Colorado Archery Shiras Moose: Lessons Learned

Pontius

FNG
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
89
Location
Colorado
“They stand there on the roadside of National Parks and stare at you, how hard could it be?”

I was wildly fortunate to draw a CO moose tag in 2018. This post is just a few lessons learned, some of what I wish I knew last year as I ambled into this singularly amazing hunt. Also a little give-back, Rokslide has been a tremendous resource over the years. Exactly a year ago, dream tag in my pocket, I became acutely aware that I had no idea how to hunt a moose. If you’re that guy this year, read on.

I agonized over season choice. Colorado allows your tag to be exchanged for any method of take before opening day. The respective season for that method of take then applies. I’m more experienced with a rifle, but my tag was issued as an archery tag, and it seemed doable. I figured my summer scouting would have better validity for the earlier archery season. Weather turned out pretty nice, too. It’s hard to imagine exactly how the rifle season would have unfolded, but I will say I ached for my shooting iron about 3 hours into archery season.

Scouting was valuable and valid. Moose are territorial, and I’ve seen the same individuals in the same marsh way back in the previous September, while scouting in late June and again during season. Mild pressure from elk hunters didn’t seem to move them at all. I dreaded them getting blown out of this marsh, because I had a weak Plan B and no Plan C, but they hung tight. I saw a muzzleloader hike through my area one morning, but then watched my bull walk almost in that hunters tracks the very next day. I spent more time behind the glass on this hunt than perhaps all previous combined. Invested in some 10x42 Razor HDs on a tripod, and still felt just a bit under-glassed. Quality could be judged, but parsing individuals between days was challenging with my optical setup. For the most part we spotted bulls out and about as soon as there was light to see them, and they bedded within an hour of dawn.

I read two books over the summer.
Read this:
https://www.amazon.com/Moose-Behavior-Conservation-Valerius-Geist/dp/0896584224
Not that:
https://www.amazon.com/Moose-Hunting-Calling-Decoying-Stalking/dp/1628736747

You owe it to yourself to be an expert on the animal, and it helps to answer the myriad questions folks will ask you before, during, and after your season. Geist does a great job in this regard. The Kelso book, while a good primer for a New England hunt, was simply useless in the West. Additionally, I must have watched every moose hunt video on YouTube, also a waste of time. The problem?

Calling and decoying did not work. At all. Every attempt I made to simulate a bull or cow actively drove the target animal away. Thrashing my plywood antler in the willows? Bull got out of his bed and said “See ya.” Cow calling? Made a bull that was already trotting in my direction perform a 180. I spent hours crafting my faux-antler and it proved to be dead weight on the mountain. Consensus on peak moose rut in the mountain west is weak, which made it difficult to know what exactly what strategy was going to work. Colorado’s archery moose season was September 9-23 last year, on the early side of the rut. I spent hours watching bulls through the glass, but didn’t see much rutting behavior. The bulls seemed pretty content just hanging out as bachelors, and the rare day when cows were also present the bulls weren’t pestering them. All those YouTube videos invariably depict cow calls bringing the bull in on a string, but on opening day of archery this just didn’t seem possible.

I had my moose family pegged in a surprisingly high (11,000’) marsh. I quickly realized that you can’t shoot, see, or sneak through 6’ tall willows. The bulls would bed in a small grassy island surrounded by endless willows, and they might as well have been in Fort Knox. It took 9 days of crushing me mentally for one of them to make a mistake. I saw him trotting, and followed him along a ridge for a solid mile. He bedded in the willows, as usual, but adjacent to a 10yd wide peninsula of rock and trees that came off the ridge. A long, patient stalk ensued. Midway through I thought the wind had betrayed me. Nearly lost faith that there would be a moose at the end of this. Eventually turned the final corner, and darned if he wasn’t still bedded! I stood behind a couple saplings at 15yds for an eternity waiting for him to stand, and finally that rear leg tensed as he got up. Ideal broadside. Draw, shoot, and he galloped a few yards to present the opposite broadside. I’d practiced all summer long on a fast follow up shot after reading an excellent thread on that topic in Rokslide/Moose. I shot a second arrow and, still walking, he leapt off a ledge of unknown height. I backed out to give him 30 minutes. Turns out he only went 30 yds total, and came to rest in the most idyllic kill site I’ve ever worked at. Minor problem, 3.5 miles from the truck, 400 pounds of deboned meat and 100lbs of head to carry. I parked all the meat on a little ice patch from a stubborn cornice, and proceeded to hike 50 miles over the next 4 days. The most strenuous single task I’ve ever accomplished.

Everybody likes pictures, but these are also hard, just try moving that horse head, solo, for a selfie. Nigh impossible:

IMG_9273.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Britt-dog

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
230
Location
Cheney WA
Great post, Reminds me of my 2005 ID archery bull. Definitely one of my life accomplishments. It’s hard to be good at something you so rarely get to do. Congrats
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
15,528
Location
Colorado Springs
The last three archery elk seasons I've seen more moose than the rest of my life combined. And every encounter has been like what you described as the National Park moose. In 2017 I even walked right at a big bull until I was at 19 yards. Then he turned and went behind a willow and laid down.....staring at me. That was 1/4 mile above my truck camp. It must be different when you actually have a moose tag in your pocket.

Congratulations on your bull! Some day.........maybe.........perhaps.......I'll actually draw that elusive archery moose tag.
 

bigharge

WKR
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Messages
915
Location
Texas
Appreciate the write up. Drew my first moose tag in SE Idaho this year so I have a lot of the same feelings and thought process you walked through. Feel way in over my head on this one. Ill definitely check out the book you recommended as well.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

12ring

FNG
Joined
Aug 29, 2016
Messages
51
Location
Utah
Excellent post, thanks! I have my first moose hunt coming up this fall in western Wyoming. Just purchased Geist's book.
 

OXN939

WKR
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
1,790
Location
VA
“They stand there on the roadside of National Parks and stare at you, how hard could it be?”

I was wildly fortunate to draw a CO moose tag in 2018. This post is just a few lessons learned, some of what I wish I knew last year as I ambled into this singularly amazing hunt. Also a little give-back, Rokslide has been a tremendous resource over the years. Exactly a year ago, dream tag in my pocket, I became acutely aware that I had no idea how to hunt a moose. If you’re that guy this year, read on.

I agonized over season choice. Colorado allows your tag to be exchanged for any method of take before opening day. The respective season for that method of take then applies. I’m more experienced with a rifle, but my tag was issued as an archery tag, and it seemed doable. I figured my summer scouting would have better validity for the earlier archery season. Weather turned out pretty nice, too. It’s hard to imagine exactly how the rifle season would have unfolded, but I will say I ached for my shooting iron about 3 hours into archery season.

Scouting was valuable and valid. Moose are territorial, and I’ve seen the same individuals in the same marsh way back in the previous September, while scouting in late June and again during season. Mild pressure from elk hunters didn’t seem to move them at all. I dreaded them getting blown out of this marsh, because I had a weak Plan B and no Plan C, but they hung tight. I saw a muzzleloader hike through my area one morning, but then watched my bull walk almost in that hunters tracks the very next day. I spent more time behind the glass on this hunt than perhaps all previous combined. Invested in some 10x42 Razor HDs on a tripod, and still felt just a bit under-glassed. Quality could be judged, but parsing individuals between days was challenging with my optical setup. For the most part we spotted bulls out and about as soon as there was light to see them, and they bedded within an hour of dawn.

I read two books over the summer.
Read this:
https://www.amazon.com/Moose-Behavior-Conservation-Valerius-Geist/dp/0896584224
Not that:
https://www.amazon.com/Moose-Hunting-Calling-Decoying-Stalking/dp/1628736747

You owe it to yourself to be an expert on the animal, and it helps to answer the myriad questions folks will ask you before, during, and after your season. Geist does a great job in this regard. The Kelso book, while a good primer for a New England hunt, was simply useless in the West. Additionally, I must have watched every moose hunt video on YouTube, also a waste of time. The problem?

Calling and decoying did not work. At all. Every attempt I made to simulate a bull or cow actively drove the target animal away. Thrashing my plywood antler in the willows? Bull got out of his bed and said “See ya.” Cow calling? Made a bull that was already trotting in my direction perform a 180. I spent hours crafting my faux-antler and it proved to be dead weight on the mountain. Consensus on peak moose rut in the mountain west is weak, which made it difficult to know what exactly what strategy was going to work. Colorado’s archery moose season was September 9-23 last year, on the early side of the rut. I spent hours watching bulls through the glass, but didn’t see much rutting behavior. The bulls seemed pretty content just hanging out as bachelors, and the rare day when cows were also present the bulls weren’t pestering them. All those YouTube videos invariably depict cow calls bringing the bull in on a string, but on opening day of archery this just didn’t seem possible.

I had my moose family pegged in a surprisingly high (11,000’) marsh. I quickly realized that you can’t shoot, see, or sneak through 6’ tall willows. The bulls would bed in a small grassy island surrounded by endless willows, and they might as well have been in Fort Knox. It took 9 days of crushing me mentally for one of them to make a mistake. I saw him trotting, and followed him along a ridge for a solid mile. He bedded in the willows, as usual, but adjacent to a 10yd wide peninsula of rock and trees that came off the ridge. A long, patient stalk ensued. Midway through I thought the wind had betrayed me. Nearly lost faith that there would be a moose at the end of this. Eventually turned the final corner, and darned if he wasn’t still bedded! I stood behind a couple saplings at 15yds for an eternity waiting for him to stand, and finally that rear leg tensed as he got up. Ideal broadside. Draw, shoot, and he galloped a few yards to present the opposite broadside. I’d practiced all summer long on a fast follow up shot after reading an excellent thread on that topic in Rokslide/Moose. I shot a second arrow and, still walking, he leapt off a ledge of unknown height. I backed out to give him 30 minutes. Turns out he only went 30 yds total, and came to rest in the most idyllic kill site I’ve ever worked at. Minor problem, 3.5 miles from the truck, 400 pounds of deboned meat and 100lbs of head to carry. I parked all the meat on a little ice patch from a stubborn cornice, and proceeded to hike 50 miles over the next 4 days. The most strenuous single task I’ve ever accomplished.

Everybody likes pictures, but these are also hard, just try moving that horse head, solo, for a selfie. Nigh impossible:

15mg0n8.jpg

Professional grade writeup. Thanks so much for doing this- I'm tempted to start applying, and now have another reason to be jealous of western residents like yourself. Congrats!
 

87TT

WKR
Joined
Mar 13, 2019
Messages
3,431
Location
Idaho
Great story! I wish I had a few more years to give that one a go. I am just going to play with the elk while I can.
 

Ralphie

WKR
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Messages
340
Thanks for the post. I have my first moose tag this fall in western Wyoming. Never even been on a moose hunt before. I’ll most likely be rifle hunting later in the fall.
 

TreeWalking

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Messages
266
Hunted moose in ID a few years ago with a rifle. ID has a very, very long season. During rut, I rarely could find a moose. Calling did nothing good and my calls sounded just like the real thing based on YouTube videos of actual moose. Oh well. Returned after the leaves fell and saw moose frequently. Shot one near the truck. What a beast to stand over knowing the real work was just about to begin. Was biggest bull I saw in 3 days of hunting though only average width for the unit plus for sure were bigger, much bigger, bulls in there including one that trotted out at sunset as got the last load to the truck. Good eating and have the moose bug now. May go to Canada to hunt a moose as likely will never draw a moose tag in CO, UT, MT or WY nor WA where am a resident. Congrats on your persistence and the pack out.2016 ID Moose.JPG
 

RTMatkins

FNG
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
4
Appreciate this post as I just drew my first tag in for GMU 28 in Colorado. Good info that I won;t overlook.
 
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