Contributors to this thread:
Do people put in for a unit to hunt moose (or any other animal for that matter) that they haven't spent considerable time in? Then ask folks where to hunt?
I don't know but I'm happy for anyone who draws a moose tag and will be glad to help any archery hunter that asks about a unit I've spent time in.
Absolutely, and I'm glad for it or I may have never got this. I'm not giving up any OTC or frequent draw honey holes, but I'll help and have been helped on "every now and then" and "if I ever draw" tags. I have areas I know we'll, and others I have no real knowledge of that others have helped immensely one. Just my thoughts and opinion.
Well, not we'll and on, not one. Autocorrect!
Because it is moose… They do it with all the other hunts too. Moose I am happy to help in the units I know. Moose is all about finding one. I have done 3 moose hunts one was easy the other two I almost gave up but found them on the last day or second to last day of the season.
Buddy and I both picked a goat unit because the odds were slightly better that we never set foot in. He drew. Both of us have visited with other that know the unit. We spent the long weekend down there exploring learning the geography finding a few animals and still have all summer to explore more. The cool thing is no one can be very helpfully sharing spots for elk and deer, but a once in lifetime tag you get to help future tag holders. I have got to know a number of great people being on both sides,both as tag holder and past tag holder.
Always willing to assist on any sheep, moose or goat units that I have knowledge about.
Some of my best hunts have been in units chasing draw odds never setting foot in the unit before. Also, I have met some of my best friends either from helping them in a unit I knew or them helping me. The obvious Sheep/Goat/Moose I will go out of my way to help others be successful. Its the beauty of hunting these hard to draw species. If you are selfish and don't help, it just limits the number of times you get to hunt or help others hunt these animals.
On that note, I drew a GMU 12/23/24 bull moose tag, any help is appreciated!!
I have lots of experience in these units and willing to help: G15, G3, S49 (next year, already helping a lucky hunter), Moose GMU 37/371.
Why? "Do people put in for a unit to hunt moose (or any other animal for that matter) that they haven't spent considerable time in?" Seriously? Where is the humility/humble/gentleness in that? Having a bad day? Just who is the enemy?
I think a better approach or question is how do I help a neighbor in need...whatever his circumstance.
If anyone draws unit 10 or 61 for elk, I'll scribble on your map. If you draw unit 29 for moose, I'll be right there with my cow tag to assist in fending off the hords of hikers, dog walkers, ATV'ers, mtn bikers, and anti-hunters. Maybe we can share the pack out?
I'm sure I'll be asking the local deer and elk hunters where the moose are. I hope they don't come back with a holier than thou answer.
Because they want to hunt moose and asking for info can be a huge help. Sounds obvious because it is.
Spending a lot of time in a moose unit to prepare for the tag you draw someday makes no sense unless you are there for some other reason as well. Chances are you will never draw. Not that making sense needs to be part of spending time in hunting country.
I love hunting unknown areas and have no problem asking for help. Time on the ground is a huge plus but lack of it doesn't stop me from putting in for a tag I want. I can get a look between getting the tag and season starting. Some units are hours or states away and I may have never have had a reason to be there before.
Lots and lots of tags out there where the odds of drawing are so low that you worry about getting the tag first and figuring out the area later.
I drew moose last year in a unit an hour drive from my house. The elk hunting there is not very good so I’d not spent much time actually in it. After the draw I was there 2-3 days a week all summer. Pre application I figured it was decent and it sure was. I’m about to burn 15 Arizona deer points on a Kaibab archery tag and do the same. Well maybe 1 scouting trip as it’s 10 hours away. Should be decent!
I would think that in all the years applying for points, that you would spend time camping, hiking, or even hunting in perspective moose areas, learning the land, and habits of animals. Knowing an area well increases your success chances. I dont think it's prudent to randomly pick a moose unit, then start asking around 4 months before a hunt once you draw.
I have a unit that I spend quite alot of time in over the years, that once I draw, I'll have better chances than someone going in blind.
SBC said “Why Do people put in for a unit to hunt moose (or any other animal for that matter) that they haven't spent considerable time in? Then ask folks where to hunt? I would think that in all the years applying for points, that you would spend time camping, hiking, or even hunting in perspective moose areas, learning the land, and habits of animals. Knowing an area well increases your success chances. I dont think it's prudent to randomly pick a moose unit, then start asking around 4 months before a hunt once you draw. I have a unit that I spend quite alot of time in over the years, that once I draw, I'll have better chances than someone going in blind”
Because many guys who love hunting spend time hunting many species across many states (And countries), because they enjoy the adventure and challenge of new things, animals and places instead of the simple well worn comfort of same hunt same spot every year. Meeting new people and giving and receiving helpful info ADDS TO THE EXPERIENCE AND BUILDS GREAT NEW FRIENDSHIPS.
Guy’s who do not get around much seem to be the ones saying negative things about guys who draw tough odds tags who then ask if prior hunters have advice,
Does that describe you Steve C/SBC? Do you apply in various states and many species or are you the homer who will only ever hunt same ole spots and same ole tags every year and look down your nose at those who push a wider envelope of life experiences?
Not physically possible to apply colo sheep, goat, moose, deer, elk, antelope and scout them all if you have family, work for a living, or just have a good life doing things. Multiply that by multiple states and it is obvious why we should expect guys to reach out when they draw and embrace giving a hand when we can.
Seems most of my friends today came along when I met them as a stranger while asking for insights on one of my 10 draw moose/sheep/mt. goat tags or 20+ high points or low odds elk/deer/lope/oryx tags…or when they hit me up on a hunt I happened to know about. Cherished memories among all of it.
So to answer your question, I guess maybe guys put in for tags in areas they do not know in order to make new amazing lifelong friends! Works for me quite well.
Well said KHunter. Sounds like OP is mad about someone drawing "his" moose tag.
I hunt Colorado, Pennsylvania, and British Columbia, all with family, all areas I am intimately familiar with. All public lands. I was always taught since age 16 to know the area you hunt, like the house you live in.
When hunting season is over, next years season starts.
And some do things different dosen't mean they're wrong or you are. Why do you care how someone else goes about hunting as long as legal? The argument could be made that a guy who consistently goes in to areas blind and harvest is a better hunter then the guy who hunts the same couple spots year end and year out and also consistently harvest. Have a feeling Chuck Adam's didn't spend years learning the artic before killing a polar bear. Different strokes for different folks.
I've stepped off a bush plane in Alaska and Canada to hunt and that was my first step in those areas ever. Had amazing hunts and memories made.
KHunter... Well put. SBC... Legit question. I have met some wonderful people and friends when I needed help and when they needed help. I, honestly, have reached a point (really reached it in my mid-30s) where I get more out of helping on a hunt instead of having the tag myself, most times ;).
“ all with family, all areas I am intimately familiar with. All public lands. I was always [brainwashed?] taught since age 16 to know the area you hunt, like the house you live in. “
SBC, sounds self limiting with zero upside and a lot of downside to exclude the challenge and fun of learning new places and new critters and knowing new people but glad you like it as it leaves all these amazing hunts and new experiences for those of us who crave new challenges more than the practiced execution of the same hunts on repeat to the exclusion of new places and critters.
Everyone has their own way of handling the draws and when they draw. I agree with Kirby, in fact met him on a 20 plus year draw hunt. I was helping a friend and he was helping another guy who he just met. Truly nothing like walking into a new area, taking a deep breath, looking around and wondering what you’re going to experience. Life is short, go all out and enjoy the process you made for yourself.
Moose, goat and sheep are most likely OIL tags. I’ve been fortunate to get assistance with areas I wasn’t very familiar with. And also fortunate to help others in the same situation.
I think it’s great that we have a community of hunters that are willing to lend their knowledge and time to help each other who draw these tags.
"I've stepped off a bush plane in Alaska and Canada to hunt and that was my first step in those areas ever"
Were these guided or drop camps? If so, you're just substituting paying someone for the effort of learning the area.
As I said, using woodsmanship skills to learn about animal movements in an area are part of the hunt experience, at least to me anyway. And it starts the day after hunting season ends. And the only way to determine the animal movements, know escape routes, food and water sources, etc is to spend time there. Doing the hardwork, using the skills you've learned is rewarding, whether successful or not. The desire for instant gratification, with least amount of effort is a troubling trend in this world.
Not everyone has time to spend in GMU when there is a very low chance that you might draw. My plan if I ever draw moose, sheep, or ram is to spend as much time in the summer before the hunt in the GMU. There is not much of the Colorado mountains that I have not spent some time in, but I'm not going to focus my time in any one year until I draw. I may request information at that time, but I might not. The great thing about this board is that you don't have to help if you don't want to. I know I have DM several members here when I can provide information. I have been trying to draw all these species for 25+ years. Hope I draw at least one before I'm too old to get up the mountain.
For guys who draw sheep and goat in Colo the Rocky Mountain Bighorn society gathers dozens of guys who have previously hunted them and pairs them with dozens of noobs who just drew perhaps for the for the first time to foster information sharing and friendship making.
Amazing thing to see and participate in. Smiles all day long by a hundred plus folks on a Saturday. July 8 this year in Golden Colorado. Come one come all. Info in the web link. Posting FREE help available for hunters needing/wanting some helpful intel just seems the right thing to do on this thread started for the opposite purpose.
If you have a sheep or goat tag and want to ask where to scout and hunt and get answers, the RMBS Meet & Greet is for you!
And if you have hunted Colo sheep or goats and enjoy helping others following in your footsteps and want to relive the glory of your prior hunt by retelling the stories, The RMBS Meet & Greet is for you too!
I live in one of the best moose units, and try to help one or two lucky hunters every year. I believe in paying life forward. I sometimes draw units or states I've never hunted, and am grateful for the amazing advice I've been given, often by Bowsiters.
That's why people hire guides
SBC,
Good luck drawing your moose tag that you have scouted. I'm sure you'll draw next year. :)
I drew unit 6 without ever stepping foot in the unit. Got plenty of help and a couple of the guys are on this thread.
"If so, you're just substituting paying someone for the effort of learning the area."
Alaska unguided, Canada a mix of guided and unguided. I would have loved to have had the time and means to fly up and spend weeks in those places before I went but I stretched the budget and time just to make the hunts.
Luckily, I have had decades of tromping around learning the ins and outs of habitat and critter movement closer to home to satisfy my True Hunter membership dues. I like the pre and post process part of the hunt, even more now than when I was young but if Elon Musk calls and offers a transport to Mars to hunt Martian Iguanas they just discovered, I'm in and not scouting won't stop me...and yes, I'll ask his whole team which craters they hang out in.
I am always up for an adventure Don but not sure I am going to be taking the first bus to Mars for an iguana hunt. :)
I'm all for helping folks out, never said I wasn't. What I am against is folks not taking the personal effort of learning an area and the wildlife that lives there. Every year I see requests of "don't want your honey holes, but need direction on where to start". I would think that should be done before focusing on a unit.
A friend and I camped and fished an area 12 years, spending time not only fishing, but hiking, spotting, and learning the area. All that time building preference points. We made it a point to get there at least twice a year. From what we learned, he put in for that unit and harvested a big bull moose.
It wasn't a case of "draw the tag then I'll scout" and ask folks "where should I hunt". Where's the personal effort in that?
SBC, I love the "Old School" attitude! I really do. Times, however, have changed. The amount of scouting I can do digitally is vast. I can have a good idea on what a hunt will be like without ever setting foot in it. Again, I understand your point. 20, 30 and 40 years ago your point is 100 percent valid. Why oh why? I, again, am not talking about my every day hunting area or tag. This is, most likely, an once in or twice ina lifetime tag. We all (sorry if I am not speaking for the rest, but probably am) are trying for these opportunities in a lot of facets. When any of us draw, we are usually more than willing to help. I emphasize "we" and respect your background. You choose... Help them or don't. Your choice.
SBC, I love the "Old School" attitude! I really do. Times, however, have changed. The amount of scouting I can do digitally is vast. I can have a good idea on what a hunt will be like without ever setting foot in the unit. Again, I understand your point. 20, 30 and 40 years ago your point is 100 percent valid. Why oh why? I, again, am not talking about my every day hunting area or tag. This is, most likely, an once in or twice ina lifetime tag. We all (sorry if I am not speaking for the rest, but probably am) are trying for these opportunities in a lot of facets. When any of us draw, we are usually more than willing to help. I emphasize "we" and respect your background. You choose... Help them or don't. Your choice.
MSY, As I said, I'm always willing to help out, although it's more directed towards folks needing help packing out.
With all the tools available today,(locations of moose kills, gps, overhead maps, etc) it's amazing to me that folks post these 'where to hunt? threads' after drawing when that should have been discovered by boots on the ground seasons ago. Especially for tags that take 10-15 years to draw. It seems to me with the value and committment of time to draw these tags, it makes it even more important for a boots on the ground committment for all the years waiting. I dont see how that's changed from 40 years ago. People still work,and occupied with families now as was then. The only thing that's different is today's instant gratification and entitlement attitudes.
