MN Moose

[WildlifeRube]

Hi Everybody. I am new to the site.

Myself and my Dad and a buddy of mine drew the Moose license this year for Zone 72. None of us have Moose hunted before. We are heading up Friday morning to do some scouting and I was wondering if anybody has hunted this area before and would welcome any suggestions/tips for hunting this area or any info regarding Moose hunting.

Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Sorgy]

Moose Rube,

Welcome to the site.

Get out and locate some good looking clearcuts and swamps. Get there 2 hours before sunrise and sit and listen if it is a calm morning. Or get there at daybreak with a good pair of binoculars and find a good vantage point. Most of the moose we saw in our 2006 hunt were back in the spruce swamps by 8:30 AM. Be watching clearcuts and such the last hour or two of the days.

Moose will not leave tracks in harder soil that deer will track up like crazy- kind of decieving. Look for wallows- kind of like big deer scrapes.

I am not familiar with zone 72 but spend the middle of the days looking for spots to return and scout in the early hours and late in the day.

Take naps in the afernoon so you are up and about in the early mornings Shoot some grouse on the way out from your scouting trips.

Good Luck

Keep us up to date with your scouting reports and and story on your hunt- Take lots of pictures to help fill in the story with.

Steve

ps. give me a pm and I will give you my phone number. I live in Lino Lakes and you could pick my brain if you wish. What little there is of it

[TooTallTom]

Spend some time between now and when you go scouting looking for the "moosy" areas that Sorgy was talking about on maps, satellite imagery, or Google Earth.

Basically, try to "pre-scout" the area you're hunting to limit the amount of scouting you'll do in areas that really aren't attractive to moose. The more time you spend in better areas, the better your chances for success.

[certified jumbo]

I was one of the lucky 7 that drew a tag for area 72 in 2008. It is a very difficult hunt, but unbelievably rewarding.

The two previous posts were right on. I can tell you pre season scouting is very important and a must do. The more days you scout the better. We spent 6 days in August scouting, and then 3 in september. During our 9 days of scouting we never saw a moose. We found adequate dropping and tracks. We shot our moose on the 7th day of our hunt. In total we saw 5 moose (2 cows and 3 bulls).

Go to google earth and find small lakes, ponds or areas beavers have dammed up. There are lots of logged areas in 72 near water. This is what you want to look for.

Go to the dnr HSOforum and you can see where every moose has been shot the last 10 years in area 72.

A little hint....find some small ponds in the lima mountian area, a great place to start your adventure.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[WildlifeRube]

Thanks for the info guys. All of it was helpfull when scouting last weekend. We found a few great places to start that had some good sign with droppings and tracks. We didn't see any moose but I'm willing to wait for the season to spot one. We were able to get some grouse along the way as well. I was wondering if anybody had an opinion on calling. I have heard a few contraditory things on this subject. Some people say you can never call too much and others say not to over call. Your suggestions?

[Crow Hunter]

We had our hunt last year and were successful. I called the bull in and it was an amazing experience. My partner and I called every 20 minutes to a half hour, I would say; we hunted close enough to each other that we would be sure to hear if someone shot. I watched some calling videos I found on that HSOforum where tons of people post videos, and practiced a lot. From the people I talked to up there I did not get the impression that you need to be real accurate with your calls. The birch bark call I made was a pain to carry in the woods, I actually called the bull in using the cardboard tube from a paper towel roll.. Have a great hunt. Find places where you find a lot of moose sign, and don't get discouraged if you don't see anything for a while, we got our bull on our 9th day of hunting.

[WildlifeRube]

Once again thanks for the info guys. We were able to get what I would guess was 1 1/2 old bull on 5th day of our hunt. It was a great experience. We had other opportunities as well. In total we saw three bulls two cows and a calf in our 5 days. I will post some photos later.

[Archerysniper]

Congrats on your once in a lifetime hunt and cant wait for the pics and story to follow.

[certified jumbo]

Congrats Rube,

Can't wait to hear the story and see the pics.

Good Work.

CJ

[Crow Hunter]

Way to go. I also am looking forward to the pictures and story.

[lispeej]

sorry for the hijack... but what does moose taste like?

[toughguy]

Moose is actually pretty good. Way better than deer IMO. I would say it's somewhere in between beef and venison. Some would say even better than beef. I've only had it in hamburger form.

[Archerysniper]

Moose is actually pretty good. Way better than deer IMO. I would say it's somewhere in between beef and venison. Some would say even better than beef. I've only had it in hamburger form.

I will agree 100% only took a little over a year for me to finish off our moose, granted a few packages were gifted to friends to try but we ate it at least 3 to 4 days a week and never got sick of it. The steaks were great a little tougher than venison but man they were delicious and then moose spaghetti and lasagna, oh my mouth is watering now.

[lispeej]

Man. That sounds awesome!

How hard is it to register and go through the process of getting the moose lottery?

[Archerysniper]

Man. That sounds awesome!

How hard is it to register and go through the process of getting the moose lottery?

As easy as putting in for the bear or turkey lottery, once the drawing is available go to anywhere they sell licenses and tell them you want to apply for the moose lottery you just have to pick which zone you want to hunt and the map is available through the dnr HSOforum.