Hunters enjoy 75 percent success rate in moose hunt

A few local hunters come up short

While official final figures are still a couple of weeks away it appears moose hunters enjoyed a near 75 percent success rate. Locally, a few hunters came up short but all report the experience was well worth it.According to N.H. Fish and Game officials, a preliminary count shows that 74.5 percent of moose hunters in New Hampshire were successful over the nine day hunt, with 360 moose taken. That would be the highest success rate since the 1997 moose hunt (75 percent). Biologists report that 243 of the registered moose were bulls, and 117 were cows. Success was highest in the north, with 92 percent. In the White Mountains, the success rate was almost 70 percent; 71 percent in the central region of the state; the southwest corner of state saw a 69 percent success rate, and the southeast came in at 20 percent.Nine Mount Washington Valley residents were in the hunt: Bill Birkbeck of Conway, William Ellert of Madison, David Goodson of Tamworth, Ben Gutowski of Conway, Melissa King of Ossipee, Carl Olson of Center Conway, Ronald Sherry of Glen, Bruce Williams of Center Ossipee, and Elwyn Thurston of Eaton. Birkbeck, Sherry and Gutowski all reported no luck this year."It was exhilarating," Birkbeck, who hunted with his son, Cory, said. "We had some quality time together and that's what matters most to me. We thoroughly enjoyed it... The way I look at it is the moose won this time someone's got to win and lose just like the Red Sox and Yankees!"The Birkbecks hunted here in Mount Washington Valley. "I went out about every day, but didn't see a thing," Birkbeck said. "The week before I called bulls each day and they were out there, but on the first day they were gone."Sherry and son, Gary, who was successful in the hunt in 2000, traveled to Errol for their hunt. "We saw a few, but didn't get any," he said. "I'd say we probably saw 15, but I didn't want to shoot a cow. We saw one big cow that you could have knocked over with a stone, but it wasn't what we were looking for."A lot of guys go after the trophy moose," Sherry continued. "I was after a medium sized male those have the best meat."Sherry said he wouldn't trade the experience even though the freezer won't be as full as if they had been successful. "We had a lot of fun in Errol," he said. "One day we drove 90 miles of backroad and never saw what we were looking for... It's just like fishing if you catch anything great, if you don't at least you had a good day outdoors."This year the biggest moose recorded, according to Fish and Game, with a dressed weight of 890 pounds, was taken by Joseph McCannon Jr. of Pittsburg.Wildlife biologist Kristine Bontaites, Fish and Game's moose project leader, says that this year, as in 2002, "we had perfect hunting conditions almost all week not too hot and not too cold."One person who had success in this area was Chris Jodlowski, of Hopewell Junction, N.Y. "My sub, Ron Kraus, landed on a flight from London the night before the hunt began and we were able to pick up his hunting license 15 minutes before Wal-Mart closed," he said. "On the morning of Day 4 (Oct. 21), we set up near a clearing we'd scouted the day before off the Kanc in Albany. At first light, this big boy came right in to us. We had to quarter it to get it out, so we never got an official weight, but we're estimating somewhere around 900 lbs. The rack had 18 points and measured 51 inches and the bull was estimated to be five-and-a-half or six years old. Not bad for a couple of flatlanders. But most importantly, it was a great hunt with a great friend that I will remember for a lifetime." New Hampshire has had a moose hunting season since 1988. The winners, randomly selected by computer from a pool of more than 14,000 applicants, were offered permits to hunt moose during the nine day season. Each permittee can enlist a friend or relative and a guide to help. A total of 14,401 people applied for moose hunt permits this year, about two-thirds of them New Hampshire residents. The odds of winning a permit were about 1 in 23 for residents and 1 in 64 for out-of-staters. License and permit fees paid by hunters support Fish and Game's wildlife research and management programs, including an important on-going study on moose mortality and habitat. Hunting activity also has a positive impact on the state's economy; according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nearly 80,000 people hunted in New Hampshire in 2001, generating expenditures in the state of close to $60 million.Those interested in applying for next year's moose hunt can pick up applications in early spring wherever fishing and hunting licenses are sold, or on Fish and Game's website: www.wildlife.state.nh.us.