Most affordable location for a moose hunt?

Just wondering where to go, and how much money to save to do it.

Canada, Maine, Alaska?

Maine probably least expensive if you can get drawn. But has a very good success rate.

I have a friend who hunts Canada about every 2-3 years for moose.. Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario. These areas have outfitters with much more reasonable prices than Alaska or the Yukon but the moose are not as large,

Real question is... 1/4 bore or full dirty 30?

I'll NEVER own a quarter bore, don't have a big enough .30, will probably take a .338 NM moose hunting. Why? Victory loves prepararion.

I have heard many wonderful things about a Newfoundland moose hunt. Very economical with excellent success rates. The moose run a little small, sure, but not as small as you might think with a good outfitter.

There is a recent thread on this very subject that has lots of good info.

Even though I am usually a "bigger is better" guy, despite their huge size moose are not hard to kill. At all. I would not hesitate to use anything in .30 caliber and above.

Jason, I have a friend that has hunted moose in Canada and Alaska, he said Canada was easier, but he would skip there to hunt the Yukon for a trophy, if it was a onetime deal. This was in response to my same question when I was really considering it. He has DEEP pockets, so hunts all over the world, but he doesn't just drop cash to hunt, he actually budgets it much the way he did years ago. As the others have said though, he said the same, can be much cheaper in Canadian provinces, with the biggest difference in cost being, travel, guide and access fees, tribe fees.

I don't have permission to post his face, so hopefully I got the black out done. IIRc, this bull went book, or was darn close. shot last fall. He hunts with a 300 wm topped with Swaro.

From what I gather, it is a 12k -24k deal everything included (including mount), depending on initial guide fee.
Yukon Bull

I have the taxidermy covered. So I'm looking at $11k?

Well this will take years to save for.

A "small bull moose" will still be way bigger than my 5 x 6 bull elk.

JG, from what I was told (by guys that go) You can do hunts in Canada for like 7-10k, up (base, good odds) I don't know if they ever went to Maine, or other in the 48. I do know my buddy really vets an outfitter big time though and he tips very well.

He has almost exclusively used the Cabelas service for booking now for over 10 years and says that gets him the best quality hunts, but there is a fee iirc. One thing I know you have already considered, which evens out the cost some, is travel expenses, so I'd think the location and outfitter would be the biggest cost to consider

Your LR class would be a great way to fill a jar, just for that trip maybe?

Shipping meat back is $. Alberta can be done sub $10k. Won't be huge bulls and can kill a variety of animals with most outfitters for tag cost (bear, deer, wolf, etc) ID has a few units with decent odds.

That will get you a great hunt. Just research your outfitter carefully. The DSC show would be a great place to check out to get a "feel" for everything.

You can do a Newfoundland hunt for a little over half of that - probably around 7-8K "all in".

Ask about other added costs also. Processing of the moose if not included. Cost of getting meat from camp to processor or to be shipped back to you. If they fly you in and out to camp, ask about those costs to see if they are included.

Call me crazy but I am considering myself and a buddy driving there with our own coolers. Maine, and Alberta are both about 30 hours out. With two of us we can keep the truck moving. Haul the moose, or meese, back ourselves and use my taxidermist.

Two guys from a town close to me did that in the late 80's in a Nissan 1 ton pickup. Went to Alberta I believe and killed a bull each. Hauled them back in that truck packed in a tarp with ice.

Buddy of mine looked at a hunt for he and his wife and talked to Jim Shockey 5 or 6 years ago about the Yukon hunts and said it would run around 25 grand apiece plus extra to fly the antlers and meat out.

I'm out on that.

I don't play in that sandbox.

I did the same thing, about that long ago. The 25k also included an estimation for taxi work here. Mr Shockey's fee portion was only around 11-14k. From what I understand, you usually bring back a very small amount of meat. The tribes get most of it. Could just be my friends preference IDK.

Jason, I believe there is moose, or "meese" hunting in Idaho, Montana and Minn as well?

Any moose hunt in the lower 48 is very expensive (auction/Native American) tag or you have to be extremely lucky in a draw for nonresident tags. Canada is the least expensive option. The moose hunts go up in antler quality and price from east to west across Canada. I killed mine in Canada this year. I went to British Columbia and drove to bring the meat and antlers back and got a good 50 inch bull. It was a 40 hour drive there from Tyler, Texas. If you just want a moose you can drive to Manitoba or Alberta in less than 30 hours. i bear hunted in Manitoba just north of Winnipeg. It was an ~20 hour drive from Tyler. There were tons of moose up there. However the trophy size was lacking in talking to the locals. A really monster moose in that area was 50 inches where in BC a 50 inch moose is just a good moose. If you want quality it's not going to be cheap, at least as far as moose is concerned. I hope this helps, I went through the same decision Two years ago and just decided to save up for a BC moose and goat hunt.

this would be my choice, I have never been to Maine, so that would be my first choice.

Out of state hunter has to put in to be drawn?

Yes. Idaho has pretty reasonable odds though - especially in some units. But good research needed to insure good unit choices.

How far south of the border do they typically come?

Shiras moose are in Utah and Colorado in better and better numbers - tags still long, long odds to draw though.

There's a few in the Expo raffle.

ID has a pretty reasonably priced tag and it is relatively easy for a non-resident to pull the tag, especially the archery tag.

Count me in if you want to do a DIY hunt!

I asked my Alaska Sheep outfitter how much the Moose hunts were and couldn't believe the answer at $20k! They book over 3 years ahead though, evidently they easily get that because of the near 100% opportunity, quality of Moose, and packing the meat out 15 miles from nearest bush strip and 60 miles from nearest road. He seriously joke you pay for the packing, not the hunt.

I'm not crazy about Moose and wouldn't do that, but I would suggest the triple combo 3 week hunt Moose, Dall Sheep, and Grizzly for under $40k.

Maine hunts would be the least expensive - non-res tag is about $800 plus you can buy points to get better draw odds many reasonably priced outfitters too. Most of the other states with moose, the tags are over $1100 and draw odds for non-res usually less than 5%.

Saskatchewan has the most economical Canada hunts, especially archery; you can get some inexpensive hunt/fish combos at several lodges with a DIY moose hunt.

I've been researching these hunts for quite a while and had a Sas hunt booked, but had some family health problems and had to cancel.

Canadascott has advertised Newfoundland moose hunts here before at a reasonable cost. I don't know about you but I could never handle all the meat from a moose. I'd leave the meat and just arrange to eat moose while I was at the lodge.

His post here shows the size moose you get:

Newfoundland moose hunt

I guess you missed the "affordable" word. I gross $75- $85k a year. There's no way I can afford an Alaska hunt.

jdickey,

That's more in my budget.

postoak,

Is moose meat not very good?

Moose meat is the best there is. I would research and plan a Newfoundland or lower Canada hunt with a reputable outfitter and enjoy everything moose hunting has to offer. Meat can either be brought back if you drive or shipped to you if you fly. Dry ice and coolers are wonderful things.

Surprised I don't see Montana, Idaho or Michigan on the list. Thought those would be budget friendly

Montana and Idaho are draw states unless you have governors' tag $$. Not aware of moose in Michigan. If you are thinking of Minnesota they are draw too and don't think for anyone but residents. Wolves have done a number on Minnesota moose numbers also.

thesafarimarketplace.com

Looked up one of the outfitters in BC, 9 day hunt $8900

Do a google search on Troy Foster - Slave Lake.

(If a person were to make contact, ask about deer, bear & wolf add-ons)

Thanks, Chris.

Looks like I'm years and years away from being able to afford a moose hunt. $10k will go a long ways to upgrading my 77' Deere 4430.

Preciate everyone's help. In the future I know what states and provinces to investigate.

If there are preference points you could start building them

That's good advice. Wyoming allocates 25% of its NR tags to a random draw. Lightning can strike and next thing you know you are moose hunting. I drew the only NR random draw tag available in the best unit in Wyoming in 2005 and had the hunt of a lifetime.

For a first moose hunt, I'd save up for a guided/outfitted hunt somewhere in Canada for the full "experience" without most of the DIY hassles. There's lots to be learned even when you have just an average size bull on the ground in a difficult environment! You might catch a good deal on a "cancellation" hunt once you have a short list of outfitters.

If set on the lower 48 areas, I'd try for Maine...., they have more non-res permits to draw and usually high success rates. Montana typically has less than 40 non-res moose tags statewide.

I can't help but think what kind of hunt you can have in Africa for $9k. You can do a pretty decent plains game hunt with a number of species for that kind of $$$. I would also like to hunt moose, but I'll go back to Africa again at least once before I do. I think it's the best value in hunting.

Call me crazy, but the only other country I am very comfortable going into is Canada. Plus I can drive there, and bring home some meat.

Not crazy at all. We would love to have you. Cheapest place to moose hunt in Canada is Newfoundland. You could do a guided trip for 4K plus your travel expenses. Success rates for many outfitters in Newfoundland are over 90% as the moose density is the highest in the world. Moose in NFLD are smaller - bulls are around 800lbs.

You could look at Quebec as well but IMHO there is no advantage compared to NFLD. Ontario #'s have taken a real hit in the last few years and I wouldn't waste time looking here. Manitoba is in the same boat as Ontario - maybe even worse. Saskatchewan may be worth a look - not sure. Alberta is definitely an option but more $$. Alberta moose are somewhere between the NFLD moose and Yukon/Alaska moose in size - 1000lbs to 1200lbs for a big bull. Most $$$ is northern BC and/or Yukon and the moose are monsters.

World record was taken in 2013 in the Yukon - 75 5/8 inch spread. Shot with a .303 British with open sights:

http://www.boone-crockett.org/news/featured_story.asp?area=news&ID=186

As far as driving goes it is easily done (Talking Alberta, Yukon is pretty far and NFLD is a PITA due to the ferry). Last March I did the reverse trip. I drove down to the Hill Country (2000 miles door to door) to hog hunt and try some exotics. Took home two hogs, two rams and a blackbuck packed in ice and wrapped in a tarp in the box of my truck. Had one of the hams for x-mas dinner 4 days ago.

Best of luck. Hope something works out.

As far as I know all moose hunts in the USA are limited quota. You have to apply in order to draw. In the west Id, Mt,Ut,Wy, and Co all have hunts. All should have tags/licenses for non-residents. Draw odds are usually low. Lots of demand and not a lot of permits. Id has permits in some areas with VERY few moose. A couple of years ago there were permits available in the panhandle after the draw. Very unusual. The reason was that the wolves has reduced the population dramatically. I have killed moose in both Id and WY.
A few yrs ago the calf to cow ratio in western WY was reported to be 9 to 100. Wolves had taken the calves. Some units in Western Wy had over 100 permits 20 yrs ago. They are now around 5-10. Makes it hard to draw. Canada as mentioned will be your bets opportunity. Good luck. Bruce

I drew a Shiras bull tag in Colorado in 1998 near Lake City. I found a yearling bull with about 14-18" paddles for a rack on the third day of the hunt and a cow and a calf on the last day of the hunt so I wound up eating tag soup! I was able to scout out some new elk country but it was a frustrating hunt for the most part. I've still never taken one and I've always dreamed of hunting a big bull in the Yukon but for those prices I'd just go to Africa. Good Luck on you search! Elk

Great information, thanks for sharing with us! Baker

I'm in the search for a moose hunt also. I've been applying in New Hampshire and Maine for the last 5 years. Starting to get enough points that being drawn may actually happen. Nonresidents can hunt moose in the following states and the tag cost: Alaska $400, Colorado $2,006, Idaho $2,101, Maine $585, Montana $1250, New Hampshire $500, Utah $1,518, Vermont $350, Washington $1,652, and Wyoming $1,402. Vermont has the cheapest tag @ $350. I apply to Maine and New Hampshire because you don't have to float the whole license fee. New Hampshire is $25 to apply and Maine is around $30. I apply here in Colorado also, $210 for residents. Alaska is cheap, $400, but getting there is a bit more costly. I'll drive to NH or Maine when I get drawn as I intend to hunt nonguided. I wouldn't bother with CO because the tag costs over $2000 for nonresidents and you need to pay the tag fee up front. A plus with New Hampshire and Maine is you get to list an alternate hunter or subpermitee. I put my wife in for both hunts and list myself as the alternate. If she gets drawn either one of us can shoot the moose, just another plus to putting in for those two states. I anticipate I will be able to complete the moose hunt for $1500-$2000 so it is definitely worth waiting for my name to be chosen in the lottery. Hope this helps

S/F

Jeff