I dream of moose

[sbschindler]

I like Ontario

[Walt Francis]

As Jeff said, why the h#*% are you waiting six years?  The hardest part of any hunt for the average person is making the irrevocable commitment to the species, date, and location.  An unchanging date is by far the hardest to make and keep.  The number one correlation I have found is: The more time one allows before the hunt date, the higher the probability that hunt will never happen.  

My preference is Alaska, there just isn't any place like it.  Here is the link to my last self guided moose hunt in Alaska:
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=120989#000000

As the old saying goes...Just do it.....NOW!

[Biathlonman]

The wife is due wit our third child this fall so this year is definitely out.  Hardest part for me is coming up with the $6k plus dollars. Gonna take a while to make that happen.

[agross1]

Originally posted by Walt Francis:
As Jeff said, why the h#*% are you waiting six years?  The hardest part of any hunt for the average person is making the irrevocable commitment to the species, date, and location.  An unchanging date is by far the hardest to make and keep.  The number one correlation I have found is: The more time one allows before the hunt date, the higher the probability that hunt will never happen.  

My preference is Alaska, there just isn't any place like it.  Here is the link to my last self guided moose hunt in Alaska:
 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=120989#000000  

As the old saying goes...Just do it.....NOW!

Not sure how I ever missed that thread , but , WOW!   What a great adventure, read, and animal.   Had my heart racing.  Very, very cool.

[Jeff D. Holchin]

What I meant is that TODAY, with a few hours of research, you could apply online to hunt moose in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the northeast.  Sure the odds are low, but the tags are cheap.  I drew a NH tag in only my second year of trying - also, mark "yes" where it asks if you will accept a cow tag.  That is moose hunting too, and it increases your odds.  If you were really serious and not just "dreaming", you would plan a fall hunt for deer, bear or something in one or more of those states during their actual moose season, to see what it is all about.  When I had my NH moose tag, I also had deer and bear tags in my pocket and came close to filling those before I finally arrowed my moose.  I saw tons of grouse and some turkeys as well.

The fourth state that you can apply online today is Montana - that tag is more expensive and the odds are very low, but not impossible.  I just checked and the Idaho moose application period is still open too, so there are actually FIVE states that you could apply to hunt moose in today, and Idaho has the very best odds of drawing in the lower 48.  Unfortunately that tag is around $2000 but do you want to hunt moose or just dream about it?  There were opportunities for a moose tag in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah as well, but you already missed those deadlines.  In those states, if you have not been builing points for years, then it is almost a waste of money to start now, unless you want a cow tag in WY.  I drew a WY bull moose tag several years ago and had a great hunt.  I could draw a cow tag there now if I wanted but paying almost $2000 for a cow moose tag is not worth it for me, after 3 moose hunts.  I am not applying for moose in Idaho this year because I would probably draw that tag and I already have a full schedule this fall, plus I have not yet scouted out the best unit to hunt.

If you want a sure moose tag within several years, you need to buy a preference point for WY this summer and go for a cow tag every year until you draw that tag or an Idaho tag.  You also need to apply for an Idaho tag by April 30 every year.  A little research will tell you which units in those states to apply for.  In the mean time, apply in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.  I think that if you do this, you will be hunting moose somewhere within several years.  If you are really serious and want to actually kill a moose versus just hunt them, you will plan trips to your selected units in these states now so that when you actually have a tag in hand, you will know exactly where to hunt.  Most don't have that level of commitment, but a few do.  Do you?

[Kevin Dill]

I'm with Walt on this one. Alaska is THE moose state most of us dream about. If Newfie hunts are exceeding $5,000 (plus travel), why not consider Alaska at $5,000 or less (plus travel)? You don't need to save up $6,000 to get it done. Book with a pilot/air taxi (Jeff Kruse is a TG sponsor) and make the deposit. Start getting your gear together. Shop for and buy a plane ticket to AK...I just got mine from Columbus, Oh to Fairbanks for $730 this September. Buy your Alaska license and tag online for something like $665 total...do it the summer before your hunt. Make a hotel reservation on both ends of your hunt, and plan some money for incidentals, meat care and trophy. The expenses don't hit at one time, and the 'hill' is easier to climb. As many have said, the hardest part is locking yourself into a hard date and making the commitment. I know guys who never did that and they never hunted moose, caribou etc...and the adventure stories never were told.

[Steve Chappell]

Walt hit it on the head.  There are so many things we put in our own heads to prevent us from seeing through our dream hunts sooner than later. This is not to say there are not legitimate obstacles we must work through like money, vacation time, family demands, etc. but these are all things good planning and communication can overcome...sooner than later.  If married, talk it over with your spouse and come to agreement on when, where and cost then start what I consider one of the most enjoyable aspects of a dream hunt...the planning process. At 54 I am finally doing the Alaska Moose hunt I have been dreaming about since I was in my 30s after reading Jay Massey's books. I have been saving all my coin change for over 20 years and everyone has known it is my seed money for an AK Moose Hunt. I did do a BC Canada Moose hunt 13 years ago but came awful close to allowing self imposed obstacles to stop me from going after my father, who was supposed to join me on this hunt, passed away from cancer 2 weeks after his 61st birthday. I finally sat down with my wife discussed it and it was her who encouraged me to see the hunt through alone. If I had not talked to her and let the self imposed obstacles rule I am certain that hunt would never have happened. So, in the end my father and I never got to do a dream Moose hunt together and my father never got to hunt Moose his entire life or Alaska, which he dreamed of doing one day. LITTLEBIGMAN has a quote that says "Make a life not a living" which has personal meaning to me. I look back now that I finally have my AK Moose hunt booked and cannot understand how I let those 13 years slip away after my BC Moose hunt.  What I realize is it was me and my self imposed obstacles that I let get in the away. While I do not need the jars and jars of coins I have accumulated over the years to fund this hunt...they will all be turned in and the money applied to this hunt because they have severed a critical role of keeping my AK Moose hunt dream alive.

Like pretty much everyone else who has posted, I suggest, and hope, you make your dream hunt happen sooner than later.

[Brock]

Steve....what you say is true and I know from discussions with your father that he was very much wanting to do the Father-Son Moose Hunt.  hell, that is why he bought that old grey Habu bow from me...so that he would have a "moose bow" to make it happen.  

After getting to know your father and also Joe Mattingly (also passed from cancer)...and going through my wifes parents dying from cancer and wishing they had done more...I am trying my best to meet any WISHES I have within reason and without impacting my family monetarily.

A moose hunt is on my bucket list...at moment does not matter if Maine, Canada or Alaska...bull or cow.  I just want the experience.  I think I need to start a MOOSE SAVINGS as you have... thanks for reminding me of this dream.

[eidsvolling]

Here's a small splash of cold water from the Granite State.

Winter ticks have been hammering moose in New Hampshire. The state Department of Fish and Game is responding with a proposal to cut permits by more than half for the next two years, to 124 statewide. The total would be less than a third of what it was three years ago, 395. Just seven years ago, it was 675.

The final rule is due to be presented to the Fish and Game Commission tomorrow (4/16), with legislative approval required in a month or so.

Last year a total of 13,137 residents and non-residents submitted applications for a tag. 275 were drawn, making the overall odds 1 in 48. The ratio was very near that for non-residents alone. If just 12,000 people apply this year, the overall odds go to 1 in 96.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

20 years from now you are going to regret the what i didn't do vs the what I did do in my life. Go, go go !

[acolobowhunter]

Someone mentioned BC or Yukon.  I have hunted there twice.  I was right on the line - but license in BC.  Flew to Juino AK, then small plane to Atlin, BC.  Float plane to a lake near camp.  The great part was hunting on horse back for 10 days.  You can't beat it.  On foot we couldn't cover nearly as much ground.  Also had the horsed to pack meat and antlers back to camp.  A float plane came and flew my meat to town.  It was cut-wrapped and frozen for my return trip home.  I found the licenses were cheaper in BC than Alaska.  
I still have contacts in BC and my guide lives in Whitehorse Yukon - so either way Canada would be my choice.  By the way - I got a mountain caribou, grizzly and moose.

[Steve O]

Originally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
20 years from now you are going to regret the what i didn't do vs the what I did do in my life. Go, go go !

Amen.  I will work an extra year or two to pay for my hunts I take now rather than wait to take them later.  Nobody can take away those memories ever.there may never be a later!

[boznarras]

Link to Alaska regs. Study the map and game units and note the antler restrictions where you hunt. Look at the draw hunts, and note deadline to apply for drawing.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/general.pdf

[Josh Perdue]

I hope you make it happen buddy.

[Bowwild]

I'm going on my first moose hunt this Sept. 28th. It will be about 70 miles west of Edmonton, AB. While I was searching (2 years ago) I found the hunts from $1,600 (outfitted in Ontario) to $18,000+ (Yukon). I strongly considered NFL but a friend's poor experience there turned me west. I know a single experience doesn't an endorsement or condemnation make. But, when you know nothing else...?

I ended up with a service owned/operated by someone I know. Cost is $6,000 including license and tax.

[tracker12]

Anyone have any guide recommendations for Traditional hunts in Nfld

[MnFn]

Walt, thanks for the reminder of your excellent thread from a while ago. I had forgotten about it until I read the word "Pigger".  Great story and some good stuff about hunting, particularly use of the wind
Gary

[Steve Chappell]

I believe it was National Geographic that called a section of BC Canada the Serengeti of North America because it is very rich in a variety of game.  I Moose hunted in this area 13 years ago guided and it was a fantastic hunt.  I got a nice Moose that now hangs on my wall at home and had I not got locked in due to clouds I would have been able to hunt Elk which there are tons of them there.   I would love to go back and hunt one day but the fact they force you to use and pay for a guide for all game species, along with other obstacles that come with hunting in another country, makes hunting BC less desirable to other places like Alaska. If you must have a Stone Sheep then that is your only option.  If we could go there and hunt DIY, BC would be an incredible deal and place to hunt. Since you'll have to go guided, it is not as competitive price wise as it could be.

[Biathlonman]

I really appreciate all the comments guys, gives me many angles to explore. I really like the fly in Alaska hunt idea. Sounds more affordable and more my kind of hunt. It's stories from Walt and Kevin that have fanned these flames and I really enjoyed reading the stories again.

[Steve Chappell]

Walt & Kevin were very helpful to me as I started my walk to hunt AK.  Great guys they are!