Reality of horse back moose hunt

[anderjas99]

I am curious to get the opinion of others who have been on horseback Moose hunts. I recently returned from a hunt in northern British Columbia where I was unsuccessful in killing a moose however I did shoot a nice Mountain Caribou. The horseback hunt for Mohs was rather disappointing for me in the overall style. I was wondering if anybody else has similar experience?
Essentially you would leave camp right before daybreak and horseback an hour and a half or so into the back country where you would have 30 minutes or possibly an hour at most to try and spot of moves before they bedded up into the dark timber at which point they were more or less impossible to find. We would then sit around for the rest of the day hoping to see a moose moving, which never happened, and then for the last hour or 2 before dark you hope to find a moose in a position that you would maybe have time to make a move on before dark.
The weather was cold, rainy/snow and windy so I do understand it was not ideal conditions but there was very little calling involved and I felt as though the opportunity to see a moose was very limited to first thing in the morning and may be later in the evening otherwise it was a mental game of staying optimistic for the majority of the day. The hunting was certainly not that classic calling into beaver ponds, Creeks and Willows etc. waiting for the sweet sound of a rutting bull.
The Hunt was certainly an adventure but my point here is I would have likes the outfitter to be more honest with me and the style of the hunt. I would like to know if anybody else has had similar experience with horseback cons or this was just a isolated experience that I encountered.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Hey man, you might benefit greatly by contacting an old friend (guide) of mine, Coke Wallace.

Contact – Midnight Sun Safaris

midnightsunsafaris.com

He's super friendly and helpful, and I bet he has plenty of stories to share.

 

[anderjas99]

I appreciate the contact Larry, as you well know firsthand experience is critical when trying to find the right guide. Pulling one out of a hat is certainly a crap shoot, even when you do your due diligence, especially when your paying a fair amount of money for the experience.

 

[SaltySailor]

Sometimes that's moose hunting man, if it was early season, calling may not of made that much of a difference. Don't see why the horse part of the equation would have bummed you out, you would have loved them if you shot one. Its been my observation in the early season, especially when its warmer (you state it was cold, but that may of been relative to you), the moose tend to follow their normal rest of the year schedule : moving/feeding in the early morning, bed down around 9amish, get up for a snack around 3pm for an hour, bed back down until 6-7pmish. This schedule gets tossed to the wind more and more as the season progresses until at the very end you see bulls fighting in the sun at noon or running to a duck fart mid day. They also don't like wind, can't recall seeing great moose action on a windy day.

 

[anderjas99]

I did enjoy the adventure and the beautiful horseback rides. I hunted from September 24 to October 5.
Temperatures were in the teens at night and mid 20s to low 30s during the day with blowing snow and wind.
Certainly would have been nice to see more moose or have an opportunity but I do understand the fact that it is hunting with no guarantee even when you are paying good money. Seeing one bull on a designated moose hunt seems odd especially in an area that had not been hunted last season. Not my first rodeo on guided or big hunts. It seems like a window of opportunity to actually see and find a moose is relatively small, if that is the case with the horseback hunts then I would like to look at a different style hunt on the next round or give the outfitter another try. Really looking for that calling moose in type hunt, was afraid that hunting from a boat would end with me just shooting from a boat at a moose standing on the shore.
I looked into Coke Wallace, seems like a good outfit.

 

[SaltySailor]

Sounds like you were in primo hunting weather/time. Don't know, maybe you did have a shitty guide. That time frame I'd of been calling off and on all day.

 

[Yellowknife]

I hunted from September 24 to October 5.

That time of year is maximum activity. They won't be bedded in the timber.. they will be moving, all day every day. The big bulls will be tending cows, and the smaller guys will be cruising. When I've hunted that week (for anterless) it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Darn near unfair. They also strongly trend towards open areas that time of year... Late season we find them out of the timber and in the alpine, brush flats, or big swamps.

Even early season (Sept 1-10) they will get up and move around every few hours during the day. You aren't limited to daybreak or night by any means.

Sounds like a weird hunt, but I don't think it was the horses that made it that way.

Sorry man,

Yk

 

[Sourdough]

Were you with the actual person with whom you understood to be the Guide/Outfitter with whom you signed a contract.....??? Or with someone else, an assistant guide, or a different licensed registered guide, a wrangler, or anyone other then the owner guide of the company.

Should anyone desire to assume I am judging the skillset of any of those possible individuals, I am not. In point of fact often everyone has more field skills then the head boss. This is especially true in Alaska Guiding.

 

[Southern Heritage]

I went through the exact same thing.

 

[VernAK]

The horses would have been handy for hauling a spike camp into the hunting area and to pack meat out but I'd have preferred to camp in, or closer to, the hunting area.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Just FYI, most moose shot by float hunters are from camp. I'd estimate that out of roughly 30 moose I've either shot or been with when shot, only recall eight that were shot "on the drift" and the majority were literally shot from the tent/camp fire.

Horse and rafts for transport require some level of learning curve and tolerance for non-hunting chores, but the peacefulness of a serene but challenging river hunt rarely disappoints.

 

[anderjas99]

Were you with the actual person with whom you understood to be the Guide/Outfitter with whom you signed a contract.....??? Or with someone else, an assistant guide, or a different licensed registered guide, a wrangler, or anyone other then the owner guide of the company.

Should anyone desire to assume I am judging the skillset of any of those possible individuals, I am not. In point of fact often everyone has more field skills then the head boss. This is especially true in Alaska Guiding.

I was not with the owner but a guide hired by him. He was ok but I agree with you 100%
4 years guide experience vs 20

 

[anderjas99]

Just FYI, most moose shot by float hunters are from camp. I'd estimate that out of roughly 30 moose I've either shot or been with when shot, only recall eight that were shot "on the drift" and the majority were literally shot from the tent/camp fire.

Horse and rafts for transport require some level of learning curve and tolerance for non-hunting chores, but the peacefulness of a serene but challenging river hunt rarely disappoints.

Good info on the float hunts I appreciate it. Could not agree more on the second half, I enjoyed the hands on aspect and the absolute beauty of it all. And not to be that guy but seeing moose on your moose hunt would be nice. As hunters we are paying $20-30 US THOUSAND dollars for the "hunt" I can float the river and camp for waaay cheaper. For a lot of folks this is a childhood once in a lifetime opportunity to take the moose. Its still hunting etc etc I KNOW but I do wonder if this is sometimes lost with some (not all!) outfitters. I met great guys on my trip and for some they could do this hunt twice a year every year and never bat an eye but for the other half like it or not there is a lot of deep down pressure to harvest an animal.

 

[TXCO]

Moose hunting is generally a game of patience because densities are low. I would expect any moose hunt to involve a lot of sitting and glassing, calling, etc. I would think a horse hunt would involve a lot more glassing since you can get to vantage points and have the ability to pack out a moose. Every one will tell you not to shoot one far from your transportation which is why you see moose killed close to the river/lake on a float hunt. Weather sounds great for moose hunting and Id expect them to move at any time of the day during that timeframe and conditions. It doesnt sound like a con, just that you got unlucky.

 

[Spartan Gunner]

I've been on one moose hunt by horseback...well, my buddy and stuff was on horses. I hiked in, but it was great. We took horses in about 10 miles and made camp. We day hunted from there.

A lot of moose hunts you wont see a ton of moose, but it only takes one. Like a lot of hunts, being patient is the most important skill there is.

On this particular trip a nice moose snuck up on me as I called and still hunted through some burnt timber. I didn't see him until he was about 20 yards away. I didn't have a round chambered. I chambered a round, the bull bolted, and I never got a shot.

Congrats on the caribou!

 

[tcpip95]

@anderjas99 I’m glad to hear that you got skunked ‘cause statistically if guided moose hunts have a 90% success rate, your shutout will help improve my odds!

Of course I’m just kidding. I’m truly sorry to hear that you never even got a shot off. It stinks that you (we) spend a ton of money on what for many (myself included) will be a once-in-a-lifetime event only to walk away empty handed. My turn will be coming in 2023.

I hope you get another chance someday.

 

[Old and gray]

I have done a fair bit of moose hunting using horses. My game plan is ride out from camp a couple of miles and do a calling session, then another 2-3 miles and another calling stint. I keep doing this until early afternoon when i stop for lunch and a snooze. Heading back to camp I call the same spots. Several days of this will have a moose waiting at one of the stops. The horses will let you know. Have shot a #12 ranked moose in Alberta plus have spotted other B+C moose. Oh and my braying mules seem to attract bulls. One of my favourite hunts.