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Huey
09-25-2008, 02:17 PM
Just looking for as mich spike/fork tips as possible. Does calling work? Are they always with the cows? When is the ideal time (reg 3)? Terrain- low swamps or higher cut blocks? Best strategy- calling, still-hunting or covering as much ground as possible?

Flingin' Sticks
09-25-2008, 02:20 PM
Calling will work with them, but try and stay away from the bull grunts. I've found that as soon as a dink bull hears a big agressive bull calling at him, he'll get outta dodge. Cow calls however....just think thirteen year old boy seeing his buddy's mom bending down in a V-neck:lol:.

ape
09-25-2008, 02:24 PM
....just think thirteen year old boy seeing his buddy's mom bending down in a V-neck:lol:.
:shock::shock: That is funny man. I think I have been there.

Caveman
09-25-2008, 02:45 PM
Find the cows before or early in the rut and the little guys are quite often hanging out. You'll even see them tagging along with a big bull. Once the rut gets going they will be batchleor, because the bigs guys have chased them off. This has been my experience and I have been as successful as anyone with these guys and more than most. Take it for what its worth.

moosecaller
09-25-2008, 04:04 PM
There is no hard and fast rules of what works or doesn't I have had little bulls come into my bull call and cow call equally, sometime they are with a cow and sometime not. I have seen them late in the season with a mature bull and had both come to the call. In calf season I switch up my calling and have cows with calves come in. I am a caller so as far as the other methods I cannot offer too much info. Last year second week in Oct. had a 2x2 come in with a cow and took him, 3 days before a 3x3 was with a hugh bull both came in and sparred 50 feet from me. Bottom line for me is calling works, find an area they are using ie: feeding, moving through, you should look for a high (moose) traffic area.

Jelvis
09-25-2008, 06:19 PM
Huey; spike/forks live where other moose live. So where moose are spike forkers are.
Kamloops has a spike/fork moose season. Kamloops also has spike/fork bull moose.
I call the moose closer during rut period in Kamloops area from Sept 28th to October 10th. (peak of breeding)
Spike/forks are last years calves so mamma moose goes in heat October 1st til the 9th and she could pull in a bull moose or up to three bull moose coming in around her overnight when she moans a long inviting love song.
Junior who has a fork on one side gets pushed away by momma moose when a big bull comes a courtin. She wants a little alone time with Mr Bull. (Get the picture)?
For two days or so Mr. Big bull courts cow. Meantime in the shadows peeking from behind some willow is little lonely spike crying again. Waaaaaaaaah Waaaaaaaaaaah.
Look in the trees behind all cows. For junior.
If you lived in Kamloops you could pick me up on the N.shore and if you got a truck we go out huntink. I call moose. Jelly-call-moose-over-u-shoot!

porkypine
09-25-2008, 06:38 PM
Just remember that 1 in 40 bull moose is a legal immature odds are not that great. good luck

Flingin' Sticks
09-26-2008, 06:04 AM
Just remember that 1 in 40 bull moose is a legal immature odds are not that great. good luck

Yeah, but it's usually the spikes that are dumb enough to stand there in a cutblock while you make sure they are in fact legal.

moosinaround
09-26-2008, 08:16 AM
Just remember that 1 in 40 bull moose is a legal immature odds are not that great. good luck
Almost as good as getting an LEH!!

foreverfortune
09-26-2008, 02:10 PM
hi i just want to clarify, when it says in the regs. Spike-fork Bulls, does it mean that you can kill any bulls right down to the young spike-fork ones; or does it mean you can only kill the immature ones and not the mature bigger bulls? tia for the replies

Jelvis
09-26-2008, 02:37 PM
Only the bull moose with antler that have no more than two points. On one side, so if the bull has only a two point or spike antler on one side you can shoot it, if spike/fork bulls are open and you have the valid liscence and tag.
Jel -on one side, a spike or fork.

sneg
09-26-2008, 02:42 PM
hi i just want to clarify, when it says in the regs. Spike-fork Bulls, does it mean that you can kill any bulls right down to the young spike-fork ones; or does it mean you can only kill the immature ones and not the mature bigger bulls? tia for the replies.

It is just spike -fork bull,not older. spike-fork bull-bull which has two spikes at least on one antler.Means second antler may have one or three.

sneg
09-26-2008, 02:45 PM
Jelvis you rigth. I just want to clarify, It can be three if third is less than legal spike size.

Mr. Dean
09-26-2008, 03:05 PM
hi i just want to clarify, when it says in the regs. Spike-fork Bulls, does it mean that you can kill any bulls right down to the young spike-fork ones; or does it mean you can only kill the immature ones and not the mature bigger bulls? tia for the replies

As bolded.

Mr. Dean
09-26-2008, 03:06 PM
Huey, cuts AND bogs that are adjacent will hold moose.

Caveman
09-26-2008, 04:05 PM
Just remember that 1 in 40 bull moose is a legal immature odds are not that great. good luck

To give you a little hope these #'s a little out. 65% of spike fork or as formally known as immature already have three points on each side. Therefore the remaining 35% should be legal. The only anomaly would be a mature moose with a deformity in the form of a spike

browningboy
09-26-2008, 09:47 PM
Immatures aren't that hard to find, and they're not that easy, I would use a cow call, when the mature boys come in the immys aren't far behind, always hoping to get some tail while the bulls scrap, next time you call in a large bull, I bet dollars to doughnuts that theres a sat bull in the distance.

doubled
09-28-2008, 09:44 AM
hi i just want to clarify, when it says in the regs. Spike-fork Bulls, does it mean that you can kill any bulls right down to the young spike-fork ones; or does it mean you can only kill the immature ones and not the mature bigger bulls? tia for the replies


Spike fork means exactly that. You can only kill a moose in that season with two or less spikes on on side. It must have spikes.

jml11
09-28-2008, 01:29 PM
caveman and porkypine, curious where you got these numbers from?? Not saying you are wrong but my field experiences suggest otherwise. I see more immature bulls than big bulls every year (maybe they are just the ones out in the open?). And when I do, they have been 2 pointers nearly every time. Just yesterday I saw 5 moose, three of which where bulls, two of these were immature bulls and both were 2x3. I have been a part of four 2-point kills in the past 5 years and seen many more that just eluded us. I can think of only twice where we couldn't take the immature bull because it was a 3X3. Having said that I have had many hunting colleagues who say they run into 3X3's all the time and never find the 2 pointers. Maybe I'm just lucky? :razz:

I think the area you hunt also makes a big difference. Where moose grow big I think the immature bulls will more often than not blow right past the two-point stage and go to 3,4, or 5 a side whereas areas with typically smaller moose, you will see more spikes and two-points. I've particularly seen this in the PG area. North of town two-points are hard to come by (where bigger bulls are found, wetter, better feed all around) but they seem to be more prevalent south and west of town (where it is drier and the feed is of slightly lower quality). This could of course be pure coincidence.

Mr. Dean
09-29-2008, 01:50 AM
I've only ever seen two in the past 4 years. But I also don't go on a mission of finding any. WTS, I have lost count of the mature bulls that I've scared up....

6616
09-29-2008, 02:09 AM
caveman and porkypine, curious where you got these numbers from?? Not saying you are wrong but my field experiences suggest otherwise. I see more immature bulls than big bulls every year (maybe they are just the ones out in the open?). And when I do, they have been 2 pointers nearly every time. Just yesterday I saw 5 moose, three of which where bulls, two of these were immature bulls and both were 2x3. I have been a part of four 2-point kills in the past 5 years and seen many more that just eluded us. I can think of only twice where we couldn't take the immature bull because it was a 3X3. Having said that I have had many hunting colleagues who say they run into 3X3's all the time and never find the 2 pointers. Maybe I'm just lucky? :razz:

I think the area you hunt also makes a big difference. Where moose grow big I think the immature bulls will more often than not blow right past the two-point stage and go to 3,4, or 5 a side whereas areas with typically smaller moose, you will see more spikes and two-points. I've particularly seen this in the PG area. North of town two-points are hard to come by (where bigger bulls are found, wetter, better feed all around) but they seem to be more prevalent south and west of town (where it is drier and the feed is of slightly lower quality). This could of course be pure coincidence.

Recent inventory work in the Kootenay shows, 40 to 80 bulls per 100 cows. That about 50% of the bull component are yearlings, and that 35% to 40% of yearlings are probably legal spike-forks. The natural mortality rate is very high for yearlings, but luckily only a small number are required annually to replace the annual mortality of mature bulls, thus a very high harvest rate of spike-forks is deemed sustainable by biologists. These numbers will be similar in other regions except the bull/cow ratio which will probably be lower. 30 bulls per 100 cows is considered a safe and workable ratio and is the standard used by many jurisdictions for a male/female management objective.

jml11
09-29-2008, 08:51 AM
Recent inventory work in the Kootenay shows, 40 to 80 bulls per 100 cows. That about 50% of the bull component are yearlings, and that 35% to 40% of yearlings are probably legal spike-forks. The natural mortality rate is very high for yearlings, but luckily only a small number are required annually to replace the annual mortality of mature bulls, thus a very high harvest rate of spike-forks is deemed sustainable by biologists. These numbers will be similar in other regions except the bull/cow ratio which will probably be lower. 30 bulls per 100 cows is considered a safe and workable ratio and is the standard used by many jurisdictions for a male/female management objective.


basically that translates to 1 out of every 2 bulls is likely an immature and roughly 1 out or very 2.5 immatures is legal. without doing any detailed math this translates to about 1 legal immature bull out of every 6 or 7 bulls (rough estimate)? That would make sense to me. Certainly nowhere near the 1 in 40 porkypine suggested.

6616
09-29-2008, 09:44 AM
basically that translates to 1 out of every 2 bulls is likely an immature and roughly 1 out or very 2.5 immatures is legal. without doing any detailed math this translates to about 1 legal immature bull out of every 6 or 7 bulls (rough estimate)? That would make sense to me. Certainly nowhere near the 1 in 40 porkypine suggested.

You are correct if the bull component only is considered.

If the entire population is considered (and there are 30 bulls per 100 cows and 30 calves per 100 cows), the number would be approximatelly 1 legal immature bull for every 28 to 30 total moose. Of course this could vary considerably with varying bull and calf ratios.

These numbers were presented by F&W in region 4 to the regional advisory committee during 2007 when the spike/fork season was under consideration for that region.

jml11
09-29-2008, 10:18 AM
You are correct if the bull component only is considered.

If the entire population is considered (and there are 30 bulls per 100 cows and 30 calves per 100 cows), the number would be approximatelly 1 legal immature bull for every 28 to 30 total moose. Of course this could vary considerably with varying bull and calf ratios.

These numbers were presented by F&W in region 4 to the regional advisory committee during 2007 when the spike/fork season was under consideration for that region.

Thanks for the info, I imagine the the management gets a bit more complicated here in region 7a (oops had 7b here before!) with an actual calf season and denser moose populations; however, I imagine the cow to bull ratio is roughly the 3:1 as you have indicated.

6616
09-29-2008, 03:16 PM
Thanks for the info, I imagine the the management gets a bit more complicated here in region 7B with an actual calf season and denser moose populations; however, I imagine the cow to bull ratio is roughly the 3:1 as you have indicated.

The moose management stratgegy they use in 7A (Omineca) is considered innovative and probably the best in the province by a wide range of biologists. This is because harvest is spread over a cross section of the entire population and includes some females as well, instead of just coming from one or two age classes of males. I would like to see it expanded into other regions where possible.

jml11
09-29-2008, 04:34 PM
The moose management stratgegy they use in 7A (Omineca) is considered innovative and probably the best in the province by a wide range of biologists. This is because harvest is spread over a cross section of the entire population and includes some females as well, instead of just coming from one or two age classes of males. I would like to see it expanded into other regions where possible.


Yes it quite interesting, Doug Heard is trying lots of different things to increase harvest opportunities particularly along the Parsnip river, where the ministry has split the two M-U's (7-16 and 7-23) into several sub zones and they now have multiple moose seasons as well. Bull LEH is split into two season Aug 15-Sept 30 and Oct 1 to Nov 5. And new this year as well is the extended calf season which starts Oct.1 in those M-Us (it's gonna be crazy busy there, thankfully I got that Immy on saturday and am tagged out!) . I think the reason is the moose are underharvested along the parsnip (poor access and long ways to go for townies) and the wolves are quite abundant which is not good for the nearby kennedy siding caribou. In talking with Mr. Heard a few years back, he mentioned the moose management is really about caribou management in many M-Us.

6616
09-29-2008, 07:19 PM
Yes it quite interesting, Doug Heard is trying lots of different things to increase harvest opportunities particularly along the Parsnip river, where the ministry has split the two M-U's (7-16 and 7-23) into several sub zones and they now have multiple moose seasons as well. Bull LEH is split into two season Aug 15-Sept 30 and Oct 1 to Nov 5. And new this year as well is the extended calf season which starts Oct.1 in those M-Us (it's gonna be crazy busy there, thankfully I got that Immy on saturday and am tagged out!) . I think the reason is the moose are underharvested along the parsnip (poor access and long ways to go for townies) and the wolves are quite abundant which is not good for the nearby kennedy siding caribou. In talking with Mr. Heard a few years back, he mentioned the moose management is really about caribou management in many M-Us.

Interesting, same thing being done in the Revelstoke area - heavily harvest the moose to reduce and/or control the wolf population to in turn reduce predation (hopefully) on the caribou. Hmmm......Wonder if it will work....????

Caveman
03-01-2009, 10:35 PM
caveman and porkypine, curious where you got these numbers from??

My numbers were from a report published by the goverment based on the findings of a biologist do a study on mooe populations a number of years back

kyleklassen
03-01-2009, 11:13 PM
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/scan0107.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=13027&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10944)immy shot during any bull draw 7-26 october. was with cow.

hunterofthedeer
03-01-2009, 11:47 PM
i wouldnt mind a great tasting immature bull moose this year

sfire436
03-01-2009, 11:51 PM
If you are going out just for immy's I think you are making a big mistake. I have a good buddy that lived in the bush for years in reg 3 and hunted ALOT and only saw 2 immy's the whole time he was there. The only one I have seen was a dead one that my buddy shot last season. Very lucky

jackpine
03-02-2009, 07:57 AM
according to local region 3 bios, immature bulls account for approximately 6% of the moose population.

Bowtime
03-02-2009, 01:10 PM
I find lots of the bulls on lakes are the smaller ones, at least where I hunt them. You can stumble across a big bull feeding on a marsh but prodominatly the smaller ones accumulate along the lake.

jessbennett
03-02-2009, 02:24 PM
Jelvis you rigth. I just want to clarify, It can be three if third is less than legal spike size.


the regs mean ANY bull having no more than 2 points on one antler. it can be a spike, and it can be a two point on one antler. the other antler can have 10 points on it, IT DOESNT MATTER. it can be a spike by 5 pt, it can be a 2x 3pt, it can be a spike by 20 points. all that matters is that ONE antler has no more than 2 points on it.

jessbennett
03-02-2009, 02:30 PM
hi i just want to clarify, when it says in the regs. Spike-fork Bulls, does it mean that you can kill any bulls right down to the young spike-fork ones; or does it mean you can only kill the immature ones and not the mature bigger bulls? tia for the replies.

It is just spike -fork bull,not older. spike-fork bull-bull which has two spikes at least on one antler.Means second antler may have one or three.


and what about a bull having say 6 points on one side and a spike on the other? the regulations do not specify"immature" bull season anymore. it is specifies as a "spike fork" season. so technically, it could be a "legal" mature bull moose in spike fork season.

cariboobill
03-04-2009, 07:04 PM
Well Moose hunting in region 3 is hard at best and to find an immature is pretty hard unless you spend some time scouting the area preseason to find where they are feeding. Also you really need to check out Region 3 for moose hunting opportunities as they are limited and there seems to be lots of folks hunting immatures when they do not get a LEH draw. You may find other regions with better moose numbers and better habitat.

good luck

kyleklassen
03-04-2009, 11:51 PM
i hunted 6-06 and 7-26 for 14 years and saw 2 immy'y ....shot 1 of them.....missed the other.

huff
09-18-2012, 03:54 PM
The definition is in the regs. has to have a max. of two tines on one side . correct me if i'm wrong.

Huff

steel_ram
09-18-2012, 04:22 PM
Two tines maximum on one side and whatever on the other. Possibly a mature bull with a messed up /broken off antler (healed;)) would qualify.

1 shot 1 kill
09-19-2012, 11:51 AM
A legal moose during a spike-fork season has two or less tines on one side only. A 2x3, 2x4, 2x5, etc, is legal during a spike-fork season. If the moose has only 1 tine on each side it is legal.If it has 2 points on one side and 1 on the other it is also legal. One side must have 2 or less tines, if that requirement is met the number of tines on the other side is not considered.

Thank you for your inquiry,



Senior Wildlife Regulations Officer
Fish and Wildlife Branch
Ministry of Environment
Phone (250) 387-9767
Fax (250) 387-0239

this is the information i received when i asked that questions years ago..

The Dude
09-19-2012, 12:07 PM
Only one of the antlers must have only one or two legal points. That is all.

tyler hunter
10-16-2012, 01:33 PM
Since immature season runs from Oct 15 - Nov 15. Are you still calling opening week? Or is it too late?