Rob in VT

I finally booked a moose hunt for my daughter and I. We decided Newfoundland fit what we were looking for in a moose hunt. Our hunt isn't until 2018 as we wanted a specific week. We will be hunting the week of Sept 24th, 2018 on the north side of the island in management area 4 - Taylors Brook.

For those who have moose hunted, my question is this;

1. The last week of Sept is typically the peak of the moose rut. How would warm weather effect this? Would activity be primarily at night and dusk/dawn?

2. Turns out that this week also is the full moon. How does the lunar phase effect the moose rut?

Thanks for any insight . . . Rob

w123t

Rob,

Mornings are generally best. Although as in all hunting
it is definitely best when that big Bull steps out in front
of you. During the peak of the rut you could potentially
call in a bull at any time of the day. The full moon may hurt
you a little and weather that is too warm is always a bummer.
Good luck!

mrbb

I quit playing the DATE game on things
my 2 cents is this, if its warm, they will be more active at night and early morning when temps are lowest
once things warm up??
its a WHAT IF type deal

Peak rut dates are to me just DATES , hunted far too many SO called PEAK rut dates to have slow or NO rut sign going on at all

HUNT when you can, and hunt Smart
is better advice , than counting on the RUT!

Phil from Maine

Actually Sept. is best for calling because bulls are testing each other out for the soon to be prime rutting coming up. Oct. is hardest calling due to the rut and the bulls are with the cows.. Warm weather or not that bulls will be moving during that last week of Sept. They are establishing territory and the bull grunt is best then. The key thing is being able to wait where you are calling. With only a few days to get one that can be the hardest part of it. Early morning and evenings are both great but do not stop. They move when they want and will move during broad daylight regardless of temps. Around water holes is the best even if it is just a small bog cows will hang around those areas and the bulls will not be very far away.. Good Luck to you..

Daveboone

We hunted newfoundland, northern area (forget the zone, but east of River of Ponds) last year. Don't worry about the rut as far as activity. All Newfie outfitters average close t 100% regardless of time of the season. We went (and in a few more years will again) the first week of the season (roughly start week of 9-13) because it was pre rut, and we wanted to ensure the best quality untainted meat. Into the rut, and it definitely is affected.
Sorry cant comment on the weather, but like all big animals, they will be more likely to seek the cool areas during the day if warm. The guides assure us that ,more bulls are seen due to their movement during the rut, so it is your choice. We both got bulls, but due to foul weather didn't get very picky - we were very happy with palmated bulls the first huntable day, as the weather was going to deteriorate the rest of the week....but still saw 9 moose that day.

Rob in VT

What size bulls did you take Dave? Did they respond to calls that time of year?

Muskyhunter1

End of Sept is when I typically hunt the moose in rut. If you get too much later you miss the rut entirely. You sound about right on.

Good luck.

Phil from Maine

Nope moose are not rutting at least here in Maine during Sept. They are establishing territory which makes them easier to call. They start wandering around looking for cows as well. But the actual rut starts in October and that is why they are more difficult to call as they are then with the cows.. I have called a lot of moose here in Maine and the rut starts pretty much the same time each year regardless of the weather and temps. Here is a picture of one of them.. The biggest I have called out and it dressed out at 1256 pounds.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/memb...8-big-bull.jpg

Daveboone

The guides told us they were probably 5 1/2 yr olds, both 9 pointers about 34". Ed saw an estimatefd 50" but it was in an area they couldn't get to. They didn't do any calling, all spotting at this time. I gathered they didn't call if they didn't need to despite season.
We shot ours early in the hunt...day one was high winds, fog and rain couldn't hunt. a nor'easter blew in the night of our arrival. next day was sunday, and you cant hunt sundays in September. Monday we went out , fair day, knowing the back side of the storm was coming in that night and would probably shut things down for a couple more days at least. We both decided that if we saw a shootable bull we would take it (like they say, don't pass the first day what you would settle for on the last). To be honest, we were only at our watch site about an hour before spotting my bull (but in the meantime spotted two cows, and two big bears....two more big cows spotted on the way out after shooting ours). OUr tags were for either or, but we weren't shhoting cows until the last day if needed.
Certainly we could have gotten much more impressive bulls with more time, but our first time out we weren't risking it. Patey and Sons web site shows all the hunters from the fall, and overall they got ALOT of nice bulls. Next time, but ya never know! I am still happy with my decision, and eating moose 2-3 x a week!

Rob in VT

That's a great photo Phil!