Looking for some advice and direction for Moose

[jay1972]

Hello Everyone

I am a new hunter and finished my second season with tag soup.

I am part of a novice group of hunters that have decided we would stack the odds against us a little, we are all from the island and each has had some success with the local Blacktail / bear utilizing our Excalibur crossbows.

None of us have experienced a moose hunt and for the most part we are lost in even knowing where to start looking on the mainland as scouting trips would be more difficult to accomplish and looking at maps and throwing darts blindly is something we hope to avoid.

We were hoping to organize a couple 5-to-7-day trip in Non LEH zones.
Where we could set up camp and go from there!

Some suggested north of McKenzie but that is a vast area, it's also been suggested that region 3 might be a good option around the Kamloops area and heading out from there.

We are willing to explore other areas of the province and put in the time to scout the area but need a point in the right direction.

We all understand that hunting is never a guarantee but are hoping to better our odds. We are not looking for anyone’s honey hole, but hoping for a gentle nudge in the right direction.

That being said we would also love an opportunity to harvest other game as well (Elk, Muley or White tail) if they are

Any recommendation for equipment or basecamp necessities would be great as well, we have a trailer, tents, camping supplies, large chest coolers to keep the meat cool before we process it. But we know there will be stuff we are missing.

We would also love to connect with a local archery hunter that may be willing to mentor a couple newbie’s and we could offer what we can with our limited experience offering what we know of the local blacktail and bears here on the island

Thanks in advance

[kevingm1987]

There is plenty of options to hunt moose in GOS but with antler restrictions it continues to get more and more challenging. We used to hunt the GOS any bull from Oct 20-26 in region 6. A couple years back it went to Oct 20-22, not even worth the drive from the LML, now its completely gone. In region 3, you will be chasing spike fork, people get them every year but its more right place right time then technique. They Took everything away from 7b that has any type of easier access. If you have access to planes or horses you can still hunt some good country. There is still any bull season at the northern half of region 6 but I have never done it myself. I think it will be going the same way of 7b shortly though so that opportunity will be gone.

You mention non-LEH, why? You should be entering LEH every year as a group, it allows for the best opportunity. We enter the same LEH every year. Anyone on full odds enters as a group, lessoned odds enter solo.

With ferries and drive time everything is at least a 1 or 2 day drive, 5 - 7 days would not be worth it. 10-12 would be closer.

Lots of people out there that are better moose hunters than i am, so hopefully you find the info your looking for.

cheers

[HappyJack]

Which month/dates are you considering? Do you have 4x4 trucks and atv/utv vehicles? Jet boats or small water craft so you can lake/river hunt?

I have 50+ years of moose hunting experience, from Quesnel to Ft. St. John and west to Burns lk.

I agree 5-7 days isn't enough time you would be better off with one 14 day trip, especially if you have to rely on the ferry, and most of the GOS is for spike fork moose only so you either win an LEH tag or spend a lot of time moose viewing, unless you get lucky.

Tip, usually the first 2 weeks of October are best for calling if you plan on doing any, most guys just drive around till they find a bull.

[MRP]

With out a honey hole or some scouting 5-7 days might not be enough. Every one has done it, experience helps and going out gives it to you. I never go without a canoe or small boat. Amazing how many small lakes a 100yds from a road that no one stops to look at, at the one last year we heard dozens of vehicles just drive on by. Just need bear minimum trail to get the canoe in and to walk in quiet in the morning. You can brake out the power saw later.

Last years moose September 12th calling about every 45min to a hour. 120 yds of trail from a stub road 50yds from a main road. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showth...nt-in-50-years.

[jay1972]

Thanks, everyone for all the great info so far.

Agreed the more I read, the more I think we might have to increase the length of our trip and it had never occurred to me that bringing a canoe could be so helpful.

I think we were hoping to do a bit of spot and stalk and maybe a blind if the location is promising.

We are all very much novice hunters and want to try our luck using our bows, from what I’ve read on various sites Region 3 might be a good starting point even though it is just spikes and forks during GOS which to be honest is fine with us. I think there will still be plenty of great meat for us to share! Also, it is close enough to the island would be easier to do some weekend scouting trips a couple time before the season starts.

We were also going to buy tags for white tail, muley and black bear just to cover our bases while we are there and be optimistic and hope to come across more then just moose to try our skills with our sharp sticks.

The original reason my thoughts were for Bow only is reducing the amount of hunting pressure in the area but do realize that it is before the Rut and the more I’ve been reading late September early October might be better??

I think our initial thoughts on applying for a LEH is we didn’t know the area to even attempt and would hate to win a draw and have little to no knowledge of that area, we as a group also were looking at applying for Elk here on the island and since we are new not sure if we could put in for multiple.

Again thanks for all the information and help

[HappyJack]

One thing with the bow only early season is that many of the legal spikefork moose haven't been shot off already, so that plan might work in your favour.

[NorthernNova]

I would go region 3 and spend the time you save from driving further north to hit county and look for sign. When you find some sign put up some cams (non cellular) and keep looking around, Get high and glass long distances if possible. With most open seasons being spike fork it's more luck than having a Honey hole imo. As for the archery component BC's archery only season is pretty bunk because it is usually early and hot which is when the moose are back in the thick timber trying to keep cool.
chris