Tips for spike-fork moose?

[MichelD]

A couple of the places I hunt in regions 3 and 8 have shown a bit of moose sign and I've even seen a couple cows recently.

Do you have any hints on the type of terrain and habitat that elusive spike fork moose will be hanging out at? High? Low? In between? With cows? Not with cows?

[slowkey]

well first go buy a 6/49 I think the odds of winning are the same as finding the spike fork

[MichelD]

Well what hell. It happens eh? I'm going to be out there anyway, why not have a tag and take a peek in a few places.

[slowkey]

To be honest I have actually seen a harvested spike fork buddy got it up in 7-07. Just hunt as you would normally and take a good look at those antlers before you pull the trigger

[lilhoss]

Depends on the time of year.Pre-rut,for sure look for the cows,water,if it is warm,timberline cover for the afternoon.They will hang with cows until the big boys chase them out.Sometimes the spike-fork can be ther calf from that particular cow,from the year previous.Even during the heavy rut they will still hang around if the mature bulls are chasing cows.The young fellows will always hang near,dreaming of a poke,and the general curiosity of what is going on.

[blackwater moose]

To be honest I have actually seen a harvested spike fork buddy got it up in 7-07. Just hunt as you would normally and take a good look at those antlers before you pull the trigger

take a good look x2

[4 point]

Lots of us on here have been looking in all the right places for years and never seem to see them during the legal openings. Carry a tag and look good before you shoot as they can be real difficult to confirm when your trying to do it in a hurry.

[slowkey]

yeah the one my buddy shot was by luck. He had just dropped off his son to sit a cut block and was driving to another cut block to sit himself. He came around a corner and there was the spiker

[Jetboat]

Spikes on a small bull can be a bitch to see! Use your bino's...lots. One morning I saw 2 cows and 2 calves hanging along the edge of a clearcut close to the trail. I left them and about half an hour later returned to find one "cow" moved off a bit and the other cow had both calves with her. Took a while but something finally caught my binocular enhanced vision and it turned out to be a spike, hidden by the ears. The scope soon replaced the bino's! This was the second time this has happened to me and both times the end result was a small bull for the freezer. Here's a pic of the smallest racked yearling bull I've taken...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/338winmag/Spikebull2.jpg

[OutWest]

well first go buy a 6/49 I think the odds of winning are the same as finding the spike fork

Not an easy task but definitely not as hard as some people make it out sound.

[The Dawg]

Yep, I got my first bull my first year ...and it was a spike with a cow...

[killman]

This year I got a immy as well. Good tips here. Mine was with a cow. I thought it was two cows, even with my binos I could not see the antlers. I brought out my spotting scope to look at them and only when he turned his head the right way I could make out the little forks.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I know lot of people that have been successful.
A co-worker was hunting with a friend with a bull LEH and they shot two immies first morning out. Go figure!

Another buddy took 3 immies in 5 yrs with lots of road hunting.

SSS

[moose2]

If you recall an area that seemed to have alot of calves in it thats where you want to start. Year and half old moose remember what there moms showed them . Ponds , lakes, licks, and so on they seem to remember and hang around those areas.

[sparkymacker]

I know lot of people that have been successful.
A co-worker was hunting with a friend with a bull LEH and they shot two immies first morning out. Go figure!

Another buddy took 3 immies in 5 yrs with lots of road hunting.

SSS

Apparently they were too successful in our neck of the woods...that is why they cut the season back!:twisted:

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Apparently they were too successful in our neck of the woods...that is why they cut the season back!:twisted:

That and we were messing up the G/O's and their clients Oct 1 rutt hunts:evil:.

SSS

[dougster]

so long story short.... if you hunt for spike bulls in 3 be prepared to eat tag soup????

[Stone Sheep Steve]

so long story short.... if you hunt for spike bulls in 3 be prepared to eat tag soup????

You're better off thinking about it as hunting deer with a moose tag in your pocket "just in case"....otherwise you'll be kicking yourself in the ass for a loooooooooooooooooooong time:wink:.


SSS

[dougster]

lol well as this year will be my first, and there is no way i could handle a moose on my own, i think i will have to let them walk.... who knows maybe the ones that pass will be the one i get next year..lol

[ruger#1]

so long story short.... if you hunt for spike bulls in 3 be prepared to eat tag soup????What part of region 3 do you hunt? I have seen a few up in that region. That is why I buy a tag just incase.

[421fighter]

I have been hunting for over 50 years, and this year, for the first time,ever, saw a spike fork bull on the summit between Coldwater and Merritt on highway 5. They do exist. Friends on mine have some antlers on their sheds, so they have found them. I haven't. Yet ! But I keep looking. Dave

[mooseslayer]

As mentioned before, go where you have seen numerous calfs the year prior. They will not be far, logged out areas in the first 2 weeks with water close by.... Then they get shot off, at least in the high moose density areas of 8 and 3 leveled by logging. Move to the thicker bush later into the season where the odds are higher on a average/moose ratio. Areas devastated by logging typically will seem like they have numerous moose, but the ratio of bulls will be off and most get plugged in the first two weeks. After that it is a needle in a haystack, put the time in and hope for the best.... especially with the new regs, oct 15th onward makes it expodentially more difficult, MOE for ya...... good luck.

[Whip]

When you see moose look around. I saw a cow and bull a couple of years ago when I realized that a fork that was with the cow was pushed off 50 yards but didn't want to leave. Then two years later we we jumped a few bulls that started running down the road we followed for about 100 yards before they jumped off the road and voila... a spike jumped up on to the road. Dumb ass luck....probably. Do I look behind every tree when I see a moose now, yep.

[Slinky Pickle]

As long as there are no surprises under the velvet, this is my spiker for the year. These were taken from a blind this morning.

I've been able to watch these two since last summer. Like the guys that have already posted, their mother is still in the area even though she has a new calf from this year and they are just hanging around with her. I've probably seen these guys 4 or 5 times and it's always been within a 2-3 km radius.

My Immy and his sister
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/501/medium/IMGP1950_Medium_.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/501/medium/IMGP1954_Medium_.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/501/medium/IMGP1958_Medium_.jpg

[Jetboat]

Ha! That looks exactly like the little spike I saw an hour ago at work along the road.

[Slinky Pickle]

Ha! That looks exactly like the little spike I saw an hour ago at work along the road.

Well, if you're located north of FSJ then that little buggar can sure run!! :mrgreen::mrgreen: