Thread: Fiordland Moose

Imagine being the guy that shot one , it would be proof they exist ,but you just killed perhaps the last one …. was it Percy Lyes or one of his party in the Fifties who shot a cow and deeply regretted it .

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

That would drag out a few with egos bigger than their abilities.

One probably needs to be of North American indigenous blood to attempt it. I have been told that in Alaska where native peoples have some customary use rights to harvest game such as Caribou and Moose that .223 rifles are used quite a bit, and supposedly work well.
Bit different for a paying hunter with big dollars riding on a hunt result. Personally I would only hunt with a calibre possessing much more oomph.

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

By coincidence today’s edition of Stuff has an article re ‘could moose still be in Fiordland’

Not really a co-incidence me think, either we have a new age reported among us here or for some reason Youtube algo throwing up the same video to many ppl.

Just saw the Stuff Article, whole script is from YouTube video including the picture from there.

Id want to use a 300wm on a moose,big animal=big calibre.No walk about needed i hope.

Originally Posted by Trout

Id want to use a 300wm on a moose,big animal=big calibre.No walk about needed i hope.

300 Win Mag, one of several ideal and very capable calibres. Anything from there up to .375 cal with bullets from 250 to 270 gn should do the job with authority with a bit of disance capability thrown in.
No guarantees a shot bull won't walk though. They sometimes do even with a hit that would drop a lesser animal. But a hit with an appropriate cal should be somewhat dissuasive.

A few mooses on utube go walk about even hit with a big cal,shot placement important thats for sure.

An important thing from all those Canadian/Alaskan hunting videos - DO NOT shoot your moose while he is standing in a pond or river. Getting a tonne of moose out of a river/pond/swamp is not easy.

Originally Posted by sportco62

An important thing from all those Canadian/Alaskan hunting videos - DO NOT shoot your moose while he is standing in a pond or river. Getting a tonne of moose out of a river/pond/swamp is not easy.

It happens, sometimes, but what you say is right. It would be awkward enough working in water to break down a Moose and often the very cold water temps don't contribute to making the task any more pleasant.
Another consideration, at least to the hunt guides, is to not shoot a Moose too far from camp. Not such an issue with horses to pack out meat and antlers but I know a couple of guys who hunted Alaska years ago. They flew into camp and hunted on foot only. From high points they saw some whopper bulls and got all keen about getting over there to shoot one. But the guides promptly checked that idea as they were just not interested in backpacking out all that distance to camp. Would kinda suck to a Kiwi hunter I guess. Anyway, it all worked out for the guys I know. There were so many bulls around it was just a matter of waiting until some were handy enough to camp, and job done. They got some lovely bulls.

Originally Posted by 30.06king

Wow @Happy Jack, you have a remarkable resemblance to an old mate I used to hunt with years ago. Are you wearing a loincloth under that beard ?
More to the point - did you end up nailing that Moose ??

Not that particular moose, might have in my younger days but Mrs Happy Jack keeps me on a tight leash. It could be a loincloth.........

Originally Posted by 30.06king

300 Win Mag, one of several ideal and very capable calibres. Anything from there up to .375 cal with bullets from 250 to 270 gn should do the job with authority with a bit of disance capability thrown in.
No guarantees a shot bull won't walk though. They sometimes do even with a hit that would drop a lesser animal. But a hit with an appropriate cal should be somewhat dissuasive.

I watched one soak up two 250 grain Barnes from a 338 Rum.
He probably didn't need the second one, but we didnt know that at the time. And he was in a good spot to process.

The sentimentalist in me says yes they’re still there but the realist says no. I think it was in Ray Tinsleys book he mentioned some other less credible sightings to the south of Dusky. I wonder if they might have moved further along but I doubt it.


There is also the mystery of Spunky Andersons bull in the late 70s, he kept pretty quiet on it and never confirmed nor denied it from what I remember reading of it. Plus the sighting in 2021 by the young guy who was an ex moose guide. There was an interview done on a podcast that seemed relatively compelling.

If they’re not gone, there can’t be many of them left. Dusky has been on my bucket list since I was a kid , mostly because of the story of the moose. I think most of us would like them to still be there, but the reality is unlikely.

Mind is not closed to idea that they’re still there. Been in the Seaforth river area twice over the years. Plenty of area to hide in, a prick of a place to travel through in places. As Ray Tinsley states, the browse line height is amazing in places, Mike river same.

Spent a lot of years in Alaska tracking and packing moose for a guide/flying outfit I worked for…..for those of us that have spent any time in Fiordland we know how rugged this place is…….Im 50/50 as to whether any still exist ,…

..I will say this ,after tracking moose ,knowing and seeing the environment they like to live in ,and as big as the bassturds are,we never tracked them into steep country ever,they dont like steep ,rugged country ….they can be very clumsy and dont like to work to hard for their tucker….and unless its a mother and calf they can be fairly docile ….until say about 10 metres!!!

I’m more of the moa massport sighting type

[QUOTE=

..I will say this ,after tracking moose ,knowing and seeing the environment they like to live in ,and as big as the bassturds are,we never tracked them into steep country ever,they dont like steep ,rugged country ….they can be very clumsy and dont like to work to hard for their tucker….and unless its a mother and calf they can be fairly docile ….until say about 10 metres!!!

[/QUOTE]

Have seen Moose on all three hunting trips done in British Columbia. Sure, most were seen in the lower country, close to streams, rivers and lakes, as expected. But we found Moose sign just about anywhere and everywhere. Most of the terrain we hunted wasn't steep and rugged, at least not in the NZ sense, but quite a bit of it is high country, by which I mean a long walk up from the lower country. Saw only a couple of Moose up there at different times but tracks, droppings and cast antlers were seen regularly. They get around and don't avoid high country in their travels.