Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Other Big Game => Topic started by: RB on April 21, 2020, 08:58:29 PM

Title: October Moose Question?
Post by: RB on April 21, 2020, 08:58:29 PM: Hey,

I am looking at the special permits and was wondering who has hunted the October Moose season. I have hunted the Northeast for a lot of years and only seen Moose before the general fire arm season, and only sign after the rifles start blasting. Would the later November hunt be better?

Like most have about 20 points, I know it does not mean much, but am trying to decide on choice 3 and 4 either early or late.
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: Shooter4 on April 21, 2020, 09:18:55 PM: Late season is by far better snow brings them down and you I living in the Spokane area personally see more moose later after deer season more so nov dec
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: WAcoueshunter on April 21, 2020, 09:30:52 PM: Think it depends on the particular tag. Look at the harvest stats, including days per kill over a couple years worth, and that should give you an idea of how many bulls people are seeing. Yes, some guys want to hunt longer or hold out, but the averages still play out over time across the different tags.
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: RB on April 21, 2020, 10:19:02 PM: Thanks guys :tup:
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: huntnnw on April 21, 2020, 10:45:26 PM: Quote from: Shooter4 on April 21, 2020, 09:18:55 PM
Late season is by far better snow brings them down and you I living in the Spokane area personally see more moose later after deer season more so nov dec

moose move higher in the snow. There isn't enough snow at 5k feet in November to effect a moose anywhere around here. Look for moose paddles and you will get a better idea where moose are. Almost all the paddles found in this area tend to be 3-4500 feet
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: Bango skank on April 21, 2020, 10:52:46 PM: Quote from: huntnnw on April 21, 2020, 10:45:26 PM
Quote from: Shooter4 on April 21, 2020, 09:18:55 PM
Late season is by far better snow brings them down and you I living in the Spokane area personally see more moose later after deer season more so nov dec

moose move higher in the snow. There isn't enough snow at 5k feet in November to effect a moose anywhere around here. Look for moose paddles and you will get a better idea where moose are. Almost all the paddles found in this area tend to be 3-4500 feet

:yeah:

If youre postholing up to your balls in snow, moose will still be there.
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: trophyhunt on April 21, 2020, 11:05:22 PM: I didn’t make it till November, but calling in moose in October is a blast!
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: fishngamereaper on April 22, 2020, 04:50:52 AM: There's just something about calling a moose in to 20' and looking over your shoulder waiting for your buddy to shoot it while you hide behind a 3' tall jack pine wondering if your going to have to center punch the moose with your .357 just to save your own life. :chuckle:

Im sure Nov hunting is cool to though.
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: Onewhohikes on April 22, 2020, 05:38:06 AM: Just reach out and pet him they really are a kind and peaceful animal
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: nwwanderer on April 22, 2020, 05:52:13 AM: Just remember those ears going back and hackles coming up is not a friendly greeting
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: Onewhohikes on April 22, 2020, 06:02:30 AM: When the hackles go up its time to trim their hair which make excellent fly tying hair. Just be careful for any ticks in the hair and you should be good
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: Todd6117 on April 22, 2020, 06:18:58 AM: I had the Mount Spokane North tag two years ago. This tag was all of October and November. The November hunting was way better. You could see a lot farther because the vegetation was off the trees. As someone else said different areas may be better or worse depending on where you go.
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: bear on April 22, 2020, 06:32:00 AM: Quote from: Todd6117 on April 22, 2020, 06:18:58 AM
I had the Mount Spokane North tag two years ago. This tag was all of October and November. The November hunting was way better. You could see a lot farther because the vegetation was off the trees. As someone else said different areas may be better or worse depending on where you go.
Did you hunt the first week of October? Fun when they’re dumb as a rock :twocents:
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: Todd6117 on April 23, 2020, 11:00:38 AM: I did hunt October 1st. The game warden (who is a friend of mine) and the biologist warned me that earlier is not necessarily better because of low visibility and they were right. Warm weather and low visibility were a bad combo. When I returned in November you could see a lot better and I got a very average moose on my 11th day of hunting, which is about the average number of days for the Mount Spokane North unit. I was happy to get what I got. I have heard 49 degrees and Huckleberry are actually better hunts. In the end I was happy to get a moose. I freely admit I am not a moose hunting expert. You will hear a lot of experts on this forum who have really never hunted moose.
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: BULLBLASTER on April 23, 2020, 11:05:17 AM: Having been part of a couple early October moose and a couple November moose i much prefer November. I killed my idaho bull in november and the bulls in that canyon were nuts grunting and fighting in the week before my hunt and when i shot mine.
You will likely see greater moose numbers in november, and i feel like the average bulls killed in november are bigger (idahos harvest data supports this).
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: HillHound on April 23, 2020, 11:07:52 AM: I had a blast hunting moose in early October 2018. Got it done in about 10 days of hunting and we called in six different bulls. I’m sure it’s nice being able to see them out in the open once the leaves fall but when they’re coming in just mowing down trees it’s not too hard to find them either
Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: grundy53 on April 23, 2020, 11:09:22 AM: I've only been on 2 moose hunts (1 was my tag one wasn't) so not a lot of experience. Both tags were filled opening morning. I really enjoyed watching moose rutting. My tag started on a Monday we got there the Thursday before and spent the full 3.5 days prior to the opener just watching the action and shooting grouse. It was a great time.

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Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: benhuntin on April 23, 2020, 11:34:28 AM: You can kill big bulls in both seasons. More fun to hunt moose in October. If you know where to look you shouldn’t have an issue either way.

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Title: Re: October Moose Question?
Post by: RB on April 23, 2020, 11:36:26 AM: Awesome thanks guys!