Moose Scouting Trip

I feel like a kid in a candy store. We leave Wed night for a 5 day BWCA scouting trip for our Minnesota Moose hunt in October. I can’t seem to remember a trip that I have looked forward to as much as this one. We will be in Zone 36, the only zone that is not directly accessible from a road, as it is about 4 miles of portage and paddling to get to where we can hunt. My Brother in Law, Kent, and my lifelong friend Paul will be my partners for this one

We will be going up and need to grab our permit in the morning, and then plan to cover some ground, get the lay of the land, and hopefully see a few moose to target for our main hunt. coming back on Monday to the real world for some more trip planning, dreaming, talking, training, shooting and waiting for the time to hunt.

I also am working to finish my Cedar Strip Canoe for the main hunt. I figure it is just cooler to have a hand built canoe on a once in a lifetime hunt. This is something I started about 4 years ago, and had life get in the way so I had to move it back to the front of the list. I would LOVE to have a picture from the back of the canoe, of the moose with the rack hanging over the gunnels and a beautiful BWCA background.

I also plan to bring along a diary to document the trip so I don’t forget anything, and then to also write up a nice document for the guys to have as a memento of the trip. A lot of pictures and taking the time to write what happened each day should do it.

I should be able to get a decent report of fishing and scouting come Tuesday as soon as I get time.

Wish me luck as I think I am going to need it

Good luck bud, That canoe has been sitting for a while now. Glad you’re getting it finished. Hopefully it floats

Good luck man

Sounds like you got a well thought out plan. Good luck and enjoy the time in the woods.

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Sounds like you got a well thought out plan. Good luck and enjoy the time in the woods.

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I found some “JohnVKuntz” guys moose video on you tube this morning. Who is that guy anyways

I am so excited, now i just need to get through this week and the next month without getting fired for watching youtube videos of moose hunts

Good luck, and when you finish that canoe i as for many others would like to see it. hope you see a few goodins also.

Really cool deal Farmboy.

I had the privilege to shoot a moose in the BWCA back in 1991. Was an amazing adventure and one I will never forget – being all of 19 years old. I didn’t get to drape a rack over the bow of my canoe…I shot a 450lb calf. Had moose McNuggets for a long time!

I still remember most of it like it was yesterday.

A couple bits of advice:

1) Be flexible. Just because you find them scouting, doesn’t mean you’ll find them in the same place when you’re hunting. Be willing to be mobile. Those bulls can range during the rut. I shot my calf near a beaver pond – just off a main lake.

2)Pack clothing for all weather conditions. As we canoed to our camp site, it was snowing. The next day it was 65 and sunny. The weather gets really crazy up there in the fall. Buy high quality gear – you’ll appreciate it on day 4.

3) Getting up in the morning when it’s 30 degrees is a bee-atch. Put your long underwear down in the bottom of your sleeping bag at night, so it’s nice and toasty when you wake up in the morning.

4) I’d recommend a gutless butcher job…way easier than hoisting the gutted carcass into a tree with a block and tackle and butchering. You may have a bit more waste, but they are enormous creatures and you’ll be cramped for space on the trip out should you get one.

Enjoy it! It’s truly a majestic experience to hunt those things in our own BWCA.

Tres

Good Luck

I think that was one of the 4 hours it didn’t downpour during our 4 days in the bush. I wanted a tough pack in trip, well, I got it. A bunch of memories I hope I never forget.

Good luck Brent!!!

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I think that was one of the 4 hours it didn’t downpour during our 4 days in the bush. I wanted a tough pack in trip, well, I got it. A bunch of memories I hope I never forget.

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I keep saying if we get a moose or not, it is the experience of being on a hunt of this caliber that is the real trophy here.

thanks for the advise and kind words guys. One more day

My one piece of advise in scouting would be Pay very very close attention to the brows of the trees and plants they are eating. When you find a spot frquented by Moose you will know it. Fresh nipped brows will tell you they have been there with-in 3-4 days. Black tips on the brows means they have not been in that bush for a while. If you see multiple years of browsing pressure (multiple webs coming off limbs) you are in a prime area! Same concept is true for water plants..

Moose droppings to me can be deceiving as they stick around forever. Good Luck and have fun!

Have fun! and good luck Farmboy

Well 4 days in the BWCA, about 8-10 miles covered each day. We have some great places to hunt, got us all some bonus experience in cold weather camping (29 deg. Sunday night), and found a few holes in our gear that need to be shored up. I think we are set to give it our best shot.

We broke camp Monday morning at 6 am, and made the 8.5 mile trip with 8 different portages in about 4 hours. That was moving hard, no breaks, and minimal time at each portage. We figure it will be a full 2 days to travel out with the extra weight of a moose, with some sort of spike camp set up along the way.

We are planning to spend the full 2 weeks hunting, but hope to be out early.

All in all, it was a good 4 days. Caught some fish during travels because we did not take the time to fish much. I doubt there are many other people out there willing to put in this much effort, but that is how I prefer to do it.

What kind of sign did you see??? Put eyes on any big boys??? Good thing about 29 degrees would be the lack of Mosquitos. Good luck bud, I’m stoked for you Oh, we’ll see you on Sunday, keep a cold one for me

We were able to check out many trails, scat, 2 rubs, and numerous moose tracks, some I would have hunted over. I watched a cow moose Saturday night for about 15 minutes while she fed in an open area until she tucked behind some taller cover and I had to retreat under cover of darkness, and we all saw a small bull on the way out.

The bull was small enough that we did not feel he was a shooter until later in our trip, but it was nice to see horns

I got a beer saved for you if you come over Saturday night, or I would be more then happy to kick your guys butts in water fights on Sunday

Better pack a lunch buddy, actually you’d probably kick my butt….it’s been a long time since I’ve participated in any water fights. I’m much better at drinking beer on the sidelines.

I suppose you are holding your breath with the fire going on up there. Is it burning anywhere near your hunting area?

Sounds like a positive scouting trip to me. Good luck!!

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I suppose you are holding your breath with the fire going on up there. Is it burning anywhere near your hunting area?

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The fire is a ways to the East from where we will be hunting, so unless conditions change drastically, it should not effect us…..I hope

I was very surprised with how dry the area was. The “rivers” were very low and we had to do a lot of walking with canoes in areas. The locals were very concerned with how dry the area was, and had said that any of the small fires there could spread rapidly if high winds and heat. I hope they get it under control soon

We did hit the mandatory orientation last weekend. I had always heard how good it was, and that a guy would do it even if they did not have to. I can’t say that I was impressed, but maybe there are a lot of very stupid people who drew tags this year.

They covered much more details about rules and regulations for camping in the state forests than about moose. They did have the state veterinarian discuss the herd health. Boy was that depressing. She said in the last 2 weeks, they had 4 collared moose die, and they could not find a cause in any case. The herd has dropped from about 8,500 animals last year, to about 7,000 this year.

For those of you who have been considering applying for this hunt, I would guess you have 3-5 years before the opportunity is gone forever. We even talked on the way home about the ethics of hunting an animal “on the brink”, but the DNR said that hunters and wolves are statistically insignificant in the overall decline of moose in MN.

I would be more then happy to provide anyone interested with any information we get from this hunt if you want to hunt the same zone in the future. The zone is the only zone not accessible by road, but it has the highest success of draw.

Sorry, I got a little long winded, but I have been putting in a lot of time on this hunt and trying to learn as much as I can about the animal. I think my wife will be happy when she does not have to hear “Cow calls” every night

I heard my first moose last week up bear hunting. First night in the stand. I’m sitting there thinking, sure, I’ll see a moose on my bear hunt since we saw bear on our moose hunt.

Make sure you turn in your entire sample kit if you get one. My wife won the TC Muzzleloader in the Moose Kit drawing! I almost forgot about that bonus!! Might have to pull the old smoke pole out this year.

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Make sure you turn in your entire sample kit if you get one. My wife won the TC Muzzleloader in the Moose Kit drawing! I almost forgot about that bonus!! Might have to pull the old smoke pole out this year.

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They talked about that, and I also talked to the vet specifically. After she found out how far in we are going, she said to let her know and as long as we bring out the blood samples, she would put us in the drawing

Thanks so much for keeping us up-to-date with how your hunt planning is going. This is some exciting stuff for anyone who’s hunted or planned a hunt in a distant locale. There’s no substitute for hard work on a hunt like this, and the prep you’re doing is commendable. I have a feeling you guys will be just fine!

Looking forward to hearing how the hunt goes!!!

Joel

Since Prieser asked, here is a little update on my progress on this hunt.

Been doing about 3 miles a night with 75 lbs on my back. It does not seem like a lot, but with the extra weight you sure know your legs are there after a few hills. I would like to do a little more for my shoulders as the paddling tends to kill you after a few days, but I have not been able to find a suitable exercise to strengthen them for paddling. Any recommendations?

Got all of our gear set to go. Picked up a new sleeping bag today and grabbed a new set of 3mm “wader pants” in case the bull goes down in the water. Also will use there for the in and out trip because the water is so low now that you have to push the canoe through a few spots. I plan to take them to the river tonight and make sure they don’t leak from the factory.

Working on the canoe whenever I can. Have one gunnel installed and I ran out of epoxy. I ordered more, but I don’t know if it will be in before the weekend. If it is, I plan to work on the canoe all weekend and get it done. the gunnels are all prebuilt, along with the seats, thwarts, and portage yoke. A few more odds and ends and it will be floating.

I would like to take her for a maiden voyage next week and make sure all is well. If I can find some time, I thought it would be nice to build three paddles for us. I will burn in the hunt dates and give them to the guys as a memento. Hell, it is once in a lifetime right

Starting to get really excited. The kids and I were calling moose during dinner the other night and my wife was so happy that she got up and left. i think she was mad that my 5 YO is getting really good I think she just has no vision.

I have a moose shoulder hidden for rattling and thrashing brush, and my calling is getting better. I think I could almost get a dumb one to come in.

I have another 50 rds to shoot this weekend and make sure everything is good and to get a little more comfortable shooting. I don’t seem to get as much practice as I once did.

The crew will sit down one last time and go over gear and make sure we don’t have anything we missed after the shoot. A little BBQ with the guys and their families before we go MIA for a few weeks.

A week and a half and we are there

I’m excited for you bud. Keep up the hard work.

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I’m excited for you bud. Keep up the hard work.

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No kidding , Hope you nail one

One week left until we leave. I hate it that we are missing the first weekend, but one of the guys has to work on Monday so we will be on the lake Tuesday as early as possible.

Spent the majority of the weekend working on the canoe. I should have some pictures up tomorrow after I get my epoxy that I was short of and had to order. Deck plates are made and just need to be installed, outer gunnels are ready for install, and back seat only needs the fabric for my butt. I messed up and need to rebuild the front seat so I will get that done tonight and build the brackets for it.

Broke a clasp on my pack last night taking a walk with the family. I need to find another one so off to Fleet Farm to see what they have. Boy people sure look at you strange when you are on a walk with a 75 lb pack on your back.

My wife decided that she works out, and she wanted to try carrying the pack for a little bit last night. that was well worth the laugh. It does make you think how hard it is to carry around any extra weight. Glad it is on my back and not on my belly