2020 Bull Moose Southwestern Montana

Hams42

Hams42

Active member
Joined
Jun 3, 2020
Messages
62
Location
Billings Montana
Hello all. This is my first post on the forum I've been meaning to join for a while now but had never gotten around to it until now.

I am happy to say that I was fortunate enough to draw a Bull Moose tag in unit 361-51 in southwestern Montana just west of the the park and south of Hebgen lake.

I was talking to a buddy of mine a couple days ago about the area and I told him that I was a little discouraged after my first scouting trip. A few factors had to do with this. The first was that weather was pretty bad most of the weekend so I wasn't able to glass very much. Second was the fact that in the unit I drew over 75% of it is National Forest land which is awesome but unknown to me you can build a private cabin on national forest. There are tons of cabins along the edge of the lake. So that made me pretty upset. And finally I didn't see any moose.

Now this post isn't just about me complaining there were some upsides to the first trip. I had a nice weekend away with my wife to an area I had never explored, I saw multiple elk, I found moose tracks, and I found some areas to look for moose in the future since Memorial day weekend is just about the worst weekend to look for animals.

So after telling this to my buddy he says, "Hey why don't you ask for some help on Hunt Talk."
So here I am.

I am so excited about this tag I cant even Express it but at the same time I am super stressed out. I've heard Big Fin talk about how "Glory Tags" can make you so stressed that you don't enjoy the hunt. I am trying so hard not to stress about this because I want to enjoy it. I try to keep telling myself that I'm only 23 if I don't fill this tag I'm sure I'll draw again in my life.

With that ridiculously long introduction I want to ask for help.
So if anyone has any suggestions they can share if they've hunted the area before or if they have moose hunting tips (how to find them, how to judge their size, ect), or how to not be a stress ball and enjoy themselves I would truly appreciate the help.


-Hams
 
Welcome, can’t help much, I’ve only seen a small one headed down the mountain in the trip I did out there. Some beautiful country, keep us posted on your hunt.
 
Welcome to HuntTalk.

I had this tag 7 years ago, and spent many days scouting and saw nothing. Opening day I found quite a few and a bull I was happy with. We have have had 2 family friends also have it since then and they both shot bulls as well.

I feel I got pretty lucky, so take it with a grain of salt, but I would spend time scouting for moosey places, which there are many down there, and don't worry a bunch about scouting for specific moose. They are there. Focus on the larger willow'd areas.

Good luck and enjoy the tag.
 
Best of luck and keep us posted! It’ll be the best meat when you get it done! Will you be using horses or a lot of friends😉
 
A few things I learned on my hunt from a different Montana Unit: Look for the areas with willows, as previously stated. If you want to find individual moose, look for the Cows, the bulls will find them in September. The rut seems to really fire up towards the end of September. I had better luck raking trees with a beef scapula than any other form of calling. From ear tip to ear tip, they're about 30". Like Grizzlies, They are where they find you, so don't stress about not seeing them much before the hunt. Take every damn scrap of meat when you get one on the ground- it's some of the best meat I've had, period. Browse HT and find other Moose threads- they're entertaining, and full of tidbits of advice and lessons learned! Welcome to the Forum. Please keep us informed! We all like a good story, and pictures help us illiterate ones.
 
Years ago we were bow hunting elk up Sheep creek..I think it's called. Trailhead over by Slide Inn. We were camped up in the basin . Spotted a decent moose from my bivy sack early morning about a half mile away. I told my buddy to watch this...started some cow moose calling and brought that bull on the run to 50 yards.
Only action of the trip.
 
Call region 3 and find out who the biologist is for that region after you have a good general sense of the unit.

Think about finding leased hunting land in the area, and then inquiring if they will let you on for moose. Often, the leasees are just there for elk and deer.
 
If this is a September hunt, learn how to call, call some more, then practice calling more. Rutting moose can be pretty easy to fool during the rut but you can also mess up and push them away. You don't have to be an expert at calling, but you need to understand which call to make when and from personal experience, how to let out the right call when your adrenaline/buck fever is through the roof.

What you can do is to locate cows early, find water and food (willows, they love that shit), if there are cows with calves then there is 100% a bull(s) around and you don't have to see it to know that. Keep in mind that a bull moose weighs up to 1000 lb, is dark brown and its hot as hell outside in July. That bull will be more active at night until the rut hits then he will be all kinds of stupid.

Final tip, if you can avoid shooting one in a swamp or slough, WAIT! I've quartered three bulls on solid ground, two of which had just emerged from water and boy am I glad I didn't have to get wet.
 
sneakypete said:
Best of luck and keep us posted! It’ll be the best meat when you get it done! Will you be using horses or a lot of friends😉
Click to expand...
Well depending on when I shoot it I'll have friends and family. But if I shoot one in the middle of the week it may just be my wife and I 😅
 
Thank you all for the support and tips that you have all given. I'm blessed that got this tag and I'm happy that there is such a great community here to help. I will keep you all up to date as the season draws near.
 
SaskHunter said:
If this is a September hunt, learn how to call, call some more, then practice calling more. Rutting moose can be pretty easy to fool during the rut but you can also mess up and push them away. You don't have to be an expert at calling, but you need to understand which call to make when and from personal experience, how to let out the right call when your adrenaline/buck fever is through the roof.

What you can do is to locate cows early, find water and food (willows, they love that shit), if there are cows with calves then there is 100% a bull(s) around and you don't have to see it to know that. Keep in mind that a bull moose weighs up to 1000 lb, is dark brown and its hot as hell outside in July. That bull will be more active at night until the rut hits then he will be all kinds of stupid.

Final tip, if you can avoid shooting one in a swamp or slough, WAIT! I've quartered three bulls on solid ground, two of which had just emerged from water and boy am I glad I didn't have to get wet.
Click to expand...
Lol your from sask those are supposed to come out whole
 
Learn all the areas with willows/swampy areas. Learn to call, get an old wooden paddle for raking and hunt the rut. When you hear a bull grunting, be sure you know how to call back to him with bull calls and maybe cow calls if he doesn't respond to the bull call. After you call use that paddle and rake small trees/brush. Don't be shy with it. If you have his attention, get ready, it can happen quick.
 
Hem said:
Years ago we were bow hunting elk up Sheep creek..I think it's called. Trailhead over by Slide Inn. We were camped up in the basin . Spotted a decent moose from my bivy sack early morning about a half mile away. I told my buddy to watch this...started some cow moose calling and brought that bull on the run to 50 yards.
Only action of the trip.
Click to expand...
I'm planning on hiking into sheep creek over July 4th. Does it open up at all or is it just dense timber?
 
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