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Joined: Oct 2011
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WIMN Offline OP
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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).

BP-B2

Joined: Aug 2005
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A good start will be to read the sticky at the beginning of this section. Then more information will be helpful. Have you picked a province? How important is a bull vs. a meat animal? I can't be much help on guided hunts since I've only been exposed to couple of them. IME I would be leery of hunts where they are using Indian guides. On a high priced hunt it may not be a problem, they may screen their people better. This is something I would prefer not to discuss on an open forum, a PM would be preferable.

If hunting in a group of 2 or more be sure to ask if quoted success rates given are per hunter or per party. Some small outfitters like to say a party of 4 getting one moose as having 100% success rate.

If this is likely to be a one time trip be sure to follow up with previous clients, both successful and unsuccessful.

We will wait and see what other comments come in from other posters who have more experience with outfitted Canadian hunts.

Jim

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WIMN Offline OP
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Since this would probably be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for me, I would like to return with a trophy. For me.. this could be a bull moose with a 40" spread. I am not too particular about a province, but I live in Minnesota so something with a shorter drive would be preferable (Manitoba, Ontario, or Saskatchewan compared to BC/Alberta).

Reading I have done suggests I might enjoy the greatest success in Newfoundland/Labrador, but flights from here to there are about $2k, plus outfitter fees of $5k+. This means shipping antlers back and would unlikely be able to take back meat. I would ideally enjoy both a set of antlers and some meat.

A lot of outfitters for northern Ontario have reasonable rates for unguided fly-ins/drive-ins, and includes 1 bull and 1 cow tag. I have seen some of the folks on here discussing how moose population in Ontario is not doing very well, but these outfitters suggest they have good success rates. Any opinions?

Here's an example:
http://exc-adventures.com/

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Again I would suggest finding out what any outfitter defines as a successful hunt since some consider one moose taken in a party to be a successful hunt. if you come from an area where a successful deer hunt equates to every hunter in the party filling out then you might not agree with the outfitters interpretation.

As an example our group has hunted the same lake for 10 or 12 years. Group size is usually 4 or 5 hunters. We are happy if we take one moose a year. Still we have been skunked twice in the last 5 years. Last year we took 2 for a party of 5. During the same week a camp down the lake took 4,which is quite unusual.

You might want to contact Eddie North who operates near Attawapiskat. A party from Mi. brought out 4 during the same week we were hunting. Don't know if they were guided or not.

Jim

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I think that if you hunt in Newfoundland,it would be your best chance to get a moose maybe not a big one but a moose...

IC B2

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Check out my post here Thanks for the moose Ont, and then read the full story in the Big Game forum, Forty Year Moose. Then PM me with questions.


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