Moose hunters headed into the woods of Maine on Monday, and the final stragglers will finish their hunts today across the northern portions of the state.

If past seasons are any indication, chances are that about 80 percent of those hunters will emerge with a moose … and a freezer full of meat.

This week, 1,120 hunters tried to fill their tags. From Oct. 9 through Oct. 14, another 1,705 permit-holders will head afield. According to the state’s moose expert, it doesn’t seem to matter which season hunters draw.

“You can actually look at the success rates,” said Karen Morris, a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife biologist and the state’s species specialist. “Sometimes it’s higher in September, sometimes it’s higher in October, but they’re not vastly different.”

The statistics bear her out: In Wildlife Management District 3, for instance, 86 percent of bull-permit holders were successful in September of 2004, while 80 percent got their bull in September of 2005. In comparison, bull hunters for the October session succeeded at an 86 percent rate in 2004 and at an 83 percent rate in 2005.

In other districts, the October season was more productive … but just barely.

And Morris said there are tradeoffs involved with taking part in either the September or October season.

“It’s a little easier to call in September,” she said. “In October the leaves are typically off the trees, so you’ve got a lot more visibility. The bulls tend to be a lot heavier in September [before they lose weight during the rut].”

This season, Morris spent opening day in Kokadjo, helping out at the tagging station there. She said one-day, one-site anecdotal evidence is hard to use in order to evaluate the entire season.

“From what I could gather, [the hunters] hadn’t been out very long, and they’d seen a lot of moose,” Morris said. “But basically, the people who come through with a moose on opening day are the ones who are seeing moose. They’re not a real good measure of how it’s going overall.”

Morris said the week’s weather didn’t seem to be a problem, nor a particular advantage, for hunters.

“It was not overly hot, and so I would say there was nothing that would strike you as being really bad or really good about it,” she said. “It was warmish, but not abnormally so.”

On that opening day in Kokadjo, Morris said she tagged two or three bulls that weighed more than 900 pounds. The largest weighed about 940 pounds.

Over in Northeast Carry, at the northeast tip of Moosehead Lake, Ed Raymond of Raymond’s Country Store had tagged 15 moose by mid-morning on Wednesday. Raymond said he has been manning a state tagging station for the past two seasons.

“I’d say we’re a little bit ahead of last year for the first week,” Raymond said. “I think last year we did 36, total. Most of them are on the second week. The first week [we only tag moose shot] above the Golden Road.”

During the second session, the state opens up WMDs 8 and 9, which sit on either side of Moosehead Lake – prime moose territory. Some of those hunters tag their moose in Greenville or Kokadjo, while others may opt to head to Northeast Carry.

Morris said the state separates the hunts into two sessions in order to provide a better hunting experience for those fortunate enough to get a permit.

“That was the reason for splitting the hunters up [into two seasons],” Morris said. “There were hunters complaining that they felt crowded.”

And the state also takes into consideration the wishes of residents of the towns affected by the hunt, and keeps some productive WMDs closed during the September season, when the weather is warmer and foliage is nearing its peak.

“It was generally a concern in those areas that there was a lot of tourism, and there would be a lot of conflicts [if the zones were] open in September,” Morris said. “The ones that are open in September don’t get a lot of tourist use and the local people didn’t feel there would really be a conflict.”

Of those hunters who took part in the September season, many are now at home, sharing their stories with friends and relatives. October’s hunters will do the same in a couple of weeks.

Some of those tales are undoubtedly stories about the back-breaking labor it took to get a moose out of a particularly nasty spot.

And that’s not necessary, Morris cautioned.

Moose don’t have to be taken to the tagging station whole, she reminded. Those who choose to do so can … but sometimes there are much simpler ways to get an animal out of the woods.

“Of course, you can cut them into smaller pieces,” Morris said. “I keep suggesting that to people. You can load light and go often.”

How many hunters heeded her advice is unknown … though several probably wish they had.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.