The good old days

[604ksmith]

For the "Old Timer's" here, have you noticed any changes in the animals themselves since the old days? Maybe changes in size, behaviour, habitat?

Thanks for sharing!

[HarryToolips]

just think how much better hunting would be again if we de-activated Forest service roads better...

[mpotzold]

Moved to BC from Ontario in ’65 when I was a teen. Bought my first rifle at Charlie Lake gun store from Foxy Wolf. It was a 30/30 Win Lever. Hunted in Ont. since 12-first with a bow & then a 12 gauge.
Serious hunting started after meeting LT (LOVER 308 ) at SFU in ’67. Hunted with 3 other SFU guys. Hunting was way more important than classes!

For deer- initially it was the Birkenhead Lake /D’Arcy area followed by Empire/ Gang /Big Creek area. The seasons were much longer & one could shoot 3 deer of any sex if I recall.
Almost all of our hunting was done by foot. The Trapper Nelson pack came in handy for the big deer & the smaller ones I would sometimes carry whole over my shoulders.
By Empire it seems like there were more deer than cattle. Some of the hunter’s campsites had many deer hanging.
We were never skunked.

For moose-mostly in the Nation Lakes to Uslika Lake area. In the 90’s we also hunted in the Big Creek area.
On our way up to Germansen we would see many moose cow/calf in the swampy areas. (I have never or will ever shoot a cow or calf moose). Until about 20 years ago we always got our moose within a day or 2 in the Germansen area. We were only after 1 moose per trip in general. We would share it equally.

The wolves were everywhere. Could hear the packs communicating every night sometimes in the middle of the day.
The cow/calf would have been easy pickings but the bulls- you had to work for it. There were plenty of moose until that dreaded Omineca model that was introduced in the 80’s followed by the indiscriminate year round moose slaughter & overpopulation of bears.Surprised there are any moose left in the area!

On our last 4 day hunt north of Germansen(6+years ago) we saw only one set of fresh moose tracks(a cow & a calf) –that’s it! It was a moose track soup trip!

Remember the days of red plaid shirts & blue jeans. Camo was unheard of except in the military.

Still remember driving up the highway & seeing hunters displaying their kills. LT & I shot 2 moose one year near Nation & took them to Vancouver in my VW beetle.

[Daybreak]

For the "Old Timer's" here, have you noticed any changes in the animals themselves since the old days? Maybe changes in size, behaviour, habitat?

Thanks for sharing!

Hunting since 84 and there is far more pressure now in most areas I frequent. Animals have become more nocturnal.

[albravo2]

One big change since I started hunting is the number of immigrants that have started hunting (ducks mostly) or fishing after realizing that there is a very cheap food source available.

I'm not slagging them, if they hunt or fish legally they have the same rights as I do, but it is a big change.

[Bugle M In]

Moved to BC from Ontario in ’65 when I was a teen. Bought my first rifle at Charlie Lake gun store from Foxy Wolf. It was a 30/30 Win Lever. Hunted in Ont. since 12-first with a bow & then a 12 gauge.
Serious hunting started after meeting LT (LOVER 308 ) at SFU in ’67. Hunted with 3 other SFU guys. Hunting was way more important than classes!

For deer- initially it was the Birkenhead Lake /D’Arcy area followed by Empire/ Gang /Big Creek area. The seasons were much longer & one could shoot 3 deer of any sex if I recall.
Almost all of our hunting was done by foot. The Trapper Nelson pack came in handy for the big deer & the smaller ones I would sometimes carry whole over my shoulders.
By Empire it seems like there were more deer than cattle. Some of the hunter’s campsites had many deer hanging.
We were never skunked.

For moose-mostly in the Nation Lakes to Uslika Lake area. In the 90’s we also hunted in the Big Creek area.
On our way up to Germansen we would see many moose cow/calf in the swampy areas. (I have never or will ever shoot a cow or calf moose). Until about 20 years ago we always got our moose within a day or 2 in the Germansen area. We were only after 1 moose per trip in general. We would share it equally.

The wolves were everywhere. Could hear the packs communicating every night sometimes in the middle of the day.
The cow/calf would have been easy pickings but the bulls- you had to work for it. There were plenty of moose until that dreaded Omineca model that was introduced in the 80’s followed by the indiscriminate year round moose slaughter & overpopulation of bears.Surprised there are any moose left in the area!

On our last 4 day hunt north of Germansen(6+years ago) we saw only one set of fresh moose tracks(a cow & a calf) –that’s it! It was a moose track soup trip!

Remember the days of red plaid shirts & blue jeans. Camo was unheard of except in the military.

Still remember driving up the highway & seeing hunters displaying their kills. LT & I shot 2 moose one year near Nation & took them to Vancouver in my VW beetle.

Sounds like you and my father enjoyed the same hunting areas!
Empire, Gang etc and for weekends close to the city, Pemberton area or Gold Bridge
Goats in the Duffy lake, Cayoosh etc.
But Germansen was one of his favorite spots he felt he ever hunted, way back when.

[.264winmag]

[QUOTE=Bugle M In;1699303]forgot one thing.
So many more logging roads, that in my opinion, has allowed way too much access everywhere now.
No where for the game to hide, in a way.

Without logging many places that did peak for game numbers would have never been good in the first place...

[.264winmag]

I remember up the big bend hwy in the late 80's up to early 2000's being filthy with moose. Can thank the 'save the caribou by decimating moose' idea for wrecking that. Shoulda culled the wolves to begin with...

Van Island used to be a lot of fun up high,now everything's gated.

[blackbart]

Clearwater - during the period of about five-ten years ago.....

[Salix]

Been hunting the interior / north for 25 years. Mainly moose.
Biggest differences now is the increase in access as a result of more logging. With that and the use of ATV's people can cover a lot more ground. In my early days most hunters seemed to be locals, where as now if I go out for a week/ weekend I see mostly larger groups from various locations around the province.