Some buddies and I have talked about hunting moose for a couple years now. However, with a wife and 3 kids to support, where does the average working man go to hunt moose?
huh.....I know of some roads and secondary highways here in Mass where you got a good chance of hitting one if you got a good push bumper on your rig! :rolleyes: Few years back, I took pics with a disposable camera....had 5 of them, all babes and cows underneath me and my stand. Awesome pics, as they came closer and closer everytime the flash would go, like they were attracted to it! Moose crossing sings all over these parts.
Mass would rather have people hit them with vehicles (happens all the time here!) than hunt and harvest any of them :saywhat:
Maine is cheap once you get the permit. It's road excessable to good moose populations. You can camp, and you don't need a guide.
I feel your pain ! A moose hunt is my dream hunt and its a hunt that I will never get to experiance because of my shallow pockets !
Went to Quebec in 2009 and going back in 2011. Stay in the outfitters lodge and have access to 35 sq miles of private land. Plenty of moose but it's thick and they have noses like blood hounds. You bring your own food and do your own cooking but have a nice warm camp and shower waiting for you each night. Hunt cost $1500.00 includes license (one moose per 2 hunters). Not a Newfoundland type hunt but I loved it.
I've been checking also. I've found $3,500-4,000 in Newfoundland with highest moose densities on the planet. On the other end of the scale is a Mckenzie River hunt in the Yukon for $18,900. Having yet to spend even $1 on a guide or outfitter to date, I've not pursued my Moose dreams either. I'm sure these hunts are worth the money if you have it.
I've been putting in for Maine for 25 years. Nothing. A guy we shoot 3D with put in a few years ago and got one. Then didn't go.
Yeah.......didn't go.
I'll second Newfoundland, my friend took a whopper a few years back. I hunted woodland caribou there, one fun hunt for sure, I'd look into it.
The Quebec hunt sounds awfully tempting at that price. Only hunted bear there about 20 years ago, so I can't give input.
Cheapest you'll find I'd say-
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/hunttrap_lottery.cfm
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/
http://www.maine.gov/ifw/
I went on my first moose hunt last season here in VT about an hour and change from the house here and it was a time.We lucked out and got a freak snow storm so we got to track one.Turned out to be a 616# cow.
QuoteOriginally posted by LookMomNoSights:
huh.....I know of some roads and secondary highways here in Mass where you got a good chance of hitting one if you got a good push bumper on your rig! :rolleyes: Few years back, I took pics with a disposable camera....had 5 of them, all babes and cows underneath me and my stand. Awesome pics, as they came closer and closer everytime the flash would go, like they were attracted to it! Moose crossing sings all over these parts.
Mass would rather have people hit them with vehicles (happens all the time here!) than hunt and harvest any of them :saywhat:
You have to be over in the Berkshires...some of the best moose country is just up and across the line in Bennington/Windam counties in VT.
I saw a cow and a calf over there last summer. Crossed in front of me.
Rich, what is it like drawing tags in those 3 states?
GREAT INFO GUYS, THANKS
Not too far! Im 10 mins from N.H......North West MA. Plenty of Moose! Should be managed!
Not a guided hunt but they will send you the right way. There is a group of AMericans that have went here for years with good success, I think from Illinois. Owners are American too.
http://www.wildgooselake.com/
My dream hunt is also moose - great info. Thanks.
Not a guided hunt but they will send you the right way. There is a group of AMericans that have went here for years with good success, I think from Illinois. Owners are American too.
http://www.wildgooselake.com/
QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
I saw a cow and a calf over there last summer. Crossed in front of me.
Rich, what is it like drawing tags in those 3 states?
I can't tell you for sure Charlie.I've heard alot of different experiences.Like Yornoc said he's been putting in for 25 with no luck and some others have got two or three tags in that time.I've heard the same of locals around here.Before they had the 3 year wait for VT I knew a guy that got a tag,waited the year then got another one.I've yet to draw one but I've been off putting in for a few years.
They just proposed an archery only moose season (put over the rut(Which is hilarious they can figure that out for moose season and not deer...but I digress... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: )but there will be 50 either sex permits and archers will be able to choose the unit they want.Probably most will choose E ,as it has the highest density.I want L or P as I like short drives to my hunting area and would be able to stay at home.The down side is there will be no atv useage as that's National forest.
NH, Maine and VT all have lotteries. The applications should be ready real soon.
bigugly,
The price is sure right. $825 for a bull and calf tag for two hunters which includes the lodging.
I bear hunted (DIY) in Ontario during the mid-80's when you didn't have to have a guide. I saw moose every year (spring).
My dream trip for Alaska moose will have to be something I save for, probably after the kids are out of school. I wouldn't mind going to Canada or one of the Northeastern states though. I'd like to be able to do some paddling though.
N.Idaho
QuoteOriginally posted by bigugly1:
Not a guided hunt but they will send you the right way. There is a group of AMericans that have went here for years with good success, I think from Illinois. Owners are American too.
http://www.wildgooselake.com/
This is good information, as even here in Montana it is a draw for moose for even residents. I would love to draw a moose tag here, but if I had the means it would be just as good at Wild Goose Lake.
If you don't mind some of the states have cow moose tags in thier draw systems and are usally easier to draw. I here Idaho is the easist to draw a bull tag for non-resident hunter($2100+). I'm hoping on a cow tag this year in Utah I have a real good chance with my bounus pionts I have save up. Residents cow tags cost $208 and $708 for a non-res,that's still is not cheap. For a bull tag it may take 15-20 years to draw one here and at $10(cheaper that most states) a year just to put in and the tag at $408 that's no pocket change. A drop camp in Canada may be cheaper for me to hunt a bull than in my own state in the long run. Good luck with our quest.
I actually have a good possibility of this dream finally coming true for me this year. Some fine folks in British Columbia want me to return for a "job"(most of you wouldn't consider it work). I've asked them to put my buddy and I on a good moose hunt. They are working on it -- 400 miles north of Vancouver.
Just remember guys northern Ontario is like Alaska if you get lost going north you are really, really lost. This lodge is above Lake Surperior and there is no other road or rail line past this, you are in Gods country so to speak.
My guess would be the Jackman area of Maine if you are lucky enough to draw a permit...PR
Just to inert some levity into all this serious discussion...when I saw the good title question, I thought to myself...
"Gee, Dave, only place you'll ever be able to afford to hunt moose will be at a Techno hunt shop!"
:rolleyes: :knothead: :jumper:
I also went on a moose hunt in vt this year. my father drew a permit. Didnt get one but had chances. John
"Where do poor men go to hunt moose?"
TechnoHunt
;)
I was so poor I had to move where they are. Lucky for me I have dual citizenship. Then I got married and am poorer yet, :( , but I can hunt them behind my house. :D
By the looks of the odds to get a tag in some states, even if you are a poor guy, start putting some extra $$ into your hunting fund now and when you get drawn you can afford to go :thumbsup:
There are hunts in British Columbia Canada that are reasonable in price compared to some areas.
Washington has a draw system and the odds are like winning the Lotto ... they should separate archers from modern firearms for the draw but they do not...
Fellas the Fraternity we have here is like brotherhood.Last year I invited a couple young Tradganers from Arkansas to join my son and I in Northern Alberta(My son is a resident)for an elk bowhunt,OC tags can be bought for Elk or Moose.We ATV'ed in 20 miles and set up a base camp,shared exspenses ,my son and his friend acted as Hunter hosts.We had a blast ! you'll find canadians friendly and very obliging.I became best friends with these fellas ,it started all over a bow sale.
I was born and raised in BC ,the prices have got outragious,most areas are draw,Alberta was way cheaper.
Most affordable place I know is the sportsman channel. I am with you. I am not sure why there is such a price tag on these hunts. Like someone said earlier if you can afford it then it's worth the price.
What's affordable? These things add up pretty quickly. Not paying a guide MIGHT be a saving, but it's hard to just make an afternoon of it. The payoff is huge, it's hard to do that cheaply. Save up, plan for a few years down the road. The suspense will keep your guts in a knot for the whole time you're waiting. Fantastic.
Thanks for the comments, I like the DIY hunts. I don't have to harvest an animal to have a good time, I've been elk hunting 3 years on DIY hunts. Haven't taken an animal myself, but some of my buddies have so I consider it a success. Just looking for some ideas. Don't really know where I should go.
Well if you put in for and ever draw a tag for units M L or P in Vermont don't hesitate to send me a PM(Anybody for that matter).I know what it's like to go blind to a new area.I'll give all the help I can. :thumbsup:
Thanks vtmtnman. I really appreciate that.
Amen Vtmtnman. Very nice offer. Vt or NH are the only states I have a realistic shot at. Wy is another for me with my best Bro living there. But the tag is so expensive that I almost don't want to draw.
If you and your buddies all want to hunt together with everyone having an opportunity to kill a moose. The draws are out for you. It would be almost impossible for all of you to draw tags at the same time. Newfoundland would be your best bet. prices range from 4-$6000. Success rates are pretty high but the bulls are small. It would not be a bad drive so you could bring back all the meat.
I agree with Matt.
For a party hunt NF would be tough to beat for less than the cost of some bear and caribou hunts in places west. A 48" bull would be unusually big for one of these hunts with 30" being more the norm according to the discussions I've had with outfitters and one friend who went went with 2 other fellows this past September.