For New York hunters
Hunting in Canada from New York
Adirondack moose you can photograph but never hunt. Ours you can book.
New York has several hundred moose living in the Adirondacks, and no season on any of them. They are protected, so a New York hunter can watch a bull cross a logging road, photograph it, tell the story for years, and never legally carry a rifle after one at home. The season simply does not exist, and there is no lottery, no points, no path to it in the state.
We run guided moose hunts in Alberta's Rockies where the tag comes with the booking. No season to wait for, no draw to win. New York City has year-round nonstops to Calgary, our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours from the airport, and the bull you cannot hunt at home is a flight and a booking away. This page is for the hunter who is done photographing them.
Hunting moose from New York
The Adirondack herd is real and growing, but it is a viewing population, not a hunting one. New York has never opened a moose season, the animals are protected, and there is no mechanism, lottery or otherwise, for a resident to hunt one. The only way a New Yorker tags a moose is somewhere else.
Alberta is that somewhere else, and it is close. Our bulls average better than fifty inches, we run a small number of one-on-one rut hunts a season, and the tag rides with the booking through our provincial allocation. Our moose hunt is $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus 5% GST for ten days. See the moose hunt page and the moose cost guide.
Elk and bighorn: never a New York option
New York has no elk hunt and no wild elk herd, and no bighorn sheep. For a New York hunter, both animals have always been out-of-state trips by definition.
In Alberta both are a booking. Elk is $9,500 for a ten-day rut hunt or $7,500 for six days on the migration, and bighorn is the continent's premier tag at $45,000 to $100,000, on a guaranteed allocation. The bighorn point is worth keeping: in every US state that even has the animal, a tag is a jackpot or decades of points, and guaranteed-allocation bighorn 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 New York
This is one of the easy ones. New York City has year-round nonstops to Calgary, on WestJet and with American out of LaGuardia, plus Air Canada out of Newark, so you land in the mountains without a connection. From the airport our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours by road, the same from Calgary or Edmonton.
The rifle paperwork is uniform for every US hunter regardless of state: the RCMP Non-Resident Firearm Declaration and a flat CAD $25 at the border for non-restricted rifles and shotguns. We walk every hunter through the simple border paperwork. See bringing firearms into Canada.
What our hunts cost from New York
Here is what our hunts cost from New York, 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 New York?
No. New York's several hundred Adirondack moose are protected and there is no hunting season on them, and no lottery either. Our Alberta moose hunts carry the tag through an allocation with no draw, so you can hunt the animal you cannot hunt at home.
Q. Do I need a guide to hunt in Canada as a New York resident?
Yes. In Alberta a non-resident hunts big game with a licensed outfitter-guide, and as an American your tag comes through the outfitter's allocation rather than a draw. We hold the allocations for the species we hunt.
Q. How do I get from New York to your Alberta hunts?
New York City has year-round nonstops to Calgary on WestJet and American, plus Air Canada from Newark, and our camp near Nordegg is about three and a half hours' drive from the airport.
Q. How much is a guided moose hunt with you?
Our Alberta moose hunt is $15,500 to $17,500 in USD plus Alberta's 5% GST for ten days, one-on-one, with the tag included through our allocation.
Q. Is there a draw for your hunts?
No. Every hunt we run comes with its tag through our Alberta allocation. You pick a date and book, rather than entering a lottery that in New York does not even exist.
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Plan your hunt
Ask us about an Alberta moose hunt from New York
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.