“Shooting the Bull” has never had more meaning than to kill your 1000 pound Rut-crazed moose quickly before he sets his sights on you!

Bull Moose-in-rut, are in fact, crazy as all-get-out and considered by many including me to be “dangerous game” at close ranges of 50 yards or less. When vitals are missed on these beasts they can close 50 yards in just seconds.

If that doesn’t get your adrenaline pumping, nothing will!

Ok so you are determined to shoot a New Hampshire bull moose with a 50 inch spread or greater. Good Luck  because they are few and far in between. Can it be done? Of Course. NH produces some fine bulls particularly in the northern part of the state and can easily exceed 50 inches.

Whatever zone you have been assigned will determine the “success rate” for a bull with a rack that size.

Notice below in the Anatomy of a Moose rack where they measure spread. If this is the moose you are after then I recommend a Guide Service that specializes in moose and can judge a moose rack.

NH Guides can be found on the website below.

http://www.nhguidesassociation.com/hunting_directory.html

It is perhaps desirable to set a big bull with a large rack as your goal but remember that the joy comes from the hunt itself and the many days scouting and learning what your Zone has to offer.

Look at past data to get an idea and be realistic.

My Zone in 2009 was J2. I hunted in the lakes region very near to Lake Winnipesaukee. This photo is forever etched into my memory. This to me was “Heaven on Earth” and to hunt moose too. Wow! What was so great here is that I was observing good deer hunting territory as well.

My goal was simply to shoot what I considered a good representative of the species and I did. The moose I and my partner shot was a young adult and its rack was small/medium and body was fully mature and ready to mate. Its fur was without scars or blemishes and as handsome goes? He was all of that and muscularly large and ready to fight for his right to mate! He was killed at around 70 to 80 yards from us.

I have seen large bulls with giant racks but the face was scared and bony from all the fights.  I had my trophy mounted and am very pleased with the Taxidermy work. While you are scouting up your moose, you may want to locate a taxidermist to mount your trophy.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/NH_taxidermists.htm

Use Enough Gun!

Rifle Cartridge/bullet Recommendations to hunt Large Bull Moose.

I favor Nosler Products Such as AccuBonds and Partitions for moose size Big Game in Africa and here in the USA because they mushroom well and stay together for deep penetration.  See  http://www.nosler.com/bullets/

My recommendations are based on delivering energies nearing 2500 ft-lbs at the distances listed.

My .375 Ruger shot a 260 grain Nosler AccuBond below. It went through more than 4 feet of moose before stopping under the skin in the rump.

Most popular Cartridge loads are:

.270 Winchester – 150 grain heads at 100 yards or less

7mm Rem Magnum -150 grain heads at 200 yards or less.

30-06 Springfield -180 grain heads at 100 yards or less

.308 Win – 170 grain heads at 100 yards or less.

.338 Win Mag – 250 grain at 300 yards or less

.375 H&H or Ruger – 270 grain heads at 350 yards or less

444 Marlin -250 grain heads at 100 yards or less

In between these popular cartridges are many others for Moose just be aware of delivered energies to the vitals e.g. heart and lungs with a well constructed bullet. The faster your animal falls the less you will have to drag that 800 to 1000 pound dressed animal out of the woods. More on moose to come…©

Today the winners of the 2013 Moose Lottery were announced. Congratulations all. I was lucky to be drawn for a hunt three years ago. It was exhilarating beyond words. A moose hunt is a hunt of a lifetime.

With some help from F& G you will be able to find the best spots in your Zone but don’t just rely on that data. Talk to folks in your zone where moose are seen.  I killed my bull moose in a brand new spot by listening to locals.  I scouted every other week when time allowed and every week as the hunt neared but never saw a moose at all, just tracks. The problem you will run into is that other moose hunters in your Zone have been given the same information. Opening day is a great time to kill a moose but it took me and  my partner 4 days of hard hunting to connect as there were hunters all around. It didn’t take long for the moose to wise up. For those that have an either sex tag, it is widely known that calling a bull in, is said to be one of your best options and I am proof of that. I used a moose-in-rut scent bomb to cover our scent and set up the shot. Go onto YouTube and watch the many moose that have been called in to get an idea of what you may also try. Take a camera with you on your scouting trips and even a trail camera if you like. Just don’t leave the trail camera out for more than a few days unless it is a remote area. I scouted about 5 spots regularly then pared that down to three of the best spots. Always keep your options open. Fish and Game did a great job teaching you how to dress, quarter and haul your moose out by hand. I was prepared to do just that. Luckily a land owner offered a front end loader to get my moose in the pickup truck.

A tip from a land owner that he had moose on his property and that we could hunt was delightful beyond words. In fact, there was snow the night before and the landowner saw moose tracks from his skidoo and saw one of the largest bulls ever. After listening to that my partner and I struggled to sleep that night. The next morning we went to that spot intending to spend every moment in the woods. I was shooting a .375 Ruger African with a VX-3L 56mm Leupold Scope  and 260 Nosler AccuBonds. You can’t beat that combo as the scope can see till near the end of shooting light.   My partner had a .308 Winchester with 160 grain heads.

I called the moose with my nose pinched and hands cupped like a bull horn over my mouth. In addition, I whacked trees and rusted brush and sprayed moose estrus into the air. My partner was skeptical at best. We stood at an intersecting trail  where we could see more than 60 to 70 yards in three directions. The bull showed up directly in front of us as if I planned it, a rare event indeed. I shot the bull facing me as it walked forward. The nose of the Moose covered the heart area so at 80 yards I fired just to the left of his nose end entering the moose right shoulder. He did not stagger but put his head down in a charge. My parther having a better frontal shot now fired. The bull staggered and fell to his front knees rump still standing. I put a Coup de grace shot into his spine to finish him off with dignity and he fell stone dead. Upon the butchering process we found the two 260 grain Nosler AccuBonds in the skin of the rump but never found the 160 grain .308 head. It is recommended that your rifle be capable of delivering 2500 ft-lbs of energy or more to a full grown moose so check your rifles capabilities. The best shot on a moose is a broadside shot in the heart lung area where the bullet penetrates both lungs and can even hit the heart. Of course some moose do not seem to cooperate. While my partner went to get help, I did the job of gutting. A task I do not wish to do again alone. After the moose was hoisted into the truck we proceeded back to camp at dark and took the moose to check in the next morning. Moose  meat is simply delicious!  Go for it!! ©