LETTERS FROM THE FIELD

Where Hunters Use It

The method was worked out in Alaska. The letters come back from Maine, Newfoundland, Ontario, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and once from Scandinavia.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Same four sounds, four subspecies, one method

There are four kinds of moose in North America: Alaska-Yukon, Northwestern, Eastern, and Shiras in the lower 48. They are different animals in different country, and hunters ask constantly whether Alaska calling works where they live.

It does. The calling and hunting strategies apply to all four subspecies. What shifts is the timing (the rut runs on a slightly different calendar the further you are from the Interior) and the country, which changes how far a call has to carry. The sounds themselves do not change.

Alaska

Where the method was built

Maine & the Northeast

Eastern moose, tight timber

Newfoundland & Canada

Ontario, Alberta, BC

Shiras country

ID · MT · UT · WA · WY

THE PROOF

Where the letters come from

ALASKA · UNIT 20A

“I purchased one of your Bull Magnet calls this year prior to a DIY in unit 20A. I successfully called in two bulls within 50 and 75 yards respectively. The first measured 55 inches and the second was 66 inches.”

Darrell Peetz

Alaska

MAINE · 854 LB · 94″ SPREAD

“He was shot on September 24, 2008 at 8:30 AM in Amity, Maine. It dressed out at 854 lbs, 14 points, 48 inch beam, 94 inch spread… On the morning of 9/24 I had 6 different Bulls come to my Cow calls from daylight until 8:30 AM.”

Mike Merwin

Coopers Mills, Maine

ONTARIO · 57″ FROM TWO MILES

“I am from Kenora Ontario, I am a bush pilot/guide… I was able to call a 55″ bull for the archery within yards twice! …the rifle hunt went picture perfect, I called a 57″ bull from about 2 miles right to us!”

Kelly Belair

Kenora, Ontario

IDAHO · SHIRAS · 145 B&C

“I followed your 3-day focused strategy with consistent calling in one location and eventually old big boy came grunting. He actually took 5 days, but what I learned from your strategy was that patience pays off, so I stayed in the same area calling and waiting. The bull scored 145, making Boone and Crockett.”

Clay Landry

Idaho

WASHINGTON · SHIRAS · 163 6/8″

“I drew Washington State’s once in a lifetime Shiras moose tag this year… We were able to call in a monster 163 6/8″ (green) net Shiras bull into 20 yards. My caller even induced a charge from the bull; he stopped at 10 steps.”

Ben Davenport

Washington

IDAHO · 43″ VS A 34″ AVERAGE

“With help from your videos and call I was able to fill my once in a lifetime Shiras Bull Moose tag here in Idaho… The Fish and Game officer that checked my bull said the average Shiras taken in Idaho is 34 inches wide; mine measured 43.”

James W. Schondel

Idaho

One tag, one season, and a long way from home

Most people writing these letters get one moose tag in their life. They are not practicing for next year. That is why the method leads with patience and the honest waiting time rather than with a promise.

BY REGION

What changes, and what doesn’t

Timing changes. The rut runs late September in the Alaskan Interior; elsewhere it can sit a week or two either side. Work back from your own season dates rather than from a calendar written for Alaska. The full calling method, week by week.

Distance changes. Ontario bush and Alaska swamp ask a call to carry miles. Northeastern timber and Shiras river bottoms are far tighter, and volume matters less than tone.

The sounds do not change. Cow call, bull grunt, brush thrashing. A bull in Idaho answers the same three things a bull in Wasilla answers. Hear all four.

GO DEEPER

Calling, region by region

Alaska

The country the method was built in, and what “two miles away” actually means here.

Maine

Eastern moose, tighter timber, and the letters from permit holders.

Newfoundland & Canada

Ontario, Alberta, BC and the island: the longest calls in the archive.

Shiras Country

Idaho, Montana, Utah, Washington and Wyoming: one tag, one chance.

Wayne Kubat, Alaska Master Guide #147. Assistant guide from 1981, registered guide since 1986, and the designer of the Bull Magnet® moose call. About Wayne

Wherever you drew your tag

The sounds travel. Hunters have taken bulls with Wayne’s moose call in Alaska, Maine, Ontario, Newfoundland, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Utah. Made in the USA, shipped anywhere.