If you wanted to hunt Moose...

[BrentD]

If that's your priority, here's a great way to improve your odds: you and some buddies apply individually and go together if one of you draw. If three of you apply, 7% turns into 21% odds that one of you will draw. I like spending time with my best friends: my brother-in-law (who I only see once a year) and my son. I don't care which one of us actually pulls the trigger. Actually, getting one is just a bonus. . . . Just a thought.

Actually slightly less. The chance that one person does not draw is 93% and the probably that none of the three draw is 0.93*0.93*0.93 = 0.804 or so or a 19.6% chance that at least one person draws. I know, it looks like nearly the same thing, but 3x7% is not the correct formulation, and it does matter (imagine the probability of drawing was 50%).

Okay, enough of that! My apologies for any offenses committed (I could not help myself).

 

[kimbersig]

to answer the OP's original question....my opinion is like many others on here. AK would be your best bet. I've DIY hunted AK for caribou and blacktail deer and the adventure was a blast. If AK DIY intimidates you too much then ID is your really only other option for US moose DIY. It is quite expensive to apply tho. you have a non refundable license to buy at $154.75, plus $10 depredation fee, plus $41.75 application fee, plus the "convenience fee" for applying online. all in all it cost a NR about $250 to apply for Moose, Sheep, or Goats. Oh and you have to front the full tag fee of 2101.75 for a few months on your credit card.

Canada is a good option for a guided hunt too and may in the long run be the most economical.

Good luck in your quest.

 

[npaden]

your numbers aren't quite accurate but you are much more realistic than many "consultants" lead people to believe. in 2018 863 NR applied for bull tags and drew 62 tags. so right at 7% is what NR are up against for the NR quota. some units show much higher draw odds but in reality NR true odds are somewhere between the 7% and what the IDFG website shows. and this year it will be even worse since they cut a lot of moose tags.

It really matters on how you apply for the Idaho licenses. If you apply for the really good licenses that have quite a few residents applying, your odds are going to but MUCH lower than that 7%. If you apply for some of the mediocre units, your odds can be much higher. You can't just take the total NR tags divided by the total NR apps. Those "consultants" run simulations that account for that.

 

[blueridge]

Okay, enough of that! My apologies for any offenses committed (I could not help myself).

I appreciate the correction, Brent. That makes much more sense. . . The only thing I don't appreciate is my group's collective upcoming odds going from 60% to 49% with your correct formulation. Well, .

 

[BrentD]

Sorry about that blueridge. Hang tough and hope for luck. Someone has to win that drawing.

 

[brushcreek]

I have a friend who did a moose hunt in Newfoundland 2 years ago. It was reasonable for a moose hunt (about $6000), but the bull he shot was tiny. I don’t know if he got an itchy trigger finger, or if his moose was truly representative of moose in the area. I know size of the animal does not define the hunt, but this thing had antlers more resembling a whitetail than a moose. I would have been embarrassed to shoot it. I would personally look farther west for the larger moose subspecies, but that is just my preference.

there are some big moose in Newfoundland - got this one in 2016

 

[BrentD]

that is a nice one brushcreek

 

[brownbear932008]

there are some big moose in Newfoundland - got this one in 2016

I agree the trick is to have a fly out hunt with a good outfitter. Most good ones average moose in the 40s. But kill 50-60" moose every year.

 

[jt13]

^ This if you just want to see and harvest a moose. There are some easy draws to be had...

I'd love some more info on this. Never really occured to me that there were lower 48 cow hunts to be had.