Spike Fork Definition

[Redneck Rocket]

Regs say this:

"Spike-fork Bull - means a bull
moose having no more than two tines on one
antler. (Includes tines on main antler and brow
palms.) Does not include a calf. See diagram."

The diagram shows a moose with 2 tines on each antler, and a moose that has 2 tines on one, and 3 on the other. So the way I read this, as long as ONE of the antlers has 2 tines or less, it is a Spike-Fork bull.

It also states, does not include a calf. Definition:

"Calf Moose - a moose less than 12 months
of age usually less than 5 feet at shoulder height
weighing 200-300 lbs."

So... am I reading this correctly. If the regs state Spike-Fork only, you may shoot any male moose over 12 months old (so basically, not born this year) as long as one of its antlers has no more than 2 tines. So, small single tines are okay etc.

Also, how do you tell the age of a calf apart from experience? I'm clearly not about to shoot a small calf that is obviously this year's baby, but is it safe to say that by the time a male moose has visible antlers, it is over a year old?

Thanks guys & gals, just want to make sure I don't make any 'mistakes' if I get the chance for a moose.

[f350ps]

You have excellent reading comprehension, I wish more people had that! A calf looks like a calf but its way easier to tell if its with the cow, experience will help a lot. I'm not sure if the regs still say it or not but it used to say the calf is the one with the fuzzy nose, that one always cracked me up! K

[frase]

Read my post of today titled "Is it legal or not?" Same question and be sure to read the definition of a "calf".

[300H&H]

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRuye-sWmdspDCh2MYC8_sjyuw881Wk_Lci85k3r5haSQ1vjMsHpQ800 × 533 - tamaragoochphoto.com

(http://www.google.ca/imgres?sa=X&biw=1333&bih=663&tbm=isch&tbnid=Vh-BcRcKIRPgdM:&imgrefurl=http://www.tamaragoochphoto.com/gallery2/gallery2Embedded.php%3Fg2_itemId%3D1104&docid=IOtjMcZN71hrzM&imgurl=http://www.tamaragoochphoto.com/gallery2/d/1104-2/moose_cow_and_calf_in_rain.jpg&w=800&h=533&ei=7t5hUt3gOoi2yAG50YGADw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:21,s:0,i:151&iact=rc&page=2&tbnh=176&tbnw=265&start=15&ndsp=20&tx=105&ty=93)

[300H&H]

I posted the picture above so you can easily see the difference in the face of calf to cow.

[Jelvis]

Way easier to tell a calf from a cow when they're together but when a calf is alone that's when most can't figure it out.

[junkyard_g]

shot a 1x8 bull this year and cut my bull draw, but some questioned me on why i didnt tag it as an immature and keep the draw alive. I just went with the intent of the rule. Thoughts.

OP's question: if it has visible antlers it is not a calf. bulls calves will have couple inch long knubs at most but they are skinned over.

[whitlers]

1x8 counts as a spike fork. I would have kept the draw alive obv depending on the region.

[bcfarmer]

shot a 1x8 bull this year and cut my bull draw, but some questioned me on why i didnt tag it as an immature and keep the draw alive. I just went with the intent of the rule. Thoughts.

OP's question: if it has visible antlers it is not a calf. bulls calves will have couple inch long knubs at most but they are skinned over.

Not sure how some would think that you could keep the "draw alive" when the provincial bag limit for moose is one. Unless of course you had a leh partner(s) in which case.......oops, you cut your tag wrong.

bcf

[sawmill]

shot a 1x8 bull this year and cut my bull draw, but some questioned me on why i didnt tag it as an immature and keep the draw alive. I just went with the intent of the rule. Thoughts.

OP's question: if it has visible antlers it is not a calf. bulls calves will have couple inch long knubs at most but they are skinned over.

Good man.You got your moose,be happy and eat well.

[*bcgold*]

I think Junkyard was alittle sarcasm on other people about his moose, and Whitlers not sure (?)

I've seen a good share of cow/calves and calves by them selves, and found that they are much smaller then adult. Have not seen a calf yet where I could say he'll shootable bull next year. (bad luck I guess)

[1899]

How do you cut a bull draw? You cut your tag and that is that. As noted, you can shoot only 1 moose per year in BC, regardless of whether you have a draw or not.

[junkyard_g]

i cut the moose tag then wrote on the leh papers that a bull was shot on the draw therefore removing the ability of someone else on my shared hunt to shoot a bull. Surprised I have to explain that.

[Ride Red]

i cut the moose tag then wrote on the leh papers that a bull was shot on the draw therefore removing the ability of someone else on my shared hunt to shoot a bull. Surprised I have to explain that.

You did the right thing, congrats on your moose. RIde Red.

[hawk-i]

If the bull has a broken tine on one antler leaving only two points showing longer than 2.5cm....is it still considered a spike fork?

[junkyard_g]

thats what i was thinking. I think legally you could call it a spike fork, but my bull was roughly 5yrs old and I figured it wasn't the intent of the law for those types of moose to get shot. We had 4 draws so it wasn't ahard of a choice. But if there was eight guys with one draw and two guys shot that same bull there would be a temptation to stretch the regs and tag as an immature.

[Sofa King]

If the bull has a broken tine on one antler leaving only two points showing longer than 2.5cm....is it still considered a spike fork?

yes, it doesn't have more than two points,

[Rock Doctor]

If the bull has a broken tine on one antler leaving only two points showing longer than 2.5cm....is it still considered a spike fork?

Yes, but if it's busted off right at the base, and does not have any Antler left, it's considered "Antlerless" on that side.

RD

[Rock Doctor]

I know this is a terrible bic, but this Moose is Considered "Antlerless" by our Local CO, and could not be shot as a Spike/Fork
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/IMG_2161.jpg (http://s123.photobucket.com/user/RockDocPhoto/media/IMG_2161.jpg.html)

This one was busted off, but still considered a legal Spike/Fork by our local CO

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/2010%20Animals/IMG_0008.jpg (http://s123.photobucket.com/user/RockDocPhoto/media/2010%20Animals/IMG_0008.jpg.html)

RD

[TexasWalker]

RD that bull looks like a legal tri-palm also

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/2010%20Animals/IMG_0008.jpg

[dana]

Sounds like a legal spike/fork to me. Still nothing wrong with what you did either. Better to be on the side of caution sometimes.
Here's a legal forky I shot last year with my LEH. Spike/fork season was over and my LEH was good for Any Bull.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/PB030020.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BCBOY/media/PB030020.jpg.html)

[Rock Doctor]

Depends on how you measure it. Those 2 antler bays are almost identicle, measured to the base.

[Glenny]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_0552.jpg

I let this one have it. Didnt have to think twice.

[jessbennett]

it could have 12 points on one side as long as the other is two or less....

[1899]

i cut the moose tag then wrote on the leh papers that a bull was shot on the draw therefore removing the ability of someone else on my shared hunt to shoot a bull. Surprised I have to explain that.

Didn't click that it was a shared draw.

[Caveman]

I know this is a terrible bic, but this Moose is Considered "Antlerless" by our Local CO, and could not be shot as a Spike/Fork
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/IMG_2161.jpg (http://s123.photobucket.com/user/RockDocPhoto/media/IMG_2161.jpg.html)

This one was busted off, but still considered a legal Spike/Fork by our local CO

RD

If you were to shoot it on the premise that that was the only visible side you could see, it would be antlerless. If after seeing the other side, you would not shoot it as it is obviously more than a spike/fork. If you could see a deformed fork on the broken side then you could consider it legal, if no more than two points. The lesson here is you better know your regs and better yet, you had better be very sure of your target

[HarryToolips]

Anybody it seems who gets a spike forker should immediately go and buy their lottery ticket...seen so many bulls never got a LEH and only spiker I've seen was on my T cam..

[dana]

I've killed 4 spike/fork bulls in the last 9 years of hunting. I don't play the lotto as I am not lucky.

[Ambush]

This is the best time of year to kill a little bull. Right now they are just following cows around 'cause they have this vague sensation that something magical should happen, they just don't know what it is yet.

I've killed quite a few small bulls by sitting in good moose habitat and watching for cows. I had small tree stands built way up big trees in prime travel/feeding corridors. If there are two or more moose together, often one is a young bull just tagging along. That's when a spotting scope and the luxury of time are your friends. Because you've seen them first, you have the time. It's pretty difficult to positively identify a spike/fork if he's looking over his butt just before he runs.

But it's going to be tough to find a little, legal bull in an area that doesn't have many moose to start with.


Anybody it seems who gets a spike forker should immediately go and buy their lottery ticket...seen so many bulls never got a LEH and only spiker I've seen was on my T cam..

[Redneck Rocket]

Anybody it seems who gets a spike forker should immediately go and buy their lottery ticket...seen so many bulls never got a LEH and only spiker I've seen was on my T cam..

I saw one following a cow & calf 2 weeks ago.

[poper]

Sorry to bring this up again, but the way I'm reading this is that,if a moose has just 1 point it considered a spike fork, I thought it had to have 2 points.

[burger]

Sorry to bring this up again, but the way I'm reading this is that,if a moose has just 1 point it considered a spike fork, I thought it had to have 2 points.


Spike or a fork either qualifies

[coach]

Sorry to bring this up again, but the way I'm reading this is that,if a moose has just 1 point it considered a spike fork, I thought it had to have 2 points.

It has to have a spike on one side and a fork on the other.. that's what makes it so hard to find them. :-D

[Sofa King]

good on the op for asking.
there's never a dumb question...............................actually, there can be, but this wasn't one.
a couple days ago, I slowed to chat to a truck with some hunters in it.
we were both in a remoter cut, me leaving and them entering.
mentioned I hadn't seen a thing, even on a couple good walks.
he then says he has a question for me.
asked what exactly does antleress mean.
does it mean a doe.
I told him that it sure does, to which he winces a bit and says damn.

[Sofa King]

I didn't mean that was a dumb question either.
it kinda reads that way.

[scuba]

Antlerless would include fawns as well which may be antlerless bucks?!?!?

[Sofa King]

Antlerless would include fawns as well which may be antlerless bucks?!?!?

ya, that's kinda why they make it a broad term, so it encompasses everything.
why can't they just say from this day to this day, and whitetail.

[Sofa King]

any.
not and^^.

[markomoose]

Seen nothing but big bulls so far and my draw is in region 5 not region 7.Ya I know it's a bitch when you get back to back bull draws.This one's gonna be tough in 5-05 instead of my usual 5-02 honey hole!

[goatdancer]

good on the op for asking.
there's never a dumb question...............................actually, there can be, but this wasn't one.
a couple days ago, I slowed to chat to a truck with some hunters in it.
we were both in a remoter cut, me leaving and them entering.
mentioned I hadn't seen a thing, even on a couple good walks.
he then says he has a question for me.
asked what exactly does antleress mean.
does it mean a doe.
I told him that it sure does, to which he winces a bit and says damn.

Antlerless means no antlers. Could be a buck without antlers.
Antlered could be a doe with antlers.
Had that explained by a CO.

[Sofa King]

Antlerless means no antlers. Could be a buck without antlers.
Antlered could be a doe with antlers.
Had that explained by a CO.

well yeah, but finding a buck with no antlers during antlerless season or a doe with antlers, would be harder than finding that spike moose.
the antlerless season falls during the same time as any buck, so, really, ANY whitetail is then fair game.
why can't they just say during that period, ANY whitetail?
they always seem to find a way to use a term that confuses some people.

[Jedcote50]

If I understand correct some of the posts here would consider any moose with a single or fork on one side as fair game ? I'm curious what part of the definition for"spike -fork IMMATURE" moose includes mutant mature bulls with one palmated antler and a single or fork on the other side? I remember when this class of moose was introduce in to the GOS that some ambiguity arose but I thought they clearly stated the definition of an immature as having no palmations what so ever. The photo of the bull Dana got last year would be considered a mature bull and as he had a LEH draw he was entitled to shoot it as such, but to call it a spike-fork immature would not be within the definition of the intent of the regulation as I understand it. I suppose I have a week and a few days to get this straight.

[Sofa King]

If I understand correct some of the posts here would consider any moose with a single or fork on one side as fair game ? I'm curious what part of the definition for"spike -fork IMMATURE" moose includes mutant mature bulls with one palmated antler and a single or fork on the other side? I remember when this class of moose was introduce in to the GOS that some ambiguity arose but I thought they clearly stated the definition of an immature as having no palmations what so ever. The photo of the bull Dana got last year would be considered a mature bull and as he had a LEH draw he was entitled to shoot it as such, but to call it a spike-fork immature would not be within the definition of the intent of the regulation as I understand it. I suppose I have a week and a few days to get this straight.

don't concern yourself with what their "intent" is.
what matters to us is what the regulation actually is.

[Sofa King]

if I can see only one side of the moose, and that side has a spike or two-point fork, he's dropping.
I ain't getting closer to inspect the other side more carefully, or age his teeth, or any other bs.
two-point fork or spike on one side, ka-boom.

[Big Hoss]

SPIKE FORK BULL-means a bull moose having no more than two tines on one antler (includes tines on main antler and brow palms) Does not include a calf.

This is is word for word out of the regs no where does it say "Immature" or that one side can't be palmated. If I see a bull with a spike or fork on one side I don't care if it's the biggest palm in the world on the other side it will be going down during a "spike /fork" season. I think it's the word "Immature" that are confusing people but there is no Immature season it's a spike/fork season