Elk or Moose?

[sapper]

I'm new to hunting. I got my first w/t doe on a new hunter's LEH in the fall of 08. Lots of fun. I'm planning a turkey hunt this spring (should be interesting) but really want more meat than one tom. :-)
Given my occupation it is nigh impossible for me to get a longer than a weekend hunt in the fall but I notice there are elk and moose hunts in August, which I have off.
Anyone care to weigh in with their opinions on which is tastier, elk or moose and techniques for either, which might be easier to tackle given my rookie status?
Thanks.

[sfire436]

Not knowing where you live, if you only have a few days to head off and want to get meat, I think the early season moose hunters have good odds up north. You could head up there and drop a velvet bull, dress it and head home in a few days

[sapper]

Thanks, sfire. I have all summer off. I'm in the lower mainland. Velvet bull is a "young 'un"? How difficult are moose to hunt?

[ape]

A velvet bull is any bull that still has velvet on it antlers. In the growth stages the antlers are covered in velvet and it is this velvet the supplies the blood to the antlers for growth. Neither are hard to hunt once you know what you are doing. It will take some study time as well as time in the field in order to get good enough to think you know what you are doing just to have the animals show you you know very little. You will be learning till you die.

[tuffteddyb]

totally agree with ape will learn till yah die
as to which tastes better? really tough to choose.
ate em both,like em both.
as to hunting them?
i just learning too,hope to get one or the other this fall.
helped hunt and pack lotssss of moose.
elk are totally new but going with a partner this year that has been hunting them for a long time. so should turn out to be interesting.
plus nothing wrong with deer meat either,makes great steaks,and even better sausage!
so best of luck in your endevours!

[hunterofthedeer]

both are delicious! havent yet hunted either so i couldnt tell you...next year i will hunt both

[sapper]

Don't get me wrong - I'm not finished learning about deer hunting and I love my deer sausage, pepperoni, tenderloin, etc. I just want to get more meat and both elk and moose seem a good way to do so. If there was a late summer deer season I'd love to spend a week hunting them too.
Thanks for the feedback, guys.

[hunterofthedeer]

there is a summer season on the queen charllot islands but i dont know if you want to travel there or if it is even late enough for you

[bridger]

Don't get me wrong - I'm not finished learning about deer hunting and I love my deer sausage, pepperoni, tenderloin, etc. I just want to get more meat and both elk and moose seem a good way to do so. If there was a late summer deer season I'd love to spend a week hunting them too.
Thanks for the feedback, guys.

my advice would be to go to region 7b when moose season opens in august and hunt the cut blocks in the tommy lakes region between fort st john and fort nelson on the east side of the alaska highway. hunt early in the morning and late in the evening. i would concentrate on moose at that time of year. generally easier to find and bigger and very good table fare.

[quadrakid]

given your rookie status i,d reccomend going for moose in 7b. much better chance of being successful.

[300wsm]

i did that tommy lakes moose hunt last aug 15th, if was 40 degrees in the shade. we couldn't get much of a hunt with that temperature as everything was bedded in the thick. that being said i did see a nice bull on the morning after a storm but couldn't get a clean shot. my advice is if you plan for that trip make sure it is not that hot or avoid it if meat is your goal. it is not wasy to care for a moose properly and quickly in that kind of heat. if you do go i can get you a name of a cooler in pink mountain.

300wsm

[Bow Walker]

Early season moose is a very tasty treat, and easier to hunt than the (also very tasty) wily elk.

[sapper]

Thanks all. I'm leaning towards my initial idea of the moose hunt.
So here's a further question and I apologise if it seems elementary to those veterans out there but ... how does one take care of all that meat if I happen to shoot my moose on day 3 and my buddy isn't able to get his until day 5? How does one keep all that meat from going bad?

[ve7iuq]

Don't like to rain on your picnic, but---- If you are in the lower mainland and going north for moose, you will have to go at least as far as the Peace River country, for early season moose. $600 to $800 trip, minimum. Compete with hoardes of hunters up there who know the country, most of them on quads.
Too warm, maybe hot, weather, to bring fresh moose back, so how much to have it frozen? I'm guessing a bit, but how about $300, but probably considerably more.
Beef looks pretty good!

[moosinaround]

It is a hell of a trip in august. One minute it is hotter than hell, then the next it rains for 5 hrs and you cant move for a day. If you can, do a scouting trip up there. Tommy lakes is good, I wouldn't do it without a quad. Find out about coolers in the area, and if all else fails it is not a bad idea to have a large chest freezer with a generator to keep the meat cool. It would be a shame to head up there and bag a beauty moose only to have it go green on yah! Pg to tommy lakes area is at least 6-8 hrs if I remember correctly, could be a little more! There are some threads about hunting up there on this forum, use the search and research it a bit before you go! If it is planned properly, it is a very fun time of the year to hunt! Good luck, Moosin

[trucktoys]

I've done the summer moose hunt a few times up 7B. I always did the chest freezer and generater. Worked very well. Allowed us to keep hunting with one in the freezer. For the first day you have a moose your more or less run the gen for 6 to 10 hours because there is a lot of heat in the meat. After a couple of days you run the gen a lot less because the meat is cool all the way through. If you do the chest freezer trick you more or less need one for each moose. I have thought about buying an A/C unit.. the type home depot, Canadian tire, Walmart sell and build an insulated box and mount the A/C at one end... you could build the box big enough for 2 or 3 moose and run the A/C with a generater. Make sure the gen can run what ever cooling device you come up with because anything like a freezer or A/C unit takes a pretty good draw to get started.... you probably need something that puts out a minimum of 2400watts. Good hunting!!!

[Singleshotneeded]

:-) Hey Sapper, Moose are definitely easier than elk to hunt, when I lived in Kitimat my Dad and I got one every year, sometimes two... Of course we were hunting in the fall, and if you're hunting in August and not leaving as soon as you get one...well, you're going to have to cool it down. That sounds like a bit of an operation, hauling a deep freezer in a truck box all the way to Peace country! I wonder if you could make arrangements with a butcher up there to hang your moose quarters until you're ready to leave?

[CanuckShooter]

Thanks all. I'm leaning towards my initial idea of the moose hunt.
So here's a further question and I apologise if it seems elementary to those veterans out there but ... how does one take care of all that meat if I happen to shoot my moose on day 3 and my buddy isn't able to get his until day 5? How does one keep all that meat from going bad?

#1 is gut/quarter/hang & skin your moose as fast as you can. Pre-select a spot that will be in the shade all day for a hanging pole and set it up BEFORE you start to hunt. Note: quartering is important in warm weather

#2 use game bags that will allow the quarters to breathe (cover as soon as skin off)...if you don't the blow flies will have your meat full of maggots by days end. Once it cools down in the evening, and the flies go to bed, unbag and check for infiltrators..rebag with clean bags if your first ones are full of blood as it will attract more flies and BEARS.

#3 if you are hunting in a higher elevations you can usually get away with a couple of days IF there is a breeze and the meat is shaded by trees and a tarp. The meat will feel cool to the touch...best bet is to take it to a meat locker like the one they have in Pink Mountain if you can, or use the freezer method. BUT we hunt the peace every august and have gotten away with up to 4 days on the meat pole under ideal conditions...much more would have been really pushing it.

[CJ-Jim]

I agree with Canuck another tip is to have a small smoky fire going under the meat pole - this will help with the fly problem - also how are you going to get the meat home ???
I know of hunters who take a frezzer and gen-set with them / its a long way to Fort Nelson / you may be able to get a local meat cutter to cut and frezze the meat and then use the frezzer to transport it home or bone out the animal and again transport it home in the frezzer - stopping to cool the meat with the gen-set
Best Jim

[sapper]

Thanks all. This is great. I'm learning lots. I appreciate all the advice. It definitely sounds like quads will be helpful in this endeavour. I'm going to search out some meat locker possibilities. Freezer and gen-set seem like quite the set-up.
Hmm, maybe I shall have to consider some closer options that I could try in a weekend. Pesky job keeps interfering in all my fun. :smile:

[sapper]

Has anyone had much success with moose in region 8?