CoreShackJack
01-05-2016, 08:47 AM
Good day to everyone!
I wanted to tell a "little ditty about Jack..." (Mellencamp anyone?), or a brief story, about my experiences, a handful of lessons I learned [the hard way], and getting my first animal as a brand new hunter in the 2015 season.
...LOTS of patience and always maintaining a positive attitude is how.
I asked myself how I managed to remain in positive spirits after multiple day-trips on Vancouver Island and two separate week-long unsuccessful trips in the North (Butler Ridge, Fort St John, and Pink Mountain areas) with friends. "A buck is just over this ridge", "a bull elk is just around this corner", I would tell myself. Don't know how I did it, but I managed to re-excite and encourage myself after every let down.
Now, as for deer hunting on Vancouver Island, I understood why it would be a bit of a scramble this year. Of the guys I was hunting with, the experienced one was from Fort St John, and the other two or three were new just like me. None of us had hunted on the island before and we were trying to find our feet. My expectations were low. Our short term game plan was to simply try new locations and explore, drive down logging roads, and attempt to gain access to decent sized clearings visible on Google earth. We didn't have a single spot we knew of that would be particularly successful.
Unsuccessful Island Hunting:
Back home on the island, a group of us took off for a two day trip not far from home and decided to set up camp mid-afternoon on a spur road in a large clear cut. There were a series of large interconnected younger clear cuts that offered ample vantage from a network of roads above, perfect for walking and glassing from.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4188.JPG
Lesson 1 Buck Fever:
· After camp was set-up, we spread out for an evening stroll in groups of two. Not long after the sun had set, high up on the roads above, my partner and I walk around the corner and spot a nice big blacktail within 30 yards just starting to turn its back to us. I frantically began to chamber a round as I was trying to simultaneously see if it was a buck or not. In my excitement (more like 'my panic', let's not kid ourselves), I didn't realize that my magazine wasn't fully seated. As I drew the bolt back and then forward to chamber the cartridge, the round didn't chamber...and just sat in the magazine.
Long story short, the deer ran away...and I dropped my bullets all over the ground. I learned exactly how the ol' buck fever manifests itself.
Well I'm sure you can imagine the laughter and the verbal beating I took around the campfire that night. My partner told everyone it was a doe (not in season) but I think he was just trying to make me feel better.
The Elusive Bison Bison
Did you know that the buffalo's scientific [or binomial] name is 'Bison bison'? We laughed about this quite a bit. As a first time hunter, I managed to draw a bison tag in the LEH lottery this year. Pink Mountain, Zone A! One of the most amazing times I have shared with friends. A lot of frustration, panic, cold, and heartbreak...but a lot of laughter.
Lesson 2 Pack The Right Gear, Pack Your Own Gear:
· Have you ever seen a group of hunters (four guys) camp in an uninsulated summer tent in a snowy -22 degrees? We did it on punctured air mattresses (no insulation to ground), in -7 degrees celsius sleeping bags, with no heaters in the tent. Two of the guys couldn't hack it and slept in my truck, warming the truck up every few hours.
It's safe to say that I won't ever trust someone who says "I've got it covered" when you're asking about whether you should bring essential gear...say, like a thermarest.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4274.JPG
So cold my moustache froze.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4286.JPG
Although our trip was uncomfortable at times, we scoured the most beautiful landscape on foot and ended up closer to Bison on the final day than every hunter we encountered (or that I read about) during our November 15-30 draw.
I almost lost my truck down a steep bank while taking it [legally] on a slippery old quad trail. When we got out the chains I had recently purchased at Canadian Tire, they turned out to be the wrong size. (Side note: In my fairness, I asked the guy behind the counter if they will fit my tires. In his fairness, he didn't speak very good English.) Sticks, twigs, branches, paracord, 4WD Low, purposely deflated tires, and a prayer to Vishnu...we somehow made it out...with only a bent sway-bar link.
As for Bison Bison, the entire Halfway river valley seemed to be devoid of them. We found no sign and ran into hunters with the same problem. On the final day as a last ditch hail-mary, we decided to check an area much further away where my friend remembered from an elk hunt 6 years ago that what he thought were cow-pies from ranging cattle may actually have been from bison.
He was right! We found a lot of bison sign; warm cow pies, wool on trees, hoof prints in the snow! We ended up spooking a lone bull, but in doing so we came across what may be a migratory path absolutely covered in older bison sign. Unfortunately, it was the last day of the hunt. That was a SERIOUS bummer. A few more days in the surrounding clearings and valleys and we would've had our very own bison!
By this point, I was feeling a little dejected. I had spent a few months getting skunked. I had tags for everything and I felt like I saw nothing. Numerous outings on Vancouver Island for Blacktail, a week-long trip to Fort St John/Butler Ridge in early Fall, and a Bison hunt in mid-November...and I was coming home with nothing. At one point, I was dreaming big. Thinking of how great it's going to be to say that I started off my hunting career with a bison for my first animal. Oh how I got ahead of myself.
The Island Buck:
Although I felt dejected from the lack of success, I was damn determined to get my first animal before the season came to a close. Three of us went for a day hunting trip on the island shortly after we returned from the bison hunt. There was roughly a week left in the season. Again, we found a nice intricate network of logging roads and younger clearcuts. We walked our separate ways. Immediately, I came across very fresh deer sign. I followed hoofprints and fresh scat along the logging road for 40 minutes, quietly moving with them as fast as I could.
I eventually rounded a corner and my heart rate skyrocketed. I see DEER! I got out my bino's and this is what I saw:
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_42461.JPG
A doe and fawn. Can you see them?
DAMNIT! Come on!! I'm thinking to myself. Although, still very interested, I watched their antics together and how they reacted to the movement and noises I was purposely making. Their hearing is exceptional, simply the movement of my binoculars up to my eyes made them freeze.
Once more, disheartened, I turned around and made my way back to my friends. They met me about 50 yards away in the car. They got out and I walked down a spur road with one of my friends. We saw some fresh scat and some fresh rubs but didn't see anything. Just as we decided to start heading back to the car, we heard a twig break. My friend said he saw three deer. He forgot his bino's and was attempting to explain to me where he saw them. He had his rifle up looking through the scope to try and determine if any were bucks. With a panicked and excited voice, he said he thinks he sees a buck. I tell him that I can help confirm with my binoculars, and indeed one of the deer is a beautiful blacktail buck!
Lesson 3 Don't Buy A Shitty Scope:
· He tells me he's going to take the shot. However, he was fumbling and eventually admits he cannot shoot because his scope is fogged up. A cheap scope on a cold and rainy day.
I put a decent scope on my rifle and I learned why at that very moment. By that point I had found a comfortable prone rest. I told him I had a clear shot. He was still fumbling with his fogged up scope and the buck decides to shuffle around a few more steps. As this happens, he decides it best not to waste the opportunity that he cannot take.
My turn to take the shot.
Lesson 4 Know What Your Safety Is Doing:
· I put the buck in my sights and slowly squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened....the safety was on.
Classic mistake for a new hunter I'm told. I was certainly no exception. Heat of the moment...buck fever? Immediately afterwards I clicked off the safety but the buck wasn't there anymore...instead it had perched itself confidently on a large boulder on the slope of the hill about 170 yards in front of me.
I lined it up and pulled the trigger. My ears were ringing and my buddy looked at me with a huge smile and said I got him.
We waited a long fifteen minutes...and found him lifeless ten feet from where he was shot.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4287.JPG
I wanted to tell a "little ditty about Jack..." (Mellencamp anyone?), or a brief story, about my experiences, a handful of lessons I learned [the hard way], and getting my first animal as a brand new hunter in the 2015 season.
...LOTS of patience and always maintaining a positive attitude is how.
I asked myself how I managed to remain in positive spirits after multiple day-trips on Vancouver Island and two separate week-long unsuccessful trips in the North (Butler Ridge, Fort St John, and Pink Mountain areas) with friends. "A buck is just over this ridge", "a bull elk is just around this corner", I would tell myself. Don't know how I did it, but I managed to re-excite and encourage myself after every let down.
Now, as for deer hunting on Vancouver Island, I understood why it would be a bit of a scramble this year. Of the guys I was hunting with, the experienced one was from Fort St John, and the other two or three were new just like me. None of us had hunted on the island before and we were trying to find our feet. My expectations were low. Our short term game plan was to simply try new locations and explore, drive down logging roads, and attempt to gain access to decent sized clearings visible on Google earth. We didn't have a single spot we knew of that would be particularly successful.
Unsuccessful Island Hunting:
Back home on the island, a group of us took off for a two day trip not far from home and decided to set up camp mid-afternoon on a spur road in a large clear cut. There were a series of large interconnected younger clear cuts that offered ample vantage from a network of roads above, perfect for walking and glassing from.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4188.JPG
Lesson 1 Buck Fever:
· After camp was set-up, we spread out for an evening stroll in groups of two. Not long after the sun had set, high up on the roads above, my partner and I walk around the corner and spot a nice big blacktail within 30 yards just starting to turn its back to us. I frantically began to chamber a round as I was trying to simultaneously see if it was a buck or not. In my excitement (more like 'my panic', let's not kid ourselves), I didn't realize that my magazine wasn't fully seated. As I drew the bolt back and then forward to chamber the cartridge, the round didn't chamber...and just sat in the magazine.
Long story short, the deer ran away...and I dropped my bullets all over the ground. I learned exactly how the ol' buck fever manifests itself.
Well I'm sure you can imagine the laughter and the verbal beating I took around the campfire that night. My partner told everyone it was a doe (not in season) but I think he was just trying to make me feel better.
The Elusive Bison Bison
Did you know that the buffalo's scientific [or binomial] name is 'Bison bison'? We laughed about this quite a bit. As a first time hunter, I managed to draw a bison tag in the LEH lottery this year. Pink Mountain, Zone A! One of the most amazing times I have shared with friends. A lot of frustration, panic, cold, and heartbreak...but a lot of laughter.
Lesson 2 Pack The Right Gear, Pack Your Own Gear:
· Have you ever seen a group of hunters (four guys) camp in an uninsulated summer tent in a snowy -22 degrees? We did it on punctured air mattresses (no insulation to ground), in -7 degrees celsius sleeping bags, with no heaters in the tent. Two of the guys couldn't hack it and slept in my truck, warming the truck up every few hours.
It's safe to say that I won't ever trust someone who says "I've got it covered" when you're asking about whether you should bring essential gear...say, like a thermarest.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4274.JPG
So cold my moustache froze.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4286.JPG
Although our trip was uncomfortable at times, we scoured the most beautiful landscape on foot and ended up closer to Bison on the final day than every hunter we encountered (or that I read about) during our November 15-30 draw.
I almost lost my truck down a steep bank while taking it [legally] on a slippery old quad trail. When we got out the chains I had recently purchased at Canadian Tire, they turned out to be the wrong size. (Side note: In my fairness, I asked the guy behind the counter if they will fit my tires. In his fairness, he didn't speak very good English.) Sticks, twigs, branches, paracord, 4WD Low, purposely deflated tires, and a prayer to Vishnu...we somehow made it out...with only a bent sway-bar link.
As for Bison Bison, the entire Halfway river valley seemed to be devoid of them. We found no sign and ran into hunters with the same problem. On the final day as a last ditch hail-mary, we decided to check an area much further away where my friend remembered from an elk hunt 6 years ago that what he thought were cow-pies from ranging cattle may actually have been from bison.
He was right! We found a lot of bison sign; warm cow pies, wool on trees, hoof prints in the snow! We ended up spooking a lone bull, but in doing so we came across what may be a migratory path absolutely covered in older bison sign. Unfortunately, it was the last day of the hunt. That was a SERIOUS bummer. A few more days in the surrounding clearings and valleys and we would've had our very own bison!
By this point, I was feeling a little dejected. I had spent a few months getting skunked. I had tags for everything and I felt like I saw nothing. Numerous outings on Vancouver Island for Blacktail, a week-long trip to Fort St John/Butler Ridge in early Fall, and a Bison hunt in mid-November...and I was coming home with nothing. At one point, I was dreaming big. Thinking of how great it's going to be to say that I started off my hunting career with a bison for my first animal. Oh how I got ahead of myself.
The Island Buck:
Although I felt dejected from the lack of success, I was damn determined to get my first animal before the season came to a close. Three of us went for a day hunting trip on the island shortly after we returned from the bison hunt. There was roughly a week left in the season. Again, we found a nice intricate network of logging roads and younger clearcuts. We walked our separate ways. Immediately, I came across very fresh deer sign. I followed hoofprints and fresh scat along the logging road for 40 minutes, quietly moving with them as fast as I could.
I eventually rounded a corner and my heart rate skyrocketed. I see DEER! I got out my bino's and this is what I saw:
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_42461.JPG
A doe and fawn. Can you see them?
DAMNIT! Come on!! I'm thinking to myself. Although, still very interested, I watched their antics together and how they reacted to the movement and noises I was purposely making. Their hearing is exceptional, simply the movement of my binoculars up to my eyes made them freeze.
Once more, disheartened, I turned around and made my way back to my friends. They met me about 50 yards away in the car. They got out and I walked down a spur road with one of my friends. We saw some fresh scat and some fresh rubs but didn't see anything. Just as we decided to start heading back to the car, we heard a twig break. My friend said he saw three deer. He forgot his bino's and was attempting to explain to me where he saw them. He had his rifle up looking through the scope to try and determine if any were bucks. With a panicked and excited voice, he said he thinks he sees a buck. I tell him that I can help confirm with my binoculars, and indeed one of the deer is a beautiful blacktail buck!
Lesson 3 Don't Buy A Shitty Scope:
· He tells me he's going to take the shot. However, he was fumbling and eventually admits he cannot shoot because his scope is fogged up. A cheap scope on a cold and rainy day.
I put a decent scope on my rifle and I learned why at that very moment. By that point I had found a comfortable prone rest. I told him I had a clear shot. He was still fumbling with his fogged up scope and the buck decides to shuffle around a few more steps. As this happens, he decides it best not to waste the opportunity that he cannot take.
My turn to take the shot.
Lesson 4 Know What Your Safety Is Doing:
· I put the buck in my sights and slowly squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened....the safety was on.
Classic mistake for a new hunter I'm told. I was certainly no exception. Heat of the moment...buck fever? Immediately afterwards I clicked off the safety but the buck wasn't there anymore...instead it had perched itself confidently on a large boulder on the slope of the hill about 170 yards in front of me.
I lined it up and pulled the trigger. My ears were ringing and my buddy looked at me with a huge smile and said I got him.
We waited a long fifteen minutes...and found him lifeless ten feet from where he was shot.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_4287.JPG