tatonka

I find it very hard to believe that they would require a hunter paying big bucks to pass on a 65 inch bull. I call BS on that one. I'm sorry, but I just don't buy it. Saying something like that would be an immediate red flag for me. Do you have any idea how large a 65" bull is and how many years it takes for a bull to grow to that size? Young bulls don't grow 65" antlers!!! Shockey used to have a fairly extensive website where he talked in length about what to expect in regards to moose in his area. It appears to have been removed as I can't find it, but when I was looking I recall him saying that although some monster bulls are killed there, the average moose in his area was in the 55" to 60" range and he strongly suggested no one pass up a bull that size. It was a few years back when I looked at his site. He also stated hunters should not pass up 140" whitetails in his hunting area in Saskatchewan even though much larger ones are possible. I think what he had stated in his website was right on...very to the point in realistic.... I don't know about this booking agent/guide... Again, I just don't buy it.

bikerman9967

this is what the booking agent who's one of his guides told me. maybe he used it as example and exaggerated it a bit, who knows. he was just emphasizing they dont want to shoot young bulls . he did say at the end of the day, there are no laws or written policy saying you cant shoot something regardless of age so i take everything with a grain of salt.. this agent seems to run shockeys outfit from the way he spoke , so i just take in what he said.

i suppose there could be some young monsters floating around as there is in any species with good genetics and food sources. i have seen some 140-150 class whitetails that are 2.5 years old on "no hit list" where i hunt in Illinois.

tatonka

I understand what you're saying. The thing is to pass on a 65" moose in hopes you might find it the next year or a couple years later is a long shot at best. It's not like passing on a 140" whitetail where you know it's home range, etc.. Most people who pass on a 140'' to 150" buck own or lease the property or live where they know a bigger buck is possible. It's hard to fathom how huge moose country is until you see it. We're talking thousands of square miles and a moose will travel a very, very long ways when they are searching for cows. Plus, the cover is so dense in places that seeing the same moose twice is not easy. It happens, but not often.

Most outfitters and booking agents are very good salesmen. I'm not saying they out and out lie (although some do), but let's just say they tend to stretch things a bit. They have to sell hunts and if they say their success rate is 50% and the bulls average around 50-55", they're probably not going to sell as many hunts as they would if they say success rate it 90% and the bulls average 60". Just saying.

By the way, I just received an e-mail from from the Steve's Adventures outfit offering a cancellation hunt in Northern B.C. along the Yukon border for $8,950....cost is regularly $16,000...late September. I'd take it in a heartbeat, but I have a friend coming here to bowhunt and fish during that time..

bikerman9967

he was definitely giving me the salesmen routine . sounded almost like a car salesmen. i have heard this enough times to weed out the bs and take in the real information. at the end of the day its shockeys outfit and they arent going to treat you with neglect on finding a nice bull ( at least i hope not)

tatonka

Yup.... I hear you. And with the way information flies across the internet these days with outfitter reviews, forums, etc. a bad outfitter or one who stretches things just a bit too much won't be in business very long. They know this. I contacted some references before I booked my hunt. I knew that I'd only get satisfied customers, but I had some questions for them anyway. One gal I talked to was trying to kill a big bull with her bow. She said they spotted an absolute monster on the second day of her hunt along a lake shore, but she couldn't get close enough for a shot before it slipped into the willows. She said it was at least a 65" bull (she's a big time hunter, by the way...killed a lot of animals all over the U.S. and Canada...she knows big moose). they hunted for that bull for the next 4 or 5 days and never laid eyes on it. She finally put her bow away and killed a dandy bull with her rifle...55", but nice wide paddles, etc.. That's another thing....people tend to focus on spread, but not all big bulls are wide. At the camp where I hunted they had a bull hanging outside the cabin that was 48" wide, but it had massive paddles and netted over 200" B&C. They also had what was left of a massive old bull they had found dead that was over 70" wide, but it had gone downhill so far that it really wasn't that impressive.... The paddles had gotten narrow and it didn't have many points...just an old warrior that didn't make it through the winter but he sure was wide!

The other thing is that no outfitter can guarantee anyone anything.. All we can do is ask that they work hard and give it their best shot and we have to do our best on holding up our end of things. I really don't care about the food, sleeping quarters, etc.. As long as I'm warm at night and don't go hungry, I'm good to go. I just want an experienced guide that knows what he's doing, knows the area, and whose first priority is safety. I had just that on my moose hunt. On a caribou hunt the one guide I had the first couple of says was lazy. There were a lot of caribou so it really didn't matter, but I'd spot some caribou off on a ridge and he'd kind of drag his feet and then say, "Oh, we can find some closer than that".. I didn't say anything, but the outfitter switched me to another guide on the third day and he was great...he was ready go get out and get after them. When I got home, I e-mailed the manger of the outfit and told him I'd had a great hunt, but also told him that the first guide didn't have much gumption... I must not have been the only one to mention this as I see that he no longer works for them...

Good luck on your hunt with Rogue River...I hope the "Moose God" smiles on you and you kill a whopper...plan on wanting to go back though...Once you hunt the north country it gets in your blood!!!

bikerman9967

thank you sir. i havent made up my mind yet. ive also planned a trip to Namibia around the same year give or take and for obvious reasons cant do both . so i go back and forth in my mind where i want to hunt that year