Author Topic: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On  (Read 13823 times)

Offline robbfishing

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #15 on: Jun 23, 2017, 09:51:04 AM »
Oh yeah and 10 ply tires !!

Offline Alex D. Large

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #16 on: Jun 24, 2017, 10:22:52 AM »
They can get difficult to haul out. A well placed shot can make all the difference on how far you have to drag. Heart or lung shots are a safe bet but some moose may go an extra quarter mile before piling up. If you want to drop a mature bull moose in his tracks, shoot directly at the front shoulder with a high powered rifle. With a big rack and large front shoulders not being able to use one front leg and he'll go nowhere. This is not a 200lb whitetail. Then have the dignity to put one through the vitals.
Hauling out we usually use 2 trucks or suv's. Clear some kind of direct path to the moose and drag steel cable to the moose. Cows can be pulled out head first but bulls drag better if you hook up to their hind legs with a choker chain. Otherwise the points on their rack will dig in the dirt and catch on branches. One truck is used as an anchor with a pulley attached to a solid point like a hitch or tow point. The cable then passes through the pulley and is attached to another vehicle who then slowly drives off pulling the moose out. Walkie talkies are used for communication in the event the moose gets hung up. Chainsaws and pry-poles work good to free it. I'm able to splice cable to make one that is several hundred yards.
Now it is at the road you can gut it out. I like to flip a bull on his back with both sides of the antlers digging in the dirt. Much more stable to work with this way. Then tie off a hind leg to a truck or tree and get to work.
I see moose in the back of pick ups every year but I personally prefer a trailer with a tilt option not unlike a snowmobile trailer. I'm sure a winch at the front would work well but I use a chainfall to get it on the trailer.
As long as you don't do the toyko drift thing and have decent tires... don't worry about flat tires.
Everyone has their own methods of madness, this is mine. Be careful, hauling out moose can be hazardous to your health.

Offline MEhunter

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #17 on: Jun 26, 2017, 12:33:18 PM »
Good stuff Dave......We could really use you on our Sept. zone 3 bull hunt!  ;D

I'm sure you guys will do just fine being nice and close to home! Good luck to you. May end up in zone 3 if we finish up in 1 before the guys I know in 3 tag out.

Offline Aziscohosbuck

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #18 on: Jun 26, 2017, 06:00:42 PM »
I was thinking that it might be really cool to shoot my Moose with a muzzleloader that I bought brand new in the summer of 2014, it is my first ML and is a CVA Accura Mountain Rifle in 50 caliber.  I have it very finely tuned in to 3 shot groups at 100 yards to less than an inch and a half.  I'm using Power Belt 295 grain copper hollow points with 100 grains of blackhorn 209 powder and CCI  209 magnum shotshell primers.  It is mounted with a Nikon Prostaff BDC Variable slug gun scope in 2-7 power that can well handle the extra recoil of the ML.  For those of you not familiar with Nikon's line of BDC scopes they have a series of small tiny graduated circles in a vertical line below the dead on center horizontal line that allow you to adjust for holdover on increasingly long shots out to 300 yards. This ML is deadly accurate out to 300 yards and more.  Here are the numbers for holding at specific distances, dead on horizontal line = 75 yards at 75 yards or less, 1st tiny circle below horizontal line is 97 yards, , 2nd circle below line is 131 yards, 3rd circle below line is 157 yards, 4th circle is 194 yards, top of bottom vertical heavy duplex post is 240 yards.  This is all well and good as long as you have a good solid rest especially when shooting out to distances beyond 150 yards as tremor and decreased field of view really start to take a toll on 7 power magnification.  That being said, I don't have a lot of experience with this gun in the field, I missed a beautiful 8 pointer on the second to last day of the ML season in 2014 but was not the fault of the ML as I was shooting while standing with an offhand shot at the deer in a snowstorm who was playing peek a boo behind a pine tree and I had only the white patch of his throat to shoot at, it was a clean miss.   On the other hand I have a very trusted and go to working man/hunters gun that is my 1st choice as I know it's capabilities very well, have hunted for over 25 years with it and taken many fine deer with it, it is my Winchester Model 70 chambered in 30/06 mounted with a Leuphold VX 3 1.75-6 x 32  Variable Scope, this gun fits me well, I love the heavier weight for holding steady, especially on those standing off hand shots, and when quick follow up shots are needed to finish off the deal.  So the Winchester gets the nod for my go to Moose Gun, yeah I'll bring along the ML, but it may never see the light of a hunting day in Moose Country.  That being said a 30/06 to the heart lung area on a Moose standing broadside is fatal, problem is the Moose may keep running not knowing it's dead yet, that is when I will need the follow up shots to put it down before it heads for Canada and a much longer drag.  With the ML your one and done on a fast moving Moose after the 1st shot.  As you can tell I'm definately starting to overthink this whole thing!
 
Aziscohosbuck
« Last Edit: Jun 26, 2017, 06:04:19 PM by Aziscohosbuck »

Offline teampar

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #19 on: Jun 26, 2017, 06:37:58 PM »
My dad is thinkng it would be cool to shoot his moose with his Scorpyd crossbow, although he took a nice 10 point North Dakota white tail with it last year I think I will insist he use my 7mm Mag! 😀 Good luck with your hunt.

Offline Alex D. Large

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #20 on: Jun 27, 2017, 08:05:25 AM »
I've pondered taking a bull with the smoke pole and even stick & string but eventually I grew out of it realizing I don't have some guide with a crew of "undocumented workers" to haul out my moose. Injuring and tracking is not fun at that time of year and when Mr. Greenjeans stops by he's gonna make damn sure that injured moose didn't die and you run off and tagged another. 2-3 days of tracking and a couple days of bad weather and your hunt is done. 7mm is sufficient.
Be out there at daybreak, that is the best time. Stay in the woods til you tag out or til well after dark. You could scout a bull in the evening and find him right there in the morning.
Unless you want a trophy, don't be fussy, any moose with horns will fill a freezer.
 

Offline MEhunter

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #21 on: Jun 27, 2017, 09:08:07 AM »
My dad is thinkng it would be cool to shoot his moose with his Scorpyd crossbow, although he took a nice 10 point North Dakota white tail with it last year I think I will insist he use my 7mm Mag! 😀 Good luck with your hunt.

Let him give it a try if it comes in close enough! They don't go any where with a well placed arrow, no different than a gun. Doesn't have the shock power of a rifle obviously, but they do a much better job cutting and getting them to bleed. Some times they don't even run off after the shot, have no idea what hit them and just stand there and bleed. Mine didn't move for 20-25 seconds after I hit him, just stood there and bled. Stumbled up the road 20 yards from where I shot him and was stone dead in just over a minute. If you're the sub just stand behind your dad with the rifle and pass it to him if you have a bull that won't come in close enough for a cross bow shot. Let the old buck give it a try, seen moose go way further after being shot in the lungs with a gun than a bow.

Some of the blood from him standing in place after the shot


Cell phone picture from where I shot him to where he fell


Notice all the darkish colored ground around his nose and chest, the blood was still pouring out of him when we got up to him just a couple minutes after the shot.

Offline Aziscohosbuck

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #22 on: Jun 27, 2017, 04:34:01 PM »
Can any one provide me with an interpretation of the Maine Hunting Laws which state that no hunting is allowed in the restricted areas of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway until October 1, and that these areas are prominently marked.  Does that mean a 500 or so yard range within the high water mark of the waterway or do they close off entire townships within the waterway?  The reason that I ask is we would like to bring several canoes with waders and boots that would allow us access to rivers and large brooks that would enable us to get deep into back country areas away from the crowds of road hunters and into some very remote Big Moose territory to do some hunt and stalk and calling for a really challenging hunt and an opportunity to take down a real trophy Moose.  Yes I realize this would involve skinning and quartering out the Moose and we will be prepared for that in any event.  If we are fortunate enough to take a Large Bull fairly near a waterway while hunting from a canoe, the transportation of the processed game out by canoe would be awesome.  My goal for this trip is to spend 75% of our time trekking into the back country actually hunting on foot or by canoe and only 25% riding the roads.  I am setting the bar at a minimum of a Mature Bull that is at least 4 1/2 years old with a 48" spread and field dresses out over 800 lbs.  Not gonna worry about filling the freezer until the very last day with a smaller Bull.  I may live to regret that but this is a once in a lifetime shot for me and most likely my last so that is a risk I am willing to take.  The closer the encounter the better, not comfortable with taking a shot at a Bull over 150 yards, would much prefer under 100 yards.  And the last thing I want to have happen is get into a pissing match with another party blocking off a road while road hunting, just seems to me that would really put a damper on the whole experience.

Aziscohosbuck   

Offline MEhunter

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #23 on: Jun 28, 2017, 10:34:48 AM »
Can any one provide me with an interpretation of the Maine Hunting Laws which state that no hunting is allowed in the restricted areas of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway until October 1, and that these areas are prominently marked.  Does that mean a 500 or so yard range within the high water mark of the waterway or do they close off entire townships within the waterway? 

It's just within whatever the distance is posted for the law, not entire township. It's marked on the main roads that cross the waterway. You won't be able to cross the Allagash waterway via the Reality rd on the September hunt this year as the Umsaskis bridge will be closed for repairs (might be closed for October as well). As far as I understand it though you just can't paddle the Allagash waterway on the September hunt, or hunt within whatever the distance is they have marked (I can't remember the number).

Offline Aziscohosbuck

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #24 on: Jun 29, 2017, 04:54:45 PM »
It's just within whatever the distance is posted for the law, not entire township. It's marked on the main roads that cross the waterway. You won't be able to cross the Allagash waterway via the Reality rd on the September hunt this year as the Umsaskis bridge will be closed for repairs (might be closed for October as well). As far as I understand it though you just can't paddle the Allagash waterway on the September hunt, or hunt within whatever the distance is they have marked (I can't remember the number).
That is the same conclusion I came to after reading the laws, just can't figure out what the exact distance from the Allagash Waterway where hunting is allowed.  Possibility is you could use the Allagash Waterway as access with your gun cased and unloaded but could not load and hunt until a safe distance off the waterway.  In any event there are other options in zone 2 to use waterways by canoe to get into some remote areas, so I think we will bring several canoes.  It would be nice to do a hunt over two days with an overnight stay by canoe to explore some more remote areas, if planned right other members of our party would simply meet us at a take out or have a vehicle already parked there.  Bring three to four guys and two canoes for the paddle hunt with all necessary gear to quarter out a Moose, would add a nice adventure to the trip and possibility of finding a real hot zone that a big mature Bull is using completely unmolested.  Worth a try anyway in my opinion.

Aziscohosbuck

Offline MEhunter

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #25 on: Jun 30, 2017, 09:26:49 AM »
Water is good, but just need to make sure you find the right body of water to hunt. You want good dead water. A lot of the stuff up there moves fast and is loud, which makes it very hard to hear bulls, even if they're close to the water. For such a big animal they do call very softly. Another thing you want to make sure is that there is going to be enough water to paddle around easily. We are up on the St John bear hunting every year in early September and it would be a pain the a$$ to paddle up there that time of year, just not enough water and it's still pretty loud. If you want to hunt water don't overlook ponds. They might be a better option than rivers. I will say I've run a lot of cameras in and around ponds and rivers for moose over the last few seasons. There's no doubt the majority start leaving the water in early September. Each and every moose has a different personality though and I've found that some do indeed like to stick around water, but the majority will move off it some distance, maybe not far, but they will surely move to different "growth." Not all bodies of water hold moose and there are some, for whatever reason, the moose absolutely love. Spend some time up there this summer seeking out which water bodies they are in now and then try and find an area close to there where you think they might move into in September. The cows will spread out some, but they aren't going to travel too far if they don't have to. If it is unusually hot during the September hunt, like it was a couple seasons back, don't be afraid to really concentrate back on the water. We were checking some ponds 3-4 times a day that year, never stopped just kept bouncing from pond to pond all day. Make sure you have a good set of binos. If it's fairly normal weather wise I like grass roads and green growth. I don't spend too much time in big choppings in September.
« Last Edit: Jun 30, 2017, 10:03:08 AM by MEhunter »

Offline Aziscohosbuck

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #26 on: Jun 30, 2017, 05:25:12 PM »
Each and every moose has a different personality though and I've found that some do indeed like to stick around water, but the majority will move off it some distance, maybe not far, but they will surely move to different "growth." Not all bodies of water hold moose and there are some, for whatever reason, the moose absolutely love. Spend some time up there this summer seeking out which water bodies they are in now and then try and find an area close to there where you think they might move into in September. The cows will spread out some, but they aren't going to travel too far if they don't have to. If it is unusually hot during the September hunt, like it was a couple seasons back, don't be afraid to really concentrate back on the water. We were checking some ponds 3-4 times a day that year, never stopped just kept bouncing from pond to pond all day. Make sure you have a good set of binos. If it's fairly normal weather wise I like grass roads and green growth. I don't spend too much time in big choppings in September.
This is simply incredible information that you have learned over many seasons of Moose Hunts that is invaluable.  I thank you Sir for sharing this intel as it can only help to narrow down where and how to spend your time on a 6 day hunt.  I didn't consider the noise that comes with larger waterways, and where we will be camping there are plenty of options for smaller deadwater brooks, streams and ponds that would allow a much better approach with shorter distances by canoe and actually cut down or eliminate not just the noise level but some of the problems and issues we might run into trying to pull a Moose out of an area on a river with many miles to go to get to a take out and be able to haul out the Moose and all the gear in one trip, not to mention if weather is really warm and all the while the clock is ticking on getting that meat to where it can be cooled down as soon as possible.

Thank You!
Aziscohosbuck

Offline Aziscohosbuck

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #27 on: Jul 07, 2017, 04:27:36 PM »
I have received a lot of brochures in the mail from various Sporting Camps and Guide Services since I got drawn for the 2017 Moose Hunt.  Which is expected because they have access to the names drawn and in what town they live in and if you have an address listed in the local phone book this just makes good business marketing sense to target their potential clientel.  Most of the names of these Sporting Camp/Guide Service operations are already familiar to me and some you can simply google and find out about on their website.  It seems as though the average price for a fully guided hunt, American Plan with meals for the permit holder and his subpermitee and rough processing to include transportation of your downed Moose whether field dressed and loaded whole onto a trailer or quartered out and hauled out of the woods to your waiting vehicles with coolers and ice is running between $2795.00 to $4795.00.  Now I'm not going down this fully guided road to begin with as I am fortunate enough to have experienced Moose Hunters in Zone 2 along with me on my trip and we will be doing a self guided hunt out of our own Outfitter Camp but I would like to put in a plug if this is allowed for Ross Lake Camps owned by Don and Andrea Lavoie as their price for a fully guided hunt was at the low end of the price range I just mentioned, their success rate and service is absolutely without question top shelf and I would highly recommend them to anyone without question.  Now to be fair Ross Lake Camps price was to hunt out of a remote site with Campers, showers, toilet facilities and full time cook services in Zone 2, the reason being that Umsaskis Bridge will be closed for repairs during the Moose Hunt so they cannot accomodate hunters with a Zone 2 permit at Ross Lake Camps because that would unfairly disadvantage the hunt with prolonged driving times in and out of Zone 2 to hunt each day.  On another interesting note, I got a piece of returned mail in a USPS envelope with a ripped and torn brochure from Eagle's Nest Camps and Guide Service with a mailing address of 1176 Millvale Rd Bucksport, Me, claiming fully guided hunts for permitee and subpermittee with meals, transportation and game retrieval for $1795.00 and semi guided for $1295.00 advertising their camp in Eagle Lake.  Seems that there is another Sporting Camp/Guide Outfitter by the same name in Eagle Lake, but when you go to their website the hunt offered is fully guided with meals and full game retrieval for $5000.00, Hmmm wonder what's going on here?  Interesting.

Aziscohosbuck

     
« Last Edit: Jul 09, 2017, 01:51:44 PM by Aziscohosbuck »

Offline Aziscohosbuck

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #28 on: Jul 14, 2017, 04:09:29 PM »
Looking at some options on centerfire bullets in particular for Moose.  Some Maine professional guides have suggested using a Barnes triple slam (SST or maybe SSX, not sure) on Moose specifically rather than a Remington Core Lokt Soft Point.  By comparison I am referring to a load in 30-06 which I typically use in a Remington Core Lokt Soft Point in 180 grain which I know would get the job done if placed in the Heart/Lung area but first shot may result in the Moose moving some distance before dropping.  The suggestion I have heard about from guides is to use the Barnes Triple shock SST which shoots faster and flatter, creating a much wider wound channel that promotes very heavy bleeding much more quickly and Moose don't travel nearly as far and go down much faster with a lot less travel distance.  Does anyone have any experience with these Barnes Bullets vs. Remington Core Lokts that would seem to confirm this?
« Last Edit: Jul 14, 2017, 04:25:24 PM by Aziscohosbuck »

Offline robbfishing

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Re: Moose Hunt 2017 is Game On
« Reply #29 on: Jul 17, 2017, 08:22:26 PM »
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