Questions & Package Info
jeff@moccasintrailsadventures.com
Youth Discounts Offered
(17 years or younger)
Air Service Information
flyin@westcaribouair.com
Jeff Haug
2436 N 800W
Frankfort, Indiana, USA 46041
1-765-242-6717
jeff@moccasintrailsadventures.com
Arrows III and Tackle Too
2888 State Road 25N
Lafayette, Indiana, USA 47905
1-765-429-4747
Moose Hunting
Ojibwe hunters are known around the world as some of the best moose hunters, period! We have been hunting moose and relying on not only their delicious meat, but their hides and bones for making clothes, tools and crafts, for thousands of years.
Bring your camera!
Our moose hunts are guided by one of our local and skilled guides… people who have been “born and raised” on the land on which they hunt. Archery hunters are amazed at the skill our guides have at calling a big bull moose into easy bow range. Most of our successful archers take their animals at inside 20 yards.
Typically, you and your guide will spend some time in the evenings looking for that day’s tracks and you’ll also do some morning preparation, mainly by calling to eager bulls. Since our hunts are conducted during the moose rutting period of mid-September through early October, the bulls are constantly on the move in search of receptive cows. This is the time to be in the field, bow in hand.
Most moose hunting is done at the edges of the many rivers, lakes, marshes and beaver ponds that are so common in our traditional hunting grounds. Your guide will spend many days scouting in advance of your arrival, so you when you begin your hunt, we’ll have several good bulls located for you.
We expect (and demand) that archery hunters have taken the time to practice their marksmanship before arriving in camp. Rarely, but on occasion, a hunter arrives in camp who clearly, has not practiced his or her archery shooting and is far from proficient in this regard. We, as hunters, must give a tremendous amount of respect to the majestic animal we are attempting to take from the land and the worst possible scenario is when a hunter makes a poorly placed shot and only wounds the animal.
Rifle hunters are encouraged to practice their shooting as well. Ensure that your scope is dialed in and the firearm is sighted in properly before you arrive. You can test-fire it when you arrive in camp to ensure its accurate delivery.
The weather can be a big factor in the outcome of a moose hunt, but since we are so far north, autumn heat waves are rarely an issue. Cool, crisp, quiet mornings are perfect for calling moose. You’d be amazed at just how far away a bull can hear the call and more importantly, just how far a bull will come to the call!
Of course, you are welcome to bring home the meat from your harvest, but in some cases, it may not be possible to keep the meat from spoiling on its long journey back home. It may also be cost prohibitive if you are flying home with a major airline, or in some cases, they just can’t fit an “extra 400 pounds of meat” on the plane.
If you are unable to bring some or all the meat home with you, your guide will, of course, welcome any moose meat that you must leave behind. It will be shared with community members, with the elders being the first to receive the much appreciated gift. We do encourage you to make necessary arrangements to bring your harvest home with you because as guide, Elijah Jacob always says, “I’d rather have a good moose roast than that fancy prime rib stuff they give you in the restaurant - any day!”
Archery hunting is very popular these days, but many hunters go with the rifle or muzzle loader.
Any bow, (either traditional, compound or crossbow), that has a limb strength of 50 - 60 pounds is plenty for moose. People often try to pull “too much bow” and show up in camp with seventy or even eighty pound set ups. Many moose are killed each year with bows of only fifty pound strength.
A quite, smooth shooting bow is more important than how many “feet per second” it shoots. Please practice throughout the summer so when you get into camp you’ll be ready. You may only get one good chance at a bull moose during your hunt and you don’t want to blow it.
Regarding arrow heads, the sky is the limit these days, but anything from 100 grains and up is plenty.
Common rifle calibres include the .270, .280, 30.06, .308, .300 Savage or the .300 Win - mag. Again, like with the archery hunter shooting “too much bow,” gun hunters often have “too much gun” and they are unable to shoot effectively. You do not need a .475 H & H to kill a moose!
And, you don’t need a .338 either! Shot placement is the key… so please practice before your hunt! A simple 3 x 9 scope will do just fine, but if you can get one that works well in low light conditions, it would be a great asset. Most big game animals are taken at either first light or at last and most of our moose are shot at less than 100 yards.
If you are a muzzleloader hunter, anything on the market these days will easily kill a moose. Most “smoke poles” shoot 50 calibre slugs and that will knock a moose over with ease. Again, shot placement is the key… it’s not all about kinetic energy or speed.