that rubber boots are the ONLY way to go. After watching a Remi Warren short video series on YouTube where he and his crew are hunting moose, they’re all wearing tall leather boots and gaiters. Seems so odd to me that I wouldn’t be wearing tall leather (Kenetreks) boots while hiking up to ridges road glass. My buddy is ademant that it’s a waste to bring them so I’m thinking to heed his advise.

Anyone with any other suggestions? Based on the vegetation I’ve seen in videos, I’m also wondering if bringing a prone bipod setup is a waste too and just bringing standing shooting sticks. Also have any of you hired the processor to ship back your venison? The prospects of bringing two big coolers wirh 100+ lbs of venison back via commercial airline seem daunting and expensive, however I’m guessing to ship back 300-XXX-hundred lbs of venison is “hitting the easy button” but expensive as hell. This is my first moose hunt so I’m as green as you get!

We are taking an enclosed trailer with a generator and big commercial freezer. It is about 30cuft.

 

[Aluminum Rain]

Boots may depend on the terrain in your area but your buddy is 90% right for most areas. Lot of wet in the bogs. Listen to him. Even topped neoprene Mucks might get shredded from vegetation. The two guys in my group paid almost $1000 per moose to ship it home via Central Newfoundland shipping. Process charge, storage charge, shipping charge.

 

[Panhandler80]

If you go with HH Impertech I’d highly recommend stitching some kind of drain grommet in the pockets. Or maybe some type of pop rivet. I just got back from 8 days of rain in Alaska and the pockets literally fill up with water and have no way to drain. It rained even when sun would occasionally reveal itself. Guess you could just cut a hole if need be.

Velcro on one sleeve also failed on Day 3. Was able to stitch. Good stuff for the price, though.

 

[TrueAt1stLight]

Boots may depend on the terrain in your area but your buddy is 90% right for most areas. Lot of wet in the bogs. Listen to him. Even topped neoprene Mucks might get shredded from vegetation. The two guys in my group paid almost $1000 per moose to ship it home via Central Newfoundland shipping. Process charge, storage charge, shipping charge.

Great feedback- thanks for sharing! I may go the route of a few big coolers and suck up the airline fees. That venison suddenly got VERY expensive at $1k shipping!!!

 

[Fisherhahn]

When I went, my hunting partners and all guides wore rubber boots. I wore waterproof snake boots. Just as high as the rubber, waterproof, but a much better fit and much lighter. A couple of guys almost had their boots pulled off stuck in the bogs and I never had a issue. My guide checked them out a couple times. To me that was a compliment

 

[vdocLU164]

I went with lacrosse aero 3.5mm and they worked great. Hunted 5 days in them. The last day after I tagged out on day 5 I wore sealskinz socks which are waterproof and jungle boots. Fast drying with weep holes for water. Went to video my father that day. That set up worked really well. Maybe even better. Unfortunately it was only a 1 day test for those though