2022 Colorado Cow Moose

[Khunter]

you read the regs and knew cow did not have to have head brought to CPW. good!

 

[jwatts]

you read the regs and knew cow did not have to have head brought to CPW. good!

Yes sir. I reread and saw only teeth were required. That made things a lot easier

 

[Southern Elk]

I was the pack mule that drove down from Montana. Here are a few cool pictures. It was a lot of fun.

Josh’s first load.

Norton’s load

My first load

Josh getting his final load ready in the snow.

My second load at the trailhead. Notice I was smart enough to wear my rain gear.

 

[CPAjeff]

So awesome - looks like quite the adventure! Thanks for sharing!

 

[JohnCushman]

Way to go!!!!!!! There's a whole lot of moose on the ground from HTers this fall!

 

[Southern Elk]

All that was left.

The mountains we packed her out of after the storm.

 

[kansasdad]

What a nice trip.

Your last photo is frame worthy. Well done gents

 

[jwatts]

Way to go!!!!!!! There's a whole lot of moose on the ground from HTers this fall!

It was a heck of a trip. I'd definitely do it again

 

[jwatts]

This trip started off as a desire to hunt moose. It was something that I really didn't know that I could pull off. After some research I saw that it was pretty feasible to plan on drawing a Colorado cow tag.

If you ask someone for tips on mule deer or elk hunting, especially down to specific units, you'll probably not like the response. Here in Mississippi when it comes to public land hunting our motto is "I ain't seen shit". I'll say that the opposite is true for these trophy species tags. I was able to speak with a lot of people regarding cow moose hunting in Colorado prior to this hunt.

I spoke with previous tag holders for other units. I spoke with previous tag holders for this specific unit. I was even able to connect and swap intel with people holding tags in my unit for this season. This lead to scoring intel on a few access points. It even lead to getting access to a cabin just outside of my unit for this hunt.

Thanks to everyone on here and elsewhere that helped me along during this hunt. With a little assistance I was able to severely lessen the learning curve for moose hunting. If you're thinking of doing a moose hunt, do your research and make it happen. You won't regret it.

 

[Sask hunter]

Congrats she will be tatsy!

 

[jwatts]

Congrats she will be tatsy!

We had moose tacos a few nights ago. My wife asked when I could go back and get another one.

 

[jwatts]

For every trip we make out west, I keep a gear list where I make note of what I use and what I don't. I also track fuel mileage, fuel costs, and any other expenses for the trip, and use that to estimate the next trip. For those interested, here are my projected and actual expenses for this trip. This doesn't include individual meals (we each brought frozen meals to share and covered our own food on the road). It also doesn't include tags and processing costs. The average mileage projected was based on 3 previous trips with no camper shell on the truck. It looks like the camper shell is good for a loss of 2mpg, but a gain of secured storage out of the weather.

Projected mileage and expenses

Distance- Based off of our recent scouting trip, 3000 miles for the Colorado portion. Add in a round trip to Gillette for an additional 850mi round trip.

Total mileage- 3850
Average fuel cost currently- $3.67
Average mileage based off previous trips- 14.5mpg
Projected fuel costs- $975

Hotels- We will need a room on either end of the drive. I have a free room we can use on one end of the drive. Will likely need another room around Denver for the ride home.
Raton/Amarillo/Denver hotel- $115 average

Total expenses- $1090 total

• Buy sandwich stuff to split for lunches, ice, etc- $20ea
• Bring extra cash to cover Gillette expenses/hotels
• $800ea known (fuel, hotels, shared food) and any incidentals (Gillette hotels, etc)

Actual mileage and expenses

Total mileage- 3773
Average mileage- 12.6
Actual fuel used- 300.1gal

Total fuel costs- $1036.25
Average fuel cost- $3.68

Other expenses

Hotels- Trinidad- free night
Denver- $117
Wichita Falls- $80
Gillette- $280

Other expenses- Generator fuel- $43
Lunch/snacks- $26.02

Total costs
$1582.27

 

[OverlordBear]

Great post I love moose hunting and odds are in the lower 48 it is easier to draw a cow tag then a bull.

 

[RunNGunSC]

Thank you for the write-up. I’m just starting my Western big game DIY adventures and moose is on my list. I’m not a trophy hunter, so a cow might be in my future. Congratulation!

 

[Khunter]

We had moose tacos a few nights ago. My wife asked when I could go back and get another one.

about 3-4 years!

 

[Addicting]

We had moose tacos a few nights ago. My wife asked when I could go back and get another one.

Most of us that have done it figure out it’s worth doing again. Don’t know how I missed this post but I had a very similar conversation with my wife. Needless to say we are back into the points game for round two.

 

[jwatts]

about 3-4 years!

That's what I told her. I'll likely build points and put in for bull tags if I have other hunts planned. But when I see I can pull a cow tag you can bet I'll jump back in

 

[Moose 360]

I figure as much info and intel I have gained from this forum, it would be bad form not to post a thread on my upcoming cow moose hunt. I became interested in pursuing a moose several years back. I always thought that was solely an Alaskan adventure. But, from reading here, other forums, and skimming the draw odds for all of the Western states, I saw that a cow moose tag was obtainable for a non-resident. I started buying Colorado points and, in the back of my mind, started planning to use those points sometime in the future.

Fast forward to mid-2021. A few friends and I try to make a hunt out west each year. In 2021 2 of us made the trip to Nebraska for turkeys. That meant when the time to hunt big game rolled around; I found myself wanting to be in the mountains or sage flats chasing something other than the whitetail I was going to be pursuing at home. Those moose points crept back into my mind, and I studied odds and units. I settled on a few different options and dug deeper into those, finally deciding on what I believed offered my best odds at a tag and, ultimately at a shot at a cow moose.

Application season rolled around, and my hunting buddies and I devised a plan. Looking at past draw results, we figured that I could apply for moose and have my results pretty close to the close of the WY antelope/deer application period. If I was unsuccessful, we would all apply for a WY antelope unit that we should all be able to draw. I threw my name in the hat and waited. And waited. And waited. Here we are, the day before WY applications are due, with no results.

Let's talk about bad timing for a minute. I work on an offshore oil and gas facility. We had a COVID outbreak around this time, and guess who tested positive the day before WY ended? This guy. I had to quarantine and wait on a medivac, which meant there was a good chance I would miss the draw results for Colorado for a few days. We talked it out, and the other guys put in for antelope, and I just hoped my name was pulled for the cow tag. If I didn't draw my moose tag I would be the camp cook and small game shooter. It turned out I was able to get back on land just as the results were posted. I got my tag. Now the other guys were waiting to see if they pulled their antelope tags. They did. That meant that in October, myself and one of the others would make the drive from Mississippi to Colorado to hunt moose. Our other friend is making the drive from Montana to help us out. After the moose hunt we'll be headed toward Wyoming to fill their antelope tags.

So, here we are. I have a moose tag in my pocket, a ton of gear packed and ready to load in the truck, and a few weeks to wait until I can get back into the mountains and try my hand at moose hunting.

Pics?

 

[Minnesnowta-Man]

Awesome Hunt, Really enjoyed the pics and story telling. Congrats!