Moose Hunting Tips from the Yukon

by Robbie
(Yukon)

Me Calling to a Distant Bull Moose

I think a large mistake some make when calling is not having enough patience. In heavily hunted areas look for a small lake or pond off the beaten path, even one to two kilometers away.
I have one friend who has a small lake he would walk into with his sons, he said there are lots of moose there. He told me and here in our town of 850 people we can always see moose during the year, we just have to go maybe 2 kilometers away.
Our local game warden and one trapper friend tell me how many moose they see, it is amazing how the moose can hide, seemingly in plain sight.
Regarding the patience, it can take a few days for a bull to show up, I have called from my spot and gone back a couple days later and lo and behold fresh moose tracks. Sometimes the bull moose can and do come in silently. I think the urge to continue calling when you hear a bull reply to your call is sometimes a mistake, you have to judge each encounter on its own merits. If you hear the moose moving further away, then getting more aggressive with your calling can sometimes turn the moose your way.
I have used the All About Moose Fiberglass moose call with great success. On one very memorable occasion I called a moose from across a huge valley while using the call. Those calls really amplify your voice over a long distance!
A cow moose call is in a moan sound and if you need to hear exactly what they sound like just look online and you should be able to hear what moose sound like.

A successful result to calling!

Women make very good moose callers too, pinch your nose and make a longer moan sound. Start with a few short calls about 30 seconds long with a minute or close to that in between.
Do three calls this way, increasing the volume each time. When you hear a reply from a bull, just wait he knows exactly where you are.
Personally, once I get a response, I do not do any more cow calls.
If you have called in a spot and you return a day or two later, be sure to look around for fresh tracks. After going back to the spot you see fresh tracks move off a bit as the bull most likely is very close. Go through the cow calling process again and if the bull replies I do not do cow calling again, but I will do bull grunts to try to get him ticked off at the intruder and come for a fight. When he starts to come and gets close, no talking as they have amazing hearing.
I believe game animals are not disturbed by vehicle sounds but human talking is no good, I always must tell my wife, "Don't you know how to whisper?"
A tip regarding dogs, if you have your dog along with you and it barks, it's game over for you! Dogs are domesticated wolves and when moose hear this sound, they will stop vocalizing and move out of the area. This can last for several days, and they may not return for some time. Moose and game animals are used to vehicles (except of course those in very remote areas), planes etc., but loud voices, dog barking... are a no-no.

Thanks for reading... Robbie

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