Hi guys,
I am trying to book a guided moose hunting trip in Canada for next fall. Having only ever hunted whitetail deer here in Minnesota and Wisconsin (..and small game..), I am clueless as to what sort of things I should be looking for in a guide.
Many claim a success rate of 50% with an "opportunity rate" of 90%. Does this mean guys are passing on small bulls in hopes of something larger, or passing on a cow/calf in hopes of a bull?
For an inexperienced guy, should I be looking for a fully guided trip or one where they fly you in and drop you off? I could do the homework and practice bugling on my own, and the drop-offs look like you get more time to potentially see a moose (12-14 days). I can get as much time off of work as I would need for this hunt, so the timing is not an issue. I would ideally spend as much time in the bush as possible.
Furthermore, I will be going with a friend. The cost for 1-on-1 guide:hunter is about an extra $1000 in some cases compared to 2-on-1. I feel like 1-on-1 would probably be more successful (you are individually covering more ground). Any thoughts here?
What do you think about drive-in vs. fly-in? What sort of cost differences or success differences do you think somebody would have? Some outfitters say they use float planes and are not averse to moving hunters around if they aren't seeing any moose in the area. This seems like a good sign from the outfitter to me. I have done deep sea charter fishing before and all the good captains I have used have been willing to spend gas money to put you on fish. I feel like the same would be true of a good outfitter, not afraid to spend some money to get you on the game.
The drawback is some (most? all?) require that you use the services of a guide if you are going to harvest a moose, so a self-outfitted hunt is probably unlikely.
All the rates I have seen are comparable for fully guided hunts ($5500-$7000).
If anyone has had a good experience with a particular outfitter, I would also be happy to accept your word-of-mouth recommendation. Also curious what your total costs have been including tips, gas, airfare, etc. so I can budget accordingly (or decide if this is out of my price range).
