Hunting from a canoe?

[Arctic Lake]

One of the coolest ways to hunt IMO.

That is something right there ! Awesome !
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

I'm sure there a lot of nice firearms at the bottom of lakes and rivers !
Arctic Lake

[Jagermeister]

#1 Do Not Shoot From the Canoe! (Been there -done that)

#2 Stray Away From Sweepers and Log Jams (This has a high risk of being fatal, even if you are wearing a PFD.)

#3 Keep to the Inside of the River Bend.

#4 Avoid Whirlpools. (If you have any doubt about being able to get safely by a whirlpool, get out and line your boat/canoe past it.)

#5 Have a Chuck line with a suitable anchor/weight so that you might extract yourself from a situation like a whirlpool
and
#6 All the other suggestions, particularly securing gear.

[Jagermeister]

Once upon a time, I used to shoot from a canoe. Then one day I dumped myself overboard by taking a shot from a slightly unbalanced position. I managed to keep grip on the shotgun. I tried to right the canoe, do you know how easy it is to turn a canoe full of water, it spins like an axle shaft.
That premise that you can empty a canoe by pushing hard down on the aft and pushing it upward. It doesn't work. And even if you were successful, there is the matter of getting yourself back in, doesn't work.
So I brought the canoe back to the righted position, full of water. I placed the shotgun into the bottom and brought myself over the stern so that I was prone with my chest resting on the center board. The paddles were gone (I couldn't use them even if I had them), my only recourse was to do the breast stroke to shore. Took about 25 minutes to hit the beach. I lay there for another 15 minutes getting over the shock of the event, then I crawled out. Crawled out because I was unable to stand. I managed to crawl up to a grassy area and lay there for another half hour letting the sun beat down on me. All of my gear was gone, except for the shotgun, which I sold the following year. Lesson learned.
I was far more fortunate than the two fellows later that year who were hunting from a canoe on a small lake west of Quesnel. It was November and they were on the lake when misfortune set upon them.
They were overdue and family members contact police who initiated a search. The canoe along with some floating paraphernalia was located but a search of the shore line revealed nothing of the missing hunters. The RCMP brought in a dive team a day or two later and the hunter's bodies were recovered.

[Brno22F]

Hunting from a canoe is something I have done manytimes. Many of the points made in previous posts are very goodadvice. Here are some things I would add for your consideration. Hull design/shape, canoe length and the materials that the canoe is madeof are things you should think about.
The hull design/shape and the length of the canoe willaffect a lot of things- stability, weight, payload, handling and ease ofpaddling, and portaging to name a few.
Material that the canoe is made of will affect the handling and stability,weight, quietness of the canoe.

Not all canoes are created equal. A 15 footfiberglass canoe does not have the same payload/handling/stability as a 16 footABS canoe or 17 foot Kevlar canoe. Ifyou don’t already have a canoe and are planning on getting one, make sure yourchoice of canoe will handle the type of hunting/canoeing you want to do.
Are you going to be paddling along the lakeshores ofsmaller lakes? Floating gentlerivers? Day tripping or going on multiday excursions? Portaging or flying thecanoe into remote lakes? Paddling on biglakes (eg Atlin Lk)? Carrying more than 2 people in the canoe?
For what it is worth, I think that a 16 foot canoe is thebare minimum, for 2 guys with day packs and rifles. If you add a quarterof Moose or a third guy to this boat, you will soon wish you had a 17footer.
If you have limited experience in a canoe, please takethe basic flatwater canoe course.

[Arctic Lake]

Some very good information members have put forward !
Arctic Lake

[two-feet]

I have taken 2 moose from the front of a boat, both at about 35m. They seem to not feel threatened when approached by water. Shooting from farther than that from a boat would be a problem for me. If you see a moose from a canoe there is a good chance it is in the water, which adds a challenge. It is a great way to hunt, and two guys gliding down the lake with a moose in the canoe is better than 2 days of packing one on your back

[MRP]

I've always been in the back not the shooter. With the paddle in the water and held tight to the gunnel and a little forward movement you can be surprisingly steady.

If I'm going to be paddling far I use a 17' Cliper, has no keel and is easy to hold sideways in a modest flowing stream. Mostly I use a short and fat Sportspal, 40lbs, beer can canoe some call it. Not good for long traveling but 1or 2k lakes are ok, rated 800lb and I've had that and a bit more in it a couple of times. Some winter I plan on making a ceader strip canoe the same shape. Flat bottom has more stability at first but less as toward the end.

What ever you get; go get wet. Find a nice place to flip, it load it, pay with it. Get to know what it's flip point is, how much rocking it takes. 50 years of paddling flipped lots playing around, only one time by accident when a rookie decided to plush off and jump in.

[Arctic Lake]

Just a mention for the OP not trying to derail your thread ! I have a 17 1/2 foot Clipper Tripper that I purchased used ,(it's like new and saved a lot of cash,) after researching potential canoes for hunting.I have yet to use it for hunting but hopefully will this coming year ! I think I may have started a thread here or on another forum concerning what to look for in a hunting canoe. I received lots of good information concerning this topic. I'm a novice paddler who took the basic flat water course . I appreciate the thoughts of members concerning the safeguards for your firearms in a canoe. If there are anymore thoughts on this subject please keep them coming for the original poster of this thread and others !

Anyone looking at canoes for hunting may want to check out the Clipper Mac Sport boats . You could put a motor on the stern motor up river and float down . Saves having a driver for drop off and pickup after a float trip . Would work for lakes as well I would think.

Arctic Lake

[albravo2]

Good advice, thanks all. This summer will bring some practise shooting from a canoe in warm shallow water. I like the advice of shooting forward from a kneeling position, recoil will not disrupt the boat's balance.

I haven't decided on a canoe yet. It will be used primarily for fly-in hunts (no whitewater but maybe some fair sized lakes) so I'm wrestling with the old weight vs. toughness tradeoff.

I'm leaning toward a packable boat from pakboats (http://pakboats.com/pakcanoes/). They are pricey but apparently durable as hell. A bit heavier than a nice canoe but that is the tradeoff.

I plan to set up camp over the summer and hunt in August and September. Bears like the taste of plastic so I don't want to leave a plastic boat at camp between trips.