2019 Selkirk bull moose tag....(SUCCESS!!).....

[trophyhunt]

Hope to fill the space with “success” in the future!  Still in disbelief that my buddy and I drew a OIL bull moose tag for the Selkirk unit. 21 years of applying, it was our 2nd choice, of course kettle falls was our 1st due to the world record being killed there last season!  Chris and I have been great friends since jr high school, maybe elementary.  We have both hunted moose together once before, back in 2001 in Canada. We had a tough hunt, dealing with the terrorist attacks and the lack of promised moose. I ended up killing a 2.5 year old bull and he got a huge cow. The hunt was bitter sweet, now, we are at it again. This has been a very tough year for both of us, I lost my uncle and we both lost our father in law ( we are married to sisters). Today, Chris learned his grandma won’t make it through the night, the same day his daughter graduated and the same day he found out he drew for a once in a lifetime moose tag. Wow.  I have so many questions about this hunt but will start with just one, what should our expectations be as far as numbers of bulls, and size?  Sorry for the long intro, the whiskey is finally taking hold!  Better go for now, thanks for all the congrats, support and the great info that has already come my way!

[Rainier10]

Congrats man. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

[trophyhunt]

That’s a celebratory whiskey on the rocks!

[elkrack]

There’s too much ice in that glass!

[trophyhunt]

Sounds like a challenge!  Bring it young man! 

[X-Force]

So happy for you! Awesome

I’ll be following along the whole way.

Good luck

[grundy53]

Congratulations! Make sure to enjoy every minute of it. It's truly a once in a lifetime experience. I helped a  friend with the same tag a few years ago. We saw quite a few moose. One of the bulls was huge. You can definitely find a great bull if you put in your time and don't shoot the first bull you see (unless he's huge 🤣)

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[elkrack]

Sounds like a challenge!  Bring it young man! 

I’m sure you would drink me under the table. I’m a cheap drunk
Should be a epic hunt

[redi]

Congrats on the moos tag trophy good luck can't wait to see the results

[wheels]

congrats

[h2ofowlr]

My friend drew this same tag this year.  Hopefully you guys get into a few.

[boneaddict]

Congratulations.   Make it a hunt of your lifetime. Savor it!   

[trophyhunt]

Thanks guys, going to start scouting once I get through scheduled camp trips w family.  I’m guessing I should take my rifle for bear when I go over in August if the season is open?  Also wondering on access, any passes or private property issues? I’ve got some places to check out and really appreciate the pm’s And help I’m getting. This forum really rocks!

[bearpaw]

Moose numbers are way down in every unit, I would say 25-30% of what they used to be due to ticks and wolves. You might go hunting and run into a good bull right off, but I would plan as much time as possible so you don't risk eating the tag. I think WDFW is purposely making records harder to find for past years so hunters don't see the mismanagement as clearly, if you can find harvest records compare the records from 5 to 10 years ago to the last couple seasons it will really tell the story. Having said that, there are still good bulls in every unit, the ticks and wolves haven't killed everything, but animal density is way down. Some of the most serious moose shed hunters have practically quite looking for sheds because there are so few to find. I have had to revamp my whole moose hunting strategy to deal with the lack of animals.

When hunting moose I used to plan on seeing 5 to 10 bulls per day when moose hunting, now if you see one to three bulls a day that is pretty good, some days you may not see any bulls. If you can nail down a good bull in advance of season and get him right off at the beginning of season before other hunters find him that is probably your best chance for a big bull these days. Another thing, you need to be on your game, not as many bulls stand around and look dumb, many of them are gone in a flash. On the last hunt I did in Selkirk we saw a big bull on two different days and didn't quite get the shot, he was very wary, we ended up settling for a lesser bull on the last day of that hunt.

Selkirk is a huge unit with plenty of remote country and there is a chance of finding moose anywhere, but spend some time there and find the areas with denser moose numbers and that is where I would concentrate most of your efforts. Most of the unit is public or timber company land with no passes needed. There is some private land and some tribal land, it's easy to avoid those lands. Good luck!

[boneaddict]

Access is pretty simple. Most of the country was shut down during the Clinton years and now the Grizz years.    Youll find many of the moose hunters driving the one main road.  THere is alot of roadless areas.   With the invention of the internet and hunt forums like this one, big bulls either come from thinking outside the box a little or having a little luck.   Wolves are a huge presence in the area.   Between them and lots of tags, the simple areas that everyone will send you a pm about have moose, but not Super moose.   Part of the enjoyment of your tag will be learning a new area, new country and a new "climate".   That corner is amazing.