Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Are moose near sighted or just plain stupid

Everytime I watch guy's hunting moose the moose crashes through stuff, or simply comes walking by.

Then he looks at the hunters and just waits to get shot, often he'll stare at them until they shoot him - well then he'll run.

What is up with that - I wish I could get deer and elk to do it.

Spot

You've seen moose right? In order for one moose to mate with another they'd have to have really bad eyesight.

Pretty sure the correct answer is "all of the above."

Stupid they are not. Get between a cow and calf sometime....

an elk or deer wont come in and stomp ur ass, but a moose will, thats why they stare you down, their just calculating the odds!

They are neither short sighted or stupid.

The videos of moose hunting that you have seen were taken in remote places, where they may have never seen a human, much less been hunted, certainly not hunted hard and relentlessly like in my hunting area, so they are not "stupid" merely unsophisticated. I've had moose spot me (or my movement, at any rate) at 500 yards. Their sense of smell is no less well developed than a white-tail deer's is, and their hearing is probably far superior.

Are you going to buy a 2 hour video where no one kills or maybe even sees anything? I think not.

During rut, however, they only have enough blood pressure to function either their brain or their cow prod, and they don't even get a choice- it's nature. Sound familiar boys???

I have killed about 20 bulls over the last 35 years, so I'm not exactly a novice, yet in 10 days of hunting this year, I saw only two bulls - neither long enough to determine their legality, much less drop a hammer on one. And I made a couple mistakes- one per bull is all one usually gets. I called in at least 10 of them, 4 of them at once by putting up our last tarp camp toward the end of hunting season, and into pre-rut. They got hammered hard in this area the last 3 years by fly-in hunters. This year, between the weather and having all the open-area frequenting bulls killed off, we were all alone back in there. There were plenty of airplanes, but they weren't spotting anything from the air except for one bull where no one would go after him without horses. Plenty of bulls were still there, all of them clinging to the brush during daylight hours, coming out to the edges only well after dark, and back into the brush an hour before daylight. We heard them - they were all around us.

A hard-hunted white-tail can't teach anything to a moose in the same kind of circumstances. Yes, I've called cows and bulls both in to within a few feet - the closest being a cow to about 15 feet, a yearling 'tweener to 17 measured feet, and the next year, that same bull came in and bedded down a measured 25 feet from me. That alone made my whole year! Haven't seen him since, so either he moved or the wolves/bears got him. But you won't catch a 50 or 60 incher doing that, unless crazy in rut. Then he's like as not gong to try to either fight you or screw you.

I've had them trail me, nose to ground, for 400 yards right into my stand site. I've bumped cows from their bed, and although not exactly aware of what was up (having not seen me) they drop their head to the ground to see where they are going, and ghost out of there without a sound through stuff so thick you couldn't get through it as quietly. Wide racked bulls may have a little more difficulty, but all you hear will be a slight "tic" as they bump something with antler. Spooked, they will sound like a 4X8 sheet of plywood going broadside on through the same stuff. I have watched from high vantage points as other hunters were shadowed unknowingly by moose for hundreds of yards- and had them do it to me also. I could hear them, on occaission.

They drop their head to run or go through thick stuff silently to see where they are going- they have a "cone" of vision, which means they have to move their heads up or down to see things close in front, or higher up.

You want to hunt a smart moose?

Go find your own- that place is mine!

When one is the biggest dude in the valley, there is little need to panic when something 1/20th your size shows up on the horizon. Ever tried to herd some bison around?

The dumb ungulates tend to be the ones which run in herds - like caribou to name one species- and they don't always act dumb. Moose are definitely not dumb, though they are big, and that, as 1Min pointed out, can affect their judgement. Still, if you haven't hunted them when they aren't laden with testosterone, you probably don't know how good their stuff works. As las pointed out, they see fine, they smell real well (not good), and the hear very, very well. Geese, OTOH, can be just plain stupid.

What las said...in spades! Good post!

Jeff

Nice post.

Wish TDL would drop by too. Would enjoy reading his take on this. He could enlighten more than a few here....

Even horny and in the rut, a bull answering a call from a hot cow will circle down wind to make sure that he's not being tricked. I've watched that more than once.

And if they're so dumb, and they regularly outsmart us hunters, where does that leave us? ? ? ? ?

I have a good friend who wants to moose hunt - he's somewhat got me interested in what it's about.

After that post now I'm a good bit more interested.

I think your right - I'm seeing remote area hunts where the moose are not used to people.

I haven't seen a camera man getting screwed by a moose so it must not have been during the rut.

I did see Shocky draw in a moose by raking a canoe paddle in the brush and grunting. That was just plain weird.

Spot

Something must be working for the species. Their remains can be found along with the remants of mammoths and saber cats - albeit in a somewhat different form than today's moose. Elk also and bison. Not so sure about other deer forms.

Having chases mooses a bit, I'd have to say that Dogzapper's Law totally applies:

Part One of Dogzapper's Law states that mooses play and frolic in front of the hunter ONLY when the hunter has no moose tag in his pocket. The hunter will be tripping over mooses when he is hunting deer, elk and antelope.

Then, of course, with a moose tag in hand, mooses suddenly hightail it to the deepest, most nasty swamp.

Part Two of Dogzappers Law clearly states that mooses always die in water. No matter how you try, the bastards always make a mad dash and die about crotch-deep in water.

Been there and absolutely have done that ... too many times.

Steve

Having chased mooses a bit, I'd have to say that Dogzapper's Law totally applies:

Part One of Dogzapper's Law states that mooses play and frolic in front of the hunter ONLY when the hunter has no moose tag in his pocket. The hunter will be tripping over mooses when he is hunting deer, elk and antelope.

Then, of course, with a moose tag in hand, mooses suddenly hightail it to the deepest, most nasty swamp.

Part Two of Dogzappers Law clearly states that mooses always die in water. No matter how you try, the bastards always make a mad dash and die about crotch-deep in water.

Been there and absolutely have done that ... too many times. By the way, mooses are a whole lot smarter than me, but we already knew that.

Steve

I have been guiding for and hunting moose for over 15 years, and to me they are a damn smart animal. But during the rut, when most if not all the videoed hunts take place, bulls do become a bit crazy, not stupid, but crazy, bordering on Beligerent. After all they are the biggest animal in the area and even a mature grizz will think twice/three times before it goes forth into battle with a bull moose. They are damn tough animals.

Try to still hunt a moose in Sept or late Oct, when the rut is over. Good luck, as they live is some nasty, thick veg that allows them to escape using their long legs while we struggle to get over the blowdown and willow. There is a reason they have a huge nose, which I believe is better than the deers, and their ears are amazing. I have called in bulls from over a mile away, with my own voice, and they have come sraight to us, like on a string, grunting all the way. But then when they get close, silence, then all of a sudden there he is, 20 yards away, staring around looking for the cow. It always amazes me how an animal that will push 1500 lbs can sneek in and show up right in front of you, even when you are expecting him.

Crazy...Yes, Beligerent...yes, king of the valley....yup, but stupid and near sighted....not in a million years.

Cheers

SS

Good replies.

I've had moose charge me - while I stood in front of my truck, calling them - for fun.

They often have very little fear of mere 200lb simians. In the rut - bulls regularly show distain - and with calves, cows are often downright dangerous.

They can out-scent any white-tail alive, and out-hear any bear. As far as vision goes, they are a typical ungulate - if it ain't moving - they can't see it.

But never confuse intelligence (or lack of it) - with fear - or lack of that.

Trust me, Steve, that "your" law does not apply only and expressly to you...

...and that moose can read calenders and do know that the last day of the season is meant for teasing hunters as the time of relaxing is just around the corner. (A moose's strut at dusk is never more humbling than when the next daylight will shine upon a closed season.) ***Heh, heh, heh. But we have a winter season and no one expects those celubrious humans to be out at daybreak (on New Year's Day), eh?***

Friend Klikitarik,

Heck, I thought mooses were picking on me ... and me alone. A few years ago, Karen, my bride of 44 years was with me in central Alberta. Being THE MAN, I had tags for a moose and a whitetail and Lady K had a tag for a whitetail.

So who saw all of the mooses??? Karen, of course.

One day, I picked her up in the bush and her eyes were saucer-sized. A decent bull sensed her, but apparently did not see her still camoed form. He walked up within twenty feet of her and finally belched and walked away.

Meanwhile, I was working all of my moose magic and never saw a whisker.

Lady K saw prolly a dozen of the big black buggers during the hunt and I saw one.

He was not a survivor.

Steve

It is amazing how a big black beast like a moose can stay so well hidden in the bush when it wants too...


SS