Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Other Big Game => Topic started by: GoldTip on June 26, 2009, 07:04:54 AM

Title: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: GoldTip on June 26, 2009, 07:04:54 AM: Need some advice, want to fill my Selkirks tag this year with my bow. Currently shooting COC Sonic broadheads, 3 blades at 125gr. 1" cutting diameter. At 70lbs and total arrow weight going to be around 460, probably FPS running around 265-270, am I over thinking the cutting diameter aspect? I have had great results with this broadhead on elk by the way.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: SHANE(WA) on June 26, 2009, 08:07:58 AM: Sounds good to me, I know boneaddict amd phool have for sure
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: boneaddict on June 26, 2009, 08:26:21 AM: If it works on elk it will work on moose. Mine are 1" I believe. The biggest thing to remember is there are fewer options for shots. Hit a shoulder. YOU are done. You wont push it through like you might on an elk. No chest facing shots. You have the boiler room and thats it. Then you only have to worry about ribs. If you have a good arrow, heavier is better obviously and a sharp head, you'll get it in. First one was with my PSE 85pound compound with 40% let off I think. shooting xx78s with an overdraw but still shooting 29" arrows and Satellite 125 three blades. Second was with the Trad bow. I suck at numbers so can't remember my arrow weight, but shooting two blade magnus stingers, 125gr on 31 inch goldtip carbons at about 80 pounds. That set up did better than my first one. Probably due to broadhead design.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: boneaddict on June 26, 2009, 08:41:18 AM: Moose are pretty predictable. They almost always circle at about 30 yards to try to get downwind from you. Always have a shooting lane somewhere near downwind. They will come in on a string but then stop at that distance and circle. That affords you the broadside shot you will need. Unlike muledeer though or whitetails you don't stop them with a grunt usually. They have a mind of their own. In the Slekirks your biggest deal is finding an area open enough. It doesn't matter to them if they are in the thickest stuff imaginable to man, they just plow through.
The other scenerio is they come in and don't stop. RIGHT ON TOP OF YOU. My Idaho moose did that and I am glad I was packing the 06. Shot him at about 15 feet or so. Idabooners also came in on a dead run(they can travel a long ways FAST) and he was going to kcik some ass.
One of th efirs tthings I learned, and I had to learn it several times is that you need to be ready when calling because its often not like elk where you have to foreplay them a long time to get them to come in. They choose to come, its fast and unbelievable how quick. They always seem to catch me when I am in th emiddle of a jungle and have no shooting lanes. The one in AK caught me in the middle of a grassy knowl/meadow. I was afraid he was going to see me, but it worked out.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bucklucky on June 26, 2009, 08:50:22 AM: I wish I had the link toi the video clip where they guy stuck a bull at close range and it charged him almost nailing the guy with his horns :yike:
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: coop2424 on June 26, 2009, 08:53:14 AM: Quote from: bucklucky on June 26, 2009, 08:50:22 AM
I wish I had the link toi the video clip where they guy stuck a bull at close range and it charged him almost nailing the guy with his horns :yike:

I think this is the link:
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: boneaddict on June 26, 2009, 08:54:51 AM: Its on here somewhere. That was one of the most well know AND RESPECTED Archery hunters to have walked this earth......

Had the same thing happen to me in AK Charlie. I was waiting for th elast second to dodge becasue I knew soon as he saw me I was going to take a hit. He turned just before getting to me, The big death sigh escaping the hole in his bloody side (opposite or exit side) then he peeled and faltered and ran downhill and died. I about *censored* my pants for multiple reasons.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bucklucky on June 26, 2009, 08:58:29 AM: Yup thats the link.

Dang Bone, that would be a scary moment, but a neet hunting memmory :chuckle:
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: boneaddict on June 26, 2009, 09:15:09 AM: Honestly Charlie, thats the most hardcore hunting experience I have had yet to date. From the beginning to the end.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bucklucky on June 26, 2009, 09:20:45 AM: That is something I would like to try but I dont think I am hard core enough. Id have to go with someone that has done that type of hunt before. I dont have a problem just going elk or deer hunting In washington but heading to Alaska , somewhere as mean as that place .....wow! I goto go before it becomes a guided only hunt like canada is.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: buckhorn2 on June 26, 2009, 09:21:21 AM: Thanks bone I have been practicing with my bow now I think I will use the gun.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: X-Force on June 26, 2009, 09:23:17 AM: That was awesome footage... I dont know if i would want to be that close :yike:

Good luck with the moose hunt

Quote from: bucklucky on June 26, 2009, 08:58:29 AM
but a neat hunting memory :chuckle:

:yeah:
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: BC CHASER on June 26, 2009, 09:24:04 AM: Holy crap that is an awesome video. He BL lets go.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: GoldTip on June 26, 2009, 09:55:08 AM: Yep, I have seen that video of Dwight, was a very close call. I will stick with my current broadhead set-up and simply do my best to set him up for a broadside or slight quartering away. I was still surprised on the video that Dwight took the hard angling to shot, but hell, he's probably killed more animals with a bow than damn near anyone else on the planet, so who am I to question.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: cohoho on June 26, 2009, 11:00:03 AM: I took one several years ago on a Cow tag in AK with a bow, she took two hits and just looked at me like why are you annoying me, she then went about 100-150 yards and piled up, went to her after 30-40 minutes she got up and ran an additional 200 yards.. I used rifle for Bulls from then on....
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bow4elk on June 26, 2009, 11:12:50 AM: Quote from: bucklucky on June 26, 2009, 08:50:22 AM
I wish I had the link toi the video clip where they guy stuck a bull at close range and it charged him almost nailing the guy with his horns :yike:

That was Mr. Dwight Schuh...nearly soiled himself.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bow4elk on June 26, 2009, 11:15:32 AM: I've never killed a moose, but in general, you will want to stay low in the chest, broadside or slightly quartering away ONLY. ONLY! Many guys shoot a tad high anyway so make a concious decision during your aiming process to hold low to avoid the dreaded shoulder blade. You won't get through a moose blade.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: huntnphool on June 26, 2009, 08:19:52 PM: My arrows are right at 380gr. tipped with a Thunderhead 85. I figured him at 30 yards and hit him right where I put the pin, dead center between the top of the back and the bottom of the chest. I'm not tall at 5'7" and the blood was face level in the bushes. :yike: The beauty of the shot was all 5 pins were on the animal at that range :chuckle: all I had to do was get the windage correct.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: cohoho on June 29, 2009, 08:10:34 PM: Finally found the pic I was looking for, a cow archery moose, the arrow in the pic was from a fininshing shot, not the kill shot. She did take two solid hits to the heart area and still had the power to try and get up upon reaching her 45 minutes later... Just a cow, but still yummy... I'll find the others here soon...
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bow4elk on June 29, 2009, 08:20:41 PM: "just a cow"...any moose with a bow is a worthy harvest my friend. ;)
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bearpaw on June 29, 2009, 08:32:03 PM: Most of my hunters have taken bigger moose, but we called him into bow range and he makes the book, so I am happier than I would have been with a bigger one with a rifle.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: bearpaw on June 29, 2009, 08:51:36 PM: Goldtip
I think you are over analyzing. Any good broadhead into the lungs means a full freezer.

For bowhunting you need to be there before the opener. Concentrate in the south half of the unit for the most moose. Locate your moose a day or two in advance, try to keep tabs on him from a distance. Don't spook him.............

On the day you can hunt him try to spot him in advance, move into the vacinity quietly and with wind in mind, try grunting, if you get him going and he stops a ways out to rub a tree you need to make a quick decision. Will he come closer or not?

If there's heavy cover he may likely come closer, if it's pretty open he may not come any closer. Make the decision and live with it. If you choose to move on him pay close attention to the wind. Sneak quietly, try to leave a friend back a ways occasionally grunting at him and rubbing a tree. You move on the moose every time he is busy rubbing. I arrowed mine at 12 yards this way. If you have a chance to put extra arrows in him....do it. If he wanders away give him a little time and then go find him.
Good Luck
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: Vek on June 30, 2009, 05:31:13 PM: They do come in quickly. Mine blew through 8' tall willow for about 200 yards and held up at about 20, trying to figure me out. Then, for over a minute, he sized up me, I sized up him. I had to make sure he spread at least 50". When I was 90% certain on width and he turned broadside, I let him have it with the rifle. You would have had to be quick with a bow to make that one work, and there was a lot of brush to shoot through.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: WAcoueshunter on June 30, 2009, 09:10:42 PM: Vek, nice to have you back! Always enjoy your contributions.

I don't have a ton to add, as I've only been part of one archery moose kill. But my cousin's Switchback XT at 70 lbs., with less than 400 grains of arrow (he shoots a short arrow with 100 gr. G5's), passed through quartering away from the rear quarter to the front quarter. A little back so not the best shot, but still did the trick no problem.

We were in southern BC, not far from Kelowna, so similar moose to WA. The best thing I learned from our guide was preparing for the bull's approach well before he ever gets there. If we knew a bull was in the neighborhood, we'd keep moving til we found a good lane with correct wind, then the guide would take his knife or hand saw and clear any branches, etc., so the shooter had a clear shot into the lane. As he'd call the bull in, he'd keep moving around to keep the lane directly between the grunting moose and himself, so the bull would come straight into the lane broadside to the shooter. They sure can come in fast, but sometimes slow. The bull we killed took almost two hours of calling to finally get him to pass by. This country was really thick, with a lot of reprod. If anything, I think the thick cover actually helped us get good opportunities (one kill, and a couple other passes on smaller bulls) because there are only small lanes/alleys for the bull to travel in. We'd set up on those alleys, the guide would position himself to bring the bull into the alley, and viola! We ran into a few bulls in the thick stuff as we were moving through and could never get a shot. But if we could get set up before seeing the bull, I had a lot of confidence in our setup.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: Bob33 on June 30, 2009, 09:17:47 PM: I just watched a video called "Lethal Release". There is an outstanding section on a bull moose being killed by a bow hunter in Eastern Washington.

http://lethalrelease.com/order.htm

One of the callers on the video is Joel Turner, who was the RMEF world record elk calling champion in 2008. He puts on seminars locally and might have additional information on moose hunting with a bow.
Title: Re: Who has bowkilled a Moose?
Post by: BLKBEARKLR on June 30, 2009, 11:16:47 PM: My first moose I ever took was with a bow. Awesome hunt shot him at 60 yards he went about 50 yards and pile up. Was shooting puckett blood trailers.