DIY moose hunt questions

[allan f]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking that since I live in Quebec that a moose hunt is a good idea.  I have never hunted moose, and given the size of the beast I was hoping to get some tips form those that have brought them out of the bush successfully.  My fear is that I don't use a 4 wheeler and at most would canoe or hike into a good area.  But what does a guy or two do if they bring one down 10 miles back into the bush.  I think in Quebec you can at most quarter the animal you can't bone it out, so it will be a hefty hike back to canoe or road access.  Do you guys have any tips? Or is this another case of find someone as crazy as I am to do it with.  I asked a hunting buddy and he told me no way without a truck and 4 wheeler.  I kind of thought that a hike into a camp and then hunt out of that, and a haul back to the road in a few trips.  Am I nuts here?  I see a lot of people hunting moose they can't all have 4 wheelers and trucks to do it?

Let me know what you guys think.

Allan

Any tips would be appreciated.  I was looking at those  expedition sleds to toss a quarter onto and drag it out, has anyone tried this?

[wingnut]

Most locals in areas that I have hunted moose will not shoot them out of sight of the road.  LOL

They are a handful for 2-3 guys.  I can't imagine doing it by myself.

Mike

[hunt it]

We use army stretchers to carry out quarters. Works real good and is by far the best way I have found in 30+ years of hauling moose out bush.

[jrchambers]

well even with a stretcher and five guys 10 miles is way too far, i know from experience that 3 miles with a handfull of guys is a full day of hard packing. not to mention the conditions moose frequent, they arnt called swamp donkeys for nothin

[KrEn]

In a GOOD backpack, like my Norrøna, a normal sized, fit guy can usually carry around 60kgs for 10km, and 45 for most of the day or perhaps 30km, In reasonably flat terrain. The limiting factor is the stability of you knees really, and general fatigue.
60kg is probably half of the meat on an average moose, sans bone.

Here in Norway, a lot of moose is shot. Most as Wingnut says, and the the ones that dont have 4WD borrow it, a few are carried out though.
Even so most moose hunting is in teams, 10 guys w/permit for 5-6 moose. Shot one at a time 10 guys on one moose is not so bad.
Coordinated posting, combined with a stalker/driver is also fairly effective hunting.

K

 Norrøna Recon Pack  

 Video of it

[maineac]

I have been on one hunt.  Cow only and she dropped 1/2 mile from a road.  We quartered her and dragged out the quarters on a sled.  One of the wheeled game carts would be perfect for a couple of quarters.  The skinning and quartering did not take long.

[Izzy]

My Maine cow died on the shoulder of the road.She ran about 80 yards downhill.Pretty easy drag with a winch( about 10') but I dont think it would be a rewarding hunt if you bagged it 10 miles from a road.Good luck either way.

[Gordon martiniuk]

Get a game cart or just a wheelborrow I have packed them out but Quarters are very heavy good luck

[jrchambers]

must be some smaller moose in norway, no offense but i dont know anyone who can fit half even boned in one pack or even two for that matter let alone cary it,  thier is somewhere around 100 lbs of just neck meat on a big bull.

[Canadabowyer]

We have had very good luck in the early season hunting small lakes in a canoe.Most of the time we find a lake within 1 km of an access point for the vehicle, pack the canoe in the night before we hunt, then if we get a moose it is just two short packs of the quarters. One from the moose to the canoe and one from the access point on the lake to the vehicle.We take a large clean tarp and a bunch of cloth bags and wrap all the moose pieces up in the bags to keep them clean.A good meat saw is a must, we cut the moose in about7 or 8 pieces so each piece isn't to heavy. 4 legs and 3 or 4 body peices depending on the size of the moose.Oh ya, shoot the smallest moose you find, its a lot easier than a big moose and tastes way better!! Good Luck!! Bob

[KrEn]

Jrchambers,
A very big bull here is 300kg "slaughtered weight", that is with the guts and head on the ground. They are about as common as ghosts in bright sunlight. It would gather a crowd and mention in 2 or more hunting publications.
I think nowadays even 200 kg is rather large, and we shot one 147 this fall and was quite happy.
Hard hunting for the biggest animals and the biggest antlers for about 120 years (introduction of centerfire rifles to the average hunter) have favored small moose.
I forgot everything is bigger in america.    


K

[calgarychef]

The last moose I shot had a carcass weight of 850 lbs. it was weighed on certified scales by the way.  That was skinned, gutted and head off. It's hard to tell where a moose will die when you bowhunt so be prapared for it to die in a swamp, muskeg etc.  Have hip boots available because they go for water when injured.

 Don't forget how to eat an elephant-one bite at a time.  If you keep your loads to 50 lbs or so you can do a few trips a day at 70 lbs and over you severely restrict the number of trips you can do and greatly increase the possibility of injuring yourself.


have fun!!

the chef

[eidsvolling]

Originally posted by KrEn:
Jrchambers,
A very big bull here is 300kg "slaughtered weight", that is with the guts and head on the ground. They are about as common as ghosts in bright sunlight. It would gather a crowd and mention in 2 or more hunting publications.
I think nowadays even 200 kg is rather large, and we shot one 147 this fall and was quite happy.
Hard hunting for the biggest animals and the biggest antlers for about 120 years (introduction of centerfire rifles to the average hunter) have favored small moose.
I forgot everything is bigger in america.      K

Having lived in AK and having visited Norway a few times, I can tell you that the average Norwegian bull would fall over in a dead fright if it ever saw an Alaska -- Yukon cow, much less a bull from those parts.          The moose here in NH are about midway between the two extremes.