Home
Posted By: Mule Deer Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
After applying for 40+ years, finally drew a Montana moose tag. It's for a cow, which is what I applied for, since Eileen and have 4 bull racks crowding our limited space already. (She didn't draw this year, after already having drawn a bull tag the first time she applied in 1989--when she got exactly the bull she wanted on opening morning--a 34" meat bull. And then she drew an antlerless tag in 2007, which she filled three miles from the house,)

Am far more interested in moose meat than antlers these days....
Posted By: LNF150 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congratulations!! That is very cool and good luck this moose hunting season.
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Outstanding. You were certainly due. Looking forward to the full hunt story come fall!
Rex
Posted By: aboltfan Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congrats on the tag. A cow tag would be fine with me as well. Moose is my favorite game meat. I trust this hunt will be material for a future article.

Question, will this hard to get tag require your most dependable rifle or will you go exotic with the hunt being close to home?
Posted By: shrapnel Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Good for you, do you need any help?
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Originally Posted by aboltfan
Congrats on the tag. A cow tag would be fine with me as well. Moose is my favorite game meat. I trust this hunt will be material for a future article.

Question, will this hard to get tag require your most dependable rifle or will you go exotic with the hunt being close to home?
Antlerless Moose Tag? Sounds like a job for a "B-Tag Rifle."
A big B-Tag Rifle ;o)
Posted By: CRS Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
WooHoo! Congratulations

Nothing better than meat in the freezer, especially moose meat!

Looking forward to the story. grin
Grats! I recall your writing more than once that you had never drawn one, glad perseverance finally paid off.
Posted By: 6MMWASP Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congrats
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Originally Posted by aboltfan
Congrats on the tag. A cow tag would be fine with me as well. Moose is my favorite game meat. I trust this hunt will be material for a future article.

Question, will this hard to get tag require your most dependable rifle or will you go exotic with the hunt being close to home?

Thanks!

The area I drew for contains a no-rifle Montana Wildlife Management area north of our little town along the Missouri River--about six square miles of ideal moose habitat. The legal "weapons" are bows, handguns chambered in "traditional" straight-cased handgun rounds, and muzzle-loading rifles, including "modern" muzzleloaders. This is where Eileen filled her antlerless moose tag in 2007, using my Remington 870 12-gauge with standard-velocity Federal 2-3/4" 1-ounce loads--which are almost unobtanium anymore, since apparently even whitetails can't be killed with anything less than 3" magnum 12-gauge ultra-velocity ammo.

On the WMA, I am tempted to use my 7-1/2" Ruger Bisley .45 Colt with 305-grain FN cast bullets, but would probably opt for the same 870 with good slug loads. Dunno what rifle I might use for hunting in the mountains west of the WMA, but it might be the custom Griffin & Howe 1903 Springfield I acquired earlier this year.
Posted By: SBTCO Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Originally Posted by aboltfan
Congrats on the tag. A cow tag would be fine with me as well. Moose is my favorite game meat. I trust this hunt will be material for a future article.

Question, will this hard to get tag require your most dependable rifle or will you go exotic with the hunt being close to home?

Thanks!

The area I drew for contains a no-rifle Montana Wildlife Management area north of our little town along the Missouri River--about six square miles of ideal moose habitat. The legal "weapons" are bows, handguns chambered in "traditional" straight-cased handgun rounds, and muzzle-loading rifles, including "modern" muzzleloaders. This is where Eileen filled her antlerless moose tag in 2007, using my Remington 870 12-gauge with standard-velocity Federal 2-3/4" 1-ounce loads--which are almost unobtanium anymore, since apparently even whitetails can't be killed with anything less than 3" magnum 12-gauge ultra-velocity ammo.

On the WMA, I am tempted to use my 7-1/2" Ruger Bisley .45 Colt with 305-grain FN cast bullets, but would probably opt for the same 870 with good slug loads. Dunno what rifle I might use for hunting in the mountains west of the WMA, but it might be the custom Griffin & Howe 1903 Springfield I acquired earlier this year.


Congrats John, finally after all these years. I drew my MT. bull tag in 2013 and after nearly 20 days and hundreds of miles both in the truck, on foot, bicycle and even skis when the snow came I was only able to find two without horns so tag soup.

Use your Bisley so I can live vicariously during your hunt while I fondle my own .45 Colt Bisley dreaming of that big dark shoulder coming into view. I'd think those 305 grainers will slip through both sides making short work of the great Elq.
Posted By: NWT Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
That is one of the best tags in the US. Very few get to hunt moose in their home state . Have fun in your preparation deciding what firearm to use and what area you chose to conduct the hunt .
NWT
Posted By: aboltfan Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
John,

I can't help you with the Federal slugs, but I've had good luck with Remington 2-3/4 inch 1 oz. slugs. If it comes down to it, I have a good stash of them should you need some. I've set up quite a few slug guns for myself and friends. The Remington slugs have always been accurate.
Woot woot! Can't wait to hear about the hunt.
Nice! I’ve never drawn. What district did you draw?
Posted By: Shag Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
That is great to hear! You deserve it! Congrats!
Posted By: Westman Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congrats John!
I know that the pursuit will be the best part.....

Bill
Congratulations sir.
Isn't funny as we age, and the antlers are not so important. Like you, I'd be thinking about the great eats. Hopefully the one you get will be an easy retrieval back to your truck.

Wishing you all the best.
Best of luck JB looking forward to the story and the details...mb
Congrats and best of luck to you sir. IMO, probably the best wild game I’ve ever eaten.
Posted By: Ohio7x57 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Another vote for the Ruger Bisley .45 Colt!

Ron
Posted By: Ohio7x57 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Mule Deer, I was wondering how the 12 gauge Foster slug performed on the moose that Eileen shot? Penetration etc. Thanks!

Ron
Posted By: bowmanh Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congratulations on the Moose tag! I know you've been applying a long time.
Posted By: 1minute Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Most excellent. Envious here. We have about 70 or 80 in Orgeon, but no hunts.
Excellent!
Congrats! I hope you have a great hunt !
Posted By: WVGuy Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congrats, John! Something good comes to those who wait!
Posted By: Yosin Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
JB, Congratulations! I drew my once in lifetime Colorado tag for bull moose last year after 21yrs of applying. Majestic animal and the meat has been delicious. I have a some 12gauge 2-3/4 slugs if your are interested. I believe they are Federal, Remington, Kent and Brenneke. I'll have to check my inventory to be certain. Let me know if I can be of help.
Congratulations. Looking forward to hearing about it.
Posted By: The_Yetti Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Congrats! Can't wait to read abut it in Rifle Loony News!
MD, I thought I had some Federal standard velocity 1oz 2 3/4” 12ga slugs but I might be mistaking them for the Winchester 1oz 2 3/4” standard velocity HP slugs that I have. If you can use a box of the Winchesters I’m happy to send them to you. If I find the Federal load that you mentioned I’d be happy to send those as well….just pm an address and they’re yours.

PS….congrats you lucky dog on your moose tag. I know that of all the great guys here you’re the last one that I need to remind to post your hunting adventure. I look forward to your future write up and I wish you much success filling your freezer. Moose is one of my favorite table fare of all big game.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Originally Posted by Ohio7x57
Mule Deer, I was wondering how the 12 gauge Foster slug performed on the moose that Eileen shot? Penetration etc. Thanks!

Ron

It exited--but it was a young cow.
Good for you John! 40 years is a long damn time to wait.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Originally Posted by AcesNeights
MD, I thought I had some Federal standard velocity 1oz 2 3/4” 12ga slugs but I might be mistaking them for the Winchester 1oz 2 3/4” standard velocity HP slugs that I have. If you can use a box of the Winchesters I’m happy to send them to you. If I find the Federal load that you mentioned I’d be happy to send those as well….just pm an address and they’re yours.

PS….congrats you lucky dog on your moose tag. I know that of all the great guys here you’re the last one that I need to remind to post your hunting adventure. I look forward to your future write up and I wish you much success filling your freezer. Moose is one of my favorite table fare of all big game.

Thanks for the offer (and I also thank the others who've offered slug ammo), but the reason we bought the Federal standard velocities was Eileen's recoil headaches--which were starting to get worse when she drew her cow tag in 2007. The typical "magnum" slug loads available were way over the top for her, but she could shoot a couple of the Federals without suffering.

Right now we have probably several hundred slug loads of various kinds, including both 12 and 20-gauge, due to the non-rifle WMA being so close--it starts basically on the edge of town. Eileen has been using Winchester's 20-gauge sabot load with .45-caliber, 250-grain Nosler Partitions on deer since her moose adventure. They get around 1800 fps and work great on the whitetails on the WMA. I also used one on a big-bodied Iowa buck some years ago, which went through both shoulders and exited. I am also pretty sure they'd work on a cow moose, but have plenty of options there.

I'll also probably hunt in the local mountains, where we've found several good moose areas over the years, especially when hunting mountain grouse in September, when the moose season opens. For that I'll probably use the custom Griffin & Howe 1903 Springfield .30-06 I acquired this winter.
Congrats on the tag. Get a fat one.
Congrats!

An old friend of mine drew a bull tag in SW Montana a few seasons ago in a valley famous for high success rates.
He heard from his wife that people he hadn't seen in years started parking in front of his house with sharp knives and coolers when they heard he'd headed afield.
So he dropped his bull at a processing plant on the way back to town.
I still haven't gotten my roast!
Posted By: navlav8r Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Cpngrats and good luck! 😊
Congrats!!! Love moose meet. Got my once in a lifetime ID Tag last year.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Congrats!!! Love moose meat. Got my once in a lifetime ID Tag last year.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Posted By: SU35 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/15/22
Please use the Ruger Bisley!

Make a hunt out of it, not just a meat kill.
Posted By: handwerk Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Great news JB, about time I'd say.
I hope you have a great hunt and let me know what red wine I should bring.
Congratulations. I drew my moose tag last year after 46 years of applying. I harvested a medium sized bull, and the meat is excellent. I hope you have better luck than I did getting access to hunt. Seems like all the out of staters buying up the ranches don't think anyone but them should be allowed to hunt there.
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Am far more interested in moose meat than antlers these days....

Hello friend, buddy, pal. whistle whistle wink

laugh
Mule Deer: Congratulations on the drawing and best of luck and enjoyment on your Hunt!
I have never been drawn myself but have been along on several Moose Hunts with friends here in Montana.
Moose are HEAVY!
I have no advice for you other than I filmed a "Buffalo Hunt" whereon one of my lifelong friends kill't a 3 year old mature Buffalo with 1 (one!) shot from his Ruger pistol in caliber 45 Long Colt.
Again congratulations on the tag and best of luck on the Hunt.
Keep us all advised on the scouting and the Hunt.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Originally Posted by Mike_Dettorre
Congrats!!! Love moose meat. Got my once in a lifetime ID Tag last year.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Looks good!

We've put at least part of six moose in our freezers over the years. The first was a BIG Shiras bull one of our friends got in Montana, which Eileen helped butcher. It was taken in November, after the rut, and he got around 40 pounds of the meat for helping. It tasted fine but was pretty tough, partly because the bull wasn't hung very long before butchering. So she learned something from that.

Consequently when she drew her bull tag in 1989 (on her first try), she wanted a younger bull, and after some lucky scouting took a 34" 4x5 early on opening day, when it was still cool. We aged the meat several days before butchering, and it was great.

Then I started getting frustrated about not drawing a tag, so started hunting moose in other places. Got a 58" bull in Alaska in 1996, on the 3rd of September, when they were just starting to rut. This was also back when airlines still shipped meat for free as checked baggage, which Delta did with my several boxes. After a few days of aging it was also great.

My next "non-drawing" bull was a big one taken in northern British Columbia on the 6th of September in 2002, also before the rut, on the first full day of a 10-day hunt. It aged for the rest of the hunt, and my 2-day drive back home to Montana, and was also excellent.

My third "non-drawing" bull was taken in central Alberta in 2006 on November 7th, after the rut. It wasn't as big as the BC bull, but still probably weighed 1000 pounds. Eileen went along to supervise the field-care, and after aging for several days it was also excellent.

Have heard that bull moose can be not-so-great to eat in late September/early October, like rutting bull elk, but so far haven't killed or eaten one taken during that period. But have yet to hear of the rut affecting cows, so am looking forward to September 15th, when the firearms season begins--and runs through the Sunday after Thanksgiving. But Montana also just started a "heritage" muzzleloader season, for traditional rifles only, for around 10 days in mid-December, which I believe also applies to moose. So there's that possibility too.

Might also mention that Montana allows hunters to apply again for moose seven years after they draw a tag, which is how Eileen got to draw two tags. (She's a LOT luckier than I am in drawings!)
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Originally Posted by Thunder_child
Congratulations. I drew my moose tag last year after 46 years of applying. I harvested a medium sized bull, and the meat is excellent. I hope you have better luck than I did getting access to hunt. Seems like all the out of staters buying up the ranches don't think anyone but them should be allowed to hunt there.

We don't have any problem with access, since there's plenty of public land holding moose around here. In fact Eileen's two moose were taken on public land, both state and Forest Service, and we've encountered plenty of moose in the same areas, as well as local public land in my unit while hunting other game from upland birds to deer, elk and black bear.
Posted By: Jeffrey Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Glad you finally got your tag, John. Shooting moose in MT with a slug gun; I never would have imagined.

40 years is a very long time. If I start applying now and get a tag in 40 years I think I will be about your age now.

Have you done any articles on slug guns?

Good luck out there!
Take lots of pictures.
So 40 is the magic number. I am at 30 currently. Only ten years left to wait.

Congratulation and I hope we see a story and pics.
Can you carry the 870 and the Bisley? If you get to use the Springfield, or whichever weapon, an article will be in order so the rest of us can vicariously hunt with you!
Outstanding! Congress on the opportunity
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Originally Posted by handwerk
Great news JB, about time I'd say.
I hope you have a great hunt and let me know what red wine I should bring.

LIKE!
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Originally Posted by handwerk
Great news JB, about time I'd say.
I hope you have a great hunt and let me know what red wine I should bring.

LIKE!

A Lot of others LIKE it too, JB. Congratulations on your persistence and final good luck.

L2S
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
I retract my previous "big B-Tag rifle" recommendation in favor of the Bisley!
Good luck, John. We all look forward to hearing the story.
Rex
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Thanks Rex--and luv2safari!

Must say I am tempted to use my Griffin and Howe Springfield when hunting on Forest Service/BLM land, but that's one of of the constant conflicts of hunting-gun loonies....
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Thanks Rex--and luv2safari!

Must say I am tempted to use my Griffin and Howe Springfield when hunting on Forest Service/BLM land, but that's one of of the constant conflicts of hunting-gun loonies....

I think you should kill'em with B-S, John.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Bruce,

That's always the problem with rifle (and shotgun and handgun) loonies: Which one should I use?

There's also a 16x16/8x57R Sauer drilling the safe, which you are familiar with! It would also work fine on the Forest Service land where we have often found moose--partly because we often find ruffed and blue grouse there. In fact, when you hunted with us a few years ago, one of the first mountain-grouse places I took you to was also where we've found moose! Though we didn't find grouse or moose that day, it's still a perfect piece of habitat for both....

John
Posted By: rufous Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
JB, I am happy that you are happy. I have only shot one moose. It was a 3 year old bull that I shot in northeast Washington in 2008. I found the meat rather bland. I prefer elk, bear and deer meat personally. I hope you have success and an enjoyable hunt that will fill your freezer.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Rufous,

Thanks!

Interesting you found your moose meat bland--but wild animals do vary!

In 2002 I killed a 6x6 bull elk in northern British Columbia on the 12th of September, during the early rut--which was cow-called into 75 yards in thick riverbottom cover. It turned out to be the blandest elk either Eileen or I have taken, and we've killed some young cows. In fact she whenever she cooked some, she eventually decided to "season it up."

Which is why she lists a bunch of animals and how they tasted in SLICE OF THE WILD, her cookbook about big game from field to table. They're not cattle, all raised and fed the same way.

John
John,

I would like nothing more than to see you with a grouse and a moose, both taken with that drilling. It's a pretty straight shooting 8X57JRS, a good moose killer.

As to your affliction, "looniephrenia", I can't help you. I suffer horribly myself. Which drilling??..which SXS??. But HAH! I solved my problem when I got my drilling that handles and shoots like a fine SXS and lets fly with 7mm missiles right where I point them.

We'll all be anxious to see what you chose, and a premature Waidmannsheil! (hint)
Posted By: GreggH Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
John I hope you the best and hope you drop your moose on the edge of a forest road!

GreggH
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Thanks!

In Montana I've heard a couple answers to the question, "Where do you shoot a moose?"

1) Between the ruts in the road.
2) On the uphill side of the road.

Eileen's first moose, her medium-sized bull, was about 125 yards from a Forest Service road--but downhill. Luckily it wasn't a super-steep downhill....
Posted By: moosemike Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Congrats!
Posted By: shootem Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Thanks Rex--and luv2safari!

Must say I am tempted to use my Griffin and Howe Springfield when hunting on Forest Service/BLM land, but that's one of of the constant conflicts of hunting-gun loonies....

With a tag like that with value described as “decades of effort”, Dead Moose by any means says a lot. Says more than enough actually, much less having been made dead by such a classic rifle. Looking forward to the recap.
Moose a once in a lifetime tag in Montana? Here in Idaho you can shoot a bull and cow. Wondering if Montana is the same.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/16/22
In Montana you have to wait seven years before applying for moose again--no lifetime limit on tags except luck.
Congrats!! Make sure you post the story
So JB what load for the GH Springfield 30-06 ?...mb
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/17/22
Probably 220-grain Nosler Partition at around 2500 fps. Found three boxes I handloaded for another Springfield 1903 years ago, for an African safari that never happened because during my first flight-leg of the trip, to Salt Lake City, the Twin Towers were toppled in NYC.
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Thanks!

In Montana I've heard a couple answers to the question, "Where do you shoot a moose?"

1) Between the ruts in the road.
2) On the uphill side of the road.

Eileen's first moose, her medium-sized bull, was about 125 yards from a Forest Service road--but downhill. Luckily it wasn't a super-steep downhill....
If you are really lucky there may be another option.
[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Thanks!

In Montana I've heard a couple answers to the question, "Where do you shoot a moose?"

1) Between the ruts in the road.
2) On the uphill side of the road.

Eileen's first moose, her medium-sized bull, was about 125 yards from a Forest Service road--but downhill. Luckily it wasn't a super-steep downhill....

My Uncle shot a cow moose down in Centennial Valley in 97. Lucky for us it was uphill ~80 yards from the road and on 2 inches of snow. We took two drags to get it onto a trailer my other uncle backed into a barrow bit. I've worked harder for most of my deer. Thankfully he missed the ones he tried for in the swamp below the road.
Posted By: Teeder Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/17/22
Congrats! That will be some great eating!
Sounds like a plan JB...mb
Congrats on drawing the tag, JB. If you decide to use the 45 colt, I have some components if you are missing anything. Good luck
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
Thanks for the offer, but have plenty of components. (Have had plenty since several "shortages" ago.)

However, am rethinking using the .45 Colt, as the grizzly population keeps increasing in our area--so far mostly in the mountains around town. Just a few days ago somebody got a photo of a mature bear in one of the Forest Service/BlM drainages where I might look for a moose.

But they they will probably showing up any time now along the riverbottoms. Had one encounter with a griz when hunting pheasants near Ronan, Montana in similar valley-bottom habitat 30-some years ago--in the area where more than one pheasant hunter already had to shoot a charging griz, or was mauled.

Which is one reason I'll probably opt for my 12-gauge 870 with the rifled-slug barrel on the riverbottom, and the G&H .30-06 with 220 Partitions in the mountains.

Am sure a single-action .45 Colt with my handloads (305-grain hard-cast at 1200+ fps) would work either on a moose or grizzly, would trust a pump 12 or a bolt-action repeater more when push comes to shove.
Posted By: JGRaider Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
Congrats on the tag MD. Yes, I am sincerely jealous. Good luck!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
Thanks!

Luckily, it's a long firearms season, as I noted, from September 15th through the Sunday after Thanksgiving. And I can hunt a LOT, and know the country well.

Plus, it's an area, as many are in Montana, with plenty of public land. In the 32 years we've lived here, Eileen and I have taken pronghorns, whitetails, mule deer, bighorn sheep (though both were ewes), black bears, elk, and her second moose, on public land within an hour's drive of our house. Along with at least eight species of upland game, and quite a bit of waterfowl. But this isn't unusual in Montana, or several other western states.

One of the more interesting things is how much we've learned about where all the game lives not just by specifically hunting for that animal, but by encountering them while hunting other stuff! Have run into moose while hunting upland birds from ruffed grouse to pheasants, and big game from whitetails to elk.
Posted By: JGRaider Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
Oh, should have edited my post above.......You SUCK !!!!!!!!!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
Thanks!
Posted By: JayJunem Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
John,
I don't mean to sidetrack the thread, but when you mentioned eight species of upland birds I started trying to come up with all of them. I'm coming up a couple short.

I've got: Pheasants
Huns
Ruffed grouse
Dusky (Blue) grouse
Spruce grouse
Mourning Doves

What am I missing? Snipe? I didn't think there would be Sharptails or Quail up there. I'm stumped.
Posted By: MT_DD_FAN Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
Originally Posted by JayJunem
John,
I don't mean to sidetrack the thread, but when you mentioned eight species of upland birds I started trying to come up with all of them. I'm coming up a couple short.

I've got: Pheasants
Huns
Ruffed grouse
Dusky (Blue) grouse
Spruce grouse
Mourning Doves

What am I missing? Snipe? I didn't think there would be Sharptails or Quail up there. I'm stumped.
The other MT UGB species with hunting seasons are:

Sharp-tailed Grouse
Wild Turkeys
Sage Grouse
Chukar Partridge
Franklin's Grouse

All of them except chukar can be found within 50 miles of the tri-county region where Mule Deer and I hunt. BTW, mourning doves aren't considered an UGB species in MT. https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/regulations/upland-game-bird Also, there are two species of quail in MT (Gambel's and California) that are found mostly west of the Continental Divide. FWP considers them illegally introduced exotics that can be hunted and killed at any time without a license. But while alive those quail can not legally be possessed, bought, sold or exchanged, or transported within the state of MT.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/18/22
JayJunem,

The upland birds we've taken around here also include sharptails and Merriam's turkeys.

There were a LOT more sharptails when we moved here 32 years ago. In fact, one morning maybe 20 years ago I put up 4-5 coveys on a local ranch.

But there were far fewer turkeys, and for years there wasn't a season. FWP eventually started a draw for 25 tags (which we never drew), and then suddenly two years ago made it a general season. There are quite a few now.

Also, there were some sage grouse within an hour's drive, but haven't seen any for a while--or even any sign of 'em. Some ranchers say they've seen a few southwest of Townsend, in the big sagebrush country southwest of Toston. The last covey I saw was on the other side the pass over Deep Creek heading to White Sulphur .

There were also a few wild chukars some years ago, evidently the descendants of birds planted both by FWP and people who had "preserves." I have never run into any, but some of my friends have.
Posted By: JayJunem Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/19/22
MT DD FAN and Mule Deer,

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize there were Sharpies up around you guys but I shouldn't be surprised I guess. For some reason I never think of turkeys as being upland game. I guess because I think of upland hunting as flushing birds and shooting them on the wing and I don't really hunt turkeys like that.
Posted By: shootem Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/19/22
Busting a turkey on the flush isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. However the results are spectacular.
Congrats on the moose permit. If you need a moose and grizzly rifle I'll loan you my 270win, no need for an 30-06.

Seriously, I have had the misfortune of bringing out 4 moose in North idaho for friends and family who drew a permit. I hate brush and there's some nasty places I went into.
Posted By: ingwe Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
CONGRATULATIONS !!!

If it weren't for Eileen I would have thought these tags were mythical ( at least for non-employees of F&G)

I applied for 33 years with no joy and finally quit when I was old enough that I was afraid I might actually get a moose. You apparently are not afraid...being essentially the same age as me!

The swamp, as you know is full of moose , so I hope you have a good hunt!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
Originally Posted by Theoldpinecricker
Congrats on the moose permit. If you need a moose and grizzly rifle I'll loan you my 270win, no need for an 30-06.

Seriously, I have had the misfortune of bringing out 4 moose in North idaho for friends and family who drew a permit. I hate brush and there's some nasty places I went into.

Thanks for the offer, but I have a couple of .270s, and know the cartridge would work just fine--partly by having watched my wife drop a Shiras bull quite suddenly with a quartering-away lung shot with her .270, using the 150 Nosler Partition.

But probably won't use either, not because they wouldn't work but because have had a grizzly try to move in one of the moose I've killed. Would be happy to hunt grizzly with a .270, but during that instance (in northern British Columbia) I was glad to have my 9.3x62 when taking apart a big bull moose alongside my guide. Turned out the grizzly changed its mind, perhaps because the horse's raised such a ruckus--but still felt better with the 9.3x62 than I would have with a .270. This was partly because we had to ride out a couple days later past the moose carcass,
and the grizzly was sitting down 100 yards from the trail, belly huge with moose parts. He was stuffed enough that all he did was watch us ride by, but he was also bigger than any grizzly I've seen in Montana, or the 7-1/2 foot boar I killed in Alaska a few years later.
Got an beautiful 30-06 1895 levergun I've thought about reboring to 9.3x62 but it's a hard sell when I already have a couple 338's, and various 375's. But an 9.3 levergun with an express sight island and banded front sight would have an air of coolness.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
After buying my first 9.3x62 almost 20 years ago I never hunted with my .338 Winchester Magnum again--and I hunted a LOT with that .338 for about a dozen years, from Alaska to Africa. But the 9.3 got just about the same velocity with 250-grain bullets, and in general killed quicker, so I never hunted with the .338 after 1999--and eventually I sold it last year, after realizing it wasn't doing anything except range-testing new bullets and powders.

Had a couple of .375 H&H rifles for quite a while, but last year realized that I also hadn't hunted with the .375 for at least a dozen years, also using my 9.3x62 in preference. So sold my last .375 too. If by some chance I ever go on another Cape buffalo hunt will take the 9.3 instead, because I have never been able to tell any difference in performance, and have taken a lot of game with both rounds. (In fact sold off about 1/3 of my rifle collection within the past couple years, partly because I always regarded them to be part of the retirement fund--and while I'll probably never totally retire, would like to slow down a little more from the "semi-retirement" have been enjoying the past few years.)

Might also mention that I killed my last moose, a mature bull in Alberta, with the 7x57 Mauser--which worked just fine. But the two quickest moose kills I've seen have been with the .270 and 9.3x62!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
Originally Posted by ingwe
CONGRATULATIONS !!!

If it weren't for Eileen I would have thought these tags were mythical ( at least for non-employees of F&G)

I applied for 33 years with no joy and finally quit when I was old enough that I was afraid I might actually get a moose. You apparently are not afraid...being essentially the same age as me!

The swamp, as you know is full of moose , so I hope you have a good hunt!

We've worked out some decent methods for getting big animals out, even for "mature" hunters. Plus, Montana moose don't tend to be all that spooky, since most never even get shot at, due to the scarcity of tags! Both of Eileen's were taken within about 100 yards off a road--though one was a closed road. Used one of our game carts to trundle its parts maybe a quarter-mile to the gate.
Posted By: RevMike Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
[quote=Mule Deer] Might also mention that I killed my last moose, a mature bull in Alberta, with the 7x57 Mauser--which worked just fine. [quote]

You wanna borrow it?
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
Thanks for the offer, but have other rifles that will work!
Just make sure it's on dry ground and not in a hole when you shoot it.
Posted By: Deans Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
MD congrats on your tag. Hope you have a good hunt and an easy pack out. Look forward to your write up. Be safe.

Deans
Posted By: Ken_L Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/23/22
Happy for you! Good luck and hunt hard!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/24/22
Originally Posted by Dave_Skinner
Just make sure it's on dry ground and not in a hole when you shoot it.

Evidently you haven't read my previous posts--or any of the published stories about my moose-hunting. Though would like to know about your moose experience....
Posted By: KBL702 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/24/22
Congratulations! I loved watching moose when we lived in Anchorage years ago…loved eating moose meat as well. Nevada's apparently getting a few moose settling in up north. I’ll be looking for them when I’m fishing up there after school's out. Thanks in advance for the RLN article!
Posted By: BC30cal Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/24/22
John;
Good evening, I hope the day behaved for you both and you're getting the weather you need.

We finally got the garden in today as the nights are warming up, though it's at least a month later than normal.

Congratulations on the cow moose draw! There are few things I prefer to invite to dinner more than good moose.

I believe I've likely told you this one John, but I grew up eating Saskatchewan moose from Dad's annual trip into "the bush" with my Uncle Frank and some other friends.

Back then in the '60's is was a "moose tag" one bought and usually they'd bring home cows and calves. However, one year when I was really young Dad shot a bull and Mom was not pleased that he did.

Something about "You can't eat those horns Fred." and "There weren't any nice fat cows you could have shot?" laugh

Good luck on the hunt for sure, I look forward to the hunt report and hearing the details.

All the best to you and Eileen.

Dwayne
Posted By: WAM Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/24/22
Best of luck to ya on your hunt!
Posted By: 338Rules Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/24/22
MD - Best of Luck on your retirement Moose Hunt !

I always thought that Moose caliber s begin, and ended with the .303 British .
All the various 300s, 338s and 375s are just along to scare off UrsusH .
We all know that your hat will accomplish that, Ha

9.3x62 sounds like the right choice for this endeavour.
Posted By: las Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/25/22
I've shot just one moose with 12 ga slug- I think it was a 2 3/4 inch Rem. Foster, but I'm not sure. I was working for F&G that summer, away from home, up on the Yukon. Nearby was a half-mile wide, mile long oxbow, in which I'd pre-season scouted 2 big bulls and a yearling, along with several cows with calves.

My weapon of necessity was a Win 1200, with single front bead, and I didn't think those 7 1/2s were going to work all that well on moose. The Ruby store had two 5 packs of slugs, which I bought, and used one to sight-check the gun on a 4 inch diameter washed out spruce with root wad, which I set upright on the sandbar. Nailed it with every shot from 25 to 150 yards, but with about 4' of height differential. I was ready to hunt!

Opening morning i killed the spike (he was running) with a broadside shot at about 35 yards. Wing shooting! The slug (a bit high!) perfectly centered the big artery just under the spine, leaving artery wall on both sides of the hole. Full penetration, no expansion. He made it about 100 yards before falling over, all bled out.

It was over a week before I could get him (butchered and packaged on site), down to Galena, in perfect outdoor aging weather. Wien Air (now defunct), had a hunting season back-haul special to Anchorage for $25. Frozen overnight in their big walk-in cooler in Galena. They even transshipped it with no extra charge to Kenai, where my wife picked it up and put in the small freezer i had told her to buy a week before season opened.

That might be the best moose I've ever eaten, and not just meat-wise. smile

The point being a 12 ga slug is perfectly adequate for moose within it's range capability.

There is more to this story, like how we rolled a grizzly swimming the Yukon with the boat ( Not F&G boat, not F&G time, any of the above) wake on the way to Galena, but that's already been posted a couple times. He wasn't a happy bear...... smile
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/25/22
las,

Great story!

But did you really find 4' (four feet) of POI height differential out to 150 yards? Suspect you meant 4" (four inches).
Posted By: Nestucca Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/26/22
Go get ‘em Mule Deer
Posted By: las Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/26/22
That's as I remember it, John. But it's been 40 years, so who knows? I wouldn't put money on it - and - a single front bead for sights. May not have been the same aiming point even! One knot hole looks a lot like another.... smile

I've some extra slugs around that I likely won't ever use, and the same gun. Might have to check that out at the range sometime under more controlled conditions.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/26/22
Actually, it could have four feet--or something in that area. Hard to tell sometimes with slugs--especially with a front bead sight and a choked barrel!
John,
That was just the family "experience" from way, way back. Packed in the station wagon, went to Canada north of Flin Flon to a decent guided camp, with wall tents. I was just seven or so, and was let out of camp only to hump chunks of wet moose meat out of a facking mudhole where Dad shot the darn thing, big cold front coming in and we finished getting it all under cover about an hour after the first cold blast, which was vicious. This was before synthetic anything. Thank God the meat was still kind of warm. Thank God also the camp had a nice butchering tent including gas-powered COLD water.

The long long ride back to Minot after the blizzard was rather quiet and the station wagon never smelled quite right afterwards. Beautiful hide, tho, and lots of yummy stew.
But it's kind of moderated my desire for moose, I vowed right then if I ever shot at one, it would be uphill or nothing.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 05/31/22
Dave,

My first moose was a big Alaskan bull, taken very early in September when the rut had just started. My guide and I had just returned from the morning hunt, and he decided to take a midday nap. I decided to catch a silver salmon for dinner, as the run was on in the small river we were camped alongside. It didn't take much time, and after whacking the salmon on the head with a rock, I had just arrived in camp when I heard a loud splashing coming from upstream. So did my guide, who had just awakened and poked his head out of his tent.

Within seconds a large antler appeared around the river-side brush, followed by a big moose and another big antler. I dropped my salmon and fly rod and grabbed my .338 Winchester, which was lying on my daypack near the guide's jet-boat, then sat down and ran a round into the chamber.

The guide said, "He only has two brow tines." Three were required for an Alaskan bull moose to be legal--or an outside spread of at least 50 inches.

I said, "To hell with the brown tines. Is he fifty?"

The guide's eyes widened. "Oh, hell yes!" He paused for a second, then said, "But DON'T shoot him in the water!"

In the meantime the bull heard us, leaving the river and climbing the steep bank alongside the gravel shoreline. He paused near the top, angling toward me, next to the thick alders and willows paralleling the bank. I put a 230-grain Fail Safe just inside his left shoulder, whereupon he reared up on his hind legs like a bucking horse, then fell over backward down the bank to the gravel shore. I ran another round into the chamber, just as he stumbled into the shallow edge of the river--and the guide repeated, "DON'T shot him in the water!"

So I didn't--and watched the bull start across the river, which soon reached above his knees. He then stopped and subsided into the current, with only the tip of one antler poking above the surface.

After some discussion, I took the bowline of the guide's boat and walked up the edge of the river in my hip-boots, while the guide started the motor and slowly guided the boat upstream. My hip-boots were just tall enough for me to put a loop around the antler a foot or so below the surface of the river, and after it was tightened the guide towed the bull 100 yards downstream to a shallower riffle, where it caught firmly. Together we managed to drag the bull toward the shore on the opposite side of the river from the camp, where a meat-rack was already set up.

We started taking the bull apart from the top down, and after each chunk of meat was removed, we pulled he bull a little more toward shore. Within an hour the camp's meat-packer, an 18-year-old just out of high school, showed up with a hind-quarter from the caribou I'd taken the day before, and he started helping. But it took about five hours, as I recall, to get all the moose-meat onto the rack--while standing in a cloud of mosquitoes.

During the butchering we found the Fail Safe, perfectly expanded, lying against the front of the bull's pelvis on the opposite side from where it had entered the chest.

Have had to extract one other defunct moose from water, but it was a young cow Eileen got about three miles from our house, on the edge of one of the waterfowl nesting ponds at the upper end of Canyon Ferry Lake. You can't use a rifle in the Wildlife Management Area surrounding that part of the reservoir, so she was using my Remington 870 12-gauge with a rifled-slug barrel.

We'd found where moose were moving across one of the dikes to the pond, but hadn't found the right moose yet. That morning we did, standing on top of the dike about 50 yards away, and Eileen shot it. The moose, of course, ran into the brush alongside the dike, and died about 75 yards in there, where the water was about shin-deep on us. We took it apart, and after semi-floating the quarters to the dike, used a game cart to trundle them several hundred yards to the locked gate where we'd parked the pickup.

Luckily, our three other moose, all bulls, have died on dry land.
Posted By: GSSP Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 06/02/22
John,

I vote for the Blackhawk in 45 Colt. Put your 305 gr FN in the right place and.....well.....

Alan


[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]
Late to the party (as usual) but congrats on your draw. My cousin's in-laws up in Maine have been drawing one to multiple tags every year since they 've been hunted, so there's always meat to go around. Glad you get to nail one close to home. Should be a dandy write-up in RLN.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 06/05/22
Alan,

Nice bull! Will see what happens...

Good hunting,
John
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 06/05/22
Originally Posted by shootinurse
Late to the party (as usual) but congrats on your draw. My cousin's in-laws up in Maine have been drawing one to multiple tags every year since they 've been hunted, so there's always meat to go around. Glad you get to nail one close to home. Should be a dandy write-up in RLN.

Thanks!

I had a hunting buddy from Maine, who owned a logging company up near the northern border. Haven't heard from him for a while, but he told me about getting a huge bull there, and had photos to to prove it. This was in the 1980s, and apparently anybody who drew a Maine moose tag could designate a hunting partner who could go along and also shoot. Quite often the partner was a logger, who had a skidder--which is why my buddy was designated the partner--and got to shoot the bull. (The guy who got the tag was mostly interested in the meat.)

Is the that still operative?
It was as of five or six years ago. Haven't been up in a while. Next time I talk to Stu, I'll ask him. I know he said that tow truck drivers made a lot of extra money hauling moose out for people.
Posted By: las Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 06/06/22
Originally Posted by Dave_Skinner
Just make sure it's on dry ground and not in a hole when you shoot it.

That doesn't always plan out..... smile

I shot a running 15 mo old bull on dry ground. Unfortunately he was headed to cross the swampy neck between two little lakes and died in about a foot of water, 15 feet from dry ground. I pulled him to shore for dressing. A few days later I was cussing my sore back that I got on the job when I thought, " Gee, maybe that moose last weekend has something to do with this?" smile

I shot a caribou through the brisket/heart at about 375 yards one time. He ran about 100 yards, away, in one direction, then turned and ran about the same, 140 degrees slightly downhill back toward me until he found the perfect 3' deep, just caribou-sized water/muck hole to die in. I had help that time tho.
Well? Season has been open for over a week now...grin
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Didn't even go moose hunting until three days ago, due to extreme heat and smoke.

Went out early that morning to the same area where Eileen killed a cow when she drew a tag some years ago. Didn't see any moose sign, and when they're in there its pretty abundant.

Same thing when I "scouted" a nearby area late this afternoon, by taking Lena the Labrador bird-hunting. Didn't expect to see any moose--and didn't want to kill one late in the afternoon anyway, due to the abundant coyotes in the area and the 70-degrees temps. This was also prime moose habitat, where we've seen a number over the years--but never saw any sign.

While I was doing that, Eileen was home doing some socializing (including writer-gack info sharing)) with a good friend, the wife of the local game department wildlife biologist. She said he thinks the moose population is down compared to the past few years, probably partly due to several being road-killed a couple years ago--and a bad winter.

But its a long season, the hunting unit is a big one, and there are a bunch of other areas where we've encountered moose over the years. Just have to keep hunting!
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Best of luck, John!
Look forward to good news in the fullness of time.
Rex
Posted By: hrnhuntr Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Might vary due to locale. I saw 7 moose today but then again I don’t have a tag.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Oh, it definitely varies due to locale--and the year and local conditions, and whether you have a tag.

Once went fishing for a day on one of my favorite small trout streams, about 100 miles south of here. Saw 7 moose that day, on a relatively warm day in early September. (Put in for that area for several years afterward, and or course never drew a tag. Last time I hunted the area--for birds in mid-September, saw two big bulls.)

When Eileen drew her cow moose tag for the same area several years we saw moose every day, sometimes several--until finding the right one.

I have lousy luck at drawing tags, anywhere. Eileen does not, and as I mentioned earlier she drew a Montana bull moose tag the very first time she applied. Oh, and despite not seeing a moose during our pre-season scouting, she killed exactly the bull she wanted shortly before sunrise on opening day.

The one thing I have been lucky about is choosing a profession where I can hunt a LOT--which in the long run tends to even up hunting luck.
Sounds like you have a good long season to hunt em. I heard somewhere you had a big birthday if you're gonna hunt moose at your age you've earned it. My one and only moose I was in my 20's and 3\4 of mile from a road. My dad was in his early 50's said "son what's wrong with you". Harvested with his 3030 he said "that gun's to small for moose hunting". I loved rifle back then and said "I could shoot an elephant with this".

I remember removing the guts, I took her left hind hind leg proped it behind an alder. Made the first incision the leg came off the alder and hit me in back of head. I said "well this isn't a deer" It was a really big day, fun all over after "bang".

My Lord was I that unintelligent?

After living through that experience and now being just a few years your junior. Sounds like you have an adventure coming up.

Best of luck to you sir.

Good luck and shoot straight y'all
The Golden Ticket! Good luck on your next outing, John. Speaking of draw luck, I have 20+ points for Washington’s draw and got skunked again this year. Maybe next year.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Remington725,
Originally Posted by scottishkat
Sounds like you have a good long season to hunt em. I heard somewhere you had a big birthday if you're gonna hunt moose at your age you've earned it. My one and only moose I was in my 20's and 3\4 of mile from a road. My dad was in his early 50's said "son what's wrong with you". Harvested with his 3030 he said "that gun's to small for moose hunting". I loved rifle back then and said "I could shoot an elephant with this".

I remember removing the guts, I took her left hind hind leg proped it behind an alder. Made the first incision the leg came off the alder and hit me in back of head. I said "well this isn't a deer" It was a really big day, fun all over after "bang".

My Lord was I that unintelligent?

After living through that experience and now being just a few years your junior. Sounds like you have an adventure coming up.

Best of luck to you sir.

Good luck and shoot straight y'all

Yeah, I have a big birthday with a zero four days after the last day of the rifle season--which is over two months from now, so no big rush. Plus, there's a 9-day "traditional muzzleloader season" in the middle of December.

I've had plenty of not-so-fun moose experiences already. My first was a good-sized Alaskan bull that was standing on top of the high bank of a med-sized salmon river, probably 50 yards from the water. Shot it through the top of the heart (as it turned out) with my .338 Winchester Magnum and a 230-grain Winchester Fail Safe. The bull stood up on its hind legs, then fell over backward, rolling down the bank onto the wide gravel bar below. Thought it was all over--but then the bull suddenly got up and staggered into the river, whereupon the guide shouted, "Don't shoot him in the water!"

So I didn't, even though the water was only ankle deer right there. But the moose kept floundering across the river, which of course got deeper, and died in the deepest part of the channel. The only thing visible was the tip of one antler tine.

I grabbed the bowline of the guide's jet-boat, then waded out there in my hip boots and managed to get a loop around the antler. We towed it with the boat downstream to a shallower riffle, then spent the next five hours taking the bull apart from the top down. Every time we got a good chunk off, we'd grab the antlers and jerk the bull a few more inches toward the shore. This was early September and we spent the entire time in a cloud of mosquitoes.

Toward the end, the guide said, "Every time something like this happens I swear I'm never going moose hunting again--but after a few years forget!"
Heads-up the ML season is only for deer and elk. See #9: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0870/chapter_0010/part_0030/section_0040/0870-0010-0030-0040.html
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Thanks,I was going to check on that!
Posted By: GSPfan Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Congrats John. I've shot one Moose in Alaska and the meat was excellent and I brought every bit of it back. I did have to pay excess baggage charges.
We don't have a Moose season here in Michigan but we do have Elk. A bull tag is a once in a lifetime drawing. I drew a cow tag in 2001 and had to wait 10 years IIRC before I was eligible to apply again. I've been putting in for either sex since and no luck but like you I keep applying and maybe I'll get lucky once again.
I have that big birthday with the zero in it just as you do the end of October. We just need to keep on keepen on LOL
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
Yep, moose meat is usually excellent! Have heard mature bulls can get a little sub-par during the peak of the rut, but we've been lucky and gotten all of our in early September or November. (I also got very lucky with my Alaskan bull. Delta Airlines in Dillingham checked the meat through as baggage, no charge--but that was in 1996....)

I don't have very good luck at drawing tags or permits, anywhere! Good luck in the bull elk draw.

John
Posted By: Pappy348 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/24/22
I had that same birthday in January. The zero’s not so bad, but that seven in front of it’s a bitch!
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Yep, moose meat is usually excellent! Have heard mature bulls can get a little sub-par during the peak of the rut,

Glad you got what you wanted.............

I drew a WY moose tag for the back side of the Tetons,on my 1st try & killed an older bull that was chasing a cow when I shot him......................absolutely the toughest wild game I've ever tried to eat, even the tenderloins. Just like shoe leather, couldn't get done chewing it. Made dog food out of most of it.

On the other hand, some of the best meat I've had was other moose meat.

You just never know.

MM
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/25/22
Interesting! Thanks for the info.

That variation in wild game is exactly what my wife Eileen's big game "cookbook", Slice of the Wild, is all about. They're not cookie-cutter animals like corn-fed steers. Instead each animal is an individual, and the toughness, taste and hence cooking methods depend not just on the individual animal but field-care. Which is why the first 2/3 of the book are about all those things, before even getting to the 100 recipes.

What I'm wondering is whether your bull moose was "aged" very long before butchering. The first moose Eileen ever helped butcher was a big bull--but taken during late November, well after the rut. But the guy who killed it only waited until the carcass cooled before butchering, and the meat Eileen got was very tough.

We have aged big bull elk for at least two weeks before butchering, and while not as tender as younger elk, they were pretty chewable when cooked correctly.
Posted By: Jeffrey Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/25/22
This is something I have been learning about and have had to improvise with keeping meat cool for any prolonged period of time. Being in Texas, we rarely get nights, let alone weeks with temperatures cool enough to age meat by hanging the carcass in a barn or the garage. Most often my main concern after killing an animal is getting the animal cleaned, quartered and on ice. Yes, you could use a walk in cooler, but not everyone has those. I wish I did I that’s for sure.

In recent years I have been reading about aging and this year I’ve learned and experimented with keeping the meat on the bone through a full rigor cycle; at least a day or more. Given the warm temperatures here, The tenderloins and backstraps always been the first to come off the animal, typically while the animal is still warm. Now I leave them on the spine/rib cage through rigor.

For aging I leave the meat on ice in a cooler. I fill milk jugs and freeze them and cycle them out with the meat, keeping the ice fresh and while the meat drains, about a week or so is what I tried this year. I tried this with 2 bucks (both mature and rutting) and my elk last year (young bull) and the meat has been the best all around meat since I’ve been hunting and butchering my own game. I also salt my venison well when it comes out of the freezer and allow it more time to drain and get to room temperature before cooking.

I killed my first deer 25 years ago and I am only now learning so much about the fine art of butchering and aging the meat. It has been a fun and rewarding process. My wife liked the elk so much she’s not too upset about me leaving this November to hopefully go find another one.
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
What I'm wondering is whether your bull moose was "aged" very long before butchering.

Only about 4 days as I recall.

It was cold with snow & he was cooled out quickly as well.

He looked to have been fighting as he had a horn puncture hole in his forehead & was in a fast rot as he was actively chasing a cow when I shot him so maybe a little pumped up as well.

MM
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/25/22
Originally Posted by MontanaMan
[

Only about 4 days as I recall.

It was cold with snow & he was cooled out quickly as well.

One of the interesting things about game meat (and domestic meat) is that getting "cooled out quickly" isn't necessarily good. In fact, cooling too quickly can make meat tougher. In fact, if it freezes within 24 hours, it becomes MUCH tougher--and doesn't respond as well to conventional tenderizing techniques like pot-roasting or stewing.

In fact the latest research advises not to allow the meat of freshly-killed large animals (whether domestic or wild) to cool even anywhere close to freezing within 24 hours. Will have to check on that again to get the right temp....
Posted By: GSPfan Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/25/22
Our deer season for firearms starts November 15 and with different seasons such as muzzle-loader (although where I hunt I can use a rifle during this season) and late doe season I can hunt through January 1st. We let them hang for a week or so, sometimes they freeze solid especially in December but by thawing slowly we haven't had any tough venison.
I'm looking forward to trying some of Eileen's recipes.
Posted By: TrueGrit Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/26/22
Could the lack of moose sign have anything to do with the wolf population? Properly aging meat is the trick to quality. Wet aging for 10 days or dry aging for 15 for game animals with some fat cover is ideal. Beef with good fat cover needs 20+ days. Best beef steaks for taste and tenderness that I've ever had were aged 34 days and had mold growing on the cover.
Posted By: Brad Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/26/22
Best Wishes John!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/26/22
Originally Posted by TrueGrit
Could the lack of moose sign have anything to do with the wolf population? Properly aging meat is the trick to quality. Wet aging for 10 days or dry aging for 15 for game animals with some fat cover is ideal. Beef with good fat cover needs 20+ days. Best beef steaks for taste and tenderness that I've ever had were aged 34 days and had mold growing on the cover.

While no doubt wolves have an impact on moose around here, there aren't nearly as many as in other parts of the state--and there were plenty of moose just recently, long after wolves showed up in the area in the 1990s. But we recently had one really tough winter, and a couple years ago at least 4 moose were road-killed in the bottom of the valley, where much of the best moose habitat exists along the Missouri River and its channels. A major highway runs alongside and sometimes even through that habitat--and in fact my wife and I almost ran into a cow maybe a quarter-mile from town one evening.

We are quite familiar with aging meat, partly because I started studying it back in college, as part of being a wildlife biology major. But aging game meat is far more complex than aging beef, both because the animals vary considerably, and so do the conditions they're killed in.

As an example, pronghorn meat basically doesn't need any aging, because the aging process primarily breaks down the collagen in muscle cells. --which is mostly what makes meat tough. Collagen tends to increase in muscles in MOST animals as they get older, but not in pronghorn.

One study I came across back then was from the University of Wyoming, which has one of the best meat-research departments in the country. They compared the meat of old pronghorn bucks with 6-month-old domestic lambs, using a "shear test," a very sharp knife blade connected to a pressure-gauge. The meat from the older pronghorns sliced just as easily (and sometimes easier) than the lamb meat. But meat in older deer--whether whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose or whatever--does tend to get tougher as they get older, due to increasing collagen.

In fact, Eileen and I have conducted plenty of aging tests (including a more primitive version of a "shear test") over the decades. Which is why the first third of her big game "cookbook," SLICE OF THE WILD, is about meat before it gets to the table, including information on aging--and cooling, which as I mentioned in an earlier post on this thread can be overdone, resulting in tougher meat that can't be tenderized by aging. This section also includes several pages of photos of various animals we've taken over the decades, and captions about how they were treated in the field and back home to result in the best meat possible from that particular animal--and not just through aging the meat.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/26/22
Originally Posted by Brad
Best Wishes John!

Thanks, Brad!

It just so happens that yesterday a friend who was driving through the area happened to see a cow moose near the road--and it happened to be in the area where Eileen's friend Alison, the wife of the local game biologist, says the landowners are amenable to giving permission to moose hunters. Am going to try to contact them today.
Posted By: BC30cal Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/27/22
Mule Deer;
Good afternoon John, I trust that you and Eileen are well and you're getting decent weather down there.

We're cooling off at night now - was -1°C this morning when I made a firewood run up onto the mountain behind the house. That was at about 4000' I'm guessing?

Anyways not that you don't know this, but in our part of the world hitting moose or feral horses in a vehicle seems to result in very poor outcomes.

A chap I know used to work at an RV manufacturing plant here in the valley and was picking up some extra side money driving motor homes to dealers around the province.

For reasons I can't recall at present, he had to make a delivery of a special ordered motor home - these were Class C type too by the way - to a dealer in Prince George and it was in winter.

This guy was the world's unluckiest person in many ways and of course about 10 minutes shy of Prince George he hit a cow moose which totaled the motor home right smartly.

While it's a sample of one and all that John, he did mention that the motor home killed the moose faster than he'd killed them with his '06....

Good luck on your hunt again too for sure, as you know about me there's few things I enjoy more than moose meat.

All the best to you both on all your hunts this fall.

Dwayne
Originally Posted by GSPfan
Our deer season for firearms starts November 15 and with different seasons such as muzzle-loader (although where I hunt I can use a rifle during this season) and late doe season I can hunt through January 1st. We let them hang for a week or so, sometimes they freeze solid especially in December but by thawing slowly we haven't had any tough venison.
I'm looking forward to trying some of Eileen's recipes.

Good information, John. I was not aware of this. I prize my game meat, since tags are now infrequent here, and I want it the best it can be.
Posted By: Shag Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 09/27/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
After applying for 40+ years, finally drew a Montana moose tag. It's for a cow, which is what I applied for, since Eileen and have 4 bull racks crowding our limited space already. (She didn't draw this year, after already having drawn a bull tag the first time she applied in 1989--when she got exactly the bull she wanted on opening morning--a 34" meat bull. And then she drew an antlerless tag in 2007, which she filled three miles from the house,)

Am far more interested in moose meat than antlers these days....

Congrats!!!!! That's Awesome!!!
There is hope!
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/26/22
Is there still hope?
I was wondering about this last weekend.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/26/22
Not much, because of a partly dislocated knee. But am going out this evening to do some glassing, in case a cow appears where I might be able to hobble within range....

Have only seen bulls.
Posted By: JGRaider Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/26/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Not much, because of a partly dislocated knee. But am going out this evening to do some glassing, in case a cow appears where I might be able to hobble within range....

Have only seen bulls.

Come on man.......you're killing us.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/26/22
It'll be over soon, one way or the other. Today and tomorrow are the last two days of the season....
Can't MtnBoomer drag you around on a sled or something?
Posted By: ingwe Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/26/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Not much, because of a partly dislocated knee. But am going out this evening to do some glassing, in case a cow appears where I might be able to hobble within range....

Have only seen bulls.


Is this the same knee that Lena knocked out a couple years back?
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/27/22
Good luck John. Take care of that knee and get some buddies to help get your cow moose out tomorrow or the next day!
Rex
Posted By: Cascade Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/27/22
Well John, best of luck. You've waited a lot of years for the tag.

Believe me though, I understand. I've been hobbling around all season on one good leg and avoid the rough country for now.

We're all pulling for you to tag your moose!

Guy
Get 'em John! Hate that the knee problem hampered your efforts.
Wishing you all the best on you moose hunt. I hope your knee hangs in there for you, I know they can be painful when not working right.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/27/22
Originally Posted by ingwe
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Not much, because of a partly dislocated knee. But am going out this evening to do some glassing, in case a cow appears where I might be able to hobble within range....

Have only seen bulls.


Is this the same knee that Lena knocked out a couple years back?

Yes, depending on how you define "a couple years back." It was in mid-September of 2013!
Good luck. I hope you get a nice big one
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Yes, depending on how you define "a couple years back." It was in mid-September of 2013!

Yes indeed - at our age it's like we're living in "dog years."
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
The final report: No moose.

Didn't even get a real chance to find one yesterday, as a big weather front blew in with winds up to 50+ mph, accompanied during the last half-hour of light by what the National Weather Service called a "snowburst," pretty much blotting out visibility.

But there will be a no-moose article in Rifle Loony News, because I learned a lot of stuff from the entire experience....
Posted By: Brad Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
The final report: No moose.

Didn't even get a real chance to find one yesterday, as a big weather front blew in with winds up to 50+ mph, accompanied during the last half-hour of light by what the National Weather Service called a "snowburst," pretty much blotting out visibility.

But there will be a no-moose article in Rifle Loony News, because I learned a lot of stuff from the entire experience....

Sorry to hear about your knee, and that it didn't work out this time John. But of course it's called "hunting" and not "killing" for a reason!
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
Yep!
Posted By: shrapnel Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
Dang, I was coming over for a new moose sausage recipe. I guess I'll have to wait another 15 years. How long til eileen will draw, maybe I can get some then...
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
She drew her second moose tag (a cow for the same area I just drew) in 2009, so she's been putting in again for a few years now....
Posted By: shrapnel Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
She drew her second moose tag (a cow for the same area I just drew) in 2009, so she's been putting in again for a few years now....

So you are saying my chance may be 1/10,000? Well, it is still a chance I guess. Is the horseradish too frozen to harvest?
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/28/22
Right now I suspect the horseradish is too frozen to dig! But if we get another warm spell it might work.
Posted By: Joe Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/29/22
John, I was pulling for you to be successful because, in addition to your good table fare, I knew there would be a good story about your newly acquired 1903 forthcoming. Sorry about your wounded knee, growing old ain't for whimps... and I know that for a fact!
Posted By: TRexF16 Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/29/22
Looking forward to the article John. Hope that knee heals up.
I had weather issues in MT this year too. You remember how nasty it was the first few days of general deer season. For the first time in 26 years I drove back to AZ with an uncut tag in my pocket. I feel your pain - just not in my knee.

Stay warm,
Rex
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/29/22
Thanks, Rex.

One other side of the story is that while we both really like moose meat, our game-meat supply didn't really need any "help." We have two 15-cubic-foot chest freezers--along with Eileen's 15-cubic-foot upright freezer for her "special project" stuff. We have one of the chest freezers upstairs, next to the kitchen, which contains the meat we got the previous year--our "using" meat.

The other chest freezer's in the basement, which is where we put the meat from this hunting season. Between the two freezers we have the meat from seven deer and pronghorns--and in the garage also have the last deer I killed, a big mule deer doe taken on November 16, which froze solid a couple days after that. (Will probably put her in the basement to thaw when we get the time to butcher.) There's also a cache of wild pork from Texas, and probably 50 pounds of boned meat from our last elk. So we're not going to starve without the moose.

The funny thing, of course, is that if I'd put in for a bull moose tag and drawn, it could have been easily filled in mid-October! Or in early November. But had never drawn a bull tag in almost 50 years of applying, so put in for a cow....

John
Posted By: Westman Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/29/22
A few years back I did a mule deer hunt on Grey's River. In that week we saw 6 moose and not one was a cow. Always thought that was a bit odd.
Sorry about the knee John, hope it heals quickly.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/29/22
Thanks, the knee is doing pretty well. In another 2-3 days Lena the Labrador can probably start taking me pheasant hunting again!
Posted By: MtnBoomer Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/30/22
Originally Posted by Whttail_in_MT
Can't MtnBoomer drag you around on a sled or something?
Oh shoot now you tell me! Saw two cow moose down low in a unit XXX BMA Sunday morning. (This was before the snowdrift incident.) Then watched exactly 20 elk lounge around carefree at 2600+ yards while, ummm, I was managing the snowdrift incident. Then, with help of a 'Fire GoodGuy, escaped the mountainTOP as the blizzard hit. I admit I had a thoroughly wonderful day with my daughter and didn't mind the tag soup when we finally made it home.... Best tag soup ever.

Hope all the locals, and the yocals, enjoy their seasons to come!
Posted By: GSPfan Re: Drew a Montana moose tag - 11/30/22
Thats the way it goes sometimes. I drew a cow elk tag in Michigan in 2001. I took three days off work figuring it was no problem. I saw only bulls. I wasn't about to let the tag go unused so I called my wife and had her call the office to tell them I'd be there when I was done. Four days later I did manage to take a nice cow. I haven't drawn a tag since then.
© 24hourcampfire