Moose Antler Growth?

R

Rambo

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When is the right time to start scouting for moose? Does a bull moose have enough antler growth in July to tell if he is going to be a good bull? Thanks for any knowledge. Pictures with dates would be greatly appreciated. Happy hunting, Jake
 
The moose are starting to migrate back to their summer/fall grounds. And in july they got some pretty good growth. Good time to scout. But when the rut comes in September those bulls will be moving to find a mate. so some bulls don't move far if they have cows to breed and some move a long ways to mate
 
When I was moose hunting with my dad in 2001 we could not find a bull for nothing. But we were hunting a area that didn't have a lot of moose. We did find cows. We watched those cows all September and the last week of archery a bull finally came in. And the bull he got was 54" wide. Just took a lot of patience
 
Around the 4th of July you can start to tell if a bull will have forked brows. If you want a B&C forked brows on both sides are pretty much necessary. There are outrageous bulls that won't score very well due to having 0 or 1 forked brow. The back of the palms and palm pts are the last thing to develop around the first of Sept.

A lot depends on the unit you draw. Moose are almost impossible to find in July in some Wyo units (Medicine Bows and many Western Wyo units) while they are fairly visible in willow patches in the Bighorn Mtns. Moose in the first 2 areas mentioned are in deep, dark areas where it is cooler. Moose generally don't like warm weather so time your scout when there may be cooler, rainy weather. In the Bighorns where you find moose all summer long is NOT where you'll find them once the willows start freezing in late Sept....they change feed and locations.

If you aren't finding bulls you might use your summer scouting trips to locate glassing areas, access routes, possible movement funnels where bulls might pass, etc.
 
Thanks Jims. Anyone kill a bull in velvet? I like them better hard horned but when you have an opportunity at a good bull you better take it. Are most bulls still in velvet on September 1st when the bowhunt starts?
 
My brother killed a bull with his bow in mid-September in 1996 and it was in full velvet. The antlers were fully devloped (I think) and the tips were hard. When the bull rolled down the hill it damaged the velvet beyond saving. He has it mounted sans-velvet and it looks great.

All the bulls I've seen by the 1st of October have been mostly stripped off. In 2008 my son had a tag and by that date all the bulls were hard-horned (antlers).

Have you got a tag this year? Where are you going to hunt?

Good luck, Zeke
 
Last year in the Snowys most of the bulls were rubbing around the first of Sept, some the week before. Those antlers should be hard a week or two before rubbing.

All the bigger bulls I saw in Sept last year had color on their antlers by the first week.
 
I have seen some pretty developed moose in mid-June in 23 and in 26 moose units.

Come mid-July a full month later those bulls are getting very defined.

Enjoy your scouting and your hunt.

Robb
 

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