Northern BC Moose Rut

[boonerbucks]

Hey everyone,

I am planning a moose hunt in Northern BC this year. We will be flying into a lake and hunting from there. Just wondering what everyone’s opinion is on when the rut starts, and when bulls start coming into cow calls. We are primarily planning on hunting the lake and hoping to find some moose around the shore. Any info helps, thanks in advance!

[Fennemonster]

Hey booner,

I would say Sept 25 - Oct 10 is the BEST. Depends how far north you are going but I would say that is a safe bet. However last year I called one in Sept 14 and he came in pretty fast, small bull trying to get lucky early I guess. I hunter Atlin a few years ago and called in and shot a nice bull around Sept 20, watched him walk in for 2KM.

Anyway I hope this helps.

[Sitkaspruce]

Hey booner,

I would say Sept 25 - Oct 10 is the BEST. Depends how far north you are going but I would say that is a safe bet. However last year I called one in Sept 14 and he came in pretty fast, small bull trying to get lucky early I guess. I hunter Atlin a few years ago and called in and shot a nice bull around Sept 20, watched him walk in for 2KM.

Anyway I hope this helps.

What is said above. When I was guiding I started calling on the 15th of Sept. and have had luck from then on. Best time is Sept 25-Oct 05.

Calling early will not hurt as you just never know.

Good Luck

Cheers

SS

[boonerbucks]

In the pre rut have you seen bulls by the lakes or up high?

[boxhitch]

.........yes.......

[huntingfamily]

Quite a few MU's in northern BC are closed to firearms for moose Oct 1-15. There's a hint for ya.

[hunterdon]

What is said above. When I was guiding I started calling on the 15th of Sept. and have had luck from then on. Best time is Sept 25-Oct 05.

Calling early will not hurt as you just never know.

Good Luck

Cheers

SS

I would say your best time frame is bang on. Sept 25 to Oct 05. Right on the money.

The only thing I would add and probably not for you, but for others is this. Most, when they hear "calling moose", they think of bringing in moose to the calls. While that is certainly true, the other aspect of calling moose is holding moose. I have had good success calling moose even in August and November but not to bring in moose, but rather to hold moose. This is especially good for bow hunters who need to get in close. If they see a moose at a distance or perhaps only hear or suspect a moose is close by, simply giving soft calls and moving in slowly, moose will often stand and wait.

Believe it or not, in November I once walked to within 10 feet from a large cow moose using soft calf calls while slowly moving in a straight direction towards her, while she was standing in an open field. Of course, I will probably get the doubters about that, but so be it.

Cheers

[browningboy]

We always found the first two weeks of October, with that being said the first four or say days of October they are just starting up then it’s hot for 10 days or so, very similar to the other comments posted

[MOOSE MILK]

Believe it or not, in November I once walked to within 10 feet from a large cow moose using soft calf calls while slowly moving in a straight direction towards her, while she was standing in an open field. Of course, I will probably get the doubters about that, but so be it.

It is amazing how people look like a moose when walking straight towards you, don't doubt that you could walk up on a cow like that.
MM

[Ferenc]

Early Sept is good, the closer to the 20th the better I’ve found , they tend to move abit.
i would at first tend to do the grunt call along with rubbing trees ( shoulder blade ) As a bonus you’ve mentioned flying into Northern BC,if you get an early snowfall go to your spot/stalk tactics if the bulls are not responding ... never a better time to be out in Sept .... and during this time I would definitely be packing an elk tag if they are also in the area you plan to hunt.
Wish you good luck on the hunt , it’s coming up soon .... : )

[Jagermeister]

The rut begins when the cows get "horny".

[Samsquantch]

Two years ago September 5th we had a cow calling around the lake. The next morning she had two bulls trailing her back up the valley. This was in 619

[wallz]

I've had moose come in to calls in late Sept. I usually start calling last two weeks of Sept, and just what they are responding to. Sometimes a cow call, sometimes a bull grunt.

[Bustercluck]

I like to be out the last few days of September into October. I think year to year changes a bit too. I can’t remember the exact days I was out last fall, I’m going to guess sep20or 22. That was a touch early for last year. We had a bunch come in to the call, but they weren’t interested enough to come out in the open.

If you’re cruising the lake shore “looking” for moose you might want to go even earlier. I haven’t paid a lot of attention to moose pre-rut, but post rut they tend to ball up in little herds late October into November through the winter and I’m assuming they do this the rest of the year.

[Leveraction]

The rut :
quite a subject, lots of thoughts comments.
my thoughts would be weather has nothing to do with the rut, maybe others can comment, the weather will curb activities to evening or overnight hours if it is hot, but I’ve always thought the same species of animal in a certain area will rut at the same time every year.
whitetails in Texas rut, whitetails in northern Alberta rut, with a vast temperature delta between those regions.
my understanding is the rut is brought on by the diminishing hours of daylight brought on by the fall, the days get shorter, less sunlight, with the less sunlight to an animals eye, this triggers a cutting off of a hormone & Stops the blood supply to the velvet, which in turn dies, dries, falls or gets rubbed off.

can anyone else add to this ?

[Arctic Lake]

The rut is triggered by the amount of daylight in the day . This is a the constant through time . As the daylight hours decrease this brings on the rut . The scientific name escapes me at present ,someone will chime in !
Arctic Lake

[srupp]

The rut is triggered by the amount of daylight in the day . This is a the constant through time . As the daylight hours decrease this brings on the rut . The scientific name escapes me at present ,someone will chime in !
Arctic Lake

Concurr with the above.cows MUST be bred in a certain time frame..this year calf is safe in mommy..however they MUST be born in a time frame they can develop and be strong enough for next winters snows cold weather and predators..circle of life.
When flying north Sept 25 untill Oct 15th..Oct 7th has historically been my best day, fwiw.
Cheers
Srupp