Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Canada Moose Hunt

Just the musings of an old peckerwood here—but I know a young fella—he’s 45 to 50 years old and works a paper mill in Alberta. He started hunting with me when he was a teenager so I know he’s killed his share of moose. He still comes home to Nipigon to hunt with family but he really likes Saskatchewan. He says moose there are bigger than here and more numerous—hunts somewhere around Pelly ,SK I think.

kkahmann;
Good afternoon my cyber friend, I trust that you're getting appropriate weather out in Nipigon and you're well.

Pelly is just a wee bit north of Kamsack and just out of Duck Mountain Park. We farmed south of there about an hour.

There were always moose and elk up there but not where we farmed, but that's changed now so I'm told.

One day when our daughter and I saw 4 moose out on the mountain behind the house - two cows, one spike bull and one of the biggest BC bulls I've seen - I mentioned it to my brother who is still on the farm and he replied he'd seen seven bulls in one field just north of his place!!

This bull elk was taken a year or two back near the park so Pelly area again.



Anyways, it's interesting how small the cyber world can be sometimes isn't it?

All the best to you as we hopefully head into spring.

Dwayne

https://westwoodsoutfitters.com/testimonials/
Check them out.
Absolutely the very best guided hunts of my lifetime.
Most of his business is returning hunters from years past. He is usually fully booked early. Check out the whole website.

+1 - We've been with them once and we're going with them in 2024.

Hope your doing well Dwayne it’s still full-blown winter here didn’t get above freezing today and still have 6 ft of snow hereabouts.
I really don’t know anything about Saskatchewan just what my friend has told me—he did mention that he saw plenty of large bull elk while he was moose hunting. I have also heard from friends who duck hunt southern Alberta—seems the moose population on the prairies has increased—which seems strange—Prairie Moose.

Western moose have been moving into the southern parts of prairie Provinces for quite a few years and they have proven very adaptable. There are actually a few areas where there is a very good chance of taking a trophy bull if that is what the hunter is looking for
It's more like hunting white tail on farm land than a wilderness hunt though .
Cat

Newfoundland.

Good morning Dwayne, I trust you are getting ready to enjoy your spring, 4 geese arrived at our lake this week, so I am looking forward to seeing all of the waterfowl when they arrive and the ice GONE!

I have Bow Hunted Moose in the Duck mountains when I lived in Manitoba. I was stalking a really good bull with two cows that were feeding in a lake. As I was getting within range one of the cows saw me and the "Gig" was up and the feather on my head wilted again lol. I Have heard the moose numbers are down in the Duck, are they on the rebound? Lots of Native pressure and there was a big tick problem, but that was a while back.

I have also fished the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and caught a beautiful 7 lbs. Brown Trout in Laurie Lake, a beautiful place to Hunt and Fish!

I wanted to comment on that JUMBO Elk in the picture you posted, what a stud hey? Do you know what he scored, looks like a 400+" bull. One thing a lot of people do not know is that Manitoba and Saskatchewan grow some of the most enormous Elk and Black Bears in the world, specifically in the Duck Mountain and Riding Mountain Parks.

I will always have fond memories of Hunting both Parks, although my elk and bear hunting around Riding Mountain was not within the park itself but around the edge of the park, which made elk hunting very difficult! Them elk are far from stupid, and they would feed outside of the park and as soon as the sun was rising, they typically bolted for the park line at 100 mph. I swear they actually knew where the boundary line was, as if it was a line drawn in the sand lol.

Anyway have a great day my friend,

KB

KillerBee;
Top of the morning to you sir, thanks for the greeting and back at you with hopes for a decent day.

It's still freezing at night here but up to 15°C during the day so that's given us some greening up.

My information on anything going on out east there is mostly from family who are an hour south on the farm where I grew up and where we farmed for a bit as well before drifting west, so sorry it's not more specific.

The bull was 421 5/8 non typical so a smoker for sure and heavy too as the Manitoba subspecies tend to get if they're getting good food.

https://www.sasktoday.ca/central/lo...in-duck-mountain-provincial-park-4156832

Way, way back in the day, must have been 1977 I believe, my late Dad and I hunted moose east of Hudson Bay and Erwood which is north of there still, but that's as close to hunting there other than hunting on the farm that I've ever been. We left Saskatchewan in the spring of '84 so the fall of '83 was our last Saskatchewan hunt and it was whitetail on the quarter section across the road from our house.

Once again though, it's interesting how small the world gets sometimes with folks who've hunted or been to the same spots over the years.

All the best to you today my cyber friend.

Dwayne

Hello again Dwayne, I thought you would get a laugh out of this.

I still remember the splashing sounds the three moose made as they ran away from me, in that lake in Duck Mountain Park lol.

GOD isn't hunting the best pastime ever? So many great memories that last a lifetime

KB

Thanks all for your help. I researched several of the outfitters listed here. I spoke at length with Scott that runs Ray's Hunting and Fishing. It checks all of my boxes. He seems like a nice guy. Answered all my questions. So I'm booking with him for September 2024 with a black bear add-on.

Now the question is choosing the right poison from my safe. I'm leaning towards the pre 64 Model 70 in 338 Win Mag. But also considering the Mark V 300 win mag.

I considered the pre 64 model 70 375 H&H. But the drop could be more than I want to deal with if the shot is 200 yds.

Any suggestions from the seasoned vets would be appreciated.

Hi bobdahunter, I have killed many moose, did Scott tell you what to expect in terms of shooting range/distance and what do you currently own in terms of calibers?

KB

He said typical rifle range is 100-200 yds.

My post mentioned the 3 I was considering. I think I narrowed it down to 338 Win Mag or 300 Weatherby.

So basically it's a chip shot lol

I have killed moose at 500 yards with my .30-06, I also own a .300 Weatherby Win Mag. I would go with the one you are more comfortable with. A .300 Win Mag will do the trick at that range ALL DAY LONG!

KB

Hello again bobdahunter,

Just curious, are you using open sights or do you hunt with a scope? If you hunt with a scope which scopes do you use on your .300 and .388?

Did your guide mention if your are shooting in bush conditions or will you be shoot in open and clear situations?

Cheers,

KB

bobdahunter;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope the day in your part of the planet it a tad warmer and less breezy than we're getting, but regardless of the weather I hope you're well.

My personal experience with moose is limited to the .308 Norma Mag and it worked fine.

I grew up eating Saskatchewan moose, mostly cows and calves back then with the odd bull taken by my late father and late uncle on their annual trip into the Canadian Shield country near the Manitoba border. Dad started with a .303, then bought a .250 Savage and finally used a Winchester 100 in .308 which he considered the ultimate moose rifle. My late uncle always used a Lee Enfield .303 for his entire life.

Another family member that I've been reloading ammo for nearly 40 years for has killed many BC bulls up in the Cariboo region mostly with 180gr Sierra Pro Hunters in a Lee Enfield .303 which was one of many restocked, reblued and cleaned up by Parker Hale back in the day.

My father used to say moose aren't that hard to kill, but sometimes it took them a wee bit to realize they were dead.

Any of the choices you mentioned would work fine for a bull, as long as you were using bullets appropriate for the velocity and you place them carefully.

That said, the most common complaint I hear from local guides in my section of southern BC regarding visiting hunters is that they cannot shoot from modified field positions in a timely fashion.

Therefore, I'd suggest that if you have either a favorite in the safe that you shoot a wee bit better than the others - I know I have a couple where that's the case - then they'd get the nod.

As well, since it's not an annual event, if you've purchased one or two "because you might go moose hunting some day" then they deserve the nod as well.

Whichever of those you can shoot the quickest from field positions with is the one to take.

Moose are big and they have a huge vital area, but they don't always hang around to see what's going to happen next, so again, the speedy shooting one might be useful.

Lastly, if it's not a huge issue moving more than one rifle up to hunt with, I'd bring my own spare for sure. We seldom head out anywhere for an extended hunt without a spare rifle, because stuff happens sometimes right?

Hope that made a wee bit of sense and was useful.

Good luck on your hunt whichever arm out of the safe accompanies you.

Dwayne

I went up & hunted with Westwoods in 2014 and I highly recommend them. Great bunch of people. They didn't have wifi back then but a quick call to Stewart would get you an answer.

I thought I needed a magnum so I traded for a 300 Win Mag. I called Stewart at Westwoods before my hunt and asked him what they shot moose with. He said 308's and 30-30's. (I used a 338 Federal)

Killerbee- i put Leupold scopes on everything i own. The pre 64 model 70 338 Win Mag has a new VX-HD3 4.5-14X50. The Mark V has an older VX3 4.5-14 x 40. Even scoped up my DG African rifles. Both pre 64 70's in 375 h&h and a custom Biesen in 458 Lott have the VX-6HD 1-6x24 on them.

I watched the videos for Ray's. I would say it's a mix. Certainly some wooded and some clearer country. The bow hunters were more in the brush with rifle hunters more in the open.


I did reach out to Westwood. Seemed good too but they were booked through 2024.

To your point BC30, maybe I bring both the 338 and 300 weatherby. I'm leaning towards the 338 but nothing wrong with the weatherby as a backup. The weatherby has a break on it, so the guide may prefer i use the 338...

bobdahunter;
Good afternoon once more sir, I still hope you're well and thanks for the reply.

Regarding the muzzle brake, for sure ask the outfitter before bringing one because at very least they may want to know about it.

A buddy who used to guide up on the north coast of BC for bears had one poor experience with a hunter and a braked .340 Weatherby, after which he either wouldn't guide for a hunter with a braked rifle or they had to follow very specific rules he set out.

The .338 is a grand cartridge as is the .375 H&H. Buddy who got brake blasted carried a Sako .375 H&H and his boss carried a .338. No flies on either for sure.

All the best once more.

Dwayne

A fellow should shoot whatever warms his cockles, but a 300 Savage is plenty for big game under 250 yards. And the 30-06 is a relative cannon at these distances. 😳