Calling Moose???

HONDO

New member
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
143
Location
Idaho Falls, ID
Drew a moose tag for southeastern Idaho. Has anyone ever called moose? I want to harvest the moose with a bow. I have scouted my area pretty extensively in the past and found some nice bulls. There is one bull that I saw last year that is a monster. I am hoping he made it through the winter. Anyway I don't have much experience hunting moose, much less calling them. Any advice would be very appreciated.
 
Hondo.. what unit did you draw ? I shot a Moose in Unit 66A (Palisades area. Just wondering if you drew in that area ?

I used a Call and know people that have used them. They work sweet when the bulls wat to play. I found and HEard that Ther first week in Oct it really works.

If you ask nice ... might share some Pictures ... ;)

Kudos on the Lucky draw !!!
 
Hondo,

Never you mind Moosie, his unit wasn't 66A, it was 66-2......He's getting old and fragile of mind.

Calling works. Rut peaks in early October. You can hear those buggers grunting day and night during that time. If you've bowhunted the elk rut there, chances are you've heard them, you might not have known what was making the noise.

Get a video on calling. With a little practice you can bull and cow call with the voice.

Good luck
 
I have a bull moose tag in Montana from Sept. 15 thru Nov 25. I would assume the same rut applies to them (peaking in October). My tag is for the Wisdom area (unit 327). I've never hunted moose before and really wasn't expecting to draw a tag. Has anyone hunted the Moose rut in that area or have any general information about the moose hunting in that area?
 
Matt, my hunting buddy drew a moose tag a few years ago, but it was over in the gravelys. I would assume that all rut happenings would apply... I hunted opeing weekend of bow season one year in the gravelys and ran into a pile of moose that were going rut crazy. I think it was a little early, kind of like when some elk get wound up the last week of aug... I think it was a fluke... Most all the moose activity i've seen while out elk hunting and also when we were moose hunting... I would say the peak of thier rut is about two weeks behind the elk...

Anyway when my buddy had the tag we hunted every weekend for the entire season. We saw a pile of bulls and cows, and I would say that the peak of the sightings were from the 3rd week of sept through the 3rd week of october... we still saw moose after that, just not as regularly. We know the area really well, and my buddy spends a lot of time lion hunting in the winter there, so he knew what kind of bull he was looking for and what lived in the area... We had numberous chances at deacent bulls, but it was a monster or tag soup... and soup he ate!

We had much better luck seeing animals in the morning than the evening however, but could see them any time of the day. Moose or no moose it was one of the best hunting years we've ever had!

I have another friend that had a tag by Jackson, and killed a good bull in a guys hayfield... but now that I think about that it had to be close to 10 years ago... Other than that thats about all I know about the Bighole area. Good luck and I hope you smoke a good one!
 
I called in a bull on the South Fork below Palisades when I was fishing in early October. I heard him grunting and started mimicking him. He came into about 5 feet. He was on one side of the bush and I was on the other. It was pretty cool. Good luck with your hunt, hope you kill that big one.
 
Bambistew- Did you call the moose in or just drive roads/ walk certain areas? Do you know how effective moose calling is? Also, do moose call all day or just in the morning? Thank you for the information you have given so far, I'm trying to absorb as much as I can before the start of the season.

BRD DAWG- How far away were you from the moose when you began mimicing the call? How far do you think the call can be heard (is it loud or low key)? How loud did you mimic the sound?
 
Matt,

I would say that the moose was probably 100 - 150 yards away when I first heard him grunting. I just started the same noices with my voice. It wasn't doing it very loud at all. He dialed me right in and walked right to me.
 
Matt,

I bear hunted that area this spring and did some elk hunting last fall. Saw lots of moose sign and heard one in the trees but didn't see it. Lot's of swampy areas and good overall moose habitat. There is a large ranch that is open to block management, but I think you would find the forest service land to be equal or better moose country. Talk to the rancher and locals however, since they probably have a good idea where the big boys hang out. The lower area adjacent to the private land is fairly roaded so it wouldn't be to big of a job getting one out. There is a lot of high basins without roads or trails for the more extreme moose hunter looking for the big boy. You should have a lot of fun this fall hunting. I've never called one but understand it can be effective. I plan on doing some camping in that area this summer, so I'll let you know if I see anything. Good luck!
 
BHR- Thanks for the information. I'll look forward to any info. you can gather (which roads/ drainages/ etc.) that you find sign. If you happen to know the name of any ranchers in that area, I would appreciate that also. The more information I can get the better.
 
Have called a lot of moose in. I just use my voice with my hands cupped. Found that cow calling with bull calls mixed in really works great. Saw a good video on moose calling by Stoney Wolf productions. Picked it up from the local library. It's a good one to practice with.
Around here, the last week of Sept is actually when most of the cows get bred. The LEH season starts Oct 1 and that is the week to hunt cause the rut is already winding down. After that first week, the smaller bulls can still be easy to find as they are still hoping they will get laid, but the bigger bulls hit the thick timber and rest up until the snow gets ball deep in late Nov-early Dec.
 
Everyone thanks for the help on moose calling. Sorry for taking so long to get back to this thread. Moosie I drew unit 67-2. I will be practicing up on my moose calling all summer. Again thank you everybody for the advice...
 
Two ways to go about calling moose -

Take Moosie along with you and a bull will come a runnin to hump him Your choice to shoot before, during or after the bull is done :D

Don't worry - he will still have that shit eating grin of his.

I do the same as BCboy - cupping hands and doing a mix of cow / bull calls.
 
One other way of giving out a Moose call is to go to Boise and start holloring out in a deep bellowing voice....

!!!! CHOCO MILK SHAKE !!!!

!!!! CHOCO MILK SHAKE !!!!


:D
 
ELKCSR, That would work.. PUlls me in every time. Usually it's a Fine lady trying it though ;)

BCBucks, Sweet !!! Although I'm a giver not a Reciever, You;'re only gay if you're Taking it.....

Calling a Moose is Actually Easy. It was my first year college and was the First week in Oct I think and we were hunting Elk. The weather was Crappy but we hiked a hill early morning and Got up on these rocks and it was getting light. The Fog was thibk at first and we heard this >>> MMMMMMuuuuahhhhhhh ... MUahhhhhhhhhuh ... I looked at my Buddy and said. WTF is that ? Not knowing what it was I went through all the Animals.... Deer ? No, Elk ? No, Mtn Lion.. HUMMm maybe ? then I went to look. Of course after making a Few jokes about a couple of qweers in the bushes hiding and Getting it on. So I loaded the Chamber, In case it wsa a Lion or the Queers, And headed down to see. When I got closer I saw a moose and I sat down. I heard several different ones and then saw them all moving around. Lot's of cows and Bulls.

So I snuck in Closer and Then I started Mimiking them. MUUuuuuah... Muuuuuah. Just cupping my hands And using my mouth. I saw the Little Bulls move out the Way and PAPPA came out of the Thickett's looking to Either KIck my ass or Screw it.. Not sure which. But he was tearing branches and he came. I stayed on the Rock I was on and climbed back into the Fog and told me buddy.

When I killed my BULL, We called a few Bulls and scared a few off. 2 gals had a Moose tag when I did And both shot one by the road. They had a Call and called them in. One even had the ATV running ......

I've called in a Moose a LONG LONG ways off. If they can hear you, they will come.

We tried calling moose in AK last year but it never worked. I must have sounded like a Shiris Moose ;)
 
Those Alaskan/Yukon Moose would never stoop sooo low as coming in to a Shiras Call. Don't ya know anything? :)

Have messed around with a lot of bulls over the years. Have had a few come in under 10 yards. That's pretty damn cool. Moosies aren't the smartest creatures in the world. :) :)
 
GOHUNT Insider

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
111,382
Messages
1,956,755
Members
35,153
Latest member
Lucafu1
Back
Top