2025 Moose Hunt Report
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The fall of 2025 marked an exciting milestone for Wild North Outfitters as we hosted our very first Ontario moose hunt.
Throughout the year, we see plenty of moose while preparing for our bear and deer seasons. Between maintaining bait sites, scouting, and covering countless kilometres of logging roads and ATV trails, we spend a tremendous amount of time in the bush. In the spring, we established several mineral sites and did some early scouting before returning a couple of weeks prior to the season to check for fresh activity. The mineral sites weren't as productive as I had hoped. It had been such a dry spring and summer that the mineral powder never really soaked into the rotting wood the way it normally does. Even so, I found plenty of fresh browse, tracks, and droppings, which gave me confidence that we were focusing on the right areas heading into opening day.
The Friday before the season opened, I was putting the finishing touches on preparations for deer season, which would begin the following week. As I walked into one of the areas, I immediately came across a mature bull and a cow moose. I froze, trying not to disturb them. They calmly walked away, and I remember thinking, this is exactly where we need to be on Monday morning.
Our guests arrived, camp was ready, and we were eager to get started.
As luck would have it, the forecast called for an incredible amount of rain. Rather than let the weather discourage us, we packed ground blinds and chairs, knowing we would simply make the best of it, stay as dry as possible, and spend the day in the woods.
Opening morning arrived, and we split up between three different locations. At times, the rain came down in sheets. It was one of those days where you just had to stick it out, but despite our efforts, it was extremely quiet with very little activity.
Day two was a completely different story, bringing beautiful sunshine, and the rest of the week was forecast to be much the same. We shifted our focus to recently logged areas where we immediately started finding fresh moose sign. We spread out and developed a plan based on the tracks and sign we were seeing.
Throughout the week, we hunted logging landings, marshes, ponds, fresh cutovers, and everything in between. It seemed like we were always just one step behind the moose, continually finding fresh tracks and sign showing they had been there only hours before.
We even organized a couple of drives. During one of them, a moose quietly slipped past one of the hunters unnoticed. We continued following the tracks and eventually caught up to it, only to discover it was a cow.
At another point during the week, a moose casually walked past our parked pickup truck while we were searching another area, leaving a fresh pile of droppings right beside the truck. We all had a good laugh when we returned and realized just how close we had been.
One evening while heading back to camp, I was driving ahead of the group when I spotted two cow moose feeding through the timber. They stopped and watched me for several minutes before deciding they'd seen enough and quietly disappeared back into the forest.
The highlight of the entire week, however, belonged to Gino.
He was sitting alone in one of our calling locations when he heard an unusual sound coming back toward him. Being an experienced moose hunter, he knew moose can make some strange vocalizations during the rut, so he stayed ready as whatever it was slowly approached.
When he finally turned to look, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
It wasn't a moose at all.
It was a bull elk.
Yes... an elk.
There is a small population of elk around the Bancroft area, and a limited hunting season exists for them, but seeing one in our area is incredibly rare.
What are the chances that would happen during our very first moose hunt? Probably next to none—but somehow, it did.
To say this hunt was difficult would be an understatement. We covered an incredible amount of ground throughout the week, and it was both physically and mentally demanding. Time after time, we found ourselves just one step behind the moose.
Despite not harvesting a bull, I came away feeling optimistic.
Every hunt teaches you something, and this one was no exception. We learned a tremendous amount about how the moose were using the area, where they liked to travel, and which locations consistently held fresh sign. That knowledge is invaluable and gives us an even stronger foundation for future seasons.
Sometimes success isn't measured by a filled tag. Sometimes it's measured by the experience gained, the memories made, and the confidence you build for the hunts still to come.
Thanks for reading,
Nick