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Thread: Family Fly in Hunt

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Peace Region
    Posts
    195

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    We ran into a group of ptarmigan just before we reached the tipi. Cade loaded up the 22 and shot two and handed the rifle to Natalie who followed up with another. This was Cades first animal and was an awesome experience. The Kids were now hooked on ptarmigan hunting and we made it a daily event. They cleaned the ptarmigan at the side of the lake and would throw the wings and other parts out into the lake. It was usually 5 minutes or so before lake trout would come in and start eating the parts whole. That was always fun to watch.


    Natalie cooking up a trout and a few ptarmigan.

    The weather was poor the next day and we spent much of the morning down at camp fishing, hanging out by the fire and playing cards. The Kids played a lot of crazy eights, old maid and crib. Reading books was also a good way to kill time. We spotted a couple of caribou from the tipi and a two nannies with a kid feeding down the valley. That afternoon I took Natalie and Cade out on a hunt. We saw a couple of caribou and the kids managed to find a few more ptarmigan.
    There was a break in the rain the next day and we headed out on a family hunt. We didn’t make it far before Reese expressed her strong desire to return to camp so Andrea took her back while I continued with Natalie, Cade and Carly. There was a strong wind and the odd rain shower but we would just climb under a tarp until the rain passed.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Peace Region
    Posts
    195

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    We made our way to a nice glassing spot but it didn’t take long for the wind to chill the kids. We saw and cow caribou and a red fox before taking down the spotting scope.

    As we were starting to leave I saw a caribou skyline itself on a far ridge so we set the scope back up for a look. It turned out to be two bulls and one of them was massive.


    We watched them bed down on a ridge and the kids begged me to go for him. Unfortunately, it was eight at night and he was 3.5km away. That would have put us 6.5km from the tipi at dark if we had shot him. The wind was cold and I knew it would be too cold for the kids to be out in the dark that far from the tipi….I called it a hunt and we headed back down with the intention of heading back up early the next day to look for them.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Peace Region
    Posts
    195

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    Natalie, Cade and I went up the next day and found ourselves in some terrible wind and rain. We crawled under a tarp and tried to wait it out but I could tell there would be no break in the weather today. Not wanting to push the kids any further we headed back down the hill towards the lake. The weather was always better near the lake. On our way down the hill I spotted a bull 350 yards down from us. I got the kids attention and we got behind some rocks and pulled out the spotter. He was a nice bull but didn’t have enough points to be legal. The kids were disappointed but it gave us a great opportunity to check out the bull.


    We went down to the tipi and gathered up the rest of the family to go out and have a look. Everyone enjoyed watching through the spotter. We saw this bull several times after this and the kids decided to name him Bruce.
    The weather was terrible the next day again. We spent most of the day at camp and Natalie and I tried to head out in the afternoon. We went through a few storms up high and spend a fair bit of time hiding under a tarp. We started to get cold and pulled out an ultralight blanket that Andrea made before we left. As soon as we put it on we were instantly warm and comfortable. we would get out and spot whenever we could and then hide under the tarp/blanket combo when the weather really blew in. We saw one bull on our outing but it wasn’t legal. We arrived back at the tipi and found that the weather was bad at the lake as well. The tipi was really moving in the wind and Andrea and I were both nervous about it tearing. We checked and adjusted all the guy lines and crossed our fingers. The rain was really pounding off the side of the fabric which made it a bit of a scary time knowing the whole family is in there and there is no way to get help in that weather.
    The woodstove sure helped keep us warm and comfortable. A little nervous having something that hot in the middle of the space with small kids but they were good with it.


  4. #34
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Peace Region
    Posts
    195

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    Rope tying lesson to kill time

    Stick art is also a great way to spend time in the tipi.

    The next morning the weather was looking a bit better. Not quite as windy and the cloud cover was much higher. We decided this would be the morning and we would try to get out and find a big bull. We were eating breakfast and I had a look at the mountain across the lake and thought… I don’t remember that white spot? I pull out my binos and realized there was a nice billy bedded right there across the lake. I asked the Natalie and Cade if they wanted to go for a goat hunt and they were all over it. We grabbed our things and headed for the boat. The wind was good for climbing up on the west side of him so we climbed a draw what would keep us hidden. We climbed the draw and up and out the side when I knew we were getting close. There was an obvious rock 200 yards to the west of him and I could clearly see the rock 80 yards from us. The hill was steep and the kids were definitely a little scared about how steep it was….but they wanted to keep going. The wind shifted and blew straight to where the goat was feeding and I knew we would be busted. We were close and there was no covering that up. The wind really started swirling and I thought we need to get into position and quick. We moved ahead 20 yards and I spotted the billy looking down at us between some rock. I threw my pack over a boulder in front of me and put my rifle on him. One turn and he was gone. There was no way we were going to be able to make any sort of chase so we just sat there and talked about the hunt and what went wrong. We ranged the rocks at 240 yards. I told the kids they should be proud that they made it to where they were.

    Climbing down

    A caribou walked past the Tipi when we were climbing down so Andrea and the girls had some fun going on a stalk. It turned out to be Bruce but Andrea was very excited to be within 20 yards of him.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Peace Region
    Posts
    195

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    The weather cleared up and we spent the rest of the day licking our wounds, fishing and ptarmigan hunting.


    The weather blew back in the next day so we spent some time around camp in the morning and then headed back out for another Caribou Hunt in the evening. We hiked out above a lake to the north west and found 7 caribou. 3 bulls but nothing legal. We managed to stalk within 100 yards of five of them which the kids really enjoyed.

    The next day was our last day and the weather was terrible. Cold wind and rain was forecast for the day so we pretty much decided we would spend the day fishing and hanging around camp. We were getting breakfast ready and once again I spotted a white spot across the lake and it was lower and moving. One look with the spotter and I knew it was the billy we had gone after earlier. I walked into the tipi and asked if Natalie and Cade if they wanted to try again. Yes lets go! All dressed and into raingear with no time for breakfast. We headed down to the boat and crossed the lake. As we were crossing the lake the billy took notice and waked over and bedded down at the edge of a cliff watching us. We got out of the boat and made our way out of sight. We crept around behind low ridges and willows staying out of sight and climbed until we were within range of him. He seemed to be watching the boat rather than looking below for us. I belly crawled with the kids below me to the top of a small gully and pushed my pack out in front. I asked the kids to stay put and plug their ears when I took my safety off. I ranged him and settled into the rifle, my heart was pounding so I had to lay face down beside the gun and do some deep breathing to settle down. Back to the rifle and my heart was pounding again, I think I was more nervous with the kids watching. I went back to breathing twice more before I felt settled down enough to shoot. I fired 3 rounds and I knew two were good hits. He moved out of sight and I reloaded watching to make sure he didn’t climb into the cliffs above. We moved over to another vantage point under him and still could not see him. I set the kids under a tarp by a large bounder to get out of the rain and I climbed up after him. The rocks above were very steep and slippery with the rain. I kept climbing and watching and could see nothing until I was 20 yards from him. It was too steep to work on him there so I gave him a nudge and he rolled down to a spot that the kids could get to.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Peace Region
    Posts
    195

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    The weather was cold and rainy but the kids did a great job helping to butcher and pack the billy back to the boat

    We built a meat cache using willow branches suspended over cold rocks. We covered with a tarp and left the ends open for ventilation.

    What a great way to end a great trip.
    The next day we packed everything but the tipi and reported the weather to Bill. We weren’t sure if he was going to make it so we didn’t want the kids sitting out in the rain waiting. It was great to see the plane come in under the cloud cover, we were all excited to go home but none of us wanted to leave. We finished packing the tipi, and loaded the plane just as some blue sky started showing down the valley. It was a great flight out.
    We had a great family trip, hope you enjoyed the read.
    Ryan

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Williams Lake, BC Canada
    Posts
    14,168

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    Phenominal adventure, great photos and exell3nt write up..
    Enjoyed it all.
    Well done indeed,
    Cheers
    Srupp

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Central Interior of our beautiful british columbia.
    Posts
    6,340

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    WOW!!! Awesome story, well written, super photos! I admire you and your family for getting out into the wilderness and enjoying time together! You have your priorities correct sir! Thank you for sharing, top HBC story for me! Moosin
    "A good day hunting is mud on your truck or blood on your hands"

    “Some people go to church and think about hunting……………others go hunting and think about God!”

    It's actually called the 375 "ouch and ouch"!!

    "Not asking for any spots or anything like that............................................"

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    EK BC
    Posts
    3,571

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    Great story Ryan love that country.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Region 1
    Posts
    566

    Re: Family Fly in Hunt

    Reading your story was an awesome addition to my evening. Congrats. My kids are 7 and 11 and its about time I organized a trip like that for them. Thanks for the inspiration.

    TJ

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