Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Moose country
    Posts
    889

    Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    Interested in hearing people's opinions on this.

    I have hunted the kamloops/100 mile area all my life like my father before me and we have had some good success with spike/fork moose and filled all of our LEH's over the years. However, the LEH tags are few and far between these days so about 6 years ago we decided that on the years where we were unsuccessful for the local draw, we would head North and chase the generous GOS's up there. So began our annual moose hunt.

    We finally decided on a place to check out after hours on google earth. After getting there we find the area is very thick but there is moose sign all over. The only way to really hunt it is to walk the game trails and call the bulls to you and hopefully get a good enough glimpse for a tine count. After 2 years of NIL but a few close calls, we connected with one 2 years ago and it kept us coming back. It's tough hunting but it is true wilderness and we fell in love with the country. We always had a few encounters but it seemed we never hit the peak of the rut. This year everything changed.

    Day 1 of the hunt was warm and slow but day 2 brought the first frost. We called in 4 bulls the first morning and hopes were high. The next morning was again frosty and we shot a 50" bull and a spike/fork. 5 days later when the snow hit we had another double header and spanked two small tri-palm bulls. Countless encounters and bulls called in. It truly was the perfect trip. 4 bulls between 5 guys and we will have some happy families at home feeding on moose meat for the year.

    My topic of debate is this : Do you think that area should be left alone for a few years to let a new breeding stock mature? Or do you think new bulls will move in from the vast untouched wilderness beyond to fill the void? The area does see quad traffic and moose are shot but unless you catch something on the road it is pretty tough.

    Take into account, all 4 bulls this year were shot within 3km of camp. On the other hand, this only makes 5 moose in 6 years of hunting it for our group. Still, I know in the southern interior where I grew up hunting and there isn't much true wilderness left, I would feel wary of even hunting an area after harvesting 4 bulls in one year. In fact, we probably would have stopped at 2 and turned our attention to deer. The land is vast up there and almost all the country is left un-hunted which brought up this debate in our group.

    Chime in
    Last edited by ElliotMoose; 10-14-2020 at 12:45 PM.

  2. Site Sponsor

  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    598

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    Were you seeing any numbers of smaller bulls when you called the bulls in? This would give you an idea of the crop of younger bulls which may be eligible to harvest next year.
    My guess, you likely have an area with a fairly healthy population and 3-4 bulls harvested annually would be sustainable. A single bull can do quite a bit of breeding so the recruitment of calves would be good.
    You may not get 4 bulls every year so your harvest will vary with the health of the population.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    1,792

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    "countless encounters and bulls called in"

    sounds like this area still has lots of breeding stock left, I wouldn't worry your 4 bulls are going to hurt the population...especially compared to wolf kills, train, highway, etc I doubt your 4 hunter harvested bulls are a factor

    but if you are concerned, you can probably dig up some survey results for the particular unit you were in to get a better idea of the numbers, or just track down the regional bio email and chat him up, I have found them generally good to answer some questions

    and congrats on a successful trip!
    Unfortunately, the rifles are getting lighter because we are getting heavier and more unfit as a society. This is the key to the mainstream acceptance of the short magnums. - Nathan Foster

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    kamloops
    Posts
    3,851

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    gps cordinates and i will advise.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Northern BC
    Posts
    321

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    I think if you are asking the question, you have a gut feeling that it is a potential concern. I would experience the joys of finding a new area and leave it alone for several years.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Quesnel
    Posts
    3,042

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    The bulls you shot likely don't "live" in that area. Their core area is likely elsewhere and they just showed up for the obviously healthy population of cows that do actually live there. Assuming the cows don't get shot off, next year there will be different bulls from far and wide show up when the ladies start to stink.

    JMO
    chris
    "Do not go where the path may lead,
    go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
    Emerson

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Pemberton BC
    Posts
    1,528

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    I wouldn't be concerned about the moose population. The cows will get bred.
    Knowledgeable shooters agree- The 375 Ruger is the NEW KING of all 375 caliber cartridges. ALL HAIL THE NEW KING!

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Hope
    Posts
    2,154

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    Quote Originally Posted by walks with deer View Post
    gps cordinates and i will advise.
    Yep some investigative work needs to be done......

    From the sounds of it there are quite a few encounters. Should be ok I think.
    "From Covid to Hitler in 16 posts. Not today folks"

    “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” ― George Orwell

    Quakee Surpee Neekoo

  10. #9
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Crofton BC
    Posts
    535

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    I think similar thoughts about the area I hunt mule deer. The biggest thing is knowing that there are also dozens of other hunters that utilize the same area. I do not know how many deer get shot outside of our group, but years we're very successful always makes me self conscious of our impact. There's only 4 of us and our best year is 3 bucks (we hunt the 4 point only season). We usually see upwards of 10 to 1 non-4 points to 4 points though so that's our assurance that there is a future there. Just remember, it can't possibly hurt to self regulate in an area you frequent, or go to the same area and shoot a bunch of bears, that could mean a few extra moose calves survive to become future harvests.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Posts
    3,338

    Re: Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

    I wonder about, " You should have been here last year !" "We got x number." We were both not seeing any. No surprise for me , but for him a surprise.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •