Must haves for a moose hunt?

[sapper]

We have our first ever moose hunt in just over a week. We're prepping and I want to make sure we don't neglect to take along any supplies we may need. So I'm appealing to you. What are your must-have's on a moose hunt? We'll be in 5-1 if that makes any difference to you responses.

[J-Man]

heavy duty ropes or chain for hanging
cum-a-long or winch
really good bone saw
1 empty large soup can, 1 strip of leather as wide as your pinky and about a foot long
your game bags or old sheets for wrapping

[robertmcallan]

are you road hunting or hiking in

[coach]

Good tires, a chain saw and a shovel. It's been a dry fall - but can get pretty damn muddy when the first precipitation hits.

[brig]

We just shot our first moose and quickly learned a few must haves. Number 1 is having hunters camping beside you that have quads! :)
We don't have quads and getting it out of the bush with the quads made life a whole lot easier. A good bone saw is a must for quartering as well.

[kyleklassen]

rum.................

[Grousedaddy]

A light source (you may be in after dark depending on when you shoot it), knife sharpener thr rest has already been stated good rope , chain, winch , bone saw and a quad helps too but not a must good luck to you guys!

[lilhoss]

4x4 truck,good tires and at least 1 set of chains,more so for the mud,than snow.Axe,shovels-2,good knives,and or sharpener for the ones you have.Small chain saw(if you've got one) for quartering-cutting dry,no oil for chain,or corn oil.Window sash chord(small rope) for tying up the quarters,and chop them off with the axe when breaking camp.Chains or choker cables with locks for the quads,saws,etc to tie to the tree when leaving camp,etc.Spare fuel,for truck and quads,saws.Propane and spare bottle/s,and a tiger torch.Spare rags or towels for cleaning the meat,long handle scrub brush,game bags.Gen set.I take a small sump pump and set in the creek and run a garden hose with spray nozzle.Works great for cleaning the moose and general use around camp.Clean,spare tarps,small ones to wrap the quarters in for travelling home.Take some spare rope in your hunting pack too!,trying to gut one of those things with no one to hold a leg is hard to do!Small handsaw,meatsaw in your pack as well.
....ah hell,..you should just take me!:wink:

You'll have a good time.I've been lots and still learn more everytime we go.What works,what doesn't,and check out other moose camps too for pointers.Good luck!

[Taurusguy]

A generator to use for the light source (halogen work lights on a tripod are great!) and an electric sawzall to quarter your moose up and keep a bit of spine on all 4 quarters so its easier to pack out. Took me and my dad from 7:30 am til 9pm to gut, cut and pack our moose in 2007 up to the truck only 300 yards away. (it was all uphill from where we shot it) you can see my vids on youtube if you check out my introductory of sorts thread as I posted my vids in there.

Good Luck

[sapper]

in response to: "are you road hunting or hiking in"


A little of both. We have quads so will be able to move around a fair bit but don't mind doing some walking.

[kenadiens]

Just got back from a sucsessful moose trip and one of our guys brought 300 yards of cable and a pulley. it saved us hours of work. Sent the cable down the block to the swamp where the bull was shot. Attached the pulley to one truck, the other end to another truck and backed down the road til the moose was laying on the side of the road. Slick as all hell.

[2tins]

rum.................
rum........yup, that should cover it.

[Sofa King]

do you's not normally hunt?
a moose is just a really, really big deer.
i always take everything no matter what i'm hunting.
don't go if you're not prepared.
remember to take your clip and bolt for your gun.
and your licence.

[RiverOtter]

-Extra rope and a pully or 2 is a huge asset, especially when combined with a winch/quad.
-Depending on whether flies are present a portable meat house. Used one this fall and it was a meat saver, literally.
-A camp axe and saw, which you likely already have, and about 1 or 2 dozen framing nails. If you gotta pack your meat out of a place that you can't reach with quad or rope, you can build a crude ladder/gurney with (2) 10' saplings and about (5) 2' cross pieces. Works like a hot damn with 2,3 or 4 people and eliminates dragging. A couple fine gentlemen from this site showed us this trick and helped us pack a large moose out in 3 trips. Thanks again Trapman and Hammerhead...

[sapper]

do you's not normally hunt?...
don't go if you're not prepared.
remember to take your clip and bolt for your gun.
and your licence.
Ah, yes, we have been hunting for a number of years and the whole point in this post is so that we are prepared. Thanks to all for the helpful pointers so far. We took care of the rum on the last trip and there was a fair bit left in the trailer at the end of the last trip unless my buddy has dipped into the hunting "supplies".

[Benthos]

Truck, gas, gun, ammo, knife, saw, rope and a cold beer for when you're done.

[junkyard_g]

i do it with one truck all the time too. just use you tow rope and attach the pulley to a tree and run the rope from your pickup thru to the moose. also tow it feet first. cut a hole each leg above the knee and between the tendon and bone. run a rope thru both hole and tie a knot. make a loop in the rope just below the feet, twist it and slide it over the hooves to about half way to the knees. this sucks the legs together and when you think you may get hung up on a log just lift the feet (a lot easier than lifting a head with horns). also dont get carried away cutting a trail to rope thru or worry too much about going around trees (does add tension if rope is rubbing against too many trees or at a steep angle though causing the rope to potentially snap). also stay out the way way off the animal and use extra caution freeing the animal when it gets hung up. if u have lots of tension and especially if there is lots of rope out the animal can jump several yards in a split second. been taken out once before by a flopping moose leg=not fun.

hauled out a bull moose and bull elk this season this way with zero issue in slashy terrain, recovering from a recent knee surgery, and only my wife driving the truck to help me. radios helped a ton too in warning the driver when its hung up. gone out 300yds+ with this set up before.

[Moose63]

A winch was real handy for me this year. Able to pull my moose out of a swamp.

[264mag]

I bought a Simpson gas powered winch and 500 ft of non stretch rope. Rigged up a pack frame with 2 milk crates attached, one for rope spool, one for winch, rigging, and gas, total weight 45 lbs. Awesome set up. Radios are a must. Bring it home!

[Duidery]

Wet wipes and bottles of water.

[3006pg]

a packing mule (thetackdriver)

[The Dude]

Young kids with strong backs.
Saw
Rope
Beer

[drewsky]

Lots of rum.... Also, a cordless reciprocating saw is unbelievable when quartering, halving a moose! Cutting off antlers, legs, etc. Seen some crafty old moose hunters up north that bought a cheep chainsaw from crappy tire or princess auto, and ran mineral oil only through it, only used it for moose hunts. It worked amazing too.

[drewsky]

I gotta say as well, the last few moose that we have skidded out with the atv's, have worked real slick. But we found that if you loop a noose or slip knot around the nose(cartilage) it works like a hot dam! This way the antlers dont seem to get as hung up as they would if you pull by the legs, head?

[XPEIer]

Drewsky, we do the same thing, half hitch over the nose with a tail of rope long enough to use to lift the head etc. over stumps.

I would enusre you have;
a portable light, double mantle propane light and a couple of 1 pound bottles, then you can take it right to the moose.
a small razor sharp hatchet and another axe, you can split a moose spine pretty quick hitting one with the other
good rope and junk rope (yellow poly), you wont want to cut your good rope to do simple things like hanging tarps
blue surgical gloves, I used them this fall on my moose and they made clean up much better
zap straps, nice to tie off anus while gutting (get white ones, black ones seem to disappear in a cutblock)
ladder, an old one... makes work around a meat pole quicker and safer


Man I wish I was packing to go again.

xpeier

[drewsky]

me too!!!!!

[Piperdown]

very big and younger than you hunting buddies :)

[browningboy]

All good ideas, I would also bring a olfa knife, couple small tarps for travel on northern roads(gumbo), and a good camera!

[Whonnock Boy]

Yeah, sawzalls are good, chainsaws too, but they break down and are a larger item to carry. You already should have one chain saw for the camp wood, or unexpected. Carrying two just adds to the large list of supplies that you should have already. I have a butchers saw with an extra blade. It will run you about 80 bucks for everything. http://estores.wws5.com/stuffers.com/wecs.php?store=stuffers&action=display&target=SAHAHB25 Just watch where you store it while in transport. A friend stashed his in the trailer with his quad. After many miles of bumpy road, the saw being strategically placed, managed to cut into the quads differential, causing a major problem.

As others have said, lots of rope. I carry a 500' roll of aircraft cable. Heavy breaking strength, zero stretch. That is important. The slingshotting moose, as one other poster stated, can be very dangerous. Cost me $90 at Lordco. Might be a little more for others considering my discount. Add a few pulleys, and anything somewhat close to the road is out pretty quick. If that is not enough to get it out, revert back to the saw, along with a pack board.

Also, I carry a bunch of old bed sheets. They are great for wrapping up the quarters for transport. Yes, tarps work, but they hold in the moisture, which is not good for the meat. A good soaking in a mild bleach solution once finished, and they are ready for use again.

[junkyard_g]

i go nose first with the females but with bulls i find the leg first method easier cause u can stay behind the animal while guiding the horns. horns sometimes get hung up but don't ever dig in. either way with a trophy quality animal i'm packin the horn by hand. to each his own.

[ohotnik]

A gallon of vinegar and a pound of black peper in case there are still flies around. That saved us the meat on more then a couple occasions.

[Duidery]

If possible, two ATVs and ratchet straps. When practical, I prefer to have the moose whole as long as possible to avoid dirt and other crap contaminating the meat - just less surface area exposed. Put the head and antlers of the moose on the back rack of the ATV and strap it down. Tie the front of that ATV to the back of the other ATV and drag out whole. The front ATV will keep the front of the ATV with the moose down. It has worked beautifully twice this year.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC03017_Large_.JPG

[Wild Images]

Young fellas with stong backs and weak minds come in very handy on any moose hunt !!

[BcBob]

One thing to remember once the Moose /deer is down Keep a look out for Bears.

[martyonthewater]

1L bottle of apple cider or red wine vinegar thrown in your water while you wash your quarters down, 6:1 ratio water to vinegar, will really help ensure a pleasant tasting product. And rags, tons of clean rags.

[sapper]

Lots of great advice here guys. Thanks. I've compiled a Google Doc for the rest of my hunting party so we now have a checklist to make sure we don't neglect anything important. :)

[Mykos]

This is indeed an excellent thread with many good suggestions. I'm sure this will be of use to many folks.

[300H&H]

Water !

some to drink but mostly to wash up with.

[swampthing]

Moose hunting is one hunt where I like to have a partner. Crapload of work boning one out by yourself.

[gcreek]

Gun, knife, meat saw, loader tractor, (preferably with cab!), chain, bucket of hot water to wash with, pickup to transport meat to cooler.

[Lozzie]

I know I never touched the rum( cuz' it makes the bum hum) and I have enough trouble with deer busting me. That said, non-iced tea flavoured beer and scotch would be appreciated ;)


Ah, yes, we have been hunting for a number of years and the whole point in this post is so that we are prepared. Thanks to all for the helpful pointers so far. We took care of the rum on the last trip and there was a fair bit left in the trailer at the end of the last trip unless my buddy has dipped into the hunting "supplies".

[Fixit]

1200ft spool of 1/2" polysteel and a big block/tree saver strap. works like a hot damn!