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Another idea - go on a cow elk hunt. Great meat & no waiting to draw

East coast Newfoundland hands down
West coast southern BC Alberta

So - we had the same idea from the Virginia area - seven hunters booked in Feb 2019, hunt executed in Oct of 2021 with six hunters, and five moose taken.

One hunter didn't make the trip (me) - had a COVID positive test a week before the PRC test for the border.

Two pick-up trucks, one with a 14 foot trailer, three freezers, one small generator, and every large capacity cooler we could beg, borrow or steal to go with.

We had about 1500 quarts of storage, and used most of it - the guys on the trip were very happy with the results, the outfitter, and most of the travel arrangements.

All of our hunters have re-booked for 2024 - I'm carrying over my deposits with the outfitter, he's been very accommodating with the arrangements.

I solved the cow moose meat hunt riddle after 20+ years of trying to draw moose tags in 4 states.
I just arranged things to hunt cow elk in adjoining states to fully fill the freezer.

Don't get me wrong tho...still puttin' in for those ever lovin' tags...

That sucks but I am glad to see you're making the best of it.

I have 3 out of country hunts lined up this year and dread getting the test results back so close to crunch time. It sounds like you had a non standard test done before the official PRC test, which can be no older than 3 days before entering Canada correct?

Yes - we had an exposure to the family early the week prior to the border PRC test (yes, must be within 72 hours of Border crossing), so the spouse and daughter tested - they were positive...so, I took one as well.

For the other 6 - we all scheduled PRCs through a local clinic in the late afternoon before travel, and had the results e-mailed to us on the road, and printed the results at the motel for the first overnight.

From VA - 14 hours to Maine, RON on the US side - crossed the border at first light, then up to near the ferry crossing, RON - arrive at the ferry crossing early-ish the next day.

Cross the channel on the midnight ferry, and drive to near the lodge and RON - we built an extra day in for the ferry crossing - based on advise from other hunters going the same route.

The border crossing went very easy - but we had prepped all of the paperwork before, and had folders ready to go - everyone was sober, and cooperative.

General comments - shots can be from thick cover under 15 yards to 300-400 in the open, or a "window" shot between the trees.

In October - it's wet...wear rubber boots over treated leather, and multiple sets of clothes needed - under raingear every day.

Moose are big - you truly don't realize how big - until the first one is down...

You may walk - a lot - to get where the moose are, or are not - one hunter covered 15 miles in five days with no shot - it happens.

Look at adding a bear tag - they're inexpensive (to me) and the bears look big and healthy from what I have seen from the pictures.

Both Newfoundland and Yukon hunts were a thrill. The Yukon hunt was three times the cost but I gained 20" in the antler spread. 48" vs 68".

Nice roundoak. I just wanna kill a moose! Who did you hunt with?

Canada will accept any Molecular covid test, not just the PCR test. A same day NAAT test is ok and I got my results in one hour from a local Walgreens drug store. Did it at the drive thru and never got out of the car. The rapid antigen test is NOT ok for entry to Canada. We had everything in order and were at the border no more than five minutes longer than usual. I guess Canada does some random testing of border crossers and that could be a major PIA if a person were to test + then.

Efford's Hunting Adventures Port Blandford, NL

That is probably one of the best NF moose I’ve seen & a beautiful Yukon!

In many of the states with moose you can put in for a cow tag and those are a whole lot easier to draw. You're still hunting moose and still getting a pile of good meat if you score you just don't get a set of antlers and if those aren't important to you then that is a moot point.

Just an FYI with our experience with Effords Our moose hunt

We'll be going back to WestWoods in 2024. https://www.westwoodsoutfitters.com

Wow! Sorry to hear of your bad experience with Efford's. It certainly does not mirror my experience with the outfitter.

When I decided to hunt the rock I was lucky to know some hunters that had great trips with Efford's and gained a lot of valuable information on travel, accommodations and hunting conditions. My first hunt with Efford's was a Caribou hunt and was very pleased with the entire experience. Then got the itch for a moose and went with Efford's.

On both hunts my worst experience was coming thru US Customs.

That's sure a common theme! We'll be driving up next time and taking the ferry and the folks who did that said both customs experiences were fine. I'll never go through Toronto again and a pox on every US Customs agent we dealt with there. "User hostile" is the nicest thing I can say.

We have been driving up to hunt for almost 20 years, with the exception of 2020. We've never really had any problems on either side. One US Fish & Wildlife guy was kind of a jerk, but not horrible. We've always had our ducks in a row, literally and figuratively, and have not had problems. Hope to go again this fall. We tend to cross in rural areas and the Canadian border folks, like all Canadians we've met, tend to be quite friendly.

Pugs, will you be hauling the meat back?

WMR, did you haul the meat back?

No moose (yet) for me. We hunt waterfowl and always bring them back. This year, in part because of this thread, I'll be moose hunting in Alberta and then do some waterfowling, so I hope to bring back both. I've hunted AK DIY the past 2 years and have stories, but no moose to show for it.

JGRaider: MY Black Bear and Elk Hunting partner went with a pack of his relatives to Newfoundland to Hunt Moose this past fall.
They killed 5 (five!) Bull Moose for 5 (five) Hunters!
I kinda wish I had ponied up and went along now?
They were on hold for either one or two years getting into Canada for the Hunt because of the chinese red death flu thing.
He said lots of Moose and maybe the lowered harvesting the previous couple of years helped them?
Good luck wherever you try.
I am into my 24th (twenty fourth) year of applying for a draw Moose tag here in Montana!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

i'm not that desperate to become vaccine damaged just to shoot a moose.

shoulda, woulda, coulda.. water under the fridge at this juncture.