What Moose Hunting Supplies do you need to bring?

We always bring more than what we need, and we are forever adding to our list of Moose Hunting Supplies to bring for the following year.

Of course, if you are flying in for a hunt you will be limited by weight as to how much you can bring, or the Guide – Guide Outfitter will supply you with a list of suggested items.

One of the most important items that I can recommend to you is a sharp knife. I don't go out without my knives and they must be sharp. I carry two knives: a Gerber for skinning and a Buck Knife for gutting as well as my "Do Not Leave Home Without Tool" My Wyoming Knife.

Below you will find two comprehensive lists:

1. Our moose hunting supplies that we bring to camp for general usage.
2. The contents of what I find is essential for my backpack.

Some Background.

I’ve been hunting moose for twenty years and my hunting partners and we have harvested moose every one of those years. Some years we were fortunate to get more than one moose. Our group consists of 3 – 7 members depending on who can make the trip from year to year (I have only missed once). We are privileged to live and hunt in British Columbia, Canada and we are very thankful for this. After this many years of hunting we have decided we need some comforts as well as the right moose hunting supplies to do the job.

Moose camp itself is fairly simple, although very comfortable in any weather. We have enough moose hunting supplies and camp supplies to survive our 10 to 14 days away from civilization. Our preferred season to hunt moose is the last part of September into the first two weeks of October. This is when the rut is on and the moose are the most vocal.

In Northern British Columbia in the fall season you must be prepared for any type of weather. As an example in 2009 on the 26th of September our camp thermometer registered 28 degrees Celsius at noon. Whew! That is warm when you consider that same morning it was minus 10 degrees and we bundled up in heavy fleece clothing with hats and gloves. I believe at least one member was wearing long underwear.

• Alarm Clock
• Axe
• Back Roads Atlas (topographic maps)
• Bow & Arrows
• Digital Camera
• Camp Stove
• Chainsaw & gas
• Folding Chairs
• Flask - for celebration
• Game Bags (from cotton sheets)
• Gambrel or Meat Hooks
• Game Cart
• Gas Cans
• Generator
• Gun Cleaning Kit
• Hunting Clothes
• Car Jack
• Lawn Chairs
• License and tags
• Propane Tank(s)
• Pulleys
• Rain Supplies
• Moose hunting Rifle: Are you interested in what we use for a moose hunting rifle, click here.
• Moose Hunting Ammunition
• Runlock Rope, Twine, Tarps
• Shelter Frame (wall tent)
• Shovel and Rake
• Sleeping Bags, Pillows
• Step and Extension Ladders
• ATV Tire Repair Kit
• Thermal Cups
• Tools
• Tow Strap
• Archery/Treestands and of course the (Safety Strap)
• Water Heater
• Water Jugs
• Wood Stove
• 3200 Feet 1/2 inch rope

I’ve likely missed a few items from this list of moose hunting supplies, for instance there are some items that are buried in rope containers that are not itemized but are always available. I use rubbermaid containers to store some of our supplies for moose hunting. They are perfect for short pieces of rope, nails, screws or whatever. We have two travel trailers and a truck camper that can be at camp but typically it is one trailer and the camper. There are numerous items in the trailers that always are handy at camp too.

If you shoot a moose far from the road you’ll need to have a way to get it back to camp. We carry 3200 feet (1000 meters)of rope to assist us in retrieving our moose (and a game cart). While using a series of pulleys and rope, we communicate using two way radios we are often able to get our moose to the trucks in one piece.

If you use rope you need to know how to tie knots that are strong and can be untied easily, learn how to tie our favorite rope knots. Or try out the Runlock Rope,this can save you a lot of grief when it come to knot tying.

For those occasions where this is not viable we have two options, well, actually three.

• The first is to build a tent over the moose and eat it where it fell... Not very practical.
• The second option is to clean, quarter and debone then load the meat onto back boards and carry it out. This is back breaking work, not for the meek or weak. Included in our moose hunting gear list we have back boards, although we do not want to use them; we have them for the just in case scenario.
• Our third and best option besides pulling with a truck is to use a game cart. Our game cart will carry a half of a moose at a time. Using a cart is still a lot of work and two men are a must to handle the ups and downs in the forest.

Me, with a half a bull moose on our homemade game cart. On level ground one person can easily balance and move a loaded cart around.

My partner and I moving through an old logged area with our game cart. Our sleeves are rolled up and we are working hard to get this moose back to camp.

Moose Hunting Supplies: My Pack Contents

• Birch Bark Moose Call
• Binoculars
• Binocular Chest Pack
• Compass
• Extra Rifle Cartridges
• First Aid Kit
• Garbage Bags
• Garmin Oregon 450 GPS
• Range Finder
• Spare Rifle Clip
• Hunting Knives and Sharpener
• Wyoming Knife Watch our video demo of the Wyoming Knife in action.
• Latex Gloves
• Lighter, Waterproof Matches
• Limb Saw
• Maps
• Pen, Pencil and Paper
• Plastic Bags - small
• Poncho – Foil Survival Blanket

Here is a must have item for bow hunting, the String Sling. Have you ever had hand fatigue from carrying your bow? It is difficult to hold a bow for long periods of time without having to switch hands or put your bow down. As bow hunters it is critical that we keep our movements to a minimum. Check out the video about how convenient the String Sling really is.

• Survival Kit
• Rope – 10M (30 ft.) 10mm (3/8 diameter), 30 ft. heavy twine
• Signal Whistle
• Snacks
• Spare Batteries
• Two Way Radio
• Toilet Paper
• Toque (Hat)
• Water

I use a Superday Pack made by Badlands for my day hunts. I highly recommend this brand of products. Check out their warranty program, I don’t think you will find a better one.

To read more about Badlands Backpacks and why we have chosen this brand over any other please visit our page about this product line.

In summary: I don’t think we’ll ever have a complete and final list of moose hunting supplies. With new products on the market every year, some seemingly very useful and others that you’ll try and find totally useless, your list will change from year to year. The best I can suggest is you start with what you think you’ll need and build from there. Maybe someday we’ll meet out in moose country and we can compare our moose hunting supplies list.

A picture of a Cow and Calf Moose crossing a shallow portion of a lake at Sunset. It is scenes like this that makes me want to go out and explore what our wonderful world has to offer.

"Good Luck and Good Hunting"

Mark
"All-About-Moose"

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