Tales from a rookie hunter - 2019 moose season

Foreward

Hi everyone,

As you might have assumed, I am brand new to hunting. I thought I would start a thread outlining my thoughts and experiences as a rookie hunter. I figure other new members might be able to relate and get mutual questions answered, while the seasoned vets on here might at least get a chuckle or two out of it. If you can't laugh at yourself....I want to try to add what little I can to the site at this point as well too.

I also want to give a big thanks to this forum. what a great resource for new hunters. I also want to specifically thank Huevos, Moosinaround and Srupp for the PM's, and for offering their time and knowledge. I wouldn't be nearly as prepared for my LEH moose draw in 10 days without you.

After hiking and fishing since my late teens, and always wanting to get into hunting but never fully committing, I had a "sh!t or get off the pot" moment last year. "I'm 36 with two young kids now. If not now, when"?

So last year I get my PAL, hunter ID and begin work transferring my knowledge of the outdoors gained from lots of solo backcountry camping and hiking into hunting. They are definitely not the same thing.

I managed to get out for GOS Mule deer in 8-9 for a mid-October three day hunt, flowed by a second one up at Loon Lake in late October. I went solo both times. again, sh!t or get off the pot. it was 4 point buck only, but I really wanted to get out there and gain experience. No bucks down on either outing, but man did I learn a ton just being out there and putting miles on the boots.

It is definitely true that the best teacher is experience. I feel like I've learned a ton by researching, reading, and going through HBC archives, but that's all theory. What an advantage to actually go out and see what it's really like.

Here are a few things that struck me from my first year hunting:
1. The rush of driving in before dawn and then stepping out of the truck off an FSR. all of the sudden thinking, holy crap, I'm hunting!
2. I am waaay louder than I thought I would be. all I could think about was that every animal within a square mile must know exactly where I am.
3. Don't get distracted by grouse... I brought a slingshot with me as my "sidearm" and found myself chasing bush chickens more than I probably should have. I am sure I made way too much noise thrashing through the bushes after them.
4. The Matrix - I live in the city, and it almost felt like I was in some sort of hyper reality. after a few hours of not talking, no city noise, and just pure committed focus, it felt like I could hear better. Colours were brighter, and I could even pick out specific smells. Hunting seems to dial your senses up to eleven.
5. the measure of a good hunt isn't necessarily a dead animal at the end. I enjoyed every unsuccessful minute of being out there. I spent all year thinking about those two outings. All I wanted was for Fall to come back around so I can try again, get better, and gain more memories. I have a feeling that a decade from now, I will look back on me crashing through the bush, trying to still hunt, with low chances of success and laugh. I also think I will be damn happy that I took the plunge and jumped in head first.

Part 2 - season 2 LEH moose draw - preparation and pre hunt thoughts.

does season 2 start soon? or is this next year? hoping its this year and looking forward to the story

Hey Andrew,

I can totally relate. I’m coming up on 45 in my second hunting season, got hit with the bug hard last year -and same as you, if not now - when? You’re bang on about experience. I’ve read, listened to dozens (hundreds?) of podcasts, books, scoured forums, including many here on HBC, but noting compares to being out there. I’m sure a hunt with an experienced mentor would help cut the learning curve a bit, but making mistakes and learning can Ben fun, and frustrating at the same time. So far I’ve only harvested snow shoe hare, gotta start somewhere!

Cheers!

Excellent post Andrew. Your second point made me chuckle. Me too. Way louder than I thought I'd be. Just wait until you take a teenager with you when their feet have grown three sizes in a year-- you'll think you are the stealthiest critter in the woods.

Glad you're having fun, make sure you share it around with your friends and family.

year two is this year. my garage is a staging area right now, trying to figure out what I need, what I want to bring, and what won't get used. I am up in 7-12 for an "any moose" LEH sept 28 - Oct 6th.

I got into fishing the same way. didn't know what I was doing, but knew that I had to do it. my main takeaway from that is that trial and error is a really slow and very expensive way to learn something new. That is why I have been lucky enough to meet some very generous individuals here (possibly even meeting up with one of them during the hunt.

I am definitely going to post updates leading up to the hunt, and give a post trip report too.

as for podcasts, I have listened to literally every one that pertains to moose.

I love the rookie hunter podcast, because it revolves around new(er) hunters hunting in BC. Rinella is good too.

I found a couple videos (one strategy and one calling) from Spencer Rempel (The Moose Whisperer) to be very helpful. Howtohunt.com has a moose series too and if offers a few points that Rempel missed.

Make everything you can of that LEH. You'll realize in a few years how darn lucky it is to draw that moose hunt.

I found those really helpful too. Howtohunt.com is great. I found out that he is proguide66 on here. I absolutely love his stories.


I have taken a lot of notes as well. here are a few good links for those also interested in moose hunting:

Articles:
https://www.outdoorcanada.ca/5-moose-hunting-lessons/


https://www.outdoorcanada.ca/4-tips-...nting-success/


Moose in BC government document 2018:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/moose.pdf
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife...fact_sheet.pdf


HBC thread for rookie moose hunting questions:
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/archiv.../t-119032.html

Moose meat butchering link:
https://www.outdoorcanada.ca/meat-lo...-eating-moose/

There was a thread called “moose calling 101” or such, it is a long thread with tons of great info and valuable insights.