How dumb are moose?
Moose
I am headed back to AK this fall for a drop camp moose hunt. Of course this means that space and weight are major considerations, which leads me to my question.
In remote AK how effective would just a decent sized piece of black cloth, hung in an alder, be at helping to decoy in a moose. If nothing else I thought that it might at least direct him to where you want him to go for shot positioning.
Thoughts???
Thanks
I don't know about Alaska but in Colorado that would probably work. Moose are so stupid here you just walk right up to them and shoot. That's what I did.
I think it could work rspecially if it is in some thick brush where it is partially hidden. Moose are generally pretty easy to call during the rut and I would think something like that would direct them to where you want them but they may still try to circle downwind of it so I would set up accordingly.
I have killed 2 Moose in Alaska, called the first one in and stalked the second one in his bed.
Let's be clear. They aren't stupid.
If you challenged Mike Tyson to a fight do you think he's worried abuot you? No.
If you get them during the rut, like most animals, you are in luck. Outside of the rut it's finding them. Plenty of guys go to hunt moose every year and come home empty handed.
Biggest mistake you can make is thinking it's a slam dunk.
In 2012, AK Moose success rate was 24% for all hunters.
Moose are far from stupid.
Not arguing with you Sage Buff, but comparing them to Mike Tyson when talking about intelligence is not the best analogy...
They are not stupid. During the rut they are the toughest biggest kid on the block so they may seem that way. Let one get a whiff of you and they are gone!
We found that flashing an antler or in my case a bone colored grunt tube was very effective.
On my Ak hunt I had no need for a decoy, but you never know till you try.
As far as positioning goes, we had several come in on a string. I think all of them turned enough for a shot had we wanted to take one. They all seemed to work within range before trying to work down wind or turn to leave which gave us a shot opp.
Haha Idyl. I was talking about the fact they are the biggest and strongest hoofed animal. Not really afraid of much. They fight vs. flight.
They are tough. The first time I heard them fight it was so loud I was not sure what it was.
This one had a little something left behind from a fight:)
Don't misunderstand my title as really thinking that moose are dumb. I've shot a couple and know that at times they can be quite wary. I'm more interested in knowing who, if any, have had success decoying with just a black cloth/sheet.
the dumbest moose makes the smartest turkey look like a moron
I had a guy I was guiding ask about decoying, and wanted to try it. So I stuffed 2 black garbage bags with marsh grass and propped them up together on some willow branches. Now I probably could have called that moose that morning, right up to us anyhow, but like a fox, he honed in on that sorry excuse for a decoy and walked back and forth and circled it, thinking he THOUGHT it was moose standing there from way over there, but............
He was not shot, nor did I get a picture.
black cloth can work but you will have to meet up with the perfect moose. I would imagine you are bowhunting so don't hide real close to that decoy, the moose might get it figured out b4 you get a shot.
My friends at McMillan wore black hoodies and with the paddle overhead had moose coming in straight to them.
But if you really want to know the intelligence level it is right about even with turkeys, so just ask TBM...
moose are dumb as doorknobs in full rut, but if it ain't rutting season, they are smart and wary as heck in heavily hunted areas!
Let's be very clear here. In Colorado moose are really really dumb. They have their pictures taken so many times during the summer than when hunting season rolls around they think you are just another picture taker and kaboom they find out that they were mistaken.
I've seen smart wary moose in Alaska, they are not that way in Colorado, at least not in my experience!
Never thought of them as dumb! The one I called in for my hunting buddy in Alaska came half circle to wind us and even charged after the first shot. Maybe when I get a Colorado tag I will just find one that is used to posing for pics and while he grins.. my arrow goes all the way in while my Go-Pro captures all the footage I will become the newest celebrity on a TV show. But probably not. They do get overcharged with hormones and do stupid stuff because of there size and ability to defend themselves but I have never thought of them as stupid. Saw a young bull chase a calf off two times on the same elk trip while he attempted to breed the cow. The last time it got pretty violent pretty close to where we had parked the truck to walk in. I hope when I draw a tag I can find one decent bull and do something like you describe that makes the bull investigate. I believe what you are asking may work. Very few of us in the lower 48 that have enough experience to say..but I believe what you are trying to do may work to some extent. I tried the Montana Decoy one time but due to the Tussocks it would not stand in any kind of breeze. I folded it up and just called my butt off. I don't pretend to be an expert on anything other than being the best at not being the best. But I keep trying to use what I have learned and keep getting better at doing what I love to do..Hunting. Bob.
Yep, they are dumb.
Just like elk, white tails and bears are dumb.
Notice I didn't include turkeys 'cause they ARE stupid.
Two years ago while elk hunting here in Colo, we called a young bull to 10 yds of a running, bright red ford f150. He casually waddled across the road in front of the truck. I thought he was rather dumb!
Not hunted moose before, but my experience with other animals....
Most of the dumb ones are dead already....
Not dumb.
During the rut some animals are willing to let downt heir guard, to get a little action.
The black sheet might work out. I have hunted Woodland Caribou in the rut and taken white towel and flashed it to a stag and had them come to it. I even had one come in to about 5 steps by opening My raincoat jacket which has a white liner. Held the jacket open to him, it gets their attention. either good or bad. I have had it scare some but they will come to it. It's possible the same concept will work for a Moose.
Colorado seems to have a lot of dumb animals
Goats, Moose, Turkeys
My lion was pretty dumb. He stayed in the tree and let me shoot him.
I remember on my colorado elk hunt running into a bull moose that was unafraid and would come by our tent and hang around. I could have speared him.
I still have a few of these left for the "non-stupid" variety of Moose
Life size, lightweight, mobile, and will also keep the rain off you if necessary.
Best of Luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)
Like TD said a dumb moose is a dead moose. In Maine they have been hunted for over 30 years and there are plenty of smart ones. Friends of mine that shed hunt always find many sheds that are far larger than any shot. Most people see dumb moose and never see the smart ones.
I wouldnt confuse Dumb with aggressive!Moose will be more aggressive and less weary in the rut,its their way of establishing dominance--often confused with stupid-- i would suggest they are smart enough that the species survives in a varity of enviroments from heavily hunted and heavily preyed on.
Up here we call them swamp donkeys. They can be dumb but it is amazing how an animal that big can disappear so fast in the woods. The only animal that scares me when it is in rut. Been run up a tree a couple of times by them and saw one right after it had fought another moose send a big bear flying when the bear bailed out of an apple tree in front of it. My brother tracked one 4 years ago during moose season and it took him 6 hours to spot it bedded. Shot it on top of a ridge and it took 2 hours to drag it out the next morning with a draft horse. We never had to cut down even a bush. Old Tony picked his way around trees and rocks like the he was skidding a tree. ATVs are not allowed on most lands up here, especially fed land, but horses are. There are guys up here who pull horses and log. They will get your moose out for a fee. I worked with Tony so I got to use him free. It is a fun way to do it as I love working with draft horses.
that moose-ass umbrella even has an anatomically correctly placed anus............brilliant!
Having no predators here in Colorado and minimal hunting does not hurt your odds of encountering them. The moose I encountered here in NW Colorado tend to hole up in a super small habitat. Bulls tend to roam more and were somewhat easier to encounter than cows. If you are lucky enough to come across them scouting or hunting the hard part is over (well except the part of getting something equivalent to 3 cow elk, or maybe 15 deer lying in front of you requiring full skinning, breaking down, and then getting it all back to camp).
Bou, it is all about the details:) I had to go back and look.
I am sure a decoy can and does work well. I just don't think it is as big of a benefit for moose as it is for other animals.
Moose are not dumb. During the rut bulls get a tad preoccupied (they are, after all, males....), distracted, and their existence has a single objective! Smart hunters take advantage of this.
Their eyesight is not terrific and their ears and nose are never "dumb."
But late September moosey frame of mind is one thing. The same moose on the 1st of September is much more difficult to sneak up on. All he is thinking about then is tanking up for the winter and has no interest in cows. You will have more trouble imitating a willow shoot...!
I've been in on several hundred if not a thousand moose stalks. Never thought to try something "dark" to lure them into a false sense of security. I have used light colored things (actual or imitation antler palm) many times with good results.
Pete
I don't think it will hurt anything. Get one of the brown Army surplus mattress covers and you can stuff if with grass. After you kill your moose they make fantastic and sturdy game bags.
I carry a small collapsable umbrella in my pack. It works. I know guys that hunt with a simple piece of black landscape cloth and a couple clothes pins. I've had Bulls hang up I think because they can't see anything thats making the noise. Shake a bush if in thick stuff, but move away from it. Good Luck with your hunt.
Last year I used the black weed guard material 4x6 had a cow come to it, the bull with her sayed back.Its real light and small fits in your pocket.
One thing to consider is the moose in Alaska, at least where we hunted are not BLACK!
Shiras and Canadian's are much much darker.
Whoa, talk about lite.. Almost a Elk color....
here is a decoy that brings em in close. but you can drape a black bag over a bush if you want...
Depends upon your definition of "dumb". I think any and all animals can be "dumb" if through generations they have become unafraid of humans. We've all seen pictures of deer eating out of people's hands in certain suburbs/gated communities and such, turkeys, et al, doing the same. Does this mean they're "dumb" or just totally "humanized" for several generations? That's the distinction I make..."humanized" vs. "dumb". So if that's what you mean by "dumb", I'm with you.
I had the privelage of, years ago, hunting a very large Indian reservation where turkeys had never been hunted before. Not to say that, upon occassion, a native didn't perhaps pop one out of the car window but they were never hunted, per se. It was so easy to kill a couple good adult birds that it was almost shaming. If you made any call that remotely sounded like a hen they came running and gobbling in. I never had, nor ever will again, hear that much non-stop gobbling. Did that make them "dumb" or just not "humanized"?
Moose can be dumb, like whitetails can be dumb, at certain times, and at other times seem like they have a sixth sense. It just depends. I know I love hunting them and can't wait to hunt them again.
I just hope they are dumb enough for me to smoke one next year...
I hope they are really dumb , i am going on a diy moose hunt in alaska sept of this year so i have been practicing my calling and i really suck.
Bowhunter,
Don't stress too much about your calling, close was more than good enough for us.
Pete in Fairbanks gave me a thorough lesson the spring before our hunt. It took about 2 seconds:) He cupped his hands, pinched his nose and went "euugh". Lesson over:)
Get moose madness and practice from that.
Good luck to all of you guys that are going this fall. After elk it was my favorite hunt and definitely exciting!!
Before that you figure that they are dumb, you might want to check out the success rate by AK hunters.....
Again, it was tongue in cheek about the dumb part. The question was more whether they could be fooled with a black(or dark colored) sheet.
And bowhunter, if you heard the guy calling that was with us last time you wouldn't be worried. He managed to call in a 62" bull from a long ways away.
In colorado I had a bull moose for a camp mate just below tree line. He walked up to my tent and fire several times, stared at me, and walked away. He got within 10 yards and would bed in the basin not far from me. I'd see him on my elk stalks. But when I hunted moose in Wyoming the following year they were anything but dumb. I had a cow tag and they were very tough to stalk. I did manage to take one but I was surprised to see just how easily they would pick me up, run, and disappear. Guess it just depends on the moose you're hunting. I don't think a sheet would've worked there but it wouldn't hurt to try either.
Thanks too all the guys for there support on my bad calling , i have been practicing everyday and my wife even said i am starting to improve still have 6 months to practice.(driving her crazy)
CAME ACROSS A GUY YEARS AGO WITH A PET MOOSE WITH A WOODEN LEG. I ASKED HIM HOW THE MOOSE GOT A WOODEN LEG HE SAID "WELL BOY LAST YEAR MY CABIN STARTED ON FIRE AND THIS MOOSE KNOCKED THE DOOR DOWN AND WOKE ME UP AND SAVED MY LIFE"
I SAID " THAT DONT EXPLAIN HOW HE GOT A WOODEN LEG"
HE REPLIED " BOY YOU DONT EAT A SMART MOOSE ALL AT ONCE"
8pointer is pretty damn funny
I'd say their intellect, while in the rut, correlates well with that of a liberal.
Dumb when I do not have a moose tag, smart when I do.
...not nearly as dumb as anyone asking the question.
Try hunting moose in the timber before the rut kicks in.They can be as cagey as any buck deer when they want to.Its a big mistake to think a moose hunt is a slam dunk if the rut is not on.
