November Moose Hunting Tips

[BorealBucks]

Hey, i have had moose tags in previous years but never really hunted them specifically hard, i haven't shot one yet either. Got drawn this year for antlered moose. Besides having 9 trail cameras out hoping to get some pictures of them i was wondering if anyone could share tips with me about rifle hunting moose in November.

Will calling them in still work? what would be best bull grunt or cow call? Size doesn't matter for me, if it has antlers, its going down.

[Tfng]

Big bush or farmland?

[BorealBucks]

Originally Posted by Tfng

Big bush or farmland?

Big bush wmu 503 to be specific

[CanuckShooter]

In my experience they don't respond to calls that late in the season, usually by then they are quite often in small bachelor groups. I'd suggest you concentrate on hunting where there are a lot of fresh bull moose tracks.

[shooter12]

Had one of those late November moose hunts in Northern Alberta.
One of the toughest and least enjoyable so far.
A lot of driving and scouting with almost 0 result and on the last 6 day when we were leaving the area they showed up, 2 big bulls crossing the field very fast at 350-400 yds away .
I got one smaller one behind and was extremely happy !
Was shooting win 300 wsm with 200 nosler partition, but I believe any quality hunting bullet in this weight would do.

Tough hunting, all what I can say . Prefer early season much better.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by BorealBucks

Big bush wmu 503 to be specific

503 has a ton of farmland. Drive until you find a bull then get permission and you're all set.
Usually we find the most bulls within 5 miles of of the bush come November. In the zone we hunt November moose in its normal to see 10-15 moose a day.

[kujoseto]

My limited experience was they were tough to find any sign of deep in the bush. Then the last couple days of the month they started showing up again. First week of December they were back out in the open. I think the only advice I would have is cover a ton of ground until you find sign. They can go waaaaay back in the bush or be in the fields but if you don't see sign then keep moving.
Good luck. Your hunt could be completely different than mine

[Big Grey Wolf]

Late season moose hunt has limited calling opportunity. Find some tracks, some poop and a few tree nibbles/ rubs, then track him to his bed, when he gets up chotum. Dress him out and take him home, hows that for advice.

[Alberta bull hunter]

I got some good advice from some guys on here last year to help my Dad fill his November moose tag. We seemed to be in good moose country but were having trouble finding any. Started looking deeper into the willows and then all of a sudden we found moose sign like crazy. Next day Dad had two bulls show up and he took the one that presented the best shot. Moral of the story is you need to find the sign, if there is no sign then they probably aren't there.

Seeing as the bulls hang out in bachelor groups in winter you gotta think that instead of having say 3 bulls spread out, they will all be together in one area, so theoretically they will be harder to find.

[Lefty-Canuck]

I have called in and shot moose first week in November up to the 11th.

LC

[DisplacedCaper]

Not late season related but when is the moose rut usually? First couple of weeks in October?


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[Drewski Canuck]

November Moose means covering lots of country. If you can find an area of browse, that is key. The bulls are recovering from the Rut and they can loose 50 pounds or more in October.

They will be feeding heavy and not moving, but there is a chance of secondary rut as unbred or late yearling cows come into heat.

Good part is no bugs, and frozen ground making getting around a lot easier. Most of the trails will have been cut out which also is a bonus.

Bad part is a blizzard can hit, it can be - 20 C, and you find out that your wall tent is not that warm after all. Take a heavy sleeping bag, get the biggest air tight stove you can, and cut lots of firewood. Then dress for - 20 C with a windchill while driving on the Quads.

If you can get your hands on some insulated tarps, wrap as much of the wall tent as you can with the tarps. my brother and I suffered - 20 C conditions on a November hunt, and only had 1 tarp over the rear 3/4 of the wall tent roof. It did help somewhat.

We should have brought a second insulated tarp and wrapped the walls. Water carriers froze solid in the back of the tent, with a stove going red hot.
Frozen Water Carriers did not thaw for 2 days at home in the house. But we did get a moose.

Drewski

[The Spruce]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

my brother and I suffered - 20 C conditions on a November hunt, and only had 1 tarp over the rear 3/4 of the wall tent roof. It did help somewhat.

We should have brought a second insulated tarp and wrapped the walls. Water carriers froze solid in the back of the tent, with a stove going red hot.
Frozen Water Carriers did not thaw for 2 days at home in the house. But we did get a moose.

Drewski

Sorry but LOL, -20...-30 ok, -20 is snowball weather.
Moose are tough to locate in November, but very easy to hunt. They DO NOT MOVE FAR. If you cut tracks, follow them, you will find the Moose in short order. If the wolves are around, the Moose won't move at all...Moose tracks=follow, Wolf tracks=new place to hunt.

Spruce

[The Spruce]

Originally Posted by DisplacedCaper

Not late season related but when is the moose rut usually? First couple of weeks in October?


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Last couple weeks of Sept, first couple weeks of Oct.

Spruce

[DisplacedCaper]

Thanks Spruce! I knew it was around there lol


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[BorealBucks]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

503 has a ton of farmland. Drive until you find a bull then get permission and you're all set.
Usually we find the most bulls within 5 miles of of the bush come November. In the zone we hunt November moose in its normal to see 10-15 moose a day.

Thanks for the tip, i hunt crown land, have never asked a landowner for permission to hunt their land. How would i go about asking them if i spotted a moose on their land?

Knock on their door & introduce myself say that i have spotted a moose at x location on their land and if i can have permission to hunt it?

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

November Moose means covering lots of country. If you can find an area of browse, that is key. The bulls are recovering from the Rut and they can loose 50 pounds or more in October.

They will be feeding heavy and not moving, but there is a chance of secondary rut as unbred or late yearling cows come into heat.

Good part is no bugs, and frozen ground making getting around a lot easier. Most of the trails will have been cut out which also is a bonus.

Bad part is a blizzard can hit, it can be - 20 C, and you find out that your wall tent is not that warm after all. Take a heavy sleeping bag, get the biggest air tight stove you can, and cut lots of firewood. Then dress for - 20 C with a windchill while driving on the Quads.

If you can get your hands on some insulated tarps, wrap as much of the wall tent as you can with the tarps. my brother and I suffered - 20 C conditions on a November hunt, and only had 1 tarp over the rear 3/4 of the wall tent roof. It did help somewhat.

We should have brought a second insulated tarp and wrapped the walls. Water carriers froze solid in the back of the tent, with a stove going red hot.
Frozen Water Carriers did not thaw for 2 days at home in the house. But we did get a moose.

Drewski

LOL, we did -25C in a nylon tent with no stove. We learned quick to put water into a pot so we could melt the frozen water and make coffee in the morning. These days I prefer the camper with propane heater, much more civilized!

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by BorealBucks

Thanks for the tip, i hunt crown land, have never asked a landowner for permission to hunt their land. How would i go about asking them if i spotted a moose on their land?

Knock on their door & introduce myself say that i have spotted a moose at x location on their land and if i can have permission to hunt it?

Yep, exactly like that. We probably do it 2 dozen times a year with about 90-95% success on gaining permission on new land. And not months before the season either, I'm talking about right up to the last day of the season. Be polite, let them know you respect their land, and talk about hunting on grandpas land when you were younger and they rarely say no.
Have a county map with you and know exactly where you are, and who actually owns what land.
Sometimes you'll have to wait for the animal to move off that quarter, get permission in place for the next quarter while you're waiting. Some land is just a no go, rarely have I not been eventually able to get that animal on adjacent land eventually.