Moose Calling?

[2506gunslinger]

So I have a question if anyone has any experience with calling moose.

I’m watching all sorts of videos trying to see what the best methods are for Calling in bulls during the rut, and I’m seeing all kinds of different perspectives.

I see Bob on a video that says only handmade birch bark calls will bring in those bulls and moose have a more complicated vocabulary than Mandarin Chinese. Then I watch another video where Larry goes out and cuts the end off a Clorox bottle, makes some horrible noise with it and a bull walks right out and he shoots it.

Anybody have any real world experience that wants to shed some light on this subject, it’d be greatly appreciated.

 

[NoWiser]

I found them quite easy to call in Minnesota when we had a hunting season. I made a birch bark call but I'm sure almost anything would have worked. Watch Gouthro's Moose Madness. Using his advice we had bulls at <10 yards a couple times. They came in on a string. That said, we were hunting areas that had little to no hunting pressure.

 

[wytex]

I've called in a bunch here in Wyoming while elk hunting. They are just plain fun to call and work.
I just use my mouth and pinch my nose for the nasal tone. A good dry branch makes for rubbing and that will bring one in too.
Learn some grunts and cow calls.

 

[seeth07]

Elk bugle tube works well to magnify those cow calls. I just don't actually put my entire mouth around the bugle tube but instead just project into it.

 

[2506gunslinger]

Just watched some of the Moose Madness video, some cool stuff. I’ll see if I can’t find the full videos somewhere. He sounds Canadian, must be an expert.

 

[sneakypete]

A rutting bull is simply the coolest to watch, as many have said they can come right in on a string. Now killing a bull the best shot if you can, shoot him in the neck! Best of luck

 

[rustednuts]

I know people that swear by birch bark only calls. I also know someone who forgot their tube and used a traffic cone and called in a moose... so take it for what it’s worth. The cone just helps to amplify your voice.

 

[MTPUBLICLAND]

I’ve called in lots of moose in Montana and Alaska simply with my voice, cupping my hands and pinching my nose for a nasal sound. Watch some videos and study the sounds people use and try to mimic them. Also raking willow brush or a tree with a paddle or a shoulder bone seems to really get a bulls attention while calling

 

[brendog84cj8]

Called in the bull I got here in Montana last season using my hands and mouth doing bull grunts. I also had a shortened wooden paddle I used for raking. Both together worked pretty darn good.

 

[Kaitum]

You find a bull in the right mood and they'll come in to some aweful sounds. I think raking / thrashing mixed in with calling can be quite effective. First bull I ever called in (40ish" bull in a 50" minimum unit) sounded like a freight train coming through the brush. He was making whines, grunts and bawling noises I don't think I could ever replicate. Those sounds combined with the 'parting of the alders' as he charged in were a sight to behold. And suddenly that bow I was holding felt quite inadequate....

 

[targetpanic]

I've had luck calling moose in Maine and NH by cupping my hands around my mouth and pinching my nose a little for cow calls. Also carry a scapula for raking branches.

 

[2506gunslinger]

Guess I'll have to get out and just see what kind of noise I can make. If a guy was going to buy a commercial call, any recommendations? Appreciate the advise so far from everyone. Never thought I'd actually draw a moose tag, so I've never bothered researching any of this stuff till now. One thing that I can't stop thinking about is the fact that I have heard thousands of elk bugles, heard deer grunt and wheeze, but I have never heard a moose make any of those sounds. Just weird i guess.

 

[Mallardsx2]

People can say whatever they want but I think a Birch Bark call sounds best. So do the moose from my experiences and I have had a few over the years.

Cow Estrus calls - 3 long calls every 10 minutes by the watch....

I miss going moose hunting every year.

 

[SaskHunter]

Calling bulls outside of the rut is tricky and you can easily ruin that hunt, like with any other game.

Calling bulls during peek rut is easy and requires minimal skills. Having a horn helps to amplify the sounds but they're not essential, personally I like birch bark.

 

[Hummer]

I agree with most comments above. I've called in bulls many times with my mouth and cupped hands alone. When I hunted moose two years ago I carried a simple flexible plastic cutting mat which is quickly formed into a megaphone cone. Works perfectly for projecting the call to a mile and more. It weighs nothing, takes no space in a pack, it's cheap and reusable in the kitchen.

https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Flexible-Cutting-Chopping-Mat/dp/B00BOUUX6G

 

[smarandr]

Don't overthink it. On my moose hunt I spotted a bull early in the morning, put on a stalk, blew it, and was able to call him back with the pinched-nose-moan that you see on YouTube videos. Granted he's no where near a boone and crockett bull, but I did call him back.

 

[shootbrownelk]

I've had 2 moose tags here in Wyoming, a Bull tag & one for a Cow. I called in both of them with my mouth & hands. Moose are easy to call when they're rutting.

 

[2506gunslinger]

I like the cutting board idea. I’m all about easy and cheap so long as it works. Just not a lot of moose call options on the web. Don’t mind paying some money and ordering one if it’s worth the money.

 

[wytex]

Personally I've gotten the same reaction Sept or Oct from calling moose. Cow calls in the rut and just some grunts and such otherwise. They are curious from my experiences.
They can certainly cover some ground when spooked though.
Really watch the wind too as stated.
The calls are easy to mimic, just watch some videos.

 

[UncleRick]

some of the best moose hunters i know use a gatorade bottle with t the bottom cut out.