Traditional Archery Discussions on the Leatherwall


What do you use for moose?

Messages posted to thread:
Biathlonman 17-Mar-18
The Whittler 17-Mar-18
NormF 17-Mar-18
Kwikdraw 17-Mar-18
BATMAN 17-Mar-18
KDdog 17-Mar-18
Mountain Man 18-Mar-18
DanaC 18-Mar-18
Mountain Man 18-Mar-18
Wojo14 18-Mar-18
Pdiddly 18-Mar-18
Rigs 18-Mar-18
3arrows 18-Mar-18
Orion 18-Mar-18
Longcruise 18-Mar-18
TDHunter 18-Mar-18
Mountain Man 18-Mar-18
swampbowman 18-Mar-18
Bob Rowlands 18-Mar-18
Mountain Man 18-Mar-18
Biathlonman 18-Mar-18
JRW 18-Mar-18
modrr 18-Mar-18
Pdiddly 18-Mar-18
Biathlonman 19-Mar-18
Bowmania 19-Mar-18
GF 19-Mar-18
Bowmania 19-Mar-18
4t5 19-Mar-18
GF 19-Mar-18
CD 19-Mar-18
Jim Casto Jr 19-Mar-18
Styksnstryngs 20-Mar-18
swampwalker 20-Mar-18
From: Biathlonman
Date: 17-Mar-18




What have you used successfully for moose? Working on booking a trip now, half the fun is planning the gear.

From: The Whittler
Date: 17-Mar-18




From the ones who have they used the same equipment they used on deer. Moose may be big but they are no different then deer just a bigger deer :-). Don't worry about it just put the arrow where it belongs. Good luck.

From: NormF
Date: 17-Mar-18




I got a bull when I was younger with a 73# longbow 2219 arrow and Zwickey broadhead.The ribs on a moose are wide but they will split with a sharp broad head and a fairly heavy arrow. I would shoot as heavy a bow as I could as long as I was accurate. A lot of bad hits on moose are too high - try to find a diagram of the kill zone. A walking moose is traveling faster than it looks- a grunt or breaking a stick might get him to stop long enough for a shot.We used to make a couple of cow calls at night when it was quiet and sometimes a bull would be around at dawn.Sometimes when they come to a call you can hear them grunting and tearing up the brush from a half mile away and other times they just sneak in and appear out of nowhere.

From: Kwikdraw
Date: 17-Mar-18




Get as close as possible, shoot as much #age as you can handle, and use a heavy, 600gr plus arrow, and a super sharp two blade broadhead. There should be no question as to the adequacy of your equipment for the game you pursue! Good luck and hope you have a memorable and successful hunt! Wyatt

From: BATMAN Professional Bowhunters Society - Qualified Member Professional Bowhunters Society - Associate Member Compton's Traditional Bowhunters
Date: 17-Mar-18




Just be careful around the BULL MOOSE! When they go into rut, they will try to challenge and take on anything. Check with Mountain MAN. BLESSED BE!

From: KDdog
Date: 17-Mar-18




I'm with 60 Cowboy, twice.

From: Mountain Man
Date: 18-Mar-18




There big,,,big,,,I personally would shoot as much weight as i can accurately shoot with as heavy an arrow i can get to fly accurately with a sharp tuff broadhead That said moose have been taken with 45/50# bows,,,but,,here again just my opinion,,,there tuff and in real life you dont always get the perfect broadside shot with no obstacles at that perfect range I hunt the thick north woods,and animals arent spoted at 2-300yrds,especially if your calling an animal in Theyll pop out suddenly and out of nowhere so a raking shot threw brush is common There alot of work,,,your talking a Holstein cow with 7' legs and like Batman says in the rut there huge,dumb and on a mission and not scared of anything don't underestimate a moose! Years ago we had a small bull attack a F250 on one of the back roads,,,the old Ford lost Ive been lucky nuff to have been in the woods with alot of amazing animals and theres nothing that gets my blood pumping like a moose crashing threw the trees!

All that said im sure theres others here with better advise,,ive never gone on guided hunt for one im sure a good outfiter is the one to ask and when its time to process the animal well worth the money

From: DanaC
Date: 18-Mar-18




'Round here an F-250 is considered bare miniumum ;-)

No season in Mass. (yet) but we do get road kills.

I'd feel comfortable with 55 pounds and a 2018, c-o-c heads but shot placement trumps all.

Saw a tv show decades ago about moose in the far north, the locals were content to shoot one with a 22 (!) and follow it until it collapsed. I'd want an '06 with 180 grain Partitions myself.

YMMV of course.

From: Mountain Man
Date: 18-Mar-18




Well each interaction will be different

And ya never know what your mind is going to do when you hear 2000lbs plus coming threw the trees snorting and grunting taking 10' wide swipes out of the brush with 6-7' wide shovel shaped antlers I have seen them come at hunters when hit instead running off Even a soild hit animal has plenty left in them to get even on the way out! I guess thats part of it you dont know whats going to happen,,,so you prepare for worst Sweat now so you dont bleed later A good friend was charged one gun season by a good size bull,,,and he dropped his heart out of the rib cage with the first 400grn hard core flat nose 45/70 round Took the shot and ran right at him,,,,now i dont know if he even knew he was there but the moose put its head down and ran Caught a couple trees with his antlers and miss my buddy by 5-6' and ran another couple hundred yards before he stumbled But a hand loaded 45/70 hits alot harder then any bow and i always remeber to give any wounded animal respect

From: Wojo14
Date: 18-Mar-18




I was not successful, however, when I went for moose, I took 54#(at my draw) with 600g arrows. With single bevel Kodiak broadheads. Seamed like a good set up to me...Just never got a shot opertunity at a moose. However, I did wack a few grouse! ~Wojo

From: Pdiddly
Date: 18-Mar-18




55# with a 9-10 gpp arrow is fine...as someone said they will bed down quickly when hit well.

They're exciting to hunt when calling...key is to stay put after you call...they can take quite a while (not just minutes) to come in but they will come right to where you called.

From: Rigs Compton's Traditional Bowhunters
Date: 18-Mar-18




70# longbow, 750 grn. laminated birch arrow. 25yd. shot, 70 yard recovery. Watched him fall at 40 yds. and slide another 30 down the mountain in the snow...

Happy hunting, Jason

From: 3arrows
Date: 18-Mar-18




Make sure you go where there Moose NOW,not 5-10 years ago.Moose are dying off fast from ticks and warm winters.I would go to Newfoundland especially the first time.

From: Orion Professional Bowhunters Society - Qualified Member Compton's Traditional Bowhunters
Date: 18-Mar-18




Only killed one Alaskan Yukon moose. Used a 66# Robertson longbow and 725 grain birch arrow tipped with a 4-blade Zwikey delta. Broadhead just broke the skin on the off side. My hunting partner killed a bull on the same trip with a 70# longbow, arrow of about the same weight and two-blade Zwickey delta head. He got a complete pass through.

I advise using as much bow and arrow weight as you can handle. Moose hide is thick, up to a half-inch thick in places, covered with heavy, coarse hair, and their ribs are a helluva lot bigger and tougher than deer ribs, and you need a lot of penetration to take out both lungs.

Skinny carbon arrows and high FOC enable sufficient penetration with less bow weight. Folks do kill them with sub-50# bow weight, but I'd advise more if you can handle it.

From: Longcruise
Date: 18-Mar-18




Our Colorado moose are not very big. A lot of them are taken with a Ford Ranger.

From: TDHunter
Date: 18-Mar-18




Killed two. First one I used a 50lb bow with 2016s 125 bear heads. I put two arrows into it and did not get great penetration. Arrows where probably on the light side and broad heads were not as sharp as they could have been. I was lucky and caught some artery, but was lucky . Moose #2 I used a 60lb Recurve and 600+ grain carbons with sharp Magnus heads and got a pass through with a 10 yard shot. If you use a lower weight bow, keep your shots close a use heavy arrows with razor sharp 2 blades! They are large dangerous animals. Had a buddy in northern bc shoot one with a 3006 from a long distance, and as he walked the tree line to see were it entered the bush , it charged out of bush, flung him in the air and then stomped him almost too death.

From: Mountain Man
Date: 18-Mar-18




More people killed by moose in North America then any other animal They can get tweeky quick 2yrs ago on opening day deer i spooked a cow out from under my ladder stand She almost ripped it down she jumped up so quick

From: swampbowman
Date: 18-Mar-18




Search out Tuckers old threads and see what he used for a pile of moose and elk. His success with lighter bows (under 50lbs) is hard to argue with. His , and some others ,insights have changed my views on lighter weights. I used 65lbs but next time will probably use 55lbs or so.

From: Bob Rowlands
Date: 18-Mar-18




I'm no moose hunter. However, I'd use no less than #55 and 830 grain hickory arrows. No chance in hell I'd shoot a moose with some lil twinkie bow and a lite arrow.

From: Mountain Man
Date: 18-Mar-18




This is like Jack Oconner and Elmer Keith Jack took all but the biggest in africa with a 270 and 3006 Elmer took them all with the biggest he could get and tryd to belittle Mr Oconner for praising it could be done with light to medium rifles Basicly both men were outstanding big game hunters that did it all and praised there way of doing it I side with Elmer just on the fact that he advised using as much gun as you can handle at a given range,,,not trusting on the fact every shot would be prefect or all situations would be alined Its the same with bows Use as much weight whether it be draw or arrow that you can accurately shoot,that is tuneable and practise till you know your limitations and to me would include shooting off angles and obstacles,while studying a given animals body structure and make up And like any bear,cat,boar etc,a moose can dangerous and unpredictable especially when wounded And my friends we as archers wound animals hopefully in a vital spot for the quickest hopes of an animals demise We do not drop them in there tracks or possibly hope for brian shots etc So the fact is we have to work harder at our given sport for ethical,humain ways of taking game and myself,personally want the best options i can handle to get the job done for myself and the animal So unless 40-45# is all you can handle and youve work on those points and weakness,range etc i see no point in even considering that Just my opinion whatever you choice do the home work and hunt hard,,good luck

From: Biathlonman
Date: 18-Mar-18




Lets not get derailed here folks. I have no intention of going too light. I'm currently shooting 52-54 and looking to go up 3-5 more.

From: JRW
Date: 18-Mar-18




I killed my bull with a 56# home made recurve and 500-grain (actually 499) carbon arrows and 125-grain Ace Standards. I put two arrows completely through him, one at 11 yards and the other around 20 or so. Nothing to it.

From: modrr
Date: 18-Mar-18




Black widow long bow, 52@28,axis 400,zwickey no mercy,600 grain arrow,40 yard shoot, 60 yard recovery.

From: Pdiddly
Date: 18-Mar-18




The skin on the rib cage is not very thick and the kill zone is large...I use two blade Zwickey's.

From: Biathlonman
Date: 19-Mar-18




Keep them coming guys...

From: Bowmania Professional Bowhunters Society - Associate Member Compton's Traditional Bowhunters
Date: 19-Mar-18

Bowmania's embedded Photo



50 at 29. 625 grain ACC shaft with a 160 STOS that weighted 360 grains.

Bowmania

From: GF
Date: 19-Mar-18




Todd....

???

625 grains total? 625 + 360?

“I have no intention of going too light. I'm currently shooting 52-54 and looking to go up 3-5 more.”

Devil’s advocate: Why bother?

Because on the one hand... if you have a bow that you shoot well and which is finely tuned with a good arrow, do you really think there is anything meaningful to be gained from just a few more pounds?

And on the other hand, sometimes it seems that just a couple pounds can really make quite a difference in your shooting. Just seems like a lot more potential down-side than up.

And on the other, other hand....

How many times do you suppose you’ll do this? For me, it’d most likely be a one- off. If we’re going to go up in weight, I wouldn’t want to settle for a measly #5, and with 3-4 months to work with I’m still young enough (@53) to figure I could go up to the mid-#60s; not as my all-day, every-day bow, most likely, but if you can handle 3 sets of 6 controlled shots with it, you can hunt with it (IMO). It’s true that a lot of people are overbowed @#50, but they probably hold up well enough for the first dozen shots of the day.... or could do, if they put their mind to it.

Anyway, maybe an Epic adventure is worth getting into shape for an Epic bow?

For some reason (probably related to listening to Rick B.), #64@27” and about a 550 grain arrow sounds good to me, though I could see going as high as 600 or so, if that’s what it takes to get tuned...

From: Bowmania Professional Bowhunters Society - Associate Member Compton's Traditional Bowhunters
Date: 19-Mar-18




GF, sorry I could have constructed that sentence better. It's a 625 grain arrow.

I'd rather shoot what Rick's shooting, but my shoulders are too old.

To turn your question around - I shoot a 525 grain arrow for whitetails. Would you have shot that arrow for moose at 50 pounds? I'm betting not. Pretty sure I figured out what the foot/pounds of energy for each when I was trying to figure a more efficient combo.

Bowmania

From: 4t5
Date: 19-Mar-18




I don't shoot heavy bows anymore, so my 45/70 would get the nod.

From: GF
Date: 19-Mar-18




Todd - I believe my original hunting arrows were about 525 - 27 3/4” 2018s with Thunderhead 125s up front; shooting about #53 from that set-up. Did a lot of Elk Chasing with that combo, but never drew blood but on a 1.5 YO mulie buck.

Of the bows I own now... I probably could hunt Elk/Moose with any of them, but think I would stick with my first bow for the added Umph it provides... if it came to that.

Be more fun to get something sturdier though.

Of course if all else fails... I’ve got a .45/70 too!

From: CD
Date: 19-Mar-18




A 30-06 worked well on my moose :)

From: Jim Casto Jr
Date: 19-Mar-18

Jim Casto Jr's embedded Photo



I've only kilt one moose; a two year old bull 10 years ago. I used a 59#, 17" DAS riser with ccCarbon limbs and GoldTip Traditional arrows with a 200 grain Grizzly broadhead. Arrow weighed 530 grains. Shot him at 30 yards and the arrow went thru him and stuck in the tamarack on the other side. Cut a rib in-two going in and sliced part of one going out.

From: Styksnstryngs
Date: 20-Mar-18




A large stick

From: swampwalker
Date: 20-Mar-18




What's lil twinkie light bow Bob?





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