Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Alaskan moose hunters

Where we hunt, we saw a fair number of cows with calves but nothing like what we've seen in the past. The amount of bulls we usually see has gone down as well but I blame that on hunting pressure.

My buddies from Fairbanks went back in this past Sunday and said they saw 18 bulls and not one of them was legal. Might be time to find a new area or just patiently wait for the hunters to stop hunting this area.

We had a group of 6 hunters on atv's that were all hunting together and it appeared that they were trying to drive moose from the timber but it apparently didn't work to well for them as they didn't kill anything. We watched them stalk a sub legal bull and they got within 50 yards of it, thought for sure they were going to shoot it but they slowly backed off and left the area. Never saw another moose in that area again the rest of the time we were in there.

Could well be the pressure has the cows spooked too. But I had them walk by me 50 yards away across a trail before we left.

And we go back in as far as a mile, thats all I"m willing to pack if I have to, back there I would THINK they wouldn't be quite as spooky, as what we see back there is generally within bow range and not at all spooky, until they cross downwind eventually and even then they just mill off...

John,

Folks just don't realize the impact wheelers have on the moose and their habits. Hell, we even seen fewer moose when my partner's dad and buddy started to hunt with us. They always talked loud and made too much noise. Our rule was wheelers to camp and to retrieve moose. If you went down after a bull and didn't kill it, you walked back to camp, no one came to retrieve you.

Bob

We use them to get us to camp and to get us in the immediate vicinity to where we last saw the bull. I really do enjoy stalking them on foot, unlike some folks who prefer to ride their machines within 50 yards of one. And of course, we much prefer to get the wheeler as close as possible after we get one down.

I'm headed out with a friend to his cabin tomorrow for a week of moose hunting. With the current cold spell happening up here hopefully it will make the moose more active. The area we are hunting see's a lot of pressure early in the season but it really slows down around this time. Calling usually works very well. I would love to get some on video if we can find an area that has rut activity. Calling moose is an absolute blast and we'll be using a cow moose decoy to increase out odds of getting a bull.

tell me about the decoy. I mentioned that to her the other day, she said no, the bulls already come in to 20 yards or less generally when calling... but I"m curious... I think one on a piece of fabric between 2 trees would be light and easy and a hoot!

It's this one. I've used it quite a few times over the years and it works when the rut is going good. It tends to attract the smaller bulls but we have killed a few bigger ones using it, specifically one with a bow and another with a muzzleloader.

I'll set it up this coming week and take some pics or if we can get a response, i'll try and video tape it.

I don�t know about the areas you hunt moose at, but I hunt on GMU 20B (the remainder of 20B by the Elliott Highway near Washington Creek). All over this area we ride ATV�s back and forth to our hunting spots, at which places we stay all day. Then return to our campsites when too dark to see.

Anyway, aircraft of all kinds fly over this area all day and night long, which may be a reason why ATV�s don�t seem to bother moose at all. But a big problem most of us �bull moose hunters� is as follows:

Before the early 2000�s (2005 or so) we had plenty of bulls and the hunt success rate was quite good. There were around 30 or more hunters out there each season. We had lots of wolves, and bears too. We could sit at our campsite and make a few bull grunts, and we could hear bulls answering our calls all around. Back then we had to choose which bull to kill, or which shot to pass.

Then F&G allowed for the killing of cows, and a few years later we started spending most of the season looking for a bull to hunt. Last year it took four of us to finally kill a bull on the 20th, the last day of the season, and this year we only saw any bulls out in the valleys below, way out of reach. No moose for us this year. Meanwhile, a hunter killed a bull by the trailhead, and the tree cows we saw this year were killed by cow hunters in the same area.

c. Black bears are still around (we saw one), but unlike a few years ago there were no wolves around, the bulls have disappeared, and the killing of cows continue.

I"m glad you agree on cow killing. It seems to be a farce to the folks, trying to protect vehicles from crashes, and if so, and thats a legit idea to me, then you harvest moose within 500 yards or so of the road ONLY RE cows. Leave the rest alone except for specific problem areas and then issue only X amount of permits that are actually needed.

IMHO the ATVs up and down the road don't botehr em that much. The brush busters do though. But neither will see as many animals as we see on foot.

I do not care for those that ride through constantly on a trail early and late just hoping, but its their right. Doesn't help them or the rest of us out there.

I did talk to some folks out there, they asked if we broke down, nope, prefer to walk. Then a few days later we took a quad down the road about 4 miles or so and then went to foot, to save some time and a bit of walking in a bog.... They came by, and said, thought you liked foot. We do but we decided to drive up here and then go on foot to get away from you folks that drive all day long....

While I can't comment as I"ve yet to find a 50 incher in range, we've damn sure been close both hunts. And more than likely see more animals every day than most of the riders.


John, let me know where to buy and how it works! Good luck
Jeff

They no longer make the model I have but there are a couple of others out there that should work just fine. One of these along with a Bull Magnet should get some action fairly quickly during the rut.


http://www.phantomcalls.com/store/p/654-Phantom-Cow-Moose-Decoy.html

http://www.montanadecoy.com/hunting-decoys/big-game/moose-ii

Or, you could just find a cow and watch her. Her body language will tip you off to any other moose within several hundred yards. Might even have a bull come nosing over, especially her last year's calf.

I've killed several bulls this way.

Saves a lot of cash and lugging.....

Good luck, you guys. All I've gotten so far this year for my moose hunting efforts is a badly crippled outboard. Fortunately, I could row home.... But i have until March to ruin the 4-wheeler and/or snowmachine....

I did make a life-size decoy out of a big piece of cardboard one year, then snuck it a half mile down country to within 200 yards from my partner's lookout over this long, narrow swale during the night and set it up.

I didn't think a nice Christian man like he is should be directing words like that to his heathen hunting partner (snigger!).

This is one of the reasons we go....Not figured how to guess the size for sure yet, but know he wasn't 50.... Was thinking for the bit of time we had him at 20 yards, I shoudl be judging him closely, to learn, but just enjoyed watching the show as he postured and beat up a tree.... and after he got downwind of us, we got him to come back even closer about 20 minutes later....but behind us so no pics...

Pictures like this one and friendships are the real reasons


Las, I hope to meet you one day and I love the decoy humor!!

Looking for the "Like" button here, Jeff!

41"

32"

33"

Some moose hunter you are... turned down a perfectly good offer to pack er hunt tomorrow when there is a known bull hanging out...

Ears, casually held: 24 inches

LMFAO


34" 2N2 ON ROST495 bull

GREAT EATER FOR SURE!