Why Hunt Moose in Newfoundland?

Newfoundland is home to one of the densest moose populations anywhere on the continent. The island’s vast wilderness, limited hunting pressure, and ideal habitat produce animals of exceptional size and unlike many jurisdictions, you don’t enter a lottery for a tag. Your moose license is included in your Middle Ridge package.

The Eastern Canadian moose is the largest subspecies of moose in the world. Bulls taken in our area consistently run 40 to 55 inches of antler spread, with exceptional animals going beyond that. When you book a hunt at Middle Ridge, you’re booking a legitimate shot at a Boone & Crockett class animal.

The Location – Bay Du Nord Wilderness Reserve

Middle Ridge Lodge sits on the edge of the Bay du Nord wilderness reserve, one of the largest protected wilderness areas in Eastern Canada. The terrain around the lodge is a patchwork of heavily wooded hillsides, open ridges, boggy barrens, and the lake systems that define Newfoundland’s interior.
This variety is beautiful and it creates an ideal habitat that concentrates moose across multiple landscape types, giving hunters multiple options depending on conditions and the day.

The lodge is only accessible by helicopter. The animals in our area experience very little pressure, and it shows in their behaviour and their size.

Hunting Methods

Our guides are students of moose behaviour. They’ll match the hunting approach to conditions, the rut, and your physical preferences. Most hunters experience more than one method across a seven-day hunt.

Spot and Stalk

Working from high ridges and elevated lookouts, your guide will glass the barrens and lake edges for feeding bulls. When a target animal is located, you plan your approach together by working the wind, using terrain for cover, and closing the distance on foot.

Calling from Stands

During the rut, which peaks in late September and early October, bull moose become vocal and aggressive. An experienced Newfoundland guide with a birch bark call can bring a bull in from a kilometre away. Setting up on a good stand at first light during the rut is one of the most exciting experiences in big game hunting. Nothing prepares you for the sound of antlers raking through alders while a bull works his way to your position.

Boat Hunting on Kepenkeck Lake

Moose are strong swimmers and are frequently spotted crossing or feeding along the shoreline of Kepenkeck Lake. Moving quietly by boat gives hunters access to areas that would take hours to reach on foot, and it puts you in position to catch bulls in the open.

Fly-Out Spike Camps

For hunters who want to go further from the lodge, into country that sees even less pressure, we offer overnight tented spike camp options. Your guide flies you out to a remote location, you camp in the backcountry, and you hunt ground that very few hunters ever reach. This is for hunters in good physical shape who want an experience that goes beyond the lodge hunt. Contact us for details and availability.

A Day at Middle Ridge

You’re up before first light. Your guide has already checked conditions and has a plan ready. After a hot breakfast, you’re moving. Whether that’s into a boat on the lake, up onto a ridge to glass, or into a stand to call during the rut.

Midday, depending on conditions, you may return to the lodge for a hot lunch or take a packed meal with you to stay in the field.

When a bull comes down, your guide handles the field dressing, debones and bags the meat, and coordinates transport back to the lodge. If you want to be involved in that process, you’re welcome to be. We cater the experience to what you’re after.

Evenings at Middle Ridge are Newfoundland at its best; a hot meal, a fire, and the kind of conversation that happens when you’ve spent all day in the backcountry with people who love it as much as you do. The Moore family and their team take genuine pride in how you leave this place. You won’t be rushed off a conveyor belt.