Moose calf hunt

[Hugh]

Has anyone hunted calves before? During and after the rut, do the calves follow the Bulls in the background? Do they respond to calls? After the rut do they go with the Bulls into hiding or do they hang around below the snow line, any information will help. Hugh

[bighornbob]

Never hunted them but would assume they would be hanging around with the cows and not the bulls through their first winter.

BHB

[Spy]

Why hunt them?

[takla1]

Calves will stay with their cow till their weened and get pushed off by the cow usually thier second yr come fall especially the bull calfs .In all my moose hunting yrs I seldom see cow/calf pairs while hunting and anyone with a cow draw would be shooting the cow for the difference in meat alone.
Calves will stay with their mom no matter what so no they wont respond to a call but the cow may.Ive called in cow moose with a calf once,spoted the cow from a high ridge and thought it was a bull.Went down and started calling and the cow came right to me with the calf in tow.
After the rut and during the cows will be lower so valley bottoms ,when the breedings done the big bulls will stay lower also as the snow deepens.Ive seen groups of bull/cows/calves cruseing the lowland roads brousing on willow along the roads when the snow gets too deep up high

takla

[Boner]

In all my moose hunting yrs I seldom see cow/calf pairs while hunting and anyone with a cow draw would be shooting the cow for the difference in meat alone.

Sorry but I strongly disagree with the statement that an LEH holder of a cow/calf draw would shoot a cow based on there being more meat. The hunter is supposed to harvest the calf given that choice.

An ideal situation if at all possible is to have a youth or senior target the calf during the gos and the LEH holder harvest the cow at the same time if the draw lines up with the calf gos.

[Caribou_lou]

Calves will be with the cow through the winter and into the spring until the cow is ready to birth their next calf the following spring. Then they will ditch the calf!

[IronNoggin]

Why hunt them?

I'm more or less with Spy on this one.
Given the sorry state of BC's moose populations overall, I have made the personal decision NOT to shoot any cows nor calves for the foreseeable future...

Cheers,
Nog

[Rupert Retired]

I have never shot a calf (or a cow) moose, but for conservation reasons selecting the calf is the better strategy, leave the breeding cow alone. Also, the meat just has to be so tender! hmm, I think I may be talking myself into it...

[takla1]

I'm more or less with Spy on this one.
Given the sorry state of BC's moose populations overall, I have made the personal decision NOT to shoot any cows nor calves for the foreseeable future...

Cheers,
Nog

Same here,never have applied for a cow/calf tag limited entry,seen enough moose shortages over the yrs,like to see them ladys running around.Always lots of bull moose tags available LEH if you apply for area's with good odds.
My last 20 yrs after ANY Bull seasons got cut in our area's we always got a draw and put meat in the freezer

takla

[Spy]

I'm more or less with Spy on this one.
Given the sorry state of BC's moose populations overall, I have made the personal decision NOT to shoot any cows nor calves for the foreseeable future...

Cheers,
Nog

I agree I even stopped hunting moose because of the shortage, I think we should give them a chance and target other more plentiful species.