Best States to Go Moose Hunting
 

The moose is the largest game animal in the United States, and as management practices have allowed the population to grow, hunting moose has become an increasingly popular challenge.

According to me, Alaska is by far the best state for moose hunting. Second place belongs to Maine, and after that you might look at Idaho and Washington. Moose hunting is expensive wherever you go, costing thousands of dollars and sometimes exceeding $20,000. Permission to hunt moose is usually alloted through a drawing. Applications must be made months in advance, and it may take years before you win a chance to hunt.

Please let me know which is the best states for moose hunting according to you guys.

Which ever one you can get the tag for!

If you have the money... Wherever you can get a tag! And go now, don't wait. You're not guaranteed tomorrow.


If you have to play the draw game, then apply as many places as you can afford and hope to get lucky and draw before your time is up.


-Jake

I see them frequently in the mountains of NE Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine where I have often deer hunted. Pretty cool animal but IMO not much of a challenge to hunt. Normally when deer hunting I can walk in on them quite easily. Not bad taste as table fare but at least from my experience is often kind of tough as compared to deer.

Not to detract from the posts title (best States to hunt moose in), but I would have to expand it to where include provinces in Canada also....)
I would then qualify it by hunting for trophy size or success....
Newfoundland has a huge moose population, with success rates in the high 90s....I cant think of any other area that offers that. It is easily accessible, guaranteed licenses, and very affordable. I am returning for my 2nd fly in one on one hunt this fall, before tips/ butchering fee, 6000.oo That includes license, fly in and out, guide, of course food, etc. They work very hard to earn your money, and going to Canada with a gun is a breeze.

I will be making my 4th trip to Newfoundland this September. 1st for moose, other 3 were Caribou. Dave is correct, one of the largest concentrations of moose in the world. They have a bad rap for “small” moose. Mainly because locals want meat and many first time hunters shoot the first legal bull they see. There are some really nice bulls there, even 50”+ bulls. Certainly not the size of their Yukon/AK cousins but not the $20k price tag either.

Best state or best province can be subjective depending on what a person wants out of a moose hunt. For me personally it's about the area (how scenic and wild it is), the size and number of moose present, and being able to drive there and get the moose home. For me, British Columbia is hard to beat. The scenery is unbelievable, the moose are big and there are very good numbers of them, and I can drive there and get a moose home. There are small lakes in B.C. that haven't seen a hunter in years and years. Most moose in Northern B.C. away from roads have never seen a human. It's still a fair amount of money, but considerably less than Yukon or Alaska. If I lived back east I'd be looking at Newfoundland even though the moose there are considerably smaller. In British Columbia most moose taken on outfitted hunts average over 50". On the lake I hunted in B.C. several have been taken in recent years over 60". In Newfoundland from what I've seen, a 50" moose is pretty hard to come by. They kill some from time to time, but not many. I personally think going to Newfoundland with the hope of killing a 50" plus moose is unrealistic.

I'd love to hunt moose here in Montana, but I've been putting in for 40 years and can't draw a tag. I just read an article in "Traditional Bowhunter" about a fellow who drew his 4th moose tag here. I have a problem with our laws that allow someone to draw 4 tags when most of us never are able to draw one.... It needs to be changed and I'll be talking to our local representative on the F&G board about that.

I do agree with you Tatonka. It is actually depend on the person. We should go on those areas where number of moose presents.

I am partial to Maine because I am from Maine most likely.. Alaska would surely be a nice place as well. I do know a couple of people who have also hunted New Hampshire and was successful. I am not sure about Vermont but have seen a few on some posts elsewhere from there. Out west from what I have heard and read about the wolves keep the moose numbers down somewhat and some areas that used to hold moose do not have them there at all anymore. That is just what I have heard and seen on some postings. The wolf problem is huge in some areas.. New Brunswick is also a great area and from what I understand Newfoundland is great hunting for them..

It sure wouldn't be Colorado with the points it takes to get a tag.

I'd go to Alaska if a moose was my goal.

Northern New England used to be pretty good but tags were hard to get in the lotteries. The winter tick problem is really dropping the numbers down in Vermont and they really cut back on the tags given out. IMO they will be closing the moose hunting in a year or two here in Vermont to try and get the numbers back.

Same thing in NH. My wife is from there and I put in for many years. The tags are so limited now I don't even bother and like VT I expect NH to close the season completely due to the tick issue.

Yes Northern NH and North East Vermont are about the same type of terrain... big woods and used to be plenty of moose. I love to still hunt those big woods for deer.

I want to do that some day. But now that I tech HS full time it is hard to get away for any length of time during deer season and when I can I tend to head for my native CO to chase mulies or elk. Someday I want to do deer and bear up in your region.

That's the one thing that stinks about being in education (as I am, being a grad student and a teaching assistant). You get so much time off in the summer, but that about coincides with almost no hunting seasons to speak of.

It worries me to think that, Lord-willing when I get a teaching position at a university somewhere, I am unlikely to get to go on a road trip hunt out West.

On the other hand, that first job (these days, aspiring college professors don't get to choose where they end up) could always come out West. Then I might only have to drive a couple hours to get to get to some backcountry, instead of a couple days.

Youngun ,


A little off topic but.... Be picky while you can be. I jumped at the first "real" job that I was offered after college. I ended up in an area I didn't like doing a job I didn't like. I suffered for about half a year there before deciding to hit the reset button and improving my situation. I ended up having to take a different job not in my career field for about a year and having to explain the "failed" first job in all subsequent interviews.


I've been in my career field now since 2013 and love what I do and where I do it. But, If you can be picky... wait for the right fit and the right location.


Think of it this way. It's better to go be miserable and work at a pizza shop(Or wherever) for six months now than to pick the wrong location and job and spend the next 30 years wishing you'd picked something else.


If I didn't have family and land where I'm at now, then I would have ended up in WYO or MT. But the family and the investment we have into the land here kept me in Ohio/PA area. Gotta weigh what is important to you.


But, don't be in a rush to land that first paycheck. Make sure it's a good spot for you and you future. If I was a single guy without family ties keeping me then big game hunting would definitely play a part in my decision making process. It's allot easier to hunt 2 hours from your house than it is to hunt 24 hours from your house!
-Jake

Getting a tag is very difficult in Montana. What makes success for the hunt even worse in this region is the drastic impact being felt in the moose population from the expanding wolf packs. Moose in some parts of MT and ID have been reduced to a fraction of what they had been in the 80's and 90's. Better odds would likely come in areas not having a significant wolf population....

Alaska, no question. Tons of public land and over the counter, or easy to get draw tags. The largest of the moose subspecies as well.

The moose is the largest game animal in the United States. Hunting moose has become an increasingly popular challenge. Moose Hunting in Alaska is by far the best state for hunting. After that you might look at Idaho and Washington.
Have a Successful and Safe Hunt!