Newfoundland Timing

[tim88]

Looking to book our first guided hunt, found an outfitter in Newfoundland that my dad uncle and I are interested in. for 2026 they have the second & 3rd week of September or 2nd & 3rd week of october.

I was hoping for the first week of october to try and hit the rut but would you roll the dice on 2 weeks early or 1 week later? I think they had 2 slots open the first week of october so I could always try a 3x1 deal let my dad & uncle go first and if I get a chance pay up but I'm not sure if the outfitter would be open to that idea, if it would be feasible and if it would put too much pressure on everyone.

its in northeast newfoundland if that makes a difference, my hope is that by october hurricanes have blown through, so we might miss peak rut but still catching tail end on october 11th-17th

 

[Sako76]

I hunted moose in 2022 out of Peter Strides, 10/3-9, a buddy and myself both shot moose (34” and 30”) the moose were just starting to rut. The guides said the best week to hunt was the next week.

In 2015 I hunted the first week of rifle, it rained everyday and I never saw a moose. Good luck!

 

[Boston1]

I hunted the 3rd week of Sep (2023) in the NW corner of NL. In speaking with the guides you'll see rut activity in all of those weeks. It will peak around the first of October but all of those weeks are great. They've actually seen rut activity go into November. I was there just as the hurricane (Lee?) came through. Weather was snotty nasty with high winds, rain and lots of fog. It was a tough week of hunting but our camp seen nice bulls every day despite the weather. On the 4th day our weather broke briefly and we called in a nice young bull from 1200 yards. He was a 9 pt about 32-33" spread. I was happy. I'd plan extra days for travel just in case a hurricane does come through and delays the ferry or flights. You'll have a great time!

 

[tim88]

I hunted the 3rd week of Sep (2023) in the NW corner of NL. In speaking with the guides you'll see rut activity in all of those weeks. It will peak around the first of October but all of those weeks are great. They've actually seen rut activity go into November. I was there just as the hurricane (Lee?) came through. Weather was snotty nasty with high winds, rain and lots of fog. It was a tough week of hunting but our camp seen nice bulls every day despite the weather. On the 4th day our weather broke briefly and we called in a nice young bull from 1200 yards. He was a 9 pt about 32-33" spread. I was happy. I'd plan extra days for travel just in case a hurricane does come through and delays the ferry or flights. You'll have a great time!

I scheduled for the 2nd week of october, my hope is that the hurricanes have mostly passed by then. I plan to drive up to ottowa then direct flight to newfoundland to hopefully make life easier, i'm not sure what my dad & uncle will get for flights but I figure 3hours driving + crossing customs to get a direct flight isn't a bad option

 

[TeeKay13]

The rut will still be on during the week you have booked. Rut activity during the last two years has continued into the latter part of October. I would not worry about that whatsoever.
Also, temperatures will be more favourable into the middle of October.
Enjoy your visit to our beautiful province.

 

[Nickziegler]

I will be up there october 5-10 as hunt days this year. I will come back and let you know rut activity

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Boston1]

This year I'll be going back the second week of October. Last year I drove it and doing the same again. With regards to the total investment I didn't want to chance a small thing like lost luggage, flight cancellations or customs delays to dampen the trip. Plus, if I harvested I wanted to bring everything back with me. It took many extra days with the driving but I had a great time and loved the whole trip.

 

[medvedyt]

there is not anywhere with moose only one rut period ...

 

[tim88]

This year I'll be going back the second week of October. Last year I drove it and doing the same again. With regards to the total investment I didn't want to chance a small thing like lost luggage, flight cancellations or customs delays to dampen the trip. Plus, if I harvested I wanted to bring everything back with me. It took many extra days with the driving but I had a great time and loved the whole trip.

if I could swing the extra time I think the drive would be fun and worth it with 3 of us going it could be some serious moose to ship if we all 3 get lucky, i'll probably throw a bear tag into my hunt too and try to convince dad to shoot first on moose. by driving into canada I can catch a direct flight to gander and hopefully mitigate some of the lost baggage or things of that nature, I'll also plan to fly in saturday if I can find a room even though I don't need to be there until sunday. the problem with it being a 2026 hunt is now I have 2 years to debate: rifles, boots, binoculars, and who knows what else

 

[Sako76]

Definitely drive if you can! On my 2015 hunt, we booked a flight on Air Canada from Newark to Gander landing in St. John’s first. We check in and go to gate, as I walk by the tote board I see our flight is cancelled! Get a hotel in Newark and they say the plane is leaving the next morning at 6:00AM, be there at 4:00 AM. We get there at 4:00AM and flight is pushed to 8:00AM take off. We take off late. Just before we land in St. John’s, they get on the P.A. system and say if anyone has a connecting flight to Gander, it’s cancelled and you’re on your own! We had to rent a car ($310) for a one day, one way rental!

One of our guys came in from San Diego via Air Canada, he landed in Toronto and had to declare his firearm, they lost it! He spent two nights in a hotel waiting for them to find it. We picked him up on the side of a road opening day morning at a location the outfitter coordinated with a taxi. Never again!

 

[Boston1]

Definitely drive if you can! On my 2015 hunt, we booked a flight on Air Canada from Newark to Gander landing in St. John’s first. We check in and go to gate, as I walk by the tote board I see our flight is cancelled! Get a hotel in Newark and they say the plane is leaving the next morning at 6:00AM, be there at 4:00 AM. We get there at 4:00AM and flight is pushed to 8:00AM take off. We take off late. Just before we land in St. John’s, they get on the P.A. system and say if anyone has a connecting flight to Gander, it’s cancelled and you’re on your own! We had to rent a car ($310) for a one day, one way rental!

One of our guys came in from San Diego via Air Canada, he landed in Toronto and had to declare his firearm, they lost it! He spent two nights in a hotel waiting for them to find it. We picked him up on the side of a road opening day morning at a location the outfitter coordinated with a taxi. Never again!

Stories like that are why I decided to drive. It ruins the whole trip. Hope y'all are able to laugh it off now.

 

[Sako76]

Still not laughing, hunted with Bob Efforts and never saw a moose, total rip off hunt. Nightmare from beginning to end!

On the way back we were ticketed from Gander to St. John and then Newark. We were halfway between Gander and St. John so I said screw it, the Gander flight was at 5:00AM and they were having issues with fog and their Integrated Landing System, let’s just go to St. John and go from there. Fortunately, one of the guys flys a lot and told us if you don’t get on the first flight, all the other legs of the flight are cancelled! We spent 3 hours on the phone trying to straighten it out! Never again!

 

[rgrx1276]

Been to NL twice to hunt moose, 2022 and 2023 both in September.. 1st hunt was the third week and killed a bull at 60 yards with my 308...2023 hunt was a bust during the second week of sept.. 1 bull was killed and I didn't see anything but a calf the last couple hours of the last day and let him walk... going back this year 6-13 October... I drive up from Florida with coolers and some camp gear and take the overnight ferry with a berth. spend a night camping in Nova Scotia and 1 night camping in NL... So far they've been fun trips but I avoid DC, Baltimore, Philly, and NYC....

 

[Joseph2186]

I hunted with effords in 2021, weather sucked hurricane hit. Hunted the last week of September. The moose were in full rut where we hunted atleast.