A mature bull with 50-inch antlers or three brow tines is a rare sight, indeed. Because big bulls are secretive. It's how moose stay alive, and big bulls have played the game for years. Biologists figure they need at least four or five years to grow those monster antlers. To maximize the chances of seeing such a moose, hunters need to know something about the animal's natural history.
Many hunters waste time wandering around habitats that hold few or no moose, biologists say.
Start haunting areas with choice food or discover where cows and bulls congregate in late September or early October. By studying, either at home or in the field. Hunters who figure out where moose go to eat or mate automatically make giant steps toward seeing more moose. Hunters who grasp the power of a moose's senses, both auditory and olfactory, begin to understand how to get close to these animals. Dumb as moose might look, as stupid as they might behave in the city, they are superbly equipped to avoid people in the wild.