Eve of Calf Season Opener

[BCrams]

Good luck to you all looking for calf moose!!!

I'm headed out locally tomorrow morning for a look see for moose. I hold a LEH bull moose draw in another zone but I'm not picky either!! :-D

[jml11]

Saw a cow/calf this morning...24 hours to soon.

Rumour has is it the calf crop is pretty thick this year, should be a lot of successfull hunters come morning. Never got a calf myself so will see if I am one of those lucky ones.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

we were tripping over them last week in the woods ... come tomarrow tho ... that # should be cut in at least half

[killman]

I have no problem killing a calf. You can go ahead and pm me locations pls.

[Benthos]

Good luck to you all looking for calf moose!!!

I'm headed out locally tomorrow morning for a look see for moose. I hold a LEH bull moose draw in another zone but I'm not picky either!! :-D


hey, hey. you have a big bull draw up in the parsnip, and you are going to shoot a calf??

come now, you can do better than that ;)

go for the big bull!:-D

[mark]

Tis the eve of the whitie doe season here in the south, should be some shots fired tomorrow!

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Tis the eve of the whitie doe season here in the south, should be some shots fired tomorrow!

yep ... should sound like the outskirts of Khandahar tomarrow

[BCrams]

hey, hey. you have a big bull draw up in the parsnip, and you are going to shoot a calf??

come now, you can do better than that ;)

go for the big bull!:-D

Grin. Have only a few hrs to hunt tomorrow. If a calf / 2 pt sets up in the wrong place :wink: ...

If nothing tomorrow, I am sure I will make an attempt for the moose out in the Parsnip zone before the months out.

[billjc33]

Get rid of calf season and X 10 the number of 2 points around next year. Then you have to ast least hunt! The bush will be ******ed tomorrow killing moose for 75 pounds of meat if your lucky

[bridger]

had a cow and two calves in our back yard this morning

[Benthos]

i'm off to go get my calf.

15C and 40km/hr wind with large gusts upwards of 80.


should be an interesting morning

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Tis the eve of the whitie doe season here in the south, should be some shots fired tomorrow!

Actually got the whole day off....and will be taking my daughter out for her first early morning/all day hunt. Hopefully, she slept as she was pretty pumped last night.:) Wind is holwing this am but it won't matter to her!

SSS

[Fisher-Dude]

Get rid of calf season and X 10 the number of 2 points around next year. Then you have to ast least hunt! The bush will be ******ed tomorrow killing moose for 75 pounds of meat if your lucky

Boy, are you 100% wrong. Do you know anything about moose management? Have you ever read a moose management strategy? Do you know the difference between compensatory and additive harvest?

Didn't think so.

Start by reading this:

http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlife_news.view_article&articles_id=52

[Fisher-Dude]

Actually got the whole day off....and will be taking my daughter out for her first early morning/all day hunt. Hopefully, she slept as she was pretty pumped last night.:) Wind is holwing this am but it won't matter to her!

SSS

Wow! A rare day for you! Take Jaime somewhere that's loaded with whities - I'm sure she will be zooming today! Good luck!

[oldtimer]

Well Quesnel is loaded with hunters, everywhere you look there are rigs, great for the economy !! Mike

[308Lover]

I'm with you billjc. I gag at the freaks who just drool over calf season. Ain't it great to see them trying to scare the mamma away? Just to rant here. Sorry.

[Fisher-Dude]

I'm with you billjc. I gag at the freaks who just drool over calf season. Ain't it great to see them trying to scare the mamma away? Just to rant here. Sorry.

So you only shoot bulls. Does that mean your dick is bigger than someone's who shoots a calf?

Did you bother to read why it's best for ALL moose (especially bulls) to have a calf harvest?

[Sleep Robber]

Get rid of calf season and X 10 the number of 2 points around next year. Then you have to ast least hunt! The bush will be ******ed tomorrow killing moose for 75 pounds of meat if your lucky

We almost always get our two moose every year, and one of them is always a calf. Where I shoot my calf, you can cut the meat with a fork, and I get a lot more than 75lbs too. It's great meat. I've shot some bigger bulls, where the gravy was tough, let alone the meat. Not saying their all like that, but have had a few like that. For a smaller family, a calf moose is the perfect answer, and the harvest of these calves is a necessity, to which I partake in every year.

Leaving on the 12th for my moose hunt, good luck out there everybody !!

[Kody94]

Good luck to all the calf hunters!

I am a fan of the calf season. Good management tool, good hunter opportunity, and good eatin'!

I've posted this a few times before but here's me 29 years ago with my first big game animal.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/Old%20Pictures/firstmoose1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/Old%20Pictures/firstmoose4.jpg

[billjc33]

That article has no substance. So because a % of the calves are going to die over the winter we should kill more of them before they have a chance to survive. That makes no sense, any bioligist with half a brain knows that the more calves going into the winter the more thier will be in the spring.

Do we have to many moose? If the answer to that is yes then give more cow draws out. If a hunter with a cow draw wants to take a calf so be it. Their are lots of arguements that contain no real backbone when it comes to calf season:

1) There are to many animals? really is there?
2) There is to much competition for food in the winter! Umm NO there is a clear cut every km around prince george and their is no competition for food
3) Its good for the economy? Id rather have more moose then pad the pockets of huge oil companies when buying some gas and coffee at the nearest station when guys drive through town.
4)To many calves equals to many wolves! MY most hated response. How about we manage the wolves by dealing with them directly not by eliminating one animal to decrease the numbers of another. Trap, poison, hunt to decrease there numbers instead of trying to depleat their food source.

This is just my opinion on moose hunting. I don't consider calf season hunting since people watch them all season until the 10th and shoot something that doesn't even fend for itself.

Let the calves live, deal with the wolves and spent the time to find a 2 point if you dont get a draw. If you dont like that go up north and shoot a moose aug 15th in plus 30 and try not to let the meat spoil! Haha

[MuleyMadness]

Good luck to all the calf hunters!

I am a fan of the calf season. Good management tool, good hunter opportunity, and good eatin'!

I've posted this a few times before but here's me 29 years ago with my first big game animal.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/Old%20Pictures/firstmoose1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/Staggerino/Old%20Pictures/firstmoose4.jpg

Looks like a little bit more than 75lbs of meat to me there billjc


That article has no substance. So because a % of the calves are going to die over the winter we should kill more of them before they have a chance to survive. That makes no sense, any bioligist with half a brain knows that the more calves going into the winter the more thier will be in the spring.

Do we have to many moose? If the answer to that is yes then give more cow draws out. If a hunter with a cow draw wants to take a calf so be it. Their are lots of arguements that contain no real backbone when it comes to calf season:

1) There are to many animals? really is there?
2) There is to much competition for food in the winter! Umm NO there is a clear cut every km around prince george and their is no competition for food
3) Its good for the economy? Id rather have more moose then pad the pockets of huge oil companies when buying some gas and coffee at the nearest station when guys drive through town.
4)To many calves equals to many wolves! MY most hated response. How about we manage the wolves by dealing with them directly not by eliminating one animal to decrease the numbers of another. Trap, poison, hunt to decrease there numbers instead of trying to depleat their food source.

This is just my opinion on moose hunting. I don't consider calf season hunting since people watch them all season until the 10th and shoot something that doesn't even fend for itself.

Let the calves live, deal with the wolves and spent the time to find a 2 point if you dont get a draw. If you dont like that go up north and shoot a moose aug 15th in plus 30 and try not to let the meat spoil! Haha

Listen I am not a wildlife biologist, and I don't know the science behind this hunt. I do know that the province, on a whole does a very reasonable job of wildlife management, and seem, for the most part, to have their shit together, particularly given their financial limitations. What is your knowledge of the science behind the hunt? Do YOU Have any FACTS to back up your ascertations? Or shall this argument be held entirely on an emotional basis? I won't try and argue numbers with you, because obviously you already believe what you believe...however I will tell you one thing..the source of the document FD quoted IS a biologist, managing what is likely the most significant moose population in North America, and possibly even the world....I suppose you are more knowledgeable about the science of this than he is? I keep talking about the science because emotional arguments have no place in govenment policy, period, yet that seems to be all you bring to the table. Here is the biologist's contact info, by all means show him the error of his ways, and please post his response up for all of us.

For a more information about Selective Harvest Strategy in Region III and/or a brochure about Moose Calf Hunts as a Management Tool, contact:
Don Young, Area Biologist
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Division of Wildlife Conservation
1300 College Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701-1599
Phone: 907 459-7233
Fax: 907 452-6410
Email: don.young@alaska.gov (don.young@alaska.gov)

[billjc33]

So I read that article and It gave really no proof or scientific backing that calf season accomplishes anything. Do I have any scientific proof, No because as long as I have been hunting there has been calf season.

One thing that I would consider and have talked about alot previously to this topic is making calf season a youth season only. At least that way the number of kills would go down(to increase the population) and it would be an easier way to introduce kids to hunting.

Facts for facts the government doesnt have the money or the resources to do big enough studies they just know that when there is a calf season they sell way more moose tags.

Again just my opinion like I said in my last comment not SCIENTIFIC PROOF. Take it how you like it im just expressing my opinion

[MuleyMadness]

That's great...but as you said yourself, there has been a calf season for as long as you have been hunting. Do you feel the moose populations are in trouble? In danger disappearing in pockets? Or is the harvest sustainable?

I don't agree that increase cow season is the way to go, and the reason for that is the difficulty many moose face in reaching breeding age. Many of those calves that are harvested will never make it through the winter, let alone two, due to predation, winter kill, lack of food resources, etc and as such will never become breeders (either on the male or female side). If you kill a cow moose that is already at breeding stage, having one, sometimes two calves a year, you are impacting the moose populations to a much higher degree, because there will be both a lack cows, and of calves to become breeding stock, and as such, eventually a lack of calves altogether...and then the start of population decline. Whereas a significant portion of the calves will not make it to that stage anyways, so why not have them end up on people's tables.

You say make it a youth hunt, I agree, great idea, but I seriously doubt that is going to get the moose down to the harvest numbers the MOE wants to see for what they believe to be healthy populations...so essentially you are back at square one. Maybe a week of each, with the youth season first, but then again, that is something to put to the MOE and see what they think. They are not nonthinking morons. They do listen to people when the science supports them. Look at the generous elk and WT seasons in many parts of the province, including the winter hunts. Those came about from resident (mostly farmers/ranchers) pressure.

I do agree they don't have the money for proper studies, but let's be honest, for the most part they err WAY on the side of caution, and if their limited studies and counts told them it was a bad thing for the moose populations, that would be the end of it, or at least a serious curtailment. And as you said yourself, this has been a season for a long time, with no apparent significant number decreases. I would think that in of itself would be enough to at least let you be neutral about it, even if you prefer not to harvest one yourself.

[BCrams]

So I read that article and It gave really no proof or scientific backing that calf season accomplishes anything. Do I have any scientific proof, No because as long as I have been hunting there has been calf season.


Everyone is entitled to opinion!!! Yours is that you disagree with the calf season.

I've shot a lot of calf moose over the years when there was no LEH bull tag in hand and it has provided opportunity to hunt as well as put some of the finest eating on the table. A roast you can use a fork to pull apart! I'm not too sure where you get 75 lbs. 250 seems about right!

I don't care how long you've been hunting but if its been a 'long time', you'll notice that under this management for moose, it is the best we have and there has never been a shortage of moose to hunt because of a so called slaughter. Quite amazing to see how many make it through the winter for a sustainable hunt in region 7a.

BTW - drove by a camp this morning with a fresh calf moose in the back of the truck. I'll bet you can't take away the experience of the hunt the couple 12-14 yr old boys that were standing by the truck had that morning.

[308Lover]

By the way Fisher-Dude, I respect people on this site.I choose not to shoot calves. If I had a cow draw and could find a good one I'd be thrilled. My dick is a reasonable size, and so are most of the moose I've harvested in 60 years of hunting. Your reply to my opinion is disgusting.

[Fisher-Dude]

By the way Fisher-Dude, I respect people on this site.


I'm with you billjc. I gag at the freaks who just drool over calf season.

Strange form of respect. If that's what it really is, I guess we freaks should be happy with it. :?

[Jelvis]

Moose country is bear country remember that. Moose are the staple of meats the tasty treats Happy Halloween to all and to all a nice calf moose, like no other if you like tastier meat get an older one it's like veal compared to BC beef is .. If you got the zeal for veal try a baby moose ..
.. I prefer a button buck for meat and a 17 month old moose for meat
.. that's my preference and yours is a calf moose 5 months old
Summary
.. Ask a butcher the difference in taste of both young animals the veal and calf compared to 18 month age.
.. get a professional opinion and take it as experience revealed by said man, he or she has the know-how
.. I like thick medium course moose and young fawn button buck for the steaks .. fine grain vs course grain
.. I don't trophy moose hunt but love going after the big mule deer bucks for the back in the bush mystery
Jelly ( " The Butcher " ) Hands of $tone ..your alone in what you think ................ Your on the brink don blingkligtsout

[LeverActionJunkie]

Hope everyone is having a good calf season. I believe it is a great management tool and wish they would implement something similar here in Reg 3. I am tired of hearing about moose that are shot and a third or fourth point is found etc. I don't bother with a moose tag, as I've never seen a live two point. To me the calf season gives people a chance to hunt moose without the difficulties in legality that the immy season brings.

[chinooker]

Don't like calf season? Don't shoot a calf!! stop trying to force your opinions on everyone else. If we take away all the openings like calves and spike fork bulls, hunting will be reduced to the lucky few who manage to get a LEH.In 20 years I have had one stinkin moose draw, so leh is not a option for me.:evil:

[billjc33]

I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone I'm expressing it. No one ever said anything about eliminating immy season only that eliminating calf season would greatly increase the chances of seeing an immy. At no point did i ever tell anyone off for shooting a calf. The regs say you can so all the power to you. I choose not to but that is just me.

[Fisher-Dude]

I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone I'm expressing it. No one ever said anything about eliminating immy season only that eliminating calf season would greatly increase the chances of seeing an immy. At no point did i ever tell anyone off for shooting a calf. The regs say you can so all the power to you. I choose not to but that is just me.

Do you have a population study that backs that up? Or, is that just speculation on your part? Don't give me the "if there are no calves harvested there are more immies" argument, because science shows that isn't the case.

So, perhaps you'd like to share your source of "information" that wildlife managers apparently don't know.

[308Lover]

Well Chinooker, this is my 23rd year without a bull draw or deer draw. Also the first year of identifying an immature bull in time to shoot it, and,luckily, I got one first week of the season.I have no data whatsoever, just long months in the woods, both eyes open, and not seeing more than 4 or 5 immatures in all those years. You just have to wonder about the calf season being a good idea in my area, at least, but what would this old, country boy know about modern wildlife management. I chose ( a PERSONAL CHOICE) not to shoot a calf and have spent all these years helping other friends on their hunts and bagging a few deer for my sausage and pepperoni (and some good meat too, of course.)

[billjc33]

Show me something that scientifically proves that killing calves will increase the immy populations. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or someone with much common sense to know that the more calves that survive hunting season the more there will be the following year.

Scenario ! IF you have 10 calves born, say hypothetically 2 die of natural causes 3 die from wolves and 3 die from calf season, you are left with 2 left to survive the winter.

AND... Scenario 2(with no calf season) if you have 2 die natural causes, say 4 die from wolves (because there will be more of them) you are left with 4 going into winter.

NOW... say half of the calves born were male and half were female.

You can honestly argue that there would be more immature bulls the next year with scenerio 1 with 2 entering the winter then scenario 2 with 4 entering the winter???

Anyway you look at it the more male calves entering the winter the more will survive to become immy bulls. Its pretty cut and dry.

It all just kinda comes down to what the MOE wants the moose population to be and I personally would just like to see it a little higher.

[Kody94]

Show me something that scientifically proves that killing calves will increase the immy populations. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or someone with much common sense to know that the more calves that survive hunting season the more there will be the following year.

Scenario ! IF you have 10 calves born, say hypothetically 2 die of natural causes 3 die from wolves and 3 die from calf season, you are left with 2 left to survive the winter.

AND... Scenario 2(with no calf season) if you have 2 die natural causes, say 4 die from wolves (because there will be more of them) you are left with 4 going into winter.

NOW... say half of the calves born were male and half were female.

You can honestly argue that there would be more immature bulls the next year with scenerio 1 with 2 entering the winter then scenario 2 with 4 entering the winter???

Anyway you look at it the more male calves entering the winter the more will survive to become immy bulls. Its pretty cut and dry.

It all just kinda comes down to what the MOE wants the moose population to be and I personally would just like to see it a little higher.

Your numbers above assume that killing those calves is additive mortality, not compensatory.

The percentage of calves dying of "natural causes" in the winter is much higher than your scenario. Many of the calves shot during the open season would have died of "natural causes" (starvation mainly).