My dad went moose hunting a few years ago, which ended up as a complete disaster. Terrible guide service, terrible weather and to rack his mind up even more, I ended up in the hospital after getting in a fight with a chain saw and loosing, while trying to clean storm damage up.

With that being said, it's been an itch to get a moose and to go to Canada or Alaska to hunt.

Anyone know of any good guide services/lodges?  We're both experienced big game hunters (He's been going to Colorado hunting for 18 years, I'm up to 5. We've both hunted in Ohio / PA.  He's hunted New Mexico, Canada before and we're going to Wyoming to hunt antelope in 2014.) So we don't need a full outfitter with guns / gears etc. We just need pointed in the right direction.


Thanks!

Great idea.  You will really enjoy an Alaskan hunt. I can't speak to a Canadian hunt eh?

To make a reasonable suggestion a person would have to have a budget in mind. You could easily be in the 10K pp range for a guided/lodge hunt.
Here's why:
Non-residents generally have a min 50 inch /4 browtine requirement.  Many residents now have that same requirement in many game management units that are close to a road system.  
If you want a reasonable chance at bagging a moose you are probably looking at a fly-out hunt, or a long boat trip up the Yukon River.  
Lodges are a lower-48 thing. You will pay dearly in Alaska for that luxury.
Drop off and float is the way to go as you will spend more time hunting than sitting around the dinner table telling lies.
You sound entirely capable of a DIY moose hunt.  
Here are some great places to start:
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forumdisplay.php/2-Alaska-Hunting
You need to study the regs, find them here:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/regulations_complete.pdf
Oh, and the weather is always a crap shoot.
Good luck with whatever hunting adventure you choose. I have 25 yrs of DIY Alaska hunting experience and a ton of resources if you need anything else.
Cheers
Boss

I did some research a few years ago and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador all looked pretty good for moose, bear and caribou hunting IIRC.  Some areas get very little hunting pressure.
Moose don't get quite as big there as the Alaskan variety, though.
I wish I had been able to put a hunt together back then, and tell you firsthand how it went.

My budget would probably be between 2500-3000 per person.


As I said, we're pretty capable of doing a DIY hunt, as long as someone points us in the right direction. We DIY hunt colorado every year, as we have property right next to the grand national forest.

A friend of mine just did a guided bow hunt in the Yukon and had a blast. I think he has the video uploaded somewhere Ill try to find it.

Well, they certainly LOOK happy!

It will be tough to do a fly out moose hunt for 2500-3000!  Everything is more expensive up here.  Hell Av gas in the villages is over $15 a gallon and a Beaver burns 20+ gallons an hour.  My family from PA came up and it ran them $4,00-5,000 total... and thats cheap for a PA to AK and then fly in hunt.  We did well though .. check out my video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trF0ZFqYc4Y
-JR

2012 Moose
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trF0ZFqYc4Y[/youtube]

Great video! Congratulations!

I am in the same boat as the OP though my budget may be slightly higher. A moose is at the top of my species list. I am an archery hunter but I am considering hunting with a rifle on this hunt. I have acquired a gun that duplicates the rifle my grandfather hunted with, a pre 64 Model 70 in 300 H&H. Thanks for the info and the motivation to pursue this hunt.

I could certainly do more then $3000 with some planning and depending on where it's at. $3000 was just an initial number.

I don't know how you can do a Moose hunt for $2500-$3000 per person coming all the way from OH.  $5k would be the minimum I would plan for, even that is a stretch. $7.5k-$10k is a more realistic number for a bottom end hunt.

You'll be guiding yourself at that price but that's fine.

I go Canadian hunting every year

I can try and find some guide services that do more than just drive around with you if you like?

some guides are pretty lazy and shady

I've gone a few times, and friends have gone a few times more.  We've hunted Ontario moose (DIY) and Quebec fly-in.  

When I've looked into Newfoundland, I see most trips at about $6000 + travel.  Success rates are high, but its an expensive trip.

Ontario sucks.  There are moose, but Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources really screws up the tag system.  Basically, you buy a license, then try to draw for a tag.  As a resident its a $40-50 lottery ticket.  As a non-resident the license is well over $200 and you are still trying to draw a tag in a lottery.  Bullshit.

Quebec makes sense.  It's simple.  Two hunters = one moose. Every animal must have two tags on it.  Some years and areas its bulls only.  Other years/areas its bulls or cows.  Two hunters buy non resident licenses, and you can take one moose.  No lottery, no bullshit.

Time to be honest:  Many of the Quebec outfitters are primarily fishing and bear outfitters.  There are moose in the area,  and they do book hunts.  However, the success rates can be low. And the moose are not the behemoths you see with 50" racks.  Most of these are smaller moose, and racks are much more modest.  On the other hand, the trips often run about $1250+ license.  That $1250 gets you a fly in to a remote cabin, use of the cabin, boat, motor and fuel, and fly out of any animal taken.  Add license and travel expenses and its a $1700 moose trip from Ohio.  While success rates are likely about 30-40%, at those rates you can go three or four times for the cost of one NFLD trip.  A lot of these trips are flying out of areas like Clova and Parent.  Figure about six -ten hours north of Ottawa Ontario.  Distances are not all that far, but the last 90 miles of the drive to the float plane base are on primitive roads.

I've hunted with this fellow.  Straight forward and no problems.  Caesar Lodge north  He provides the camp, flyin, flyout, boat and motor.  You bring your food.  The big problem is weight .  Most outfitters have a 100 lbs per person limit.  Bringing sleeping bag, jacket, rifle, gear and food for a week can be a challenge.  You'll want a water filter of some kind.

Communication is simple. Outfitter flys over the areas in a little piper cub float plane daily. Three color coded signs.  Leave the green one on the dock if all is okay.  Yellow means "its not an emergency put please stop when it convenient".  Red means" get the hell down here right now".  Red, with your moose head on it, means "come back with the DeHaviland Beaver and haul my meat out".  Moose need to be quartered.  a 18V Sawzall rules.
.
Bring a fishing rod.  Many times you end up fishing for walleye and pike in the afternoons.  Keep an eye on the shoreline!

Fro