Tell me how to "western hunt".

[Eastern Turkey]

Hey all,

First off, please let me know if this post belongs best in the Newbie Forum.

The main question: what is your best advice for most effectively and efficiently familiarizing one's self with western-style hunting?

In many more words,

• Is there particular game you would suggest targeting first, to help get used to glassing, reading and moving through the land, and packing out meat?
• Are there particular types of places/geographies I should be looking for, both for better opportunity and to learn how to navigate big country safely?
• What areas should I avoid? Not because they don't have great success rates, but because that's where the 22-rapid-fire-and-mudding club meets on Saturdays.
• Would you suggest getting more comfortable with a rifle right from the start, or should I double down on my bow skill from the ground? (Actually, while I'm at it, should I reconsider using an old wood-stock blued-barrel 700 in BC's climate?)
• I'm guessing I'll need to invest in really good rain gear, wont I?

Some quick background and context: You've heard this story before. I am moving from the east in a couple of weeks, so I'll be new to BC (lower mainland for the start) and western-style hunting, but not new to hunting. I want to take the learning curve as soon as possible, in hopes of getting out on my first hunt in fall 2022. I predominantly hunted whitetail with a bow and turkeys with a shotgun on public land only, but am looking to get into western big game full tilt. The closest experience I've got is spot and stock hunting + calling for turkey - I like to think of it as the poor man's mini elk hunting. I've got some experience trekking mountains and surviving in the backcountry, but only ever for the hell of it, hiking and camping, so my fitness is decent and I've got most of the right gear to get started. Eventually, I see myself graduating to hunting elk and alpine hunts for sheep and goat. I plan on joining an association or conservation organization at some point when I am settled in the new year, but will be prepping to hunt solo for the time being.

Anyways, my intention here is not to seek out the "easiest" way to start, let alone prying people's honey holes. I just want to make sure I don't time fumbling around places where people come to shoot up old refrigerators, like I did my first year hunting in Ontario... Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Downwindtracker2]

The old DuPont Remington 700s are almost as weather proof as stainless. Other makes not so much.

I have never hunted locally,LML, rather I head up to the interior. It both crowded and difficult. Blacktail deer are smart like Muleys and hide like Whitetail. We have all three in BC.Besides you are hunting in a rainforest on some of the toughest terrain in North American.

A 30-06 and a 22. A 30-06 is good for deer to moose and everything in between. A 22 is cheap practice as well as being good for grouse.

There much more experienced hunters who will chime in.

[MichelD]

Well, for starters, there are thousands of kilometres of crown land to explore so if you get away from the obvious easy-to-reach spots from the large populated areas you should get away from most weekend yahoos.

Regarding climate; B.C. is not just the coast. And even on the coast, until recently I hunted with wood and blued steel firearms on Vancouver Island and in wet areas not too far from Vancouver for many years.

The South Okanagan-Similkameen Valley contains part of the Interior Dry Plateau Natural Region, also known as Canada’s “pocket desert”, one of the most endangered habitats in the country. The valley is all that connects the dry landscapes of BC’s interior with the desert lands of the United States, allowing species to migrate north and south.

There are square kilometres upon square kilometres upon square kilometres of forested and logged crown land to explore. Quite a few burned this year so you'll have to figure out where those are and avoid them for a few years. There are numerous motor vehicle closures in those areas too. A bit of a learning curve for someone new to B.C., but the hunting regulations synopsis is not that hard to figure out, though some will try to claim it is.

Once you get here it won't take long to start figuring things out. Once you arrive here and establish your 6-month residency requirement you'll be ready to head out for spring bear.

[XPEIer]

once you get settled and licences etc secured, hit google earth and do as much online research as you can, it MAY save you driving for hours for nothing. Take into account that a fresh cutblock on Google Earth may now be 5 years old and too dense to see through. Find some mature stands, next to cuts or open areas, ridges, water courses etc. and start there. That being said you do not have to drive to the back end of now where, there are deer close to communities but you just need to be aware of land ownership etc. Personally I hunt as close to home as I can now.
Sorry, but you will have to do those crappy hunts where you hike into some place to find someone living there, stuff like that. It is the process of elimination.
SCOUT,,, take some of your hunting holidays and spend it scouting, will save you time in the long run. Get several areas scouted out due to fires and closure areas,,, just because it is there in July it may be gone by Oct.

And if all that does not work, park beside the highway in Hope and follow the convoy heading North on September 30th!

XPEIER

[ActionJackson017]

Scout scout scout. BC's magnificent forests and mountains are a pretty good place to waste a couple days here, couple days there checking things out and getting a lay of the land... (err, mountains). Welcome to BC.

[Redthies]

There is whitetail and Turkey here too, so you can target those to start, and learn the province in the process. As others have said, there is as much dry/desert type landscape as there is wet/rainforest. The iHunter app has a private land mapping layer that will tell you very accurately whether you are on public land or not. I’m not a sheep/goat or elk hunting expert so I won’t speak to those critters, but there is a ton of useful info and members on this site (some dipshits too!) so do some reading before you arrive.

[Eastern Turkey]

Great pointers all, thanks. Especially the notes on burns - that's something I've never had to deal with! I guess I'm also not used to the idea that instead of my scouting being pressure-focused (predominantly to figure out which 10-acre public hydro cut has less than 5 tree stands), I'll be able to focus on scouting for the best habitat nooks among thousands of square kilometers.

Keep 'em coming!

[Elkaddict]

Invest in the best glass you can afford, friends I've hosted from the east could not believe how much you utilize optics out west. Invest in quality footwear and navigation tools, be it gps or map and compass. If you've got that covered, the province is your oyster with literally thousands of square kilometers of land available to you, much of it with little pressure if you are willing to explore beyond the FSRs.

[hawk-i]

From the amount of MT beer cans on some Resource Rds I'd say its pretty common to drive around drinking beer all day long....

another reason not to hunt close to the roads...lol

[Eastern Turkey]

Random question: how limiting will it be not having a high-clearance/4x4 vehicle, and no spotting scope?