Mainely Outdoors: Gearing up for a Moose Hunt

After the first of Maine’s three weeklong moose hunts ended the last week of September, a lot of great stories of success circulated among regional sportsmen. Unfortunately there were a fair number of tales about misfortunes and difficulties that befell poorly prepared hunters after they had downed their big beast. Once the shot is fired, the prized animal is down and the initial celebration winds down; the real work begins.
Without the proper gear and equipment, cleaning, moving, loading and transporting a moose that can weigh a thousand pounds goes beyond challenging. Add obstacles such as unusually warm weather, an animal that ends up in a pond or stream or a long distance from any path or road and the task becomes truly difficult. Worst-case scenario, some or even most of the delicious meat may be spoiled by heat, insects, dirt and debris or improper handling.
First and foremost, novice hunters who have never gutted a big game animal before need to read an article or seek guidance from an experienced outdoorsman about the task. Better still, take a friend with game-cleaning experience on the hunt. He gets some tasty steaks, the neophyte gets hands-on guidance and many hands make light work. It’s a proven fact that the farther a large moose is from the truck and trailer, and the wetter or thicker the location is, it’s inversely proportional to how much the fun the rest of the day will be.
The most important set of tools for field dressing any game animal is sharp cutlery. At least two keen-edged knives are a must and since they are likely to lose their edge during the job, a whetstone, file and sharpening steel will be needed for resharpening. If it turns out the moose has to be skinned, quartered and deboned, in order to be carried out of the woods, the knives and sharpening utensils become even more important. In addition, a sharp, wide-bladed skinning knife, a meat saw and hatchet will be very useful if a big job is required.
Have lots of ropes or cable and a sturdy come-along or winch to drag the game from the woods to the edge of the road, and then to pull it onto a truck or trailer. A set of heavy tree shears and a chainsaw for swamping a trail can be a big help. Many hunters have had to winch a moose from stump to stump for several hundred yards, and without a saw and ax to move dead falls the work would have doubled. An ATV with all-wheel drive can save a lot of time and trouble during the hauling chore, but even these mechanical workhorses may need some sort of trail swamped for travel.
A fair-sized block and tackle or pulley system for hoisting the moose into a tree will ease the cleaning, skinning and quartering chore and can also be used to load the animal onto truck or trailer. A roll of cheese cloth or commercially available specially constructed cloth bags for transporting game and keeping flies and road dust off the meat in warm weather will be a good idea too. Plastic bags for the heart and liver should be at hand and plastic gallon milk containers filled with water and frozen work great to keep the carcass cool during the trip to the meat cutter’s cooler. Just stuff the jugs of solid ice into the body cavity, along with the heart and liver bags, and there’s much less chance of meat spoilage on sunny days.
The quickest way to cool a moose off, and the easiest way to transport the big beast is, of course, to at least quarter it. Perhaps even skin it and quarter it if time and ability are present. On warm days, a moose’s thick hide will hold in body heat for an unbelievably long time, so ice is a must if the animal will not be skinned out. Do not cover the animal with a tarp or plastic cover, while it may seem a good way to keep debris and flies off the meat, it really hold extra body heat in and multiplies the sun’s effect too.
Smart hunters will have pre-scouted the area they plan to hunt, or at least checked maps or talked with sportsmen who have prior experience in the location. Any woodcutting operations nearby should be noted. Nothing brings a big moose out of thick timber quicker, easier and safer than a skidder. For a reasonable price, the operators of these brush-busting lumbering machines will be glad to aid successful hunters if the downed animal isn’t too far from the woodlot they’re working. I’ve heard of many cases where local farmers have brought tractors and even horses in a couple of situations to quickly haul out moose from heavy cover.
I personally carry a five-gallon plastic bucket with a few other sundry items inside that make cleaning game and cleaning up afterwards a simple chore. In the pail are a couple of sets of plastic gloves, a roll of paper towels, and of course plastic bags, cloth meat bags, the cutlery and sharpening utensils and a small first aid kit — just in case the knife slips. The bucket can be used to carry water from any nearby brook or pond to rinse out the body cavity once the cleaning is over. Washing away as much blood and debris from any exposed meat reduces the chance of meat spoilage and keeps flies somewhat at bay during field processing and travel. Clean and cool are the two main objectives when caring for game animals, take care of your meat in the field and you will be rewarded at the dinner table.
Whether the moose you’re after will end up as a taxidermy mount in the den, as an 8 X 10 inch glossy photo on the office wall or as a well-browned roast for Sunday dinner, the right equipment will increase your chances of success. Plan well and compile a check list of every possible item you need to take along, because once you’re in the woods, you either have it or you do without.
During the October and November seasons it’s difficult to drive a logging road or pass a broccoli field without spotting a moose, so hunt carefully and safely, pick your shot well, take a steady aim and shoot straight. Memories are sure to follow so make them good ones by having the right gear and equipment on hand. Oh, and of all things, don’t forget a camera with a well-charged battery. Happy hunting, you lucky permit-holders.