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Outdoor Corner - Moose call do’s and don’ts
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The moose turns out to be a cow. It is not uncommon for cows to answer to a moose call. Probably out of curiosity. The distance of the moose is typical of how far a bull could come out on a cutline. They can be very careful and appear down wind a great distance prior to coming into a call.
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Gene Plihal
for Smoky River Express
Anyone who hunts geese in Alberta knows the thrill of a honker giving his flock (gaggle) of geese the cue that feeding grounds are being approached. Rene Turcotte, Armand Brule, Ron Schuster and a whole lot of other area outdoorsmen past and present could have or will tell you the beauty of this cacophony of wildlife sound.
Every whitetail hunter will also tell you about the beauty of stalking a whitetail in rut. Every Nimrod knows the excitement of setting a duck blind complete with decoys and waiting for the early morning flights of mallards.
Yes, the aforementioned hunting experiences are each unique and satisfying, but hardly in the same category as calling and stalking the Canada Moose. The electric charge experienced by a hunter calling his first moose is unsurpassed.
My experience with moose hunting started in 1974, the year that I arrived in Falher. Hector “two tomatoes” Guenette had two children attending Routhier School, Lise and Donald who I taught at the time. Donald sauntered up to me one day in class and asked if I’d like to go to “Parks” for the weekend to go hunting moose. Little did I realize that this would be, not only, the beginning of moose calling but a wonderfully rewarding sideline that I pursue to this day. “Me, I show you how it’s done,” Hector said in his inimitable dialect.
Hector introduced me to the moose call and all of its intricacies that weekend. His advice is sage to this day. Once, not this same weekend, in a span of 12 hours he called out two bulls which were harvested by myself and my father.
His secrets? First off, you find a good birch bark call. Preferably this bark is harvested off a birch tree that has been harvested recently for firewood. Otherwise, a ring of bark is taken off of a birch tree resulting in the tree’s ultimate death. Selecting a birch about 12 – 20 inches in diameter is about what it takes. Very carefully, the bark is pealed off of the tree and then it is twisted into a horn with the mouth piece about two inches in diameter and far end has an opening of about 6 – 8 inches, approximately 20 cm. The total length of the horn should be about 12 – 16 inches.
The prime time year for calling bull moose is late Sept. or early Oct. My largest moose measured 178 Boone and Crockett and dressed out over 400 kg. Mr. Oliva Aubin, a father of one of my students, will remember this one since he helped get this one out after a blizzard. Roger Pitre, a school colleague of mine, also helped brave the elements to take out the precious meat with his custom built all terrain
Vehicle, which if memory serves me correctly, was built by another Aubin, Pete. These were the days before I even owned an all terrain vehicle underscoring the fact that hunting on foot can be very productive. I harvested the moose on the call on Oct. 2, 1977, a day before this raging blizzard and snowstorm. Over the years, I have found that moose calling is most productive just before major storms are predicted to arrive.
Pre-season scouting pays off dividends. Walk swamps and lake edges to determine where moose feeding grounds are immediately prior to opening day. Moose do change feeding areas as the season progresses, so too early of a scouting and spotting of moose doesn’t mean they’ll be there opening day or during the rut.
Hector always suggested calling from a cutline (seismic) at intersections so that visibility is maximized. He noted that moose, if they can, will try to go down wind from the call in order to ascertain the scent of caller. As one local hunter pointed out to me, however, when a moose is in a full rut, he is reckless and will come in without regard for wind direction or the quality of the call.
Last fall, after five days of futility in calling because of the warm weather, I managed to call two bulls out on a frosty morning on the sixth day for my clients. Hector always emphasized the need to call in early morning and late evening on frosty days. The bulls are lethargic on warm days, but may even answer if they are in full rut.
Overcalling is one of the common mistakes of beginners, generally speaking.
Emily, my daughter, has already mastered the moose call and has called moose out on occasion for clients. Her favourite spots for calling are next to lake shores or near creeks.
Hector suggested one long call, a sound resembling a beef cow bellow, somewhat. Many tapes are available to people who are interested in learning the sound to be made. The long call can be heard for some distance by moose. One authority on moose claims that a moose can hear a watch ticking from 100 metres. I didn’t believe it until one occasion behind McLennan I had a recalcitrant bull answering my call by whacking his antlers against a tree, a sound resembling a two by four being whacked against a piece of plywood. He repeatedly answered my call but would not come out. I pulled out a bottle of water and tested the moose’s hearing by raising it (the bottle) before me and slowly draining the water on the ground, a sound resembling a moose cow urinating. No sooner did I finish the trickle of water when the bull charge out into the open and stood broadside at about 150 metres. It was an enormous bull which my client, suffering from buck fever, missed three times.
One other technique I have used which is an adaptation of my mentor’s is the use of a four foot stick which I soundly rap against a tree. While the call created by the birch bark is intended to stimulate a cow’s call, taking a stout stick and beating it against a tree is intended to stimulate another bull challenging the one that one intends to call. The danger in this technique is that sometimes whacking a tree in this manner results in such a loud sound that it intimidates a smaller bull.
Moose meat gets various reviews from different people. Frankly, though I am again reentering the beef business now, I prefer moose, especially young bulls, over beef. According to University of Alaska research there is 27 times less cholesterol in moose than beef. I find it cooks up wonderfully in lasagna, tacos, sloppy Joe’s, and even stuffed green peppers. Once recently I cooked up a lasagna for “in law’s” who first asked “Gene, is there moose in this?” I knew if I answered yes their question until all of the lasagna was gone and I asked to cook the spaghetti to these same people at a later date. Little did they know, or could they tell, what they had eaten!
Moose meat and moose hunting may again gain its prominence of days gone by if this recession continues. Gone are the days when cow licenses were readily available, so knowing how to bag a bountiful supply of bull moose meat is captured in the previous paragraphs. Merci beaucoup, Hector. One weekend at Parks not only introduced me to moose calling but was as life changing an experience as I have ever had. By the way, Hector was “two tomatoes” because this is the way he described the price of anything for sale. “How much for that Vamoose (an ATV brand in earlier days), Hector?” You guessed it: “Two tomatoes” ($2,000). Your advice was worth many tomatoes. Happy retirement!
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