Caribou Gear Tarp

Help with field judging a Moose

mhungerford

mhungerford

Active member
Joined
Dec 1, 2009
Messages
422
Location
Laramie,WY
Was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on how to field judge a moose.. i.e. how to tell the width and if he is a good one or not. i know that if they look big they probably are but want to have a good idea on what i am shooting before i shoot it.
thanks
 
Check out "Float Hunting Alaska" there is a chapter on field judging moose.

I wouldn't want to have to rely on guessing width to make sure the animal is legal however. Moose can vary in body mass/size by a considerable amount like any other animal.
 
I will relay what I was told by someone who I respect in regards to field judging moose. They are questionable in the sense that the sickness they have is scary how obsessed they are regarding swamp donkeys.

8" between the eyes. This will get you as close as possible to the actual spread of the bull. Some guys use 10" and this will throw you off if you are field judging for the 50" spread rule regarding if the bull is legal or not.

I believe where you are going the bull has to have 4 brow tines to be legal. That is what I would go for if it was me. And trust me, most those bulls, even the young ones have 4 brow tines.

If it doesn't have 4 brow tines on one side I wouldn't shoot it. Unless of course its a freakishly wide bull then it is obvious.

Shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll send you a bunch of photos of bulls from the area you will be hunting.
 
Last edited:
mhungerford, look forward to some moose pics soon?? I gather you are heading north this fall? Good luck! I want to go kill one of those big bastards in a bad way!!
 
we are headed to alaska in september, i was kinda roped into the whole trip but i cant complain it should be fun. we have space for one more if you are up for it.....:D
 
And we are expecting our 4th kid mid to late august and with a Colorado elk hunt, Montana hunts...............think i'm gonna be limited to that if i want to stay married:)
 
scan0072.jpg


This one was 60". Alaskan Yukon variety from the Northwest Territories. Quite a little meat to pack out on one of these bad boys....
 
This would be an illegal bull for nonresidents in many units in Alaska
that require 50 inches or 4 brow tines (spread is 49 inches):
moose_Sept18 (800x425).jpg

AK Fish and Game has an excellent video on judging whether a bull moose is legal:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=570

Unless it is a huge rack, I count brow tines.
You could incorrectly count if viewing from the side...
typically you need a view of the front the see brow tines distinctly with respect to the bay.
side_front_view.JPG
 
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