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Thread: How to Call Moose

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2022
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    How to Call Moose

    This advice is mainly aimed at new hunters, maybe even veteran guys that haven't tried their hand at calling moose, and want to give it a shot.
    There's many hunters (much smarter than me) on here, that can chime in with other ideas.

    I apologize for being a noobie Albertan here, this is a post I created on Alberta Outdoorsman, Jim.




    #1. How to call Moose should really be, WHERE TO CALL MOOSE.

    The absolute BEST PLACE TO CALL is on fresh bull moose sign.

    Bulls will be restless in Sept, but most will kind of pick out their spot, and will be making lots of rubs, even better is if you find Stink Pots/Wallows, where they are digging up the soil, peeing in it and rolling.
    Boots to the ground! Search your area and if you can find that fresh bull sign, that's the absolute best place to call. My #1 calling strategy has always involved finding that fresh bull sign.


    #2. What if you cannot locate fresh bull sign as above?

    Next best place to call is if you have a nice elevation, over a valley, river bottom or maybe a lake, where your call can reach out over a wider area.
    Old burns and cutblocks are great spots to call, again especially if you have an elevation so the call can go out there a bit.


    #3. PATIENCE! Once you have picked your calling location, be patient! More guys lose moose by calling at a site, they don't get an answer then booger off to try another spot.
    Next thing ya know, the bull that you didn't know was coming, is at the site you left.
    I've seen many times where guys did this, then return to find that a bull came exactly to where they were calling.


    #4. Once you start calling, be PATIENT!

    I pick my spot to call cuz it's the BEST spot, so why would I leave it?
    I'll call at a location first light until about 11:00 o'clock. Return to camp.
    Then return to that calling site in the afternoon and call until just before dark.
    Repeat the next morning. I don't know how many times we have called, gotten no answer, come back the next morning, next evening or the next day or 2 days later.
    Eventually a bull will show up.
    Heck I called in a bull one late afternoon, buggered up the shot, jammed my rifle, the whole clown act went on, but next morning went to that spot and a bull was bedded right there waiting for me.
    Easiest moose I ever shot.


    #5. Timing - Everything I have said has to be factored in according to the dates. Anywhere from the first week of Sept to the last week of Sept, you will mainly be calling bulls when the rut hasn't started (this for Alberta, dates change the farther north you go). Call it pre-rut.

    During pre-rut raking trees and bull grunting, especially if you are on fresh bull sign can be very effective.

    Once the rut starts then you will switch more to cow calls, but always have the ability to add in raking and grunting along with your cow calls.

    Once the rut really gets going, cows will congregate, herd up with the local big bull(s).
    In that situation you are most likely going to be calling younger satellite bulls, as a big bull is not going to leave his cow(s).

    This year I had a bowhunting (crossbow) license, and called in a big like 50"-ish moose, which I frigged up (I'd say fortunately).

    Then ended up getting my bull cuz I located smoking fresh bull track crossing a road, then went in after that bull and called him out.
    But I got that bull because I recognized the situation and took advantage of it.

    [/url]


    #6. Learn to call with your hands! Whatever you do, don't fall for buying one of those silly horns that they sell at the local hunting store...


    #7. Once things start working you, then go about gaining experience, learning how bulls react to your calling, learning how to respond correctly (which means you will screw up lots), which is when things really get fun.
    When a bull calls you a certain way, and you understand, this is a bull that needs to be coaxed, or a bull that wants you to always return their call, getting to know SILENT bulls, and then some just come in like a freight train.
    But you will learn all that after 40 some years of moose hunting, as I have.

    And it doesn't hurt to have basically grown up in Swan Hills, Alberta. Former and maybe some day again, the Moose Mecca of Alberta.


    They are out there!






















    Remember this: today is the next day of the rest of your life, so enjoy it!

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  3. #2
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    Re: How to Call Moose

    1 is the best but some think that if the little tree growing in a track is less than 4" high it's fresh. Don't know the difference between stripped Willows and the leaves naturally falling off. Or the difference between a porcupine having a snack and a real rub. But I'm sure 90% of the guys on this website are not of that variety.
    2 Alice Alice or water is moose by the first name. When you call from the water it seems like most of the bulls come down from the high hillside, could be just me but I think they go up there so they they can hear further.
    3 and 4 The dream is the have them running and barking all the way. It's very exciting but I'd say 3/4 come in low and slow. The Bible says that patience is a virtue for moose hunters it's a necessity. Bring a book. Don't call to much every hour or two is lots. Once you know they're coming for sure I only make soft calls if any, break some brush. If they get sidetracked and start going in different direction which usually means they smell another cow I'll get more persistent in my calling.
    5 Yup once they rub their horns they're ready. Call them in all the way to the end of December.
    6 I used to make lots of birch bark calls and give them. But I rarely actually use one.
    7 Its all fun and games until someone loses a heart or a lung, and then it's all work.

    Knowing your area makes a huge difference . By far the most exciting is when the bull gets hung up and is not coming all the way, and you changed over to light grunts and you start to walk in on him. That really gets your heart pounding.
    Last edited by MRP; 09-22-2022 at 12:50 PM.
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  4. #3
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    Re: How to Call Moose

    Thanks for posting. Great pictures of some nice looking moose.
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  5. #4
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    Re: How to Call Moose

    hmmm lots of different thoughts
    the rut starts here sept 26 ish..peak rut is oct 1--20...
    they are finished sorting out between bulls...so no need to fight..I have caught bulls on camera..no tracks...tracks can only tell you where they were.
    rubs are mainly velvet removal spots.
    i ABSOLUTLEY do disagree that store bought horns for calling are less effective than just hands
    go get a K,C CAPLING 22 inch moose magnum fibreglass horn...resonence..tone..volume..all beat just hands.never ever use bull call scapula scraping..they ARE there for loving NOT fighting..onlt time for bull calls..if you see a bull with numerous cows..bull grunt..says im coming over to kick your ass and steal your ladies..I have had that work..but I have also had him leave with the ladies.
    calling 1st set at first light half volume..listen for 15 minutes then VERY LOUD...continue calling very loud for the day from one location..bulls are MOVING seeking females...may move 10 kms seeking love..every 15 minutets.
    i recomend Buck Expert synthetic moose urine..actually mare pee...plus a box of tampons..find a cut block meadow or other opening..bigger than a ice rink..tie several tampons on willows or under tree 5 feet -6 feet up LOAD THE TAMPONS. YOU SHOULD spread the tampons several kms apart..4-5 distinct calling locations..
    calling gets their attention..called bulls in from 5 kms..seen em come to a opening /lake edge \
    once close the scent picks up the pace of action..sound like cow smells like cow ..must be cow..
    the moose you shoot on tuesday might have been 15 kms away on sunday...
    one experienced hunter didnt believe in tampons/scent..so opening morning he left Manny and Me to call...he wandered back to examine some mule deer he saw coming in.
    1st call..6 minutes bull screaming in dropped in his tracks 60 feet from scent dispersal units
    next morning second bull 40 feet from tampons..it took him 2.5 hours to come in to our calls

    moose are 10 inches eye to eye..plus 11 inch ears 31-33 inch spread plus antlers act like satalight dishes..
    nose the size of loaf of bread..effective snozz..much easier to call them in its THE RUT if you only get laid once a year you WILL be there
    steven

  6. #5
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    Jul 2015
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    Victoria
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    Re: How to Call Moose

    Here's my two cents...In addition to all the great tips already mentioned...

    1. any funnel type call will help make the call deeper and project further (for me). Think a sheet of rigid felt paper or thin plastic the size of a regular sheet of paper. I roll it up and it's attached to my gun strap with a few pieces of elastic. It's only an inch round when rolled up tight and weighs a few ounces. Easy to take out and roll into a funnel to use as a call.

    2. listen for squirrels/chipmunks after you call. I made a few cow calls and within 5 minutes, heard chipmunks calling. I looked over at my brother and pointed in the direction of the chipmunks making noise in the bush (we were in between 3 forests). A few minutes later, 2 cows came out. We watched them walk toward us eating, slowly walking. They came in to 40 yards and had no idea we were there. A big bull was waiting inside the forest, but he wouldn't come out.

    Calling moose out of the bush are the best hunting experiences I've ever had.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2022
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    14

    Re: How to Call Moose

    srupp are you talking calling horns, similar to the good old fashioned birch bark, but fiberglas/synthetic?

    I was referring to the stupid things that Primos sells, artificial calls with a plastic reed. Junk.
    You will NEVER find a professional (or competent amateur) hunting guide using one of those. That's what I meant.

    Fact is I have one of those fiberglas horns, no idea what brand. I use it very little, as I prefer to call just by cupping my hands, while pinching my nose, to get that nasal tone.

    Umm, used feminine products... this cat will not be using! Haha!

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Lowermainland
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    Re: How to Call Moose

    All good advice posted above ! . Sadly it pisses me off because it got me all excited for a moose hunt I can’t go on ,no LEH
    Good Luck To All Of You With Draws ! Go get ‘em !
    Arctic Lake
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  9. #8
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    Oct 2012
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    Re: How to Call Moose

    Quote Originally Posted by srupp View Post
    hmmm lots of different thoughts
    the rut starts here sept 26 ish..peak rut is oct 1--20...
    they are finished sorting out between bulls...so no need to fight..I have caught bulls on camera..no tracks...tracks can only tell you where they were.
    rubs are mainly velvet removal spots.
    i ABSOLUTLEY do disagree that store bought horns for calling are less effective than just hands
    go get a K,C CAPLING 22 inch moose magnum fibreglass horn...resonence..tone..volume..all beat just hands.never ever use bull call scapula scraping..they ARE there for loving NOT fighting..onlt time for bull calls..if you see a bull with numerous cows..bull grunt..says im coming over to kick your ass and steal your ladies..I have had that work..but I have also had him leave with the ladies.
    calling 1st set at first light half volume..listen for 15 minutes then VERY LOUD...continue calling very loud for the day from one location..bulls are MOVING seeking females...may move 10 kms seeking love..every 15 minutets.
    i recomend Buck Expert synthetic moose urine..actually mare pee...plus a box of tampons..find a cut block meadow or other opening..bigger than a ice rink..tie several tampons on willows or under tree 5 feet -6 feet up LOAD THE TAMPONS. YOU SHOULD spread the tampons several kms apart..4-5 distinct calling locations..
    calling gets their attention..called bulls in from 5 kms..seen em come to a opening /lake edge \
    once close the scent picks up the pace of action..sound like cow smells like cow ..must be cow..
    the moose you shoot on tuesday might have been 15 kms away on sunday...
    one experienced hunter didnt believe in tampons/scent..so opening morning he left Manny and Me to call...he wandered back to examine some mule deer he saw coming in.
    1st call..6 minutes bull screaming in dropped in his tracks 60 feet from scent dispersal units
    next morning second bull 40 feet from tampons..it took him 2.5 hours to come in to our calls

    moose are 10 inches eye to eye..plus 11 inch ears 31-33 inch spread plus antlers act like satalight dishes..
    nose the size of loaf of bread..effective snozz..much easier to call them in its THE RUT if you only get laid once a year you WILL be there
    steven
    Sounds like good advice... what do you think of using an elk bugle tube (just the hollow tube without the diaphragm) to project your call further?

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Williams Lake, BC Canada
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    14,168

    Re: How to Call Moose

    Quote Originally Posted by Demonical View Post
    srupp are you talking calling horns, similar to the good old fashioned birch bark, but fiberglas/synthetic?

    I was referring to the stupid things that Primos sells, artificial calls with a plastic reed. Junk.
    You will NEVER find a professional (or competent amateur) hunting guide using one of those. That's what I meant.

    Fact is I have one of those fiberglas horns, no idea what brand. I use it very little, as I prefer to call just by cupping my hands, while pinching my nose, to get that nasal tone.

    Umm, used feminine products... this cat will not be using! Haha!
    hmmm yes fibreglass K C CAPLING was/is the world champion moose caller..I did only use cupped hands then started using kc moose magnum...have no experience with " cheap " reed calls.
    now regarding tampons..inexpensive..comes with a string to tie up..soaks up a ton of fluids BUCK EXPERT synthetic urine..and they are biodegradable...checks all the needs.
    you said used feminine peroducts..NO NO NO..LOL use new ones ha ha ha
    both your calling location needs open space for your calls to travel..no wind..I enjoy calling on the edge..point on a lake
    the location for tampons needs space too for the wind to disperse the scent..AND around 10 am thermals will take the scent uphill...about 4 pm reversing thermals take scent downhill.
    another benifit of scent is it works 24/7 while your eating sleeping etc scent is doing its thing
    once scent is deployed DO NOT RETURN TO THE TREE..set up 100 yards away..
    # 1 reason moose hunts fail is hunters running around stinking up the area..
    DURING THE RUT SIT AND CALL LOUD AND PROUD EVERY 15 MINUTES BY THE CLOCK/WATCH..then listen look,
    cheers
    Steven

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    56

    Re: How to Call Moose

    Yes buckexpert works great Steven thanks for the tip a number of years ago , I am having trouble finding any for my up coming moose hunt , I have looked everywhere with no luck , Steven or anyone know where I can find some cow moose in heat by chance
    Last edited by Bullseye Bob; 09-22-2022 at 10:34 PM.

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