Haida Gwaii success!

[Pangaea]

Got back from the islands early this week, but haven't had a chance to post. I'm starting a new thread as the first one in the Islands section got hijacked/went sideways too quick...:-(

To recap, changing work schedules made it all of a sudden possible for me to add a trip to the Charlottes (never been; bucket list item!) to what was originally a 5-6 day trip to gather fire morels and possibly a spring bear up near Topley. I also realized that bucks opened June 1, which would give me four days of hunting before I had to return.

Waitlisted for for the ferry going over; confirmed for the return, but figured nothing ventured, right? It all worked out. Spent the first three nights camping up north at Agate Beach and exploring. Then on to Rennell Sound for opening day. Got the first buck a couple of hours in. A small one, but heck I was allowed five...

I decided to try the gutless method for the first time, which went surprisingly well. No pics of this one, except dressed. Too excited, I guess... :-D

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg3.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg3.jpg.html)

I drove back to Charlotte City to get more ice (the guy at Causeway Convenience has a machine that he will sell you ice by the cooler from), spent the rest of the day walking the beaches with my dog, then had a feast of heart (first time, as the heart on my first deer was destroyed by the bullet!) and tenderloin.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg4.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg4.jpg.html)

[swampthing]

Good stuff. I presume deer are open there now or was this from last fall? I hit the island there a couple years back for the first time. Deer were open but it wasn't the theme of the trip. Saw quite a few.

[Pangaea]

The next day, I was up at 3:45 for coffee, then out to the cut blocks soon after. I passed on a couple of spikers and then shot this one as he paused on a stump to look back at me.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg5.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg5.jpg.html)

I dressed him out back at camp, and again took the rest of the day off to explore the beaches.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg6.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg6.jpg.html)

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg1.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg1.jpg.html)

The weather was so great, and my ice system ( 6" of ice, garbage bags laid flat, then spruce branches to keep the meat off the plastic) was keeping the meat nice and cool, so I decided to stay a third night there. No luck the next day, but I was happy no matter what...

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg2.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg2.jpg.html)

[Pangaea]

For my last night and day - the ferry left at 10:00 pm - I took the small ferry to Moresby where I stayed at the Moresby Island Guest House near Sandspit. It was cheap, hunter friendly, and had showers and laundry which I'm thinking others felt I desperately needed.

I was was out the door by 4:00 and walking some roads about 10k away soon after. Nothing but a bear and about 12 does for the first few hours, then sensed movement out of the corner of my eye in a nicely groomed cutblock. I lined up on the buck, the biggest I'd seen (still not much bigger than a Mainland spike) and took the shot. Bang flop. As I took the shot, I noticed his buddy about 25 yards away run off.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg8.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg8.jpg.html)

I walk up to him, cut my tag, look around, and his friend has come back to see what all the fuss was about. I had one more tag -cheap at $10- so I drew on him, fired, and after a brief run, he dropped not 20 feet from the first one.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg9.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg9.jpg.html)

As I dragged them out from the block to the decommissioned road, I saw a HUGE bear checking out my truck, but he moved on as soon as he saw me... I found a cool breezy spot by the beach to hang and process them - a fair bit of work, as I was trying to make the 2:25 ferry back to Charlotte. With my cooler bulging, I made the ferry back for a halibut dinner before the overnight ferry back to Rupert.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/mrobertsfish/image.jpg7.jpg (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/mrobertsfish/media/image.jpg7.jpg.html)

[Pangaea]

Good stuff. I presume deer are open there now or was this from last fall? I hit the island there a couple years back for the first time. Deer were open but it wasn't the theme of the trip. Saw quite a few.
This was just 7-10 days ago. Bucks open June 1...

[longwalk]

they sure are easy to see early in the year when their coats are light coloured. Good going.

[argyle1]

right on - thanks for posting. That trip is on my bucket list too!!

[Mike_R]

Thanks for posting! Good story. Nice shot of Bonanza beach!

[CodyRules]

Great pictures thanks for sharing

[BCHunterTV]

looks like a great trip,

[nature girl]

That would of been an amazing trip. Did it feel kind of different shooting deer in June instead of the fall?

[luckofthedraw]

awesome. Looks like a great time.

[monasheemountainman]

yep that looks like a wicked time!

[yota]

great read and congrats looks like I might have to ad this one to the bucket list :)

[Mik]

looks like you had a great time, congrats, thanks for sharing the story.

[Pangaea]

That would of been an amazing trip. Did it feel kind of different shooting deer in June instead of the fall?

I felt lucky more than anything. Kinda felt like mid September. My only worry was keeping them cool, but it all worked out...

[Ride Red]

You must have headed toward Mosquito Lake when you left Sandspit. Incredible country; some of the old totem poles out that way are very cool too. Great post; makes me want to head up there again.

[timbermilton]

how much meat you get from one of them little guys? been thinking about heading out that way, out of venison and having withdrawals.

[.264winmag]

Right on. Can only imagine how tasty they will be this time of year!

[Iltasyuko]

Well done. Brings back memories for me.

[604ksmith]

Great pics, love it there. Thanks for sharing!

[srupp]

Awesome trip...thank you for sharing this gem of an area..
Congradulations
Steven

[Whonnock Boy]

Very cool. Thanks for posting this up.

[HarryToolips]

Great job, congrats!

[Ourea]

What a great post.

U r sharing a hunting experience and opportunity that most had no idea existed.
Uber cool at so many levels.
Grabbed my attention.

Had the pleasure of doing numerous steelhead trips out of Sandspit.
Ur pics brought back a lot of memories .....I recognize the spots and vistas.

Wow, wow.
You have served up a gem of a post.

Enjoy those BT loins and chanterelle mushrooms.

A big tip of the hat and thanks for one of the best/unique posts in a while.
(not to take away from others that have posted up some great stuff)

[jonz]

Looks like a great trip. I hope to make it over there in the next year or 2.

[boxhitch]

Looks like a great trip , tourist time and filling the coolers. Did you fish the halibut dinner too ?
Thanks for the vicarious moment this a.m.

[REMINGTON JIM]

Congrats on a Great Hunting in a Great Place - thks for sharing :biggrin: RJ

[rifleman]

wow thats a great haul of meat.. congrats

[Singleshotneeded]

Thanks for posting, the Queen Charlotte Islands are beautiful as always, and it was awesome that you had good success, because you hunted hard and smart! Well done!

[Boner]

Nice write up. Congrats on a memorable trip.

[kush]

awesome trip, thx for sharing

[Wrj]

Great write up, great pics. Thanks for sharing!

[tuner]

Great post,very enjoyable.

[riflebuilder]

On my bucket list, looks like you had a great time. thanks for sharing

[cdub]

does that mean you can not hunt deer anywhere in the province this fall except QCI?

[Downwind]

does that mean you can not hunt deer anywhere in the province this fall except QCI?

No, he can still take his three deer throughout the province. QCI has its own separate bag limit.

[albravo2]

Awesome post.

QCI just made it to my list too. Along with the northwest, northeast, kootenays, chilcotin, etc. etc... God we are blessed to live here.

[Pangaea]

Thanks, everyone! It was a great trip, and when you think of the costs (about $600 for ferries, $600 for gas from Vancouver, plus whatever you spend on food, accom., etc) it's not terribly out of line. Plus, you get to hunt deer in June and as Downwind said, they don't count against your provincial limit, as long as they are on your QCI tags ($10 each; a separate booklet). It's a time commitment, though. The ferry is 8 hours each way, and they want you there 2 hours before... Plus the 17 hour drive to Rupert...

FYI, I got about 120 lbs of meat from the four deer. One was really pretty small though... Sitka deer lives up to its reputation as being super sweet and tender.

[Edge]

I'm curious, what kinda range were you shooting at? I'm wondering about taking a bow ?

[sed8ed]

Ok... your post convinced me to take the weekend off and head over there (I'm presently working in rupert)

On the ferry now!

[whognu]

salt, pepper and a brick of butter

eating salad from a stainless dog bowl

honestly, can it get any better than that?

it's great to be alive

this one pic brings me to the essence of why I hunt

well done

whognu

[Pangaea]

I'm curious, what kinda range were you shooting at? I'm wondering about taking a bow ?
50, 60, 50, 30 yards. So yes, very doable. I probably could have gained an extra 10-15 yards on all but one shot...

[Tactical Lever]

Nice pics! Making me miss it. At first glance I thought they dropped the number of tags available from 10 to 5. But it appears that it is now 15? When I lived there, it was 10, but I am quite sure that 10 was viewed as more of a "suggested limit" by a number of residents. And the population was huge. Although it seemed to shrink by a sizable amount whenever I was out with a rifle...