For many sportsmen, especially those near retirement age, getting a moose permit in the state’s lottery system may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Proper preparation is a must for a truly successful hunt.
Once the shot is fired and the prized animal is down, the real work begins. Without the proper gear and equipment, cleaning, moving, loading and transporting a moose that can weigh 1,000 pounds is 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. The worst situation is if the meat spoils due to heat, insects, dirt and debris or improper handling.
Novice hunters who have never gutted a big game animal before need to read an article, watch a video or seek guidance from an experienced outdoorsman.
The most important set of tools for field dressing any game animal is sharp cutlery. At least two keen-edged knives are a must. Since they are likely to lose their edges during the job, a whetstone, file and sharpening steel will be needed for resharpening.
If it turns out the moose has to be skinned, sectioned 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 the big job of quartering the animal is required. A set of elbow-length, field-dressing rubber gloves or at least a set of wrist-length latex gloves certainly cuts down on the fuss and mess as well as ruined clothes.
I personally carry a five-gallon plastic bucket with a few other items inside that make cleaning game animals and wiping up afterward simple chores.
In the pail are plastic gloves, paper towels, plastic bags, cloth meat bags, the cutlery and sharpening utensils and a small first aid kit. The bucket can be used to carry water from any nearby brook or pond to rinse out the body cavity once the cleaning is done.
Washing away as much blood and debris from exposed meat reduces the chance of spoilage and keeps flies somewhat at bay during field processing and travel. Clean and cool are the two main objectives when caring for game animal meat in the field.
Have lots of ropes or cable and a sturdy come-along or winch to drag the animal 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 chain saw 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 could double. An ATV or UTV with all-wheel drive is perfect during the hauling chore; and if there’s an electric winch, so much the better, but even these mechanical workhorses may need some sort of trail swamped for travel.
If you are hunting on private or state-controlled land, be sure such recreational vehicles are permitted to be used.
While it’s possible to load a big moose into the bed of a pickup truck, it’s not simple. A sturdy trailer with a solid ramp style tailgate offers a lower-to-the-ground option where a winch or come-alongs replace human strain.
If a four-wheeler is used on the hunt, usually the ATV trailer will be large enough to load the machine and a moose. Be sure to have a tarp or large piece of cheese cloth to keep insects, dust and debris out of the open body cavity during transport over back roads.
It’s wise to bring along a couple of good-sized ice chests with several frozen milk jugs inside. The ice-filled containers can be placed inside the body cavity of the dressed out moose to keep the meat from spoiling on hot fall days. The heart and liver can be placed in one of the coolers for travel out of the woods.
As for high tech gear to aid the hunt, there are only a handful of items to consider beyond a set of good binoculars. A handheld GPS, a set of compact two-way radios, a range finder and perhaps an electronic moose call might all be useful.
Don’t forget a dependable camera to record memories, and research a top-rated meat cutter and perhaps a taxidermist beforehand.
Moose meat is delicious and when cut properly and vacuum packed will provide many tasty meals for months. And whether you decide to just have an antler mount, a head mount or the whole big bull, a top-rate taxidermist will make it look alive.
Whether your moose ends up as a taxidermy mount in the den, an 8 by 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, because once you’re in the woods you either have it or you do without.
