4-02 elk\white tail

[7mmag]

Hi All, I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been around

My buddy got a cow elk draw for region 4-02, and we plan to head out there the end of sept. Does anyone know a good meat cutter in the area?

After we have some meat in the freezer we want to spend the rest of our time hunting whities,and bull elk, but we might not have access to the same land as we do for the cow.

Any general hints or suggestion for the area?

Even general hints on hunting whities and elk in BC would be appreciated as I haven’t hunted ether in the province.

Fell free to pm me if you don't want to post something

[hunter1947]

If i were you i would get some real good maps of the area and go from there ,the maps will show you all the branched roads and you can pick some back roads that look good for you and head in and look.

[7mmag]

Thanx 1947

We've got the maps and we're hoping to get at least one scouting trip in, but it's a long drive and I have to save my holidays for the season. We have some ideas but it never hurts to ask:wink:

No one knows of a butcher in the area?:confused:

[Buckman]

Ricks meats in Cranbrok is good, he made up some whitetail sausage for me that was excellent last year Then there is Swiss European sausage and meats and in Kimberley , Kimberley Sausage and meats.
Good luck on your hunt in the Galtons and the Wigwam.

[hunter1947]

There is another butcher shop on the main drag of cranbrook ,i think it is called Italian sausages and meats. He is also a fine butcher ,it is only about 6 blocks up the road from Ricks place.

[slowkey]

thanks guys for info on the butchers I'm the lucky guy whom got the elk draw. with the private land program for that region I feel confident in getting my cow

[Trapper]

Must be in Grasmere where you got your draw,most likely Macdonald's ranch, you shouldn't have any problems getting your elk there,lots of them around.I think once you get your elk they will want you to hunt whitetails somewhere else,because there will be other elk hunters coming in there.but theres lots of whitetails in the area.

good luck
Trapper

[slowkey]

yep Grassmere, very excited because I've never been in this part of the province

another question

it seems like there are a lot of vehicle restrictions in the area. does this affect a lot of access in this area? I have a quad so the hope is after getting the cow me and 7mmag can go searching.

[Trapper]

There is some road restriction in that area but not much,you can ride your quad until your blue in the face and you won't ran out of places to go.i live about 20 min.drive from grasmere.after your finish in 4-02,come over to 4-22 lots of good whitetail hunting.
good luck
Trapper

[eastkoot]

I've never seen a whitetail or an elk anywhere near MacDonalds ranch..You're waisting your time!!!

[Seeadler]

The only vehicle restrictions I know of in that area (aside from private property) are in the mountains where the antlerless tags are not valid (outside of Zone X).

For whitetail, depends on what you are looking for, a spiker or forkie shouldn't be too hard to find, but at that time of the year it can be tough to find a buck with any size to him.

[slowkey]

well the cow tag I'm hoping will be filled early. Very positive private land deal (organized through coordinator) last year 19 of 22 cow tags were filled through this program.

As I read the vehicle restriction I'm a little confused by this comment "except roads shown as open lines are open year round" ?

Well always one bluebird of happiness "no deer or elk there!"

[hunter1947]

I've never seen a whitetail or an elk anywhere near MacDonalds ranch..You're waisting your time!!!
When someone comes on and says that there is nothing to hunt in that area ,then it is yes ,got to be lots of animals in the area.

[eastkoot]

1947, not much gets by you, your pretty good to recognize the hidden meaning in that comment!! I'm sure you've seen the same from locals in other posts??

[BlacktailStalker]

If you are anywhere there is elk sign, you'll find em.
Just hunt hard.
Last year was my first year up there and I hammered a nice 6x6 on my 8th day, mind you I bust my ass, plus had close calls with 3 other bulls that I did not have time to i.d, one was being chased by wolves, another kept stopping (when I cow called) behind jack pines so I couldnt count his points (he had a whale tail though!) and the third had made the area I figured they'd bed so instead of pushing them, I let them be and came back in the afternoon, where in fact I nailed mine (different bull though)
Get to know the elk you're after, watch from afar, pattern them, then sneak in when you have a good idea or actually know what they are doing because you may only get one chance and you do not want to chase them into another mountain range.
All this helps if you are in an area that other hunters cant screw your program up, meaning dont be afraid to leave some boot leather on the ground.

I do not care for Cranbrook butchers.
One guy wouldnt take my bull unless I had all my meat processed there ( I wasnt going to extend my 2 week stay another 10 days so he could do it)and the other guy charged my $265 to keep in in his cooler for 4 days. To top it off his freezer stopped working the day before I picked my meat up and my meat was thawed and the paper was bloody as hell. I was livid. He never cut me a deal either, prick.

Never again will I hunt without a deep freezer and generator at camp if the temperature is above 0.

[7mmag]

Thanx for the advice guys

I've been hunting elk every night in my dreams this past week so I'm getting lots of practise:-D