Scary account of moose attack ...

[mc5aw]

This comes courtesy of Fox News . com, and details a moose attack on two hikers. The woman quoted sustained fairly serious injuries, but fortunately escaped. I disagree with her advice on trying to run away from an attacking moose as I don't think you'll get too far before being stomped.

Stories like this support the necessity of carrying a suitable firearm and being trained accordingly when venturing forth into nature. It's the critters' turf, not ours.

Moose attacks two hikers in Colorado | Fox News

 

[Kanewpadle]

I don't think the complete story was told here.

Dogs. When a dog pesters a moose, bear or other dangerous animal, where do you think the dogs runs when chased? Yup, right back atcha.

Hunting, fishing, and/or hiking in Alaska, we left the dog at home most of the time for this reason.

 

[arjay]

Ive been pursued by moose twice with no dog present in the last few years.The moose here in Colorado have spread far beyond the areas we used to see them in.I carry now when I head up there.If you keep dancing around and through the trees,they'll lose interest.At least,that's worked so far [emoji1]
Some of them will spook and leave,some just ignore you and a few of them get aggressive.These women were in Blackhawk and probably clueless that moose would be there and had no idea that they don't react like deer and elk.
Several years ago,an old man was killed in Grand Lake when he crossed paths with one, right in town.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Ive been pursued by moose twice with no dog present in the last few years.The moose here in Colorado have spread far beyond the areas we used to see them in.I carry now when I head up there.If you keep dancing around and through the trees,they'll lose interest.At least,that's worked so far [emoji1]

It's your after shave!

 

[feralmerril]

In 1961 I was working in the Grand Teton National Park. We were up late playing poker in the bunkhouse when two guys showed up for help. They had hiked and a moose treed them all day! They said it left the area a couple times so they chanced climbing back down the tree and here it would come again and they would climb back up. They were high up the mountain to the west of us and could see the lights in our bunkhouse. The moose seemed to have finally left so they ran down to our camp. I believe it was around 10 pm when they showed up at our door shook and exhausted. It sounded like they had been "treed" for maybe 12 hours! Our camp was at Beaver Creek a few miles north of our park headquarters at Moose Wyoming.
I drove them quite a ways back to their camp site on the north end of the park.

 

[Texas Star]

Moose are long known to be dangerous. One stomped a Volkswagen while I was stationed in Newfoundland.

They wouldn't let us go armed up there, either. I worried about them and black bear while fishing. The closest thing to a weapon I carried was a Randall Model 3 knife with six-inch blade.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

What handgun/caliber would you need to stop a moose?

Tonight I picked up my new to me Ruger Redhawk Alaskan in .44 caliber. I would have confidence in that with the proper load. Or my model 629, the same thing. Of course the 500 would do it.

Less than that 44mag, I don't know if I'd feel protected. I wonder if the 44 special would be enough.

 

[feralmerril]

That special will do the same job. (a good handload ). Elmers load clocks 1200 fps.

 

[arjay]

I carry a 45 when I fish or bushwhack.A 44 mag would be better,but it's heavy and I know the day I leave it in the truck will be the day moose number 3 shows up lol.

 

[Kanewpadle]

What handgun/caliber would you need to stop a moose?

Tonight I picked up my new to me Ruger Redhawk Alaskan in .44 caliber. I would have confidence in that with the proper load. Or my model 629, the same thing. Of course the 500 would do it.

Less than that 44mag, I don't know if I'd feel protected. I wonder if the 44 special would be enough.

I know from experience that a 44 mag head shot to a moose at extremely close distance works well. I don't think 44 spl is enough.

 

[Calaveras Slim]

What handgun/caliber would you need to stop a moose?

Tonight I picked up my new to me Ruger Redhawk Alaskan in .44 caliber. I would have confidence in that with the proper load. Or my model 629, the same thing. Of course the 500 would do it.

Less than that 44mag, I don't know if I'd feel protected. I wonder if the 44 special would be enough.

The only problem I would have with the Alaskan is the short barrel. I would be happy with a 44 special with a suitable load but I would prefer a 4" barrel in anything I carried

 

[feralmerril]

Nuthing wrong with a .45 colt at charging distance. Not that I ever shot a moose.

 

[bullmack]

I've been out elk hunting and had a bull moose in rut come in to within 15' of me. Drooling like crazy. He was just shy of being legal - and came real close to being dead.

 

[Seldom]

Two years ago Deb and I were flyfishing the upper Thompson in Rocky Mountain NP. Deb was standing on a sand bar in the middle of the river when a full grown bull came out of the willows next to her. It calmly stood behind her for a full minute. She could have touched it with the tip of her rod. Deb stood perfectly still the whole time. After a while he moved the rest of the way across the river and continued to browse on streamside willows. He was in sight for about twenty minutes while we resumed working a promising pool. You have no idea how big those things are until you get uncomfortably close.

Last year we were fishing the North St. Vrain on the south side of the park and had another encounter. While walking upstream on a thickly overgrown part of the bank I almost tripped over another bull. He was napping in the shade and was more frightened than I was. That one took off like a highballing steam locomotive. It was pretty funny really.

They're pretty thick up here especially on the north side of the park. When we moved to Colorado back in 1983 there were something like six mating pairs in the entire state. Now there are over 3,500. I think it's time to thin the herd. People also regularly get stomped by elk right in Estes Park. Groups of elk go right into downtown as if they owned it. The black bears and mountain lions are getting more aggresive too. Sometimes I think it would be safer out on the African savanna than in my own back yard. I'm going to start carrying my .357 Ruger Blackhawk (if I manage to slip in the water I know it will clean up easily) up in the back country. It's legal to carry in the park now. Why take a chance? Life's too short as it is.

 

[RobertJ.]

A moose once bit my sister.

 

[arjay]

I had a run in with a bull in the upper Poudre canyon 2 years ago.I was flyfishing from a sandbar and he wanted my spot! Ive been carrying while fishing up there since then.