Hunting moose with bow


russoft

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Hi all, I'm in a bit of a tight spot in my Stalker run on day 33.

I am out of food so I decided to hunt the moose hanging out at the trapper's homestead. I haven't hunted a moose with the bow before, but this time I don't have a firearm, so a bow is the only option.

I managed to put arrows into its back, neck, and forehead. It still isn't dead, but I've got broken ribs x3 and am now on an empty stomach. I slept for 7 hours and the thing still isn't dead. Will it die? Will it actually bleed out? Or do I need to try again? I really need food. I have to decide to either abandon the animal (and my arrows) and go find food, or stay and wait for it to die.

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As you probably have already figured out, it won't bleed out. No blood trail on the snow, no bleeding. If you're out of arrows that's really bad news, since either you kill it or it will eventually despawn and disintegrate your arrows in the process. If you still have arrows do yourself a favour and shoot at the thing from a safe place. Consider that animals can't climb, they can't drop from ledges and cliffs, and they can't reach you in places where you enter by crouching. 

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18 minutes ago, Doc Feral said:

As you probably have already figured out, it won't bleed out. No blood trail on the snow, no bleeding. If you're out of arrows that's really bad news, since either you kill it or it will eventually despawn and disintegrate your arrows in the process. If you still have arrows do yourself a favour and shoot at the thing from a safe place. Consider that animals can't climb, they can't drop from ledges and cliffs, and they can't reach you in places where you enter by crouching. 

Yes, but thanks for the reply anyway. I should have checked the TLD wiki before I posted here. For anyone else searching for the answer: no bleed out. Usually takes 4 shots to drop it unless you can get a critical hit. I did find a rocky outcropping to take the final bow shot from, but it didn't matter because the animal dropped immediately with the 4th shot. Food for days!

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It sounds to me like this moose, and your arrows, are a lost cause.  Pick your battles wisely.  Hit up the unnamed pond or mystery lake for some cat tails to eat, so that you can at least avoid and be able to regain condition again.  Or Forlorn Muskeg isn't far off, plenty of cattails there too.

Not trying to tell you what to do, but if it were me, I would gather 5 cattails minimum and not eat them right away. Instead, wait until I am exhausted, find an indoor bed somewhere, then eat 5 cattails, drink until my hydration is full, and sleep the full 12 hours.  You'll wake up with 100% condition, unless you were already at death's door, then you might be in the 90's somewhere.

Edit: Just saw this thread update a second after hitting enter. You got lucky with that final shot, congratulations!

Edited by ajb1978
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25 minutes ago, Serenity said:

Moose are afraid of fire. Unlike bears. So you can make a campfire and prevent it from charging at you

Thanks! I had no idea, I assumed that wolves were the only fire-fearful wildlife. That does help explain why the moose fled from me on one occasion as I'd started a fire while I waited for it to "bleed out" (little did I know I would've died waiting if I'd persisted).

39 minutes ago, ajb1978 said:

It sounds to me like this moose, and your arrows, are a lost cause.  Pick your battles wisely.  Hit up the unnamed pond or mystery lake for some cat tails to eat, so that you can at least avoid and be able to regain condition again.  Or Forlorn Muskeg isn't far off, plenty of cattails there too.

Not trying to tell you what to do, but if it were me, I would gather 5 cattails minimum and not eat them right away. Instead, wait until I am exhausted, find an indoor bed somewhere, then eat 5 cattails, drink until my hydration is full, and sleep the full 12 hours.  You'll wake up with 100% condition, unless you were already at death's door, then you might be in the 90's somewhere.

Edit: Just saw this thread update a second after hitting enter. You got lucky with that final shot, congratulations!

Unfortunately, I'd raided most of Forlorn Muskeg and Mystery Lake (and Milton to some extent) for food (incl. cattails). I'm not a very brave player. Wolves scare me to death. Now that I have a weapon I'll push into new regions for more supplies. The moose distracted me though ;) I'm always encumbered and that sachel is an opportunity I can't pass up!

Edited by russoft
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2 minutes ago, ajb1978 said:

There's a free one by the Mysterious Signal Fire in Hushed River Valley!

Hushed River Valley would likely be suicide for me. I don't think I've ever visited the region. I'm willing to bet I'd get lost and freeze to death.

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I think "Moose Pong" is still the greatest experience in this game. 

1) Lure a moose to charge at you and your fire.

2) Moose senses your fire, gets scared, turns and runs.

3) Shoot that moose in the butt.

4) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you.

*) Moose senses your fire, gets scared, turns and runs.

*) Shoot that moose in the butt.

*) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you.

*) Moose senses your fire, gets scared, turns and runs.

*) Shoot that moose in the butt.

*) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you.

*) Moose senses your fire, gets scared, turns and runs.

*) Shoot that moose in the butt.

*) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you...

Edited by selfless
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19 hours ago, LostRealist said:

So while we're on the topic, is there any reason as to why they don't bleed out? This seems rather "nintendo hard" to me and fairly unrealistic.

Didn't you know Moose have magical coagulating blood? 😋

I'm guessing to make them more of a challenge.

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On 5/20/2019 at 2:42 AM, selfless said:

*) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you.

*) Moose senses your fire, gets scared, turns and runs.

*) Shoot that moose in the butt.

*) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you...

This looks so funny and gamey-icky at the same time. And it's a surefire way to bring it down. Fix seems easy - moose ignores fires.

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I use the bow almost exclusively since the rifle is very heavy. After losing so many arrows during playthroughs where I was first learning to use the bow, I find that I'm very frugal when it comes to arrows and arrow heads. I've fallen through ice just to retrieve arrows.

When it came time to hunt a moose, the bow was the obvious choice for me. After reading about the broken ribs affliction, I was very scared of moose, butt-chenchingly scared in fact. Still am to some extent. So during that first time, I shot at it from a considerable distance. First arrow missed, landing far enough that it didn't scare the beast. Second arrow hit its mark and I braced myself for the beast to charge. Luckily it ran in a seemingly random direction before stopping and waking back to its wandering area. I thought that the arrow must've bounced off or grazed it since it didn't behave like it was bleeding out. Third shot hit and the moose behaved similarly to the second shot. Curious I decided to bring the beast down so I could investigate what was happening. Shooting all six of my arrows, four of them hitting, I was able to bring it down. All four arrows that hit penetrated but there was no blood trail.

After reading up all I could about moose hunting in game and confirming the lack of bleed out, I use strategies I would use with a bear except I make sure that I'm able to shoot it again until I bring it down. If I miss, I make sure that when the moose runs off, I retrieve my arrows and retreat. If I'm out of arrows, I'll throw a stone to scare it so I can retrieve my arrows. If I have access to an unreachable spot, I shoot it from there. Cars can be used to retreat into if the moose is charging you. In the case of trapper's homestead, dropping in a controlled fashion from the outcropping that the cabin is built on will make the moose run away if it is charging at you. If you do it carefully enough, you won't sprain yourself. It can take practice. Distance can also be used but I barely use distance since i don't yet know exactly how far I have to be for the moose not to charge when I shoot it. It's also a big animal, so it's much easier to hit from far than even a bear.

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/19/2019 at 12:00 PM, russoft said:

Hushed River Valley would likely be suicide for me. I don't think I've ever visited the region. I'm willing to bet I'd get lost and freeze to death.

Once I get the firestarter feat, I'll be exploring the area for the first time. Whether I utilize certain fan-made maps or not will depend on the weather. 

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Hunt a Rabbit (or two), keep the guts and use them to go hunting wolves.  Drop the guts (lure), backaway and get a bit on side, sight in on the wolf as it is going for the lure and shoot!!

That and killing may wolves in fights bagged me so many (wolf) pelts that I had filled two file cabinet drawers and I wasn't even harvesting them any more.

Edited by E_T
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  • 3 weeks later...
Quote

*) Moose gets mad, turns and charges at you.

*) Moose senses your fire, gets scared, turns and runs.

*) Shoot that moose in the butt.

What would  happen if I'd shoot the moose in the face? Will it get so mad it will ignore the fear of fire and turn me into a doormat?

Edited by bush_amb
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On 5/19/2019 at 12:00 PM, russoft said:

Hushed River Valley would likely be suicide for me. I don't think I've ever visited the region. I'm willing to bet I'd get lost and freeze to death.

I hate HRV for the same reason. But if you're not against using maps, I find the Whiteberry Toarda-style maps to be really well made and very helpful. I decided it was more fun for me to use the map and experience the region, rather than avoid it completely. https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/2481935065815131776/FA1519D7342C52D1A5DD1A0D193622893D96B7BB/

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