Moose Hunt Review: I drew a bull moose tag for 2022. I was attracted to the unit from my research on go hunt due to the comparably high draw odds (4% with many points made it at least likely in my lifetime). It also had high success rates. I hunted for 17 total days and hike 100+ miles. I'm a resident of CO and have filled about 100 tags in the past 15 years, including 3 archery bull elk tags in OTC so I'm not unfamiliar with the grind. I have also harvested about 30 turkeys (mostly in Nebraska) and am very good at calling for them. However, I have never moose hunted, and I don't know anybody who has moose hunted so the learning curve was steep. This was also my first time hunting in unit 16 because my elk unit doesn't hold moose. We saw 21 moose in 17 days including 3 palmated bulls ranging from 30" - 38". Unfortunately we saw the biggest one on Sept 23, which was the first day of a 2 week stretch where I was continuously hunting. I wasn't holding out for a booner, but I wanted a mature bull, and I really wanted to get in some good moose hunting since it would be a once in a lifetime experience. It was a tough hunt and a serious grind. I was expecting to find bulls in "moose marshes" or willow bottoms. I identified a number of these "moose habitats" from escouting and boots on the ground in July. However, I learned that these a timber moose and there is a lot of water all over in the unit, and a lot of small feeding areas dispersed. There is really no reason for them to concentrate in any area. Timber moose is tough in unit 16 because the deadfall is severe, but the moose don't seem to have much trouble stepping over it. I wasted a lot of time hunting those willow bottoms hoping to spot and stalk bulls. That was my preference for hunting style, but it wasn't meant to be. We saw only 1 cow in these willow bottoms during the season. We spent a lot of time hiking and slow stalking timber and encountered some moose this way. Slow stalking the trees listening for calls is also tough because they are quiet. Even when they are calling, you cannot hear the cows more than maybe 200 yards away, the bull grunts are less than that. On Sep 27th we helped another hunter haul out a 38" nice bull that he had called in, and we adjusted our method to do significantly more calling and sitting after that. In my opinion, that is the only way to hunt this unit. Otherwise you are just hoping for a chance encounter. You have to call them out of the heavy timber. I did not experience much success moose calling even though I had watched every moose calling video on youtube. There are subtle differences in techniques, after changing methods several times during the hunt, I ended up having success with this guy's method using only my hands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-FWimC1X7g. I thought it sounded the most like the cow moose I was actually hearing. It was a lot of morning and evenings not calling anything in wondering if I was in the wrong place, or if my calling was poor. My calling early on was likely too loud, 2 dimensional, and likely too frequent. Later on, I quieted it down and used only my hands and made it more 3 dimensional per that instructional video by putting my thumb on my throat. I passed on a 30" younger bull on day 3 that I had at 17 yards. Then I passed on a 32" bull with good palms on day 7 with a bow because I didn't have a good shot at 62 yards. I thought my opportunities would pick up in the first week of rifle in October. That was not my experience. I had to be done by the 9th, and I took a 38" bull without great palms that I called in to 40 yards on Oct 5. I never saw a big bull. One hunter claimed to have seen one in the 46" class. The harvest history shows it is possible, but I think this hunt is a very hard one to be selective unless you are a very good moose caller. Before the hunt, I calculated that I would have to see at least 30 bulls to find a big one unless I just got lucky. We saw only 5 bulls in 17 days. Calling in my bull was a great memory in the end (even though it died in a creek). If I got to do it all over again, I would be looking for small clearings in the trees to setup and call from. I would also not hunt the muzzleloader season at all. Calling is ineffective that early, and the unit has a TON of hunting pressure from elk/deer hunters. I'm not sure why, as in the last week of September we heard only 1 bugle and never saw a buck over 140 (if you're an elk hunter reading this, go deep into the wilderness area or don't bother). Even if one of them tells you where they saw a bull, it will be tough finding him again without being able to call. Hunting the last week of Sept and first week of Oct I thought was the right idea. There is not very much hunting pressure during those times. Unless you are seeing a lot of bulls from calling, you have to consider this an opportunity hunt. You can't be passing on a lot of bulls here. I hope an expert moose caller with experience here would disagree with me. Blind calling big timber is one of my least favorite ways to hunt. Imagine calling elk that never bugle or turkeys that never gobble. I harvested my bull in Whalen creek. When you see it, it doesn't have much "moose habitat" but it has some ideal features with a north facing slope for bedding area to call in the evening. It isn't the only area that has these features, but I would look for that instead of clearings or moose marshes to hunt. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity, and to have moose meat in the freezer. However, I would likely look for a better spot and stalk unit if I was able to do it again. I'm happy to answer questions. I'll have notifications on for your comments, or email me: bchrisp1@hotmail.com.
I hunted this unit a few years ago with the same plan. I decided the BLM in the south was not nearly as good of antelope habitat as it appears e-scouting. There may be a few in there, but not a lot. The better antelope habitat is in the easter part of the unit, and is almost all private land and hard hunting without access. If you can find antelope on that BLM in the southern part of the unit then you have found a honey hole with yearly access. Good luck to you.
3 years ago
Colorado Big Game Unit 16Moose Hunt Review: I drew a bull moose tag for 2022. I was attracted to the unit from my research on go hunt due to the comparably high draw odds (4% with many points made it at least likely in my lifetime). It also had high success rates. I hunted for 17 total days and hike 100+ miles. I'm a resident of CO and have filled about 100 tags in the past 15 years, including 3 archery bull elk tags in OTC so I'm not unfamiliar with the grind. I have also harvested about 30 turkeys (mostly in Nebraska) and am very good at calling for them. However, I have never moose hunted, and I don't know anybody who has moose hunted so the learning curve was steep. This was also my first time hunting in unit 16 because my elk unit doesn't hold moose. We saw 21 moose in 17 days including 3 palmated bulls ranging from 30" - 38". Unfortunately we saw the biggest one on Sept 23, which was the first day of a 2 week stretch where I was continuously hunting. I wasn't holding out for a booner, but I wanted a mature bull, and I really wanted to get in some good moose hunting since it would be a once in a lifetime experience.
It was a tough hunt and a serious grind. I was expecting to find bulls in "moose marshes" or willow bottoms. I identified a number of these "moose habitats" from escouting and boots on the ground in July. However, I learned that these a timber moose and there is a lot of water all over in the unit, and a lot of small feeding areas dispersed. There is really no reason for them to concentrate in any area. Timber moose is tough in unit 16 because the deadfall is severe, but the moose don't seem to have much trouble stepping over it. I wasted a lot of time hunting those willow bottoms hoping to spot and stalk bulls. That was my preference for hunting style, but it wasn't meant to be. We saw only 1 cow in these willow bottoms during the season. We spent a lot of time hiking and slow stalking timber and encountered some moose this way. Slow stalking the trees listening for calls is also tough because they are quiet. Even when they are calling, you cannot hear the cows more than maybe 200 yards away, the bull grunts are less than that. On Sep 27th we helped another hunter haul out a 38" nice bull that he had called in, and we adjusted our method to do significantly more calling and sitting after that. In my opinion, that is the only way to hunt this unit. Otherwise you are just hoping for a chance encounter. You have to call them out of the heavy timber. I did not experience much success moose calling even though I had watched every moose calling video on youtube. There are subtle differences in techniques, after changing methods several times during the hunt, I ended up having success with this guy's method using only my hands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-FWimC1X7g. I thought it sounded the most like the cow moose I was actually hearing. It was a lot of morning and evenings not calling anything in wondering if I was in the wrong place, or if my calling was poor. My calling early on was likely too loud, 2 dimensional, and likely too frequent. Later on, I quieted it down and used only my hands and made it more 3 dimensional per that instructional video by putting my thumb on my throat. I passed on a 30" younger bull on day 3 that I had at 17 yards. Then I passed on a 32" bull with good palms on day 7 with a bow because I didn't have a good shot at 62 yards. I thought my opportunities would pick up in the first week of rifle in October. That was not my experience. I had to be done by the 9th, and I took a 38" bull without great palms that I called in to 40 yards on Oct 5. I never saw a big bull. One hunter claimed to have seen one in the 46" class. The harvest history shows it is possible, but I think this hunt is a very hard one to be selective unless you are a very good moose caller. Before the hunt, I calculated that I would have to see at least 30 bulls to find a big one unless I just got lucky. We saw only 5 bulls in 17 days. Calling in my bull was a great memory in the end (even though it died in a creek). If I got to do it all over again, I would be looking for small clearings in the trees to setup and call from. I would also not hunt the muzzleloader season at all. Calling is ineffective that early, and the unit has a TON of hunting pressure from elk/deer hunters. I'm not sure why, as in the last week of September we heard only 1 bugle and never saw a buck over 140 (if you're an elk hunter reading this, go deep into the wilderness area or don't bother). Even if one of them tells you where they saw a bull, it will be tough finding him again without being able to call. Hunting the last week of Sept and first week of Oct I thought was the right idea. There is not very much hunting pressure during those times. Unless you are seeing a lot of bulls from calling, you have to consider this an opportunity hunt. You can't be passing on a lot of bulls here. I hope an expert moose caller with experience here would disagree with me. Blind calling big timber is one of my least favorite ways to hunt. Imagine calling elk that never bugle or turkeys that never gobble.
I harvested my bull in Whalen creek. When you see it, it doesn't have much "moose habitat" but it has some ideal features with a north facing slope for bedding area to call in the evening. It isn't the only area that has these features, but I would look for that instead of clearings or moose marshes to hunt. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity, and to have moose meat in the freezer. However, I would likely look for a better spot and stalk unit if I was able to do it again. I'm happy to answer questions. I'll have notifications on for your comments, or email me: bchrisp1@hotmail.com.
3 years ago
Wyoming Antelope Unit 20I hunted this unit a few years ago with the same plan. I decided the BLM in the south was not nearly as good of antelope habitat as it appears e-scouting. There may be a few in there, but not a lot. The better antelope habitat is in the easter part of the unit, and is almost all private land and hard hunting without access. If you can find antelope on that BLM in the southern part of the unit then you have found a honey hole with yearly access. Good luck to you.
3 years ago
Colorado RM Goat Unit G16Congratulations on the tag. I hunted in this unit a few years ago. What kind of experience are you looking for?
4 years ago
Colorado Big Game Unit 140What tag did you draw?
4 years ago
Colorado Big Game Unit 16Hi Matt, I just drew this tag for 2022 and would love to pick your brain if you are willing. bchrisp1@hotmail.com