Does anywhere compare to Newfoundland for opportunity and cost?

3darcher2

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Pretty much the title. NF clearly has a lot going for it for opportunity and cost. Is there anyplace else that could come close in opportunity in the same or better price range?

I'd be comparing a fly-in NF hunt compared to anywhere else, but I'd drive to the Rock. I'm from Pittsburgh so the drive to NF would be as far or nearly as far as a lot of Canada. I know that there's great opportunity on NF, but if I go on one moose hunt, I'd like to wind up with a representative set of moose antlers. Certainly there are a lot of 40-50" moose taken on NF every year, but there are a lot of 4 or 5 point bulls shot too with antlers that look more like a small elk rack than a bull moose. I certainly would like to harvest 300# or more of all natural meat, but I'd like to get a palmated set of antlers that look like they came from a moose to go with it.

While NF might be "cheap" for a moose hunt, by the time I'd drive to the Rock and back and maybe get some meat processed, I'd be looking at $10K for a quality NF moose hunt. It's not the $30K that AK or YUK/NWT would run but that's not the kind of $$$ I could drop on a hunt every year. At that cost it could be a one and done. I'll be 60 next year so I don't have forever to get out there. NF does have another advantage in that basically it's a one week hunt, maybe 7 days of vacation from work instead of a 2 week plus trip, which makes it a little simpler logistically. Style of hunting could be a factor too - I'd certainly prefer an archery bull if feasible, and I'm not sure that I'd prefer the terrain of NF over somewhere else in northern Canada.

At the end of the day, careful research for an outfitter in NF seems like as close as you can get to a solid opportunity to put a bull on the ground.

Thoughts?
 

PorterNY

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From upstate NY…. Did the NF moose trip last fall. Went late October due to fall crop harvest at home. Pm me with any questions… I had a great fly in hunt with a nice 40” bull
 
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I’m looked at it pretty hard and just couldn’t get jazzed about the size. So I looked at Alberta for a little more money. Then BC for a little more. Then said hell… I can go big DIY for less in Alaska with lower odds. Took the AK route and got ass handed to me. Now kinda considering BC as an increased odds option and a little more money with a better trophy potential.

It’s all a trade off!
 

Mojave

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I remember watching a podcast where a booking agent was talking about DIY hunts in Alaska compared to the cost of guided hunts in Canada.

Ballpark figures off the top of my head
Yukon/NWT guided
Moose $20-30,000 most are $25,000

Alaska guided
Moose $18-30,000 most are $22,000

BC, AB, SK, NF guided
Moose $6500-20,000 most are $8500-12,500

DIY Alaska (travel from lower 48, hotels, gas, flights, gear rental, tags)
Moose road hunt $2500-5000
Fly out $7500-10,000
Fly out float hunt with raft rental $7500-10,000
Jet boat rental $6000-8000 some success only probably a option for military folks who have access to Anchorage and Fairbanks based MWR jetboats

DIY if you don't live in Alaska is a pretty expensive option.
 
OP
3darcher2

3darcher2

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I’m looked at it pretty hard and just couldn’t get jazzed about the size. So I looked at Alberta for a little more money. Then BC for a little more. Then said hell… I can go big DIY for less in Alaska with lower odds. Took the AK route and got ass handed to me. Now kinda considering BC as an increased odds option and a little more money with a better trophy potential.

It’s all a trade off!
That's sort of where I am at this early stage.

I could be one and done. While I feel like I'd clearly could have a better chance of actually getting A moose in NF than just about anywhere, but like I said, I'd like to get a moose that looks like a moose for the wall. Doesn't have to be a 50"er, I've seen plenty of pics of Canada Moose around 40 that look just fine. It seems like NF a lot of bulls are 4 points or little paddlehorns.

So at 10K all in or so in NF, it seems like I could wind up with a decent shot at getting a solid bull in AB for similar cost or a few $$$ more. BC seems to add size with a step up in cost, and then AK/NWT/Yukon are obviously the top tier for both size and cost if outfitted. Not much talk of anything east of AB in Canada.

I'd be looking a few years out for sure so may be worth waiting a year and saving a little more. I'll be 59 this month and have no hunting partners that have interest in doing anything out of state. My experience and age, along with no partners make AK DIY likely undoable. I've done DIY solo the past three years out west from PA - 2020 CO archery elk OTC, 2021 AZ Kaibab early rifle and this year NM archery elk, so I'm not afraid to go it alone. The elk hunt and packout throws a big red flag on my moving moose on my own and with no go-to partners, it seems like the smart play to move to just go outfitted, especially if I might only have one crack at it.
 

keller

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I drove to nl 2 years ago to hunt moose with a friend that was too out of shape for diy ak. It was his #1 bucket list and I looked at it as seeing country I've never seen. I wasn't disappointed. Very nice country would like to go again. Killed a good moose. Disappointment was guides getting drunk every night and smoking dope all day is this a Canada thing??
 

Mojave

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I drove to nl 2 years ago to hunt moose with a friend that was too out of shape for diy ak. It was his #1 bucket list and I looked at it as seeing country I've never seen. I wasn't disappointed. Very nice country would like to go again. Killed a good moose. Disappointment was guides getting drunk every night and smoking dope all day is this a Canada thing??

Common!

Back when I used to go to bars, and lived near Vancouver even "country bars" would be full of pot smoke.

Not every Canuk is into pot, but it is common.
 

UpNorth89

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I drove to nl 2 years ago to hunt moose with a friend that was too out of shape for diy ak. It was his #1 bucket list and I looked at it as seeing country I've never seen. I wasn't disappointed. Very nice country would like to go again. Killed a good moose. Disappointment was guides getting drunk every night and smoking dope all day is this a Canada thing??
Did they at least offer to share?

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keller

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They gave us a shot of scotch for the kill.tasted like gasoline. I brought a 24 pack of beer.they helped themselves to it finished it on a Sunday as their was no hunting on Sunday
Did they at least offer to share?

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wyosteve

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Funny you mentioned that Keller. Did an Alberta black bear hunt a few years back and at night the outfitter and guide sat in their tent puffing their MJ!
 
OP
3darcher2

3darcher2

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You'll start your day at 4am, be on the road around 5 and hunting by 6...until around 9:40pm when it hits dusk. By the time you eat and hit the rack it's 11pm or later and then schedule repeats itself. Most Yanks last 3 days before wussing out. I got up and pounded cans of double espresso, laid my clothes out before going to bed and forced myself to take a BM before breakfast. I took a couple cans of espresso w/ me in the field because I drink coffee all day as my 100+hr work weeks demand. When you are hunting nearly 17hrs a day...that's taxing. Find ways to cheat and when traveling from one area to the next (often 45-90 minutes) take naps. Also carry bear spray and a big fixed blade for SD. Definitely wear a Sitka lightweight hoody and light gloves cuz the insects have dual rotors and will carry you away. You gotta cover up or get eaten alive.

MOOSEMANcrop.jpg

The locals love us up there and you'll have an amazing time. Get moose and deer tags cuz when it's windy you cannot hunt moose effectively but can stalk huge mule deer in the tall canola fields and they won't hear you coming in wind. Got close to deer regularly but was holding out for a 200ish buck. Shot him but was unable to recovered him. TSA screwed up my rest and because i was practice shooting field tips every morning before leaving...did not realize my broadheads were way off until after than buck incident. Do not practice with FTs...take some practice BH arrows. Go have a good time eh!
 
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Disappointment was guides getting drunk every night and smoking dope all day is this a Canada thing??
Trailer Park Boys show is pretty representative of Canada's entire east coast. There are not a lot of winners left in the Maritimes.
 
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