Canadian Moose Hunt
Question:
I have just returned this past weekend from a Moose hunt in Northern Ontario. We fly in to avoid the crowds and hopefully to see more Moose. This year however, we seemed to miss the rut. I thought that the rut was fairly consistant from year to year. I thought it was the decreasing amount of sunlight that triggered the rut. Much of the week was spent discussing the lack of response to calling and everyone’s theory of why the rut was late. (weather, light, temperature???) Anyone have comments? As an aside, we did see a small bull (no time to shoot) and a cow and calf (my hunting partner’s scope was fogged after the previous night in the rain). If not for the bad luck we would have had Moose but now it looks like I’ll have to wait for the deer season if I want meat other than beef in the freezer. The scope (a Bushnell 2.5-8) was new last year and had not previously been a problem. Makes me glad I had a Leopold on my rifle – it stayed perfectly clear. He plans to send it back with a letter requesting to upgrade to a Bauch and Loumb Elite (and pay the difference) or ask to have his money back. I expect they will just repair it and send it back to him. Anyone else have any horror stories with these scopes? John Bailey
Response:
> As an aside, we did see a small bull (no time to shoot) and a cow and calf (my > hunting partner’s scope was fogged after the previous night in the rain). > The scope (a Bushnell 2.5-8) was new last year and had not previously been a > problem. Makes me glad I had a Leopold on my rifle – it stayed perfectly > clear. He plans to send it back with a letter requesting to upgrade to a > Bauch and Loumb Elite (and pay the difference) or ask to have his money back. > I expect they will just repair it and send it back to him. Anyone else have > any horror stories with these scopes? > John Bailey
John, Recently I posted a note stating that I had almost missed the bull elk of a lifetime because I economized and put a cheap scope on my new rifle. People made fun of me (buying a great elk rifle and skimping on the scope). I just blew it off figuring that the scope would work well enough. Well it didn’t!!!!! So you’re womdering what this has to do with your Bushnell? That’s the same scope I had on my rifle. Probably under most situations the scope would have been adequate, but when that one case occurred, I realized I need to go the extra mile next time. The value of that bull would offset the price of any scope on the market. Roger
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have just returned this past weekend from a Moose hunt in Northern Ontario. > We fly in to avoid the crowds and hopefully to see more Moose. This year > however, we seemed to miss the rut. > I thought that the rut was fairly consistant from year to year. I thought it > was the decreasing amount of sunlight that triggered the rut. Much of the > week was spent discussing the lack of response to calling and everyone’s > theory of why the rut was late. (weather, light, temperature???) > Anyone have comments? > As an aside, we did see a small bull (no time to shoot) and a cow and calf (my > hunting partner’s scope was fogged after the previous night in the rain). If > not for the bad luck we would have had Moose but now it looks like I’ll have > to wait for the deer season if I want meat other than beef in the freezer. > The scope (a Bushnell 2.5-8) was new last year and had not previously been a > problem. Makes me glad I had a Leopold on my rifle – it stayed perfectly > clear. He plans to send it back with a letter requesting to upgrade to a > Bauch and Loumb Elite (and pay the difference) or ask to have his money back. > I expect they will just repair it and send it back to him. Anyone else have > any horror stories with these scopes? > John Bailey
I was up north of Nakina for the opening on Sept 23. Lots of tracks and sign but absolutely no moose. We stayed in for 10 days. Locals believe the rut still hasn’t come through yet. We thought that the rut was over. Of 56 hunters of through the fly-in camp, only 3 moose were shot. Betteer luck next year I guess.
Response:
>I was up north of Nakina for the opening on Sept 23. Lots of tracks and >sign but absolutely no moose. We stayed in for 10 days. Locals believe >the rut still hasn’t come through yet. We thought that the rut was >over. Of 56 hunters of through the fly-in camp, only 3 moose were shot. >Betteer luck next year I guess.
Where were you? I don’t remember if I said where I was hunting (other than Northern Ontario). We flew in to Percy Lake from Nakina. Our group has taken Moose 8 out of 10 years (including this year) with 3 taken last year and 2 taken a few years ago. We plan to fly further North next year, but only because we want to try a new area, not because we didn’t get Moose this year. We almost went elsewhere this year just for a change, but you hate to mess with success! John Bailey
