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I hunted Moose in Alberta, about 90 miles west of Calgary during the last week of November, 2011 and finally saw a bull on day 8 when the temperature finally dropped well below zero. There was lots of snow the entire week, but they just weren't moving into the bogs and out of the thick timber until the temp dropped.
That was my lone experience chasing moose.

I'm hunting them Nov. 1-10 this year in the same area. Should I expect them to behave similarly? Or do they have different feeding/bedding patterns earlier in the month as they come out of the rut? Just curious as to what I might expect since I'm getting so damn excited again.

Thanks for any input.


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Moose are what they are and nothing else.

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Originally Posted by cdhunt
Moose are what they are and nothing else.


Deep....please allow time to ponder.....

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Can't speak about moose out west but here in Northwestern Ontario moose in November can be real tough. Locals refer to it as the November Hide. They are recuperating from the rut and don't seem to move much at all. Real cold weather will do it.

I once had a small bull on my trapline in a small swale between 2 marten cubbies and that bull I saw every day for the first 3 weeks of November. He stayed in an area not much bigger than my living room--that little swale was full of red-ozier dogwood--a favorite food hereabouts.

First week of December and moose tend to group up and move around more--its not unusual to see 4 or 5 or 6 together.

I've always said that if I only had 5 days to hunt moose it would be the last 5 days of the season--10th thru 15th of December.

Having a good moose season here but no big bulls--lots of cows and calves and small bulls but no luck on the big boys. I was concerned after the bad winter we had last year but the moose seem to have made thru it just fine. Calves are all good sized and seen a couple of twins.

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Killertraylor;
Good morning to you sir, I trust all is well with you this finally cool fall morning.

I really can't add much information as to what moose on the other side of the big mountains might do in November as my experience with Okanagan mirrors kkahmann's Ontario moose.

If we see moose tracks into November, which aren't that common as for the most part they head into a valley on the other side of the mountain I hunt - but if we bump a moose then they don't seem to be moving much at all.

It's a bit of a tough spot for sure and I "feel your pain" as they say or a wee bit anyway as the Ministry has moved our bull season progressively later in the year from September when we'd actually see bulls moving to November now - where I pretty much don't see them..... frown

Now to be sure I still buy a bull tag because the year I don't have a bull tag in my pack I'll see one standing by the road waiting for me - and he'd be uphill from the truck like as not too! laugh

Anyway sir, I'm sure your guides know where the local moose hang out as good as anyone there, so good luck on your hunt in Alberta and the rest of your hunts this fall as well.

Dwayne


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We usually hunt moose in mid-late Oct. on the west side of the Rockies and a bit north of where you're going - below Jasper Nat'l Park. Our experience is that a bout of cold weather does help get the moose moving. If we catch a bit of milder weather it can be pretty hard going, but as soon as it's snowing in the mountains and cooling down in the valleys, we start seeing more moose. It doesn't have to get below freezing for this - but then the weather's milder on the BC side than on the Alberta side, so there really isn't a direct comparison temperature-wise - but there does have to be a cooling trend and some nastier weather. Moose behave a lot like blacktail deer: they will stay at home in good weather and move around more when the weather is inclement. Nothing like hunting them in a cold rain or snow. Now, in severe, stormy weather with high winds, they hunker down.

We just came back from a hunt in that area, and if the moose are behaving the same way on your side of the mountains as they were on our side, you're in for a good hunt. We saw more moose in our four days of hunting than we usually do - and got a young bull on the first day out.

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Oh, forgot to add something:


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In my meager experience I will add that if they are not moving, then, especially if its due to warmth, we have no choice but to go to the thick dark stuff out of the sun, in as cool a spots as we can find, and if in a steep draw full of alders or such, on hillsides.. then thats where we have to go.

I've been told you can't walk up on moose. But my wife and I have done that more than a few times over maybe 3 years of learning to hunt them. Wind and noise are factors.... as is going slow. I suspect most folks think them dumb and that they will hang around for anything. The ones we've walked up on in thicker stuff, have been asleep and we've been within 30 yards or so before they become aware of us.

So if what you are doing isn't working, move on to another theory.

Always sort of wondered if mini drives in thickets would work. But most moose hunters don't seem to want to work that hard. Or get off their ATVs for that matter.


We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....

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