For Minnesota hunters
Hunting in Canada from Minnesota
You lost the moose season in 2013. We never had a draw to lose.
If you hunt in Minnesota you already know the story: the state closed its moose season in 2013 after the northern herd fell by roughly half, and it has never reopened for state hunters. A generation of Minnesotans has now grown up seeing moose in the Boundary Waters and the Arrowhead without any legal way to hunt one at home.
We run guided moose hunts in Alberta's Rockies on guaranteed outfitter allocations. There is no lottery to enter, no points to bank, and no closed season to wait out. You book a date, you hunt. Minneapolis has a year-round nonstop to Calgary, and our camp sits about three and a half hours' drive from the airport. That is the whole pitch: a real bull moose is a flight and a booking away, not a policy decision you cannot control.
Hunting moose from Minnesota
Minnesota is the cautionary tale of Lower-48 moose. The northeastern herd dropped sharply through the 2000s, the state suspended the hunt in 2013, and it has stayed closed to resident hunters ever since. Whatever happens with the herd, the season you grew up hearing about is not on the table right now.
Alberta's moose picture is the opposite. Our bulls average better than fifty inches, we run a small number of one-on-one rut hunts a season, and the tag comes through our provincial allocation rather than a draw you have to win. Our published moose hunt runs $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus Alberta's 5% GST, ten days, and you can hunt it with archery gear, a muzzleloader or a rifle. See the moose hunt page and the full moose cost guide for how the numbers stack up.
Elk and bighorn: what Minnesota cannot offer
Minnesota has a tiny elk herd in the northwest corner and a hunt so small it is resident-only, so an elk tag is off the table for most Minnesotans before travel even enters the conversation. There is no wild bighorn sheep in the state at all.
We hunt both in Alberta. Our elk rut hunt is $9,500 for ten days of bugling bulls, and the later migration hunt is $7,500 for six days. Bighorn is the premier tag on the continent, $45,000 to $100,000, and here is the part worth sitting with: in every US state that even has bighorn, a tag is a once-in-a-lifetime lottery win or decades of preference points. Guaranteed-allocation bighorn simply does not exist in the Lower 48. See elk and bighorn sheep.
What we hunt in Alberta
Everything on this page runs out of one operation: our horseback backcountry camp in Alberta's Rockies near Nordegg, in country where motorized vehicles are prohibited and access is by horse and on foot. We hold provincial allocations for the species below, which is what lets us hand you a tag with the hunt instead of sending you into a draw.
- Moose: premium mountain bulls averaging better than fifty inches, one-on-one, $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus GST.
- Elk: a $9,500 ten-day rut hunt for bugling bulls, or a $7,500 six-day migration hunt.
- Bighorn sheep: the premier tag on the continent, $45,000 to $100,000, on a guaranteed allocation.
- Mule and whitetail deer: the November rut, $6,500, 130 to 170 class.
- Black bear: baited hunts, $2,500 to $5,000 CAD, the most affordable guided big game in Canada.
- Wolf: a free add-on with any booked hunt, unlimited harvest, CITES permit to export.
Getting here from Minnesota
This is one of the easy ones. Delta flies a nonstop from Minneapolis-St. Paul straight to Calgary year-round, so you land in the same time zone with no connection to miss. From the airport our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours by road, the same drive whether you fly into Calgary or Edmonton.
Bringing your own rifle is simple and identical for every US hunter: you fill out the RCMP Non-Resident Firearm Declaration, pay a flat CAD $25 at the border, and you are set for non-restricted rifles and shotguns. We walk every hunter through the paperwork. See bringing firearms into Canada.
What our hunts cost from Minnesota
Here is what our hunts cost from Minnesota, in plain USD. These are our own published rates, and the figure below is the guided hunt only. Licences and tags, Alberta's 5% GST, your airfare, tips for guides and camp staff, and any taxidermy or export sit on top of it. For the full stack on any species, follow the cost guides.
| Our Alberta hunt | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Elk, migration | $7,500 USD | 6 days |
| Elk, rut | $9,500 USD | 10 days |
| Mule or whitetail deer | $6,500 USD | November rut |
| Moose, rut one-on-one | $15,500 - $17,500 USD + GST | 10 days |
| Bighorn sheep | $45,000 - $100,000 USD | Backcountry camps |
| Black bear | $2,500 - $5,000 CAD | Baited |
| Wolf | Free add-on | With any booked hunt |
For the full itemised breakdown by species, see the moose cost guide, the elk cost guide and the other cost guides.
Bringing your rifle across the border
This part is the same for every US hunter, whatever state you leave from. You fill out the RCMP Non-Resident Firearm Declaration, form 5589, pay a flat CAD $25 at the border, and have it witnessed by a border officer. That declaration acts as a temporary licence for the length of your trip and lets you buy ammunition here. It covers non-restricted rifles and shotguns, the sporting long guns you hunt with. Leave any handguns at home, and note the five-round magazine cap on semi-automatic centre-fire long guns.
We walk every hunter through the paperwork before you travel, so nothing at the border is a surprise. See bringing firearms into Canada for the full walkthrough, and do you need a guide in Canada for why the outfitter is the access, not an add-on.
Common questions
Q. Can I hunt moose in Minnesota?
Not right now. Minnesota closed its moose season in 2013 after the herd declined, and it has not reopened for state hunters. Our Alberta moose hunts run on guaranteed outfitter allocations with no draw, so a bull is a booking away instead of a policy you have to wait on.
Q. Do I need a guide to hunt in Canada as a Minnesota resident?
Yes, in Alberta and the other guide-required provinces a non-resident cannot hunt big game alone. You go with a licensed outfitter-guide, and as an American you get your tag only through the outfitter's allocation, never a draw. We hold the allocations for the species we hunt.
Q. How do I get from Minnesota to your Alberta hunts?
Delta flies a year-round nonstop from Minneapolis to Calgary, and our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours' drive from there. No connection, same time zone.
Q. How much does a guided moose hunt cost compared to hunting one at home?
Hunting moose at home in Minnesota is not possible, so there is no home price to compare. Our Alberta moose hunt is $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus 5% GST for ten days, one-on-one, with the tag included in the allocation.
Q. Is there a draw or lottery for your hunts?
No. Every hunt we run comes with the tag through our Alberta outfitter allocation. You do not enter a lottery, you do not accumulate points, you pick a date and book.
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Plan your hunt
Ask us about hunting moose from Minnesota without a draw
Tell us what you are after. We reply within 1 to 2 business days with honest numbers, real dates and the outfitters we would send our own family to. It costs you nothing.