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How long to call

So we are going up to AK for the 3rd time in Sept, went 2/3 the previous 2 trips I think by sheer luck catching moose on the rivers edge while floating down. I want to call ‘em in this time because how can we luck out 3x in a row and float right up to ‘em? My question is: In areas really infested with moose sign how long do you call? In years past my partner was calling and if he didn’t hear or see anything respond or come in he was wanting to move in 15–20 min. I know that isn’t long enough...how long is though?

From half hour to two days.

According to the bull magnet call instructions (which I went over many times when I was sitting in Alaska waiting for a moose to appear) 2-3 days.

So, what if you sit down and call and a dink shows up in an hour or so...still call for 2 days to see if Mr. Big is in the area, or assume that the dink was all there was and find a different spot?

In 2016 Alaska moose hunting, we went no further than 200yds from camp and called. Everyday. All day.

By day 3 we were covered up in moose. Cows and sub-legal bulls. Shot my 60” on day 5, 400yds from camp.

I remember the pilot saying “Don’t go tramping around - bring the moose to ya”

We stay in and around our camp for the full hunt, up to 14 days. That's where we call from and each year we've called bulls to the air strip. Camp provides a great view though, so I don't feel like we are missing anything by not moving, we can see quite a ways. While we don't see a pile of moose, we do see tons of other game to keep us occupied while waiting, caribou, wolves and grizzly bears.

Count me in cnelk and Nick's modus. Call periodically and keep it near camp. Every step a 1200 pound bull takes toward camp is saving you a lot of work. Moose are not turkeys, so don't play the run-and-gun game. Get to a vantage point and stay there hours. Call...watch...call occasionally....keep an eye out. A mile is literally nothing to a walking moose. Many guys have described calling and staying a couple hours....then leaving....only to have a bull show up a couple hours later. Bulls WILL often be bedded in earshot of calling and not jump up to the calls. I have seen this firsthand...a bull laying quietly while clearly hearing calls a quarter mile away. Later...he gets up and investigates.

I assumed when you said floating that you were getting dropped off and floating out. If that is the case, spend as much time in each good spot as you can and still meet your schedule.

In the past we would spend all day motoring the boat up to camp. Then the daily routine would be to motor up river slowly every morning until late morning, then float back down to camp, stopping at the more prime looking locations to call, ending back at camp around dark.

I used to hunt in a remote area of Northern Ontario not sure if it would apply to Alaska but one year as we setting up camp along a remote river we heard a cow calling. Took about 4 hours to set up camp (my bud had to set up a trip wire on the perimeter long story) she called the whole time and we cooked diner and she was still calling. The next morning she was still calling from the same bend in the river. That afternoon we heard a bull grunting a ways off !

Alex Gouthros moose madness call every 20 to 30 minutes and be ready sometimes they'll come in without making a sound like mine did in 2015 he walked right into camp stopped at 40 yrds broad side with hes face in the campfire smoke

There's a reason the hunting always gets better as the hunt goes on. For the most part, they are the sloth of the deer world. My experiences have been congruent with that of all the experience moose hunters I know, in that it can take bulls days to get to you. We get dropped in, and sightings just get more and more as the hunt goes in with majority of hunting and calling being close to camp. Whereas with elk hunting a never-quit never-die work-my-way to an elk attitude can literally kill you elk, with moose hunting that will hurt you more than help IMO.

Patience is the key.

I wish I knew the answer to this question, we are on a lake so moving is easy, last year we arrowed both our bulls within minutes of setting up, IMO if you get lucky enough to set up close to a bull they will come right in. On windy days we move around using the boat and leaving minimal scent

Great info guys, appreciate it.

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