5 must-know moose-hunting tactics from one of Canada’s top guides

Most experienced hunters can usually undermine at least one of a moose’s keen senses long enough for a chance at a clean shot. But how many hunters can trick the combined faculties of hearing, vision, smell and instinctual reaction at the same time? When you can manipulate the overall sensory perception of wild game animals, you also gain control over their brain’s interpretive centre. What their eyes see, ears hear and nose smells, their mind believes—even when it’s just a complex illusion. In the mind of a bull moose, if something sounds, smells and behaves like a cow moose in heat, it must be.

As with other ungulates such as elk, deer and caribou, moose always act in the same instinctive fashion during the rut period, making their predictability a vulnerability. The rut is their Achilles heel, offering a small window of opportunity when their usual abundance of caution is eclipsed by the stronger urge to procreate.

To bolster a bull’s confidence even more on your next hunt, don’t simply call and hide. Instead, manifest the ideal mating scenario by appealing to all of his senses. Each sense you covertly persuade will only narrow the bull’s focus solely on mating, oblivious to any abnormalities there may be in your set-up, and bring him voluntarily into your crosshairs. Here’s how to put it all together.