Transporting downed moose requires plan Trailers, pickups most popular

Preparation is the key to a successful moose hunt. Although this seems an obvious statement applicable to any type of angling or shooting outing, it’s far more relevant when dealing with Maine’s largest big game animal. Preseason tasks, such as scouting, sighting in, and practice sessions with rifle, handgun, or bow and locating and compiling gear and equipment, that take place for any deer or bear hunt aren’t sufficient for bagging and tagging a moose. The old hunter’s adage that “once the shot is fired and the game is down, the fun is over and the work begins,” really hits home when a pair of average-size sportsmen must handle a thousand-pound critter, hooves, horns, hide, and all.

At least two good knives, a bone saw, a file or roughened steel rod, and a fine whetstone are essential to quickly and thoroughly clean and prepare the huge animal for transport. A snatch block, block and tackle, heavy-duty come-along, or a winch are tremendous pull and drag essentials when the moose is dropped a good distance from the vehicle or a usable road. Once these first two chores are handled, the big question becomes what is the safest, easiest, and most efficient method of transporting your trophy home or to the nearest cooler or meat cutter.

Quick handling and transit of any game animal is crucial to maintain meat quality and prevent any spoilage, especially during warm-weather hunts. During the early moose season, which begins Monday, it’s not uncommon to have temperatures in the 70s, and occasionally there are rare days that reach the 80s. Although part two of Maine’s dual season is only two weeks later, starting Oct. 10, average daytime temperatures are generally lower by at least 10 degrees and most nights are in the 40s. Regardless of what temperatures should be, it takes only one abnormally warm day to create problems that can turn a happy memory into a nightmare for sportsmen with improper transportation for their trophies.

Pickup potential

Twenty-five years ago, when moose season was reinstated to Maine, for the first few years sportsmen depended heavily on pickup trucks to haul their moose from the woods. Today, the bulk of the hunters use some sort of trailer to transport their big game trophy, but there’s still a fair-sized contingent of outdoorsmen who depend on their trucks. Over the years I’ve seen some mighty big moose loaded into the beds of truly small pickups, and although it made me think of a full-size circus clown in a tiny car, it served the purpose.

When using a pickup truck, regardless of size, the main challenge is always finding the simplest, least taxing method of loading the big bruiser. Here is where packing the right equipment pays off. When I shot my first bull in 1982, we attached a snatch block to a roadside tree, used the pickup to raise the moose full length off the ground, and then tied off the rope. Cleaning the moose was far simpler and more thorough than if it were laying on the ground, and then we just backed the pickup under the hanging animal and lowered it onto the bed.

Some sportsmen use homemade ramps or metal tracks, made for loading four-wheelers or lawn mowers into pickup boxes, to slide the moose into place. A small block and tackle or come along will ease this process and save muscle strain. I know of one ingenious hunter who borrowed a set of eight-foot rollers used to unload boxes from fright trucks at grocery stores. One end of the rollers was set on the tail gate, a piece of plywood went on the rollers, the moose went on the plywood, the distal end of the rollers was jacked up even with the truck bed and, bingo, the trophy rolled into place, ready to travel.

On many occasions when a woods crew is working near where a moose is downed, ingenious hunters enlist the aid of a skidder operator to drag their animal from the thick woods and deposit it onto a truck or trailer. Most woodsmen are happy to help, but it never hurts to pay them a fair stipend for their labor-saving efforts. When I dropped a hefty bull last September in a rural field, there just happened to be a friend operating an excavator next door, digging a hole for a cellar foundation. He happily hefted my moose onto a trailer for the reasonable fee of a couple of steaks and a roast.

Pickup trucks provide a means of travel and transportation of game without the extra hassle of hauling a trailer, but loading the moose is the downside. Simple manpower for a dead lift from ground to truck box just isn’t feasible for an average-size animal. A pickup’s potential depends on being prepared with the right equipment, so plan ahead and use your brain instead of your back.

Trailer transport

The size, shape, and styles of trailers used during the two-part annual moose hunt is mind-boggling. Outdoorsmen who don’t own a trailer often beg, borrow, or rent whatever they can get their hands on for their week’s excursion. Trailers have an upside of easier loading than a truck but a downside of having to be hauled into some tight spots where turning and maneuvering often aren’t simple. Leaving the trailer parked at the hotel, camp, or some other location and then retrieving it after the moose is down is another option, but it’s inconvenient and time-consuming.

Single and double snowmobile trailers are the most common moose carriers simply because they are so prevalent among outdoorsmen. Other hunters use utility trailers they own for moving lawnmowers, garden tractors, tillers, and other yard and garden machinery. Some sportsmen own a higher single- and even double-axle trailer with side walls used for hauling wood, transporting gear to camp, carrying rubbish to the dump, and a dozen other homeowner chores. Any of these styles and models will serve double duty as an annual moose transport.

One of the slickest rigs I’ve seen for moving a moose was the ingenious modification of a boat trailer. By bolting two 2-by-10-inch planks to the trailer frame between the padded bunks that cradle the boat, a sturdy platform was formed to support the moose while the bunks guided on and held it from rolling left or right. Best of all, the trailer was a tiltup model with a heavy-duty hand winch and strap that eased a moose steadily and securely on board.

I had been toying with the idea of purchasing my own trailer when I was informed I’d be moose hunting last September, and that news solidified the decision. My requirements ran more to a multi-purpose unit for various types of hunting. After checking out dozens of units at several sales lots, I ended up at Gillie’s Truck Cap and Trailer Sales on the Bar Harbor Road in Holden, where Gillie himself spent an hour with me. Being an avid sportsman, it didn’t take Gillie long to point me in the right direction.

I bought a United Expressline enclosed 5-by-10-foot trailer with extra height to 51/2 feet. Twin rear doors, a side door, roof vent, inside lights, undercoating, and a spare tire were my selected features, and they installed a recessed D-ring into the floor and frame near the front of the trailer. Using a come-along or looping a cable through the ring and out either door to another vehicle or winch, a moose could be easily pulled inside. By using an enclosed trailer I could keep direct sunlight, flies, and heat from my moose. During transit over backwoods roads, dirt and debris couldn’t filter into the body cavity as it would on an open trailer.

If the day were very hot, I would fill the moose with frozen jugs of ice to cool it during transit. Not only did the enclosed trailer give me plenty of storage for the ice, but kept the moose and interior cooler once the doors were closed.

Since the doors have locking mechanisms, gear can be safely transported and stored inside. I can use it to haul a four-wheeler, snowmobile, more than 100 full-body and shell goose decoys and layout blinds, or deer and bear when moose hunting is over. So far, this rig has been the perfect all-around outdoor trailer for this sportsman’s needs, and maybe a similar outfit would be perfect for your upcoming moose hunt and future outdoor adventures.

Whatever size, shape, and style of trailer you select, it will be a great advantage during the handling and transport of a big moose. Remember that an attached loading ramp is a plus as is a solid stanchion at the front of the trailer where a winch or come-along system can be anchored. If you can’t borrow a trailer and you’re not really in the market to buy, a surprising number of area businesses rent various sizes of trailers by the day or by the week.

A dependable means of transporting your moose and a plan to move and load it are as important as a dependable rifle and a sharp knife. Without them daydreams can become nightmares, fun turns to misery, and some of Maine’s tastiest wild game tablefare can be ruined. I wish all the lucky permit holders good luck, a safe hunt, and easy trailering after the fun’s over and the work begins.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com