Horseback hunts are usually more expensive and are considerably more physically demanding. If you're experienced with horses and/or young and in good shape the horseback hunts might be the way to go. They are probably a more adventurous kind of hunt. I've not done one, but from the photos I've seen, getting up in the mountains is really what these are all about. The size of the bulls is about the same whether a person does a boat hunt or a horseback hunt.
Boat hunts are typically easier as far as the physical end of things goes, but sitting in a boat and hearing an outboard engine whine can wear a person down a bit too, and when a moose is down it's work regardless of what kind of hunt you do. On a boat hunt you'll stop at various places and call.. You might walk short distances, but you won't walk far. The walking is usually on fairly level ground, although it can be boggy and the cover is almost always heavy.
With a boat hunt you'll usually hunt from a cabin or wall tent. You won't be packing back in and hunting out of a spike camp, etc. so the food is usually better (no freeze dried food, etc). You'll probably sleep on a cot, have a wood stove, etc. Many camps will have a generator.
On a horseback hunt the days can be quite long. I talked to one guy who did a horseback hunt and he said the horses are hobbled at night, but in the morning they still could be a mile away and it took some time to find them, get them saddled up, etc. and he said most days they got back to camp well after dark. With a boat hunt you always run the risk of having motor problems..that didn't happen on my hunt, but it does happen so if the guide can't get the boat started, needs a part, etc. you're stuck. Most guides are good mechanics and can deal with problems that crop up. Our camp had a spare motor and there were two boats so they were prepared for problems.
I don't know as one hunt is better than the other...they're just different. It all depends on what a person wants, what kind of shape they're in, etc..
Here's a photo from one of the horseback hunts the outfitter sent me after the season was over. Pretty neat photo....
On the other hand, I've never had to get up at 4 am just to go FIND my boat so I can start the day's hunt!
Pete
On my boat hunt, I spent, cumulatively, 6 or so hours plugging holes in the aluminum hull of the boat and ghetto rigging the motor that would start, at best, 35% of the time that we needed it to. On a 7-9 day hunt, losing even half a day could be tragic to the outcome of the hunt, not to mention that at $1k or so/day, all makes sucky economic sense. Occasionally stuff happens and you jump in and roll with it to get back on track, but when the issue could have been handled proactively by the outfitter prior to your arrival, not good.
As you get into the nitty gritty of making your final choice in outfitters, detailed questions to not only the outfitter, but also to past hunters need to be asked. Sometimes guys that kill a great animal tend to overlook that the horses were a bit wild and the tack was held together with bubble gum and duct tape and you ended up riding on the horses belly....or that the boat hull had 100 holes where rivets used to be....or that the only food was canned Vienna sausages and a bag of flour with caraway seeds (Mouse turds), with half a plastic bottle of whiskey to wash it down....And that the bottle was half full because the guide returned to camp every day after the morning hunt to "feed and water the stock"...
Ask ALOT of questions.
My horseback hunt was THE best experience of my hunting "career". I will also say that moose hunting of any kind is something that I dearly love to experience and I would never insist on doing it only one way.
Regarding hunting in BC, always ask both the outfitter, as well as past hunters, if they experienced pressure from local hunters at any point. Even with some of the camps in Northern BC, oil and mineral companies have roads cut into some otherwise remote locations. If there are roads, local hunters WILL come and for me, after paying for a wilderness hunt, to have some local yahoos cruising through the area on a noisy quad would make me just mildly unhappy. If the base camp is accessible by any type of vehicle, other than avian or equine, I would keep looking.
Ask a lot of questions.
Have a great hunt!
Those folks are BC residents and OWN the game you have the privilege to hunt in BC. It might not be great to have some resident competition on a big dollar hunt, but trust me, residents don't get really excited about seeing guides and their clients on their hunt either.
ive guided both types of hunts. i agree with the op on most points with one exception. trophy quality on both hunts CAN be equal. but...BUT the hunts on lakes, unless there very large are conducted every year in the same place. over time the oldest animals get harvested just like any area that access is easy. over time the older animals learn to pull away from specific bodies of water just like they avoid areas full of wolves. the outfitter isn't moving his cabin every other year i guarantee that. you could end up hiking considerable distance from the lake to find trophy animals. thats if your luck enough to have a guide gung ho enough to get out of the boat & over 100 yds.
experienced guides aren't stupid. they know that a dead animal 3miles from the lake is delivered to the boat on there backs. first time you carry a moose that far single handed & receive a 100$ tip(European in my case) your tendency is to avoid that scenario. if you do a boat hunt be ready & willing to pack. tell your guide your ready & willing. that will put your guide in a more flexible mind set. if your not willing to pack do a horse hunt. they can be a pain but travel & packing is a breeze. deep country hunts are the greatest adventures a man can partake in imo. goodluck.
Poor choice of words on my part.
I use the term "local yahoos" out of deep seated jealousy that BC residents can hunt the entire province, without a guide, anytime they want, for whatever species they want.
That, and the fact that they can hunt Stone Sheep for like, $25.....other names come to mind. Again, jealous. No offense intended.
My point was that for the cost of a high end BC moose hunt, I need to know that I am in a truly remote area. A big part of the allure of a wilderness hunt.
Steve
I understand. If I was paying for a guided wilderness hunt, I too would want the best experience possible.
You are right to be jealous of us BC residents with regards to hunting....but just be glad you don't have our taxes!! ha ha
BTW, we can't hunt Stone's sheep for $25. It's more like $60
: )
When I was a kid everyone hunted where they lived. I don't recall ever seeing anyone when I was hunting that I didn't know. No one traveled anywhere to hunt. Times have changed.
It included long backpack trips into the wilderness. Some road driving and glassing, and some poking around on an ATV hoping to come across one.
All in all, it was a fairly difficult hunt. This was in a first time unit and Moose densities are not high.
My hunt was for a Cow, but in 34 days of scouting, 11 days of hunting I saw only the cow I arrowed. I did see numerous large bulls, some in fact were gigantic for the species.
For guys who are Not residents of Colorado, the Cow Shiras tags are rareley applied for and almost certainly you can draw one the first year applying. In the units they offer Non-resident tags, the densities are much better than some of the units that do not offer tags.
Seems like a very viable option to someone who is interested in taking a Shiras Moose and having a nice hunt. Something to ponder. I've watched the tags and appicants over the years for this and rarely does anyone even put in for it due to the price and the fact that everyone always seems focused on antlers rather than experiences.
I have done a few horseback hunts, where we brought a horse along for me, but I simply walked them the entire day...unless we had to cross a major river....I'd get on at the edge of the stream, and once across, I'd get off on the far side of the stream.
However, it sure is handy to have them when you are hauling a moose out of the wild. A packtrain of horses with moose antlers riding on the back of a packhorse make for a great photo!!
Instead of a boat hunt (which implies that a motor will be used), have you looked into the possibility of a rafting bowhunt? I have done several raft hunts, and found the majority of them to be safe, quiet, and enjoyable. You can get quite close to moose this way, as well.
I hate horses.
If you do go: never take the horse named Sleepy. Sleepy only has his eyes closed so you can't see the evil in them.
"Bomb proof" only means, once he starts to bucking, no amount of frantically hollered F-Bombs will stop that hell-bent sucker.
"He never bucks" means nobody here has been stupid enough to try getting a saddle on his mean ass, never mind ride him!
Just remember. If your legs are sore, you got the stirrups to high up. If your ass is sore you got the stirrups to low down.
If your legs and ass are both sore, plus your back aches, well then you got everything just right.
You go and ride on up ahead. Me, I gott'a stay back and plug up the holes in the boat.
Funny stuff right there. I won't admit it, because I actually love horses....mostly true
Didn't you also hunt with Dickson?
So what is the horse for a rookie horse guy in outfitter speak, hopefully not "widow maker"...... Lol
I've hunted moose from boat access in Quebec. No success but the weather was super hot and the moose weren't calling. Too thick to glass except on the lakes so it was calling or nothing. Fishing was good though.
My Alaska South and North slope of the Brooks Range hunts were high order adventures. One was a Tundra tired plane drop for 10 days of hunting. I got a moose and caribou! The other involved getting dropped off by boat on a river and moved one time mid way through the 10 day hunt. Got a nice moose on that hunt too. I like the ability to see further that the terrain and more open cover provides in Alaska or Northern BC. I think this greatly increases a bowhunters odds versus Quebec and makes a more enjoyable hunt. Good luck!
Where I hunted was a fairly large lake with access to a river. We would hunt a few places along the edge of the lake, but spent most of the time on the river (shown in the photo). We would go up the river early in the morning and would stop at different places and call. We would continue up the river several miles and then have lunch and work our way slowly back down the river and back to the lake..again getting out of the boat, walking in a ways and calling. I think the chances of this particular area getting hunted out is very, very slim. As we flew in to camp the lake is in a huge basin with mile after mile of boggy country... They took 5 bulls out of the area in 2014 and I believe they took 3 out the year before. There is a very healthy moose population along the lake and along the river. I saw several cows with twin calves.
I'd love to do a horseback hunt, but they'd probably have to bring a helicopter in to haul me out!!! That ship has left the pier for me.
More on boat hunts. From what I've read here, they are all a little different. I agree, hunting a small lake would get pretty tiresome and you'd be quite limited on where and what you could do. I wonder about lakes getting "hunted out" also. The better outfitters don't hunt the same lake every year or they limit the number of bulls they take..
If I were considering a boat hunt, I'd ask about the condition of the boats, the motors, whether they had spare parts if needed (like extra props!), what would happen if the boat had problems and you were unable to hunt, etc... All legitimate questions. I watched a show on tv (keith Warren, if I remember right) and he lost a full day of hunting because of motor. There can always be unanticipated problems whether you hunt from a boat, horseback, or on foot.. Part of hunting.
Side note: I talked to a gal who hunted with the same outfit I did the year before but on a different lake with different guides. She started out with a bow, but ended up killing her bull with a rifle.. She said she saw 22 bulls in 5 days (shot her bull on day 5) and if she'd had a rifle earlier in the hunt, she could have taken a 65" bull. She ended up killing a great bull, but it wasn't 65 inches!!!