Bowhunting for MINNESOTA Moose

[matchset]

i was fortunate to get drawn for coveted moose tag this fall. my father was also drawn, we're a party of two lucky us! i'm really excited to get at it, but i must admit that i am a little nervous! we've both taken many big game animals, but this will be the biggest for us both

i'm going with my new mathews Z7

so, is there anyone out that can offer me some advice as to what kind of sign i can look for in locating a nice bull BEFORE October?

we were drawn for area 24, so i am within reasonable driving distance; and plan to do ample scouting!

google and youtube searches can only yield soooooo much!

have any of you hunted moose before? can you give me and my pops some pointers?

thanks

[nonteepical]

look for clearcuts, moose are 7' tall so a cutting 1-8 years old is good, its called moose candy. look for trees thrashed & snapped limbs ect. wallow pits that they roll in, similar to a deer scrape. fresh droppings glossy not the old dried out ones. when you find the fresh sign be patient and hunt it, set up stands and call but be patient, don't get discouraged it's not like deer hunting you need a positive attitude moose hunting. they may come right in or they may take hours to show up, they can hear a cow call for miles. to save alot of time scouting hire a pilot and fly over your permit area, i wish we would have done this because it took us 3 days to find where they were in our zone. theres a real good possibility to get a trophy moose in Mn. but if you call in one, look for another, bulls are good for traveling together. we never even seen a moose last year, but was one of the best experiences i've had hunting. i'd go again in a heartbeat and do some things a little different, you end up learning while you hunt.

[nonteepical]

i forgot...good luck! and post a pic when you get your bull.

[Sorgy]

Spend the time getting into and observing your chosen clear cuts before daybreak- Listen to the wilderness waking up. All of the moose we were on were exposed (out in the clearcuts) until an hour or two into the day. Do not go out spending the middle of the day like we did. Moose sign is somewhat difficult to spot. We could hear cow calls and bull grunts from a long distance away on a quiet morning.

Head back to camp and hit the lakes for a late morning fishing jaunt then back in the tents for a little nap. Get back out and scout the last hour or two - choose good observation spots and be paitent.

I like the airplane idea- do it in the first hour or two of the day.

We had a nice herd in our are and saw several of the same animals many times. It consisted of several cows, calf and 4 differnt aged bulls. In all we had like 28 sightings on our 2006 hunt. We figured things out after the first morning or two. Don't be afraid to get up and close the distance- We should have done that.

Good Luck

One thing about the clear cuts- they get very thick. I also thought about using my archery gear- The once in a lifetime changed my thinking. It was fun to put the pieces together- My dad and friend Bill were carring rifles as well.

With both you and your dad using archery equipment I definitly think you can pull it off with calling and teamwork like Elk hunting moving in and choosing a setup. I think we would have eventually been able to pull off a bull with the the bow but it may take the full 16 days to figure out an area and how the moose are using it.

I forget the zone number we were in it was the zone from Ely to Babbit and South.

It was an incredible adventure

Steve

[Archerysniper]

I have a vhs video from a minnesota guy that is famous on the north shore for findind and calling moose it goes through the whole hunt scouting and calling the call him the mighty mook and I'll get the video name for you heck if you live close to my home or work you could borrow it.

[nonteepical]

how many permits in your area?

[Scoot]

Matchset, the only thing I have to offer you on this hunt is this-- good luck! I'm very jealous though-- it sounds like it'll be a blast!!! Have a great time, take lots of pics, and post back here when it's done.

[Wanderer]

Good advice Nonteepical and Sorgy. Those are all things I would/will do if I ever get drawn in MN.

I have hunted moose in AK twice and that's pretty much spot and stalk. Long hours of glassing. There are some areas in the Norhteast part of MN that offer good vantage points, but a plane would be much better.

[nonteepical]

when we went last year, and we heard people were using planes, first thing i thought was "that's cheating, i'm not hunting like that" now looking back at it i wish we would have. you can't have a pilot fly around and radio to you on the ground where they are, you have to be physically in the plane spot where they are and land and go back and find them. we only had 3 permits where we were, and a plane would have beern a big advantage.

[croixflats]

If you do get your moose be sure you have help lined up to pack the moose out. A few years ago my uncle and a buddy got one and they underestimated the work to pack it out. Thankfully they ran across a couple of younger guys that helped them pack the moose out.

[Wanderer]

Yeah, for sure instantaneous communication with a plane would be cheating and illegal. Even in AK where you fly in to many hunt spots, you can't hunt the same day as you fly.

When we went into the valley we planned to camp in, the bush pilot flew low over the valley once to give me a look at all the areas close enough to hunt then did a return loop to see what stood up after the first pass.

We actually did an air assessment of my buddy's 54 incher he took 5 days later about 1 1/2 miles from where we spotted it. We knew when we set down there were several legal bulls within a day's hike of camp.

It took the two of us, in our peak physical shape, 2 days to butcher and pack a moose across the river valley back to camp. Our archilles tendons were killing us when we were done stumbling over all the tundra and river rocks hauling the heavy loads. We had to stretch our calves out every morning for the rest of the trip before we could walk.

After the trip we received a tip from a local that large doses of vitamin C help control that. I haven't had the need for it since though so I can't vouch for the worth of that advice.

[matchset]

ARCHERYSNIPER!

i see that it says you live in north branch.... i grew up there; and my parents still live there! i'm currently living in duluth, but i make it down to North Branch often! if i could borrow it for a weekend that would be GREAT!

[matchset]

how many permits in your area?

ONLY 8 permits in our zone.

[Archerysniper]

ARCHERYSNIPER!

i see that it says you live in north branch.... i grew up there; and my parents still live there! i'm currently living in duluth, but i make it down to North Branch often! if i could borrow it for a weekend that would be GREAT!

No problem I could drop it off at their house after work, Or meet you at one of the stores in town next weekend.

[matchset]

ArcherySniper! if you could drop it off sometime this week, i could watch it when i get there saturday and return it to you on sunday or something.

my email is [email protected]

i can get you directions; they live near the mall.

[Archerysniper]

They must not live far from were my folks live. I grew up just south of the mall on county road 68.