October Moose Madness

The beginning of October in Northwestern Ontario marks the opening of many hunting opportunities. I've hunted these different seasons for many years now. Some years with great success and others not so much. With moose numbers on a steady decline in many of the management units, it's getting harder and harder to be successful.

I was raised as a sustenance hunter so if you managed a nice set of horns over your lifetime in the woods as a moose hunter, which was and still is a great reward. The table fare that these large animals can provide is tough to beat.

Our hunts consist of walking cut over areas to determine moose activity. Once we spot fresh signs of moose in the area, we often sit throughout the day waiting for one to step out. The cow pictured came out to us on one of those sits.

As it often goes though over a week of hunting, you see animals in the WMU that we hunt but just not the right ones. In total we seen 7 cow moose over the week. The only bull was spotted before legal shooting time and then never seen again. Our party had just one bull tag this time around.

As it gets colder here in the North Country and the snow starts to come, the moose will herd up in larger numbers and begin to show up in their wintering areas. The average adult moose needs 30-50lbs of brush and saplings a day to sustain itself. Accessing these areas by snowmobile can be a quick way to get you to the wintering spots.

After you find an area, one of my favorite ways to hunt these majestic animals is to cut a very fresh set of tracks in the snow and then start walking until you spot the animal. They're often easier to find by this method but it does take more time and effort to get an animal in this manner.

It's not as easy as sitting and waiting for one, but once you walk one of these animals down and it's the right kind for the tag, you have taken a very rewarding method. It's looking like another snow hunt this season if time permits.

With adult moose tags becoming a difficult thing to obtain, we certainly don't want to hang another one on the Christmas tree this season. Have a safe and rewarding hunting season.