Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Idaho Moose

I was fortunate enough to have drawn an Idaho moose tag this year. Having never hunted moose, are there any recommendations on gear to bring specific to moose hunting to keep in the truck/at base camp/in the pack that a person might not need/think to bring along that they normaly would for a deer or elk hunt? Also, any recommendations on books on moose biology would be appreciated. Thanks.

Congratulations!
Generally what region will you be hunting? There is a big difference in northern and southern Idaho. Do you have the 3 month season or one of the 14 day seasons?

The rut starts in late September though early October. Watch YouTube videos on calling and be patient giving them plenty of time to come from a long way off.

The best advice I can give is shoot them near a road or at least above a road!

Front end loader and tilt bed trailer with a winch.

Thanks. I'll be hunting in the panhandle region, first two weeks of October in which I will be able to be hunting the full length of season. How long are/can bulls be receptive to calling during the rut period? For whatever reason I hadn't thought of calling as a strategy.

While I'm hoping to have a pack out of any kind, the closer to the truck the better lol.

I was contemplating buying a rifle for the hunt, not a flat bed

Have you ever hunted the Idaho Panhandle? Not far from me but I never hunted there due to NR license cost. I have moose in and out of my property in NE Washington but a tag is tough to draw with the goofydick bonus point system. Bulls once in a lifetime tag here. Good luck!

My neck of the woods.

I haven't been fortunate enough to draw one yet but all my family has and they've gotten some dandy Bulls. Even my grandpa got one when he was in his 80's and my dad who has Parkinson's got one a few years back.

Lots of N. Idaho is thick, hilly, and steep. There's some areas that have incredible brush fields and are almost impassable but most is timbered with plenty of underbrush. It's not the typical high and dry environs people think of when hunting the west.

I'm along I-90 units 4 & 6 area

tag , the results are not posted yet , where do you see it ?

Get a wolf tag!

Have not hunted it yet, this will be the first time venturing there. Thanks!

Cool, will be a bit of a change from my recent western hunting experience in central/north central Wyoming hunting. Sage flats and rolling hills mostly. That's awesome your family was able to get it done. What would you expect for shot distances with timber/underbrush along the I90 corridor?

Fully plan to. Coming from a state where the opportunity has been in limbo over the last few years I'd like to make the most of the opportunity.

The Idaho Fish and Game site has results posted under the account pages under controled hunts tab, unless they are fibbing!

Nice draw!! Post pics when your done....

Again, congratulations with your tag. I wish you the best with your hunt.

Results came out last week.

To the OP: I have killed 2 shiras bulls over the years. One about 500 yards from a road and one about 8 miles from a road. I think north Idaho bulls are generally bigger than those in South Idaho. I guess they have some Canadian moose genetics up north. In north Idaho they're quite a bit bigger than elk, so keep that in mind.

They frequent creek bottoms with willows, but they can be up on the hillsides nowhere near water. Keep that in mind. Their anatomy is just like elk, as far as breaking one down. No special equipment is needed, that you wouldn't use for elk unless you think you'll hunt near a road where a block and tackle would be useful.

No avalanch and winch cable though, OK?

They say that a Shiras bull can be as big as 1400 lb but that's one heck of a big one. Most are closer to 1000 or less. I got one just west of Yellowstone some years ago. It had a 42" rack and probably weighed about the same as a large bull elk, maybe slightly larger.

Shots range from rock throwing distance in thick foliage and timber to long cross canyon shooting.

My grandpa's bull was young and small, about the size of an bull elk. My dad and nephew and uncles Bulls were larger and mature, and those were substantially larger than any bull elk. Sometimes I run into some outsized Bulls every now and then when I'm out grouse hunting. It's truly impressive to see them up close.

I killed an Idaho Bull several years ago. I shot it at 0830 and we finished packing it out at 1630. There were two of us and it took 8 pack trips out (4 each). We were traveling around 1/3 mile each way on the pack out. We were both in our mid 50's. All I can say is - be prepared.

I shot mine in Southeast Idaho. It is hilly terrain but way more open than where you are hunting. Mine was shot at about 80 yards, and we mouth called it in. I used a 7mm Rem Mag with Hornady Superformance factory ammo loaded with 139gr GMX bullets. It took one shot through the lungs. The moose went downhill 150 yards or so and went down.

I got mine near Ashton, ID. There was 8 to 10" of snow. We'd been tracking him and I caught him lying down facing away from me. I just shot him in the neck at 80 yds. It was after noon. It was near dark when we got finished dicing him up. We skidded 1 quarter out in the snow intending to come back in the morning with a toboggan for the rest. Then on the way out we crossed some fresh bear tracks that hadn't been there that morning. We decided that the moose was coming out immediately, no matter how long it took. It was flat and only about 1/2 mile to the truck. We got the toboggan and a couple packs and had him out by about 1AM.