Moose Rut - Timing

[300WinMag]

In most years, when do the bulls usually start and finish rutting in the Williams Lake/Quesnel area?

[Red Foreman]

Well around the Kamloops area,Ifind October to be the time,tapering off towards the end of the month.I take holidays for the first weel or two of October.I wouldn't think it should be too much different for Quesnel area.

[abbyfireguy]

Beginning of the cold weather helps alot...Used to be the 3rd week in September in 5-13,6-1,7-11 area,but with the warming trend of recent years we have found the rut starts closer to October 1st ...
I will be heading out Oct. 1st to 3rd for a week...
Usually like to go when the nightime temps are down to freezing or close as hanging the quarters in shade in the trees works great and you don't have to run for home the minute the animal is down or drive into town in search of a cooler...
Definately different hunting the rut. Bulls come in to cow calls and are less wary when they have sex on the brain..Kind of like most guys on a Saturday night at the local bar..:-P

[tomahawk]

The rut is not based on outside temp but is driven by the length of daylight in a day. It is intensified by colder temps. The peak rut time for big bulls I find is last week of Sept to first of Oct. They are in rut longer but that is the peak IMHO. Smaller bulls come into rut and stay in much longer and are susceptable to the call mid Sept to mid Oct at least.

[Sitkaspruce]

For the area I guide in, from Sept 25 to Oct 6th is the hot zone, with the best time to call from Sept 26 to Oct 02. I have called them in earlier and later than those dates, but I have found the dates above to be the best.

Cheers

SS

[tomahawk]

2 nd week of Oct is still productive but not like the last week of Sept and first of Oct.

[browningboy]

Best bet is the very beginning of october and the third week of october till the end, they actually will have two ruts, the first is the main and strong one then the second is for all the cows that hit estrus after the first, kind of natures way to ensure survival rates in a late spring.:mrgreen:

[Timbow]

For us, we find September 20th through to October 10th the best time for the Quesnel area. Last two years have been the first week of October for the best time.

Cheers.

[sfire436]

I would always caution on the side of being to early. I have hunted moose during the cool off and have found them to go into hiding. Remember at this point they are not interested in challenging other bulls as they have been fighting for weeks and will most likely be feeding and sleeping. (Much like their human counterparts do after we get some tail!) Best to get a little early and watch the rut get nice and hot. Pre rut can be very productive as well. My two cents

[jml11]

Last week of September and 1st week of October I've found to be the peak in the PG area.

[hunter1947]

The rut is not based on outside temp but is driven by the length of daylight in a day. It is intensified by colder temps. The peak rut time for big bulls I find is last week of Sept to first of Oct. They are in rut longer but that is the peak IMHO. Smaller bulls come into rut and stay in much longer and are susceptable to the call mid Sept to mid Oct at least.


I'm with Tom on this statement.

[tikkat3]

I got the any bull LEH for the 15th of Oct to 31 in 5-02b and have never hunted moose before seriously. I don't think there's an open moose season there. Would that improve my luck even though it appears to be after the rut?
Should I still use cow calls, etc
I'm leaving on the 14th so I can hunt the 15th-20th

[elkdom]

hunt the clear cuts and logging slashes,at that time of year the moose are moving looking for 'love' !now if you havent a lot of moose hunting experience and dont have time to scout area previous to your hunt your best bet will be to cruise these type of locations,you can call all you want and if your not in the right spot or dont have moose dialect down pat,then you can waste your hunt time,so cruise the open areas and between sunrise and dark keep looking, and if you spot a cow or two cows dont be in rush to move on,there will be bulls near buy at that time of year,if cows keep looking behind or in bush near them ,there is most likely bull nearby! good luck! zone 5-02 has good numbers of moose!

[Jimbo]

For us, we find September 20th through to October 10th the best time for the Quesnel area. Last two years have been the first week of October for the best time.

I think Timbow has it right for Williams Lk./Quesnel area. Good timing for the pre-rut build up and the actual rut. The MOE gives out fewer LEH permits for Oct. 1-14 to protect the breeding bulls during the rut.

[GoatGuy]

I got the any bull LEH for the 15th of Oct to 31 in 5-02b and have never hunted moose before seriously. I don't think there's an open moose season there. Would that improve my luck even though it appears to be after the rut?
Should I still use cow calls, etc
I'm leaving on the 14th so I can hunt the 15th-20th

Cow calls will work and you should still get a response. We've called 'em in at the end of October and had them on a full trot. Usually have to work them a bit harder and they'll come in quiet more often.

[Phreddy]

The rut is not based on outside temp but is driven by the length of daylight in a day. It is intensified by colder temps. The peak rut time for big bulls I find is last week of Sept to first of Oct. They are in rut longer but that is the peak IMHO. Smaller bulls come into rut and stay in much longer and are susceptable to the call mid Sept to mid Oct at least.

I'm with you on that one Tomahawk. Lots of folks think the frost brings it on but that was only because quite often the first hard frost usually arrived about the same time as the rut usually starts

[Squirrelnuts]

Some great info here. And good timing, too, as I'll be hunting moose again this year for the first time in a long, long, time... (Since there was an open bull season).

We've got a draw for the last 3 weeks of September in the Quesnel area. I've never called for moose before but I'm going to have to give it a shot. Time to get a DVD I guess. :)

[Bigbear]

In the Williams Lake Area, Usuall the last week of sept to the 3 week in Oct. Then there is a short rut out in the Cariboo lake Maeford Area fro about a week , The last week of Oct , or first week of Nov, depending if it gets cold and snows. It drives the Big Bulls Off the hight country, And they seem to go into a short rut with the cows that stayed Low. We Have had good luck with this, and gotten some Nice sized Bulls.

[tomahawk]

In the Williams Lake Area, Usuall the last week of sept to the 3 week in Oct. Then there is a short rut out in the Cariboo lake Maeford Area fro about a week , The last week of Oct , or first week of Nov, depending if it gets cold and snows. It drives the Big Bulls Off the hight country, And they seem to go into a short rut with the cows that stayed Low. We Have had good luck with this, and gotten some Nice sized Bulls.


An unbred cow will come into heat again 6 weeks after she did the first time if she is not conceived. I believe this would be what your experiencing IMHO.

[tomahawk]

Good info on moose this coming Monday night, Knowledge Network has a show about moose which includes the rut on Profiles Of Nature @ 11:00pm.

[Avalanche123]

The rut is not based on outside temp but is driven by the length of daylight in a day. It is intensified by colder temps. The peak rut time for big bulls I find is last week of Sept to first of Oct. They are in rut longer but that is the peak IMHO. Smaller bulls come into rut and stay in much longer and are susceptable to the call mid Sept to mid Oct at least.

Tomahawk gets the nod from me too on this post and the other one where he mentions that cows go through two gestation periods....

Happy Hunting.

[CanuckShooter]

And not one soul has mentioned the phase of the moon??? Don't you notice that things really get wound up when the moon is high/bright/andfull???

[zigman]

I too have never gone specifically for moose but scored on the LEH. We have a shared draw in 3-29B in early october. Anyone have suggestions for this area. We will not have the time to do a major scouting trip but we do plan to cruise the area as well as sit and glass any cut etc. Any other tips for newbies? Is it worth cow calling etcd at this time?

[tikkat3]

sweet there's a full moon on the 14th of October, and I start hunting the 15th...

[tomahawk]

I too have never gone specifically for moose but scored on the LEH. We have a shared draw in 3-29B in early october. Anyone have suggestions for this area. We will not have the time to do a major scouting trip but we do plan to cruise the area as well as sit and glass any cut etc. Any other tips for newbies? Is it worth cow calling etcd at this time?


Give the calling a try but don't over call. Biggest moose rack I have taken I called in on Oct 11 out the Buckhorn in PG, so you never know. He came to about 150 yds and would not cross a cut that was only about 4 ft growth so he was trailing off the rut but still had him interested lickin his lips and grunting. I also called in a guy from the LML at the same time who had a cow tag, he could see the bull but didn't have an LEH for it like I did. He said he glassed for about 15 minutes trying to spot the cow (me) and I scared the sh#t out of him when the rifle went off and the bull dropped.

[Wildman]

I got the any bull LEH for the 15th of Oct to 31 in 5-02b and have never hunted moose before seriously. I don't think there's an open moose season there. Would that improve my luck even though it appears to be after the rut?
Should I still use cow calls, etc
I'm leaving on the 14th so I can hunt the 15th-20th

We may run into you...same draw, same time.

[reach]

Good info on moose this coming Monday night, Knowledge Network has a show about moose which includes the rut on Profiles Of Nature @ 11:00pm.

Thanks! PVR is all set. http://www.websmileys.com/sm/drink/trink39.gif

[tomahawk]

Thanks! PVR is all set. http://www.websmileys.com/sm/drink/trink39.gif


Mine is too, I love this PVR, so simple to use and record 2 shows at once on different channels. Hope its a good one!

[wetcoastwillie]

Good info on moose this coming Monday night, Knowledge Network has a show about moose which includes the rut on Profiles Of Nature @ 11:00pm.
Thanks!
I set the PVR too.

[300WinMag]

Thanks for all of the replies. My draw is in 5-13A - Oct. 15th - 31st. Sounds like I might be a little late, but I am going to give it a shot. If anyone knows that zone well and has some suggestions as to where to set up camp, please PM me.

[hunter1947]

Thanks for all of the replies. My draw is in 5-13A - Oct. 15th - 31st. Sounds like I might be a little late, but I am going to give it a shot. If anyone knows that zone well and has some suggestions as to where to set up camp, please PM me.
Its not to late the bulls are still with the cows at this time and they will still come in when calling ,its not near as good as earlier but they will still respond if they are interested.

My hunting partner and me went on a moose hunt last year he shot a fine bull on Oct 19 up in region 7-35 ,this bull had two cows with him. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif.

Hear is the pic of the bull he shot on Oct 19.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Shop_Fishing_Trip_with_Daughtera_2007_Hunt_0891.jp g (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9874&size=big&cat=500)

[cleighton]

This sounds perfect for myself i am going up to the Prince George area for a bull moose hunt for the last week of September. Hopefully we are able to get one!