Ideas for a day trip?

[rishu_pepper]

My friend and I are planning to do a day trip for muleys and the occasional grouse. I've been doing some research and Harrison Lake area seems close by; also asked an old hunter from church who suggested the Squamish area. Are these good areas? Any other good close-by areas?

We'd like to keep the driving (from Port Moody) to within 2 hours, give or take. Eventually we'll want to do trips of a few days, but the current situation doesn't allow for it. Road hunt, hike-in, it's all good, as long as the deer is legal, we're happy.

This is our first time deer hunting and we basically have no experience other than a couple of grouse outings. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :-D

[Derek_Erickson]

Shouldnt be hard to find a spike buck:-D

[Barracuda]

within two hours of vancouver it will be tough to find really productive areas that dont have high pressure. i would say that you would be better off traveling the extra hour on the pavement and get further out of town then spending the same hour on a bumpy local gravel road .

[rishu_pepper]

Forgive this newb questions, but what's a "spike" buck?

Barracuda: Any suggestions for a nice spot? I honestly don't know anywhere that's good huntin'. We also have car limitations (my friend's beat-up Corolla is our vehicle of choice)...

[Mr. Dean]

Deer can be found ANYWHERE in this province. Just pick a mountain and go!
Hunting is more than dropping a critter. Its also about 'learning' the lay of the land and the habits of the animals that live there. The only way that you'll gain this knowlege is to get out there and begin breathing it.

Just pick a mountain, find a road that runs up it and start looking for poop, tracks, rubs ect... Sooner or later, they'll end at a deer.

Honest!

[Mr. Dean]

Spike buck = deer w/ one antler on one side.

[lapadat]

Rishu,

There are MANY places to hunt blacktails within 2 hours of vancouver....and unlike Barracudda's comments, there is EXTREMELY little hunting pressure in some very productive areas of the coast.....as long as you don't mind walking a little.

I would stay away from Squamish (i've been there many times and seen very little deer sign).....rather, I'd go to the Harrison, Chehalis, Skagit or Chilliwack valley's. Get there early, find a cut block and start glassing. Remember that fraser valley deer are active all the way until 11:00 and sometimes later.

[rishu_pepper]

Thanks guys, we'll definitely check out those areas and see if we can't spot a deer or two! Of course pics will accompany our trip, successful or not.

There's definitely a lot for me to learn about hunting, in deer hunting alone there are so many factors to look into (from books I've read) my head's spinning already! :wink: Guess the best way is to get out and to learn for myself, eh? Heck, I already learned two new hunting vocab today (spike buck, cut block) :biggrin:

[Barracuda]

Rishu,

There are MANY places to hunt blacktails within 2 hours of vancouver....and unlike Barracudda's comments, there is EXTREMELY little hunting pressure in some very productive areas of the coast.....as long as you don't mind walking a little.

.

sorry but with all the multi use outdoor recreation users in harrison,chehalis,dickson etc the pressure is high and there is alot of traffic (dirt bikes atvers fourwheelers etc)and you will spend an hour on a rough road to get to decent areas to do some foot work .
if you like mountains ,traffic ,garbage and beer cans strewn everywhere on the main fsr,s then by all means go there . The foliage is still very thick right now and mountainous with some difficult terrain that would be inaccessable to cars.
Go take a look for your self Rishu you will see what i am talkijng about and you can make your own assesment. I do go into that area a fair bit once it quiets down and also in the spring season but our vehicles are suited for accessing the areas and spurs without alot of people.

If You drive for an extra 45min/hour on the freeway and you remove yourself from all the weekend warriors I am sure you will enjoy the whole experiance alot more and you will see more animals of all types.

theres only one way for you to find out go and see for yourself

[Poguebilt]

I second that post!

glad I moved out of the city!

[rollingrock]

sorry but with all the multi use outdoor recreation users in harrison,chehalis,dickson etc the pressure is high and there is alot of traffic (dirt bikes atvers fourwheelers etc)and you will spend an hour on a rough road to get to decent areas to do some foot work .
if you like mountains ,traffic ,garbage and beer cans strewn everywhere on the main fsr,s then by all means go there . The foliage is still very thick right now and mountainous with some difficult terrain that would be inaccessable to cars.
Go take a look for your self Rishu you will see what i am talkijng about and you can make your own assesment. I do go into that area a fair bit once it quiets down and also in the spring season but our vehicles are suited for accessing the areas and spurs without alot of people.

If You drive for an extra 45min/hour on the freeway and you remove yourself from all the weekend warriors I am sure you will enjoy the whole experiance alot more and you will see more animals of all types.

theres only one way for you to find out go and see for yourself

Exactly! Does that area hold nice bucks? Definitely! But only to get to the entrance of the logging road plus to the spots even right beside the main road will take at least three hours. Am I going to leave my vehicle unattended for hours beside the road in that area? No damn way!

[Bpower]

You could try looking into Burke Mountain in Coquitlam. Park at the entrance to the Poco gun range and hike up. Look carefully at the regs though, the entire park isn't open for hunting. The Lower Mainland Special Hunting Guide has a map that illustrates where you can shoot. You'll need to get to the top of the mountain and figure it out from there.

Might be worth checking it out with a dirt bike or mountain bike first since it might be quite far to hike to.

[lapadat]

My mistake, I made the assumption that he wasn't going to drive around logging roads all day!!!!, but rather throw on some hiking boots and hike into God's country.

PM me for several idiot-free hunting holes in the lowermainland.

[Deerwhacker]

You could try looking into Burke Mountain in Coquitlam. Park at the entrance to the Poco gun range and hike up. Look carefully at the regs though, the entire park isn't open for hunting. The Lower Mainland Special Hunting Guide has a map that illustrates where you can shoot. You'll need to get to the top of the mountain and figure it out from there.

Might be worth checking it out with a dirt bike or mountain bike first since it might be quite far to hike to.

My dad went to try that a couple of weeks ago and he turned around because they dont allow motor vehicles on that road anymore, ive been up their befour and theres not much for anyone who doesent wanna hike allot.

As for local places i drive at least 3 1/2 hours to get to a decent spot, the main thing im looking for besides animal density is lower amounts of people using the road systems for comon recreation (ie . burning back and forth in atv's/ dirtbikes). as for places to go if you change your mind and make the trip a little longer i would suggest the tulameen area ,boston bar,or way up the harrison west forest service road past most of the yahoos but that is a 4 hour drive and even a longer one in a car.if you dont mind walking i would suggest the chehailus lake forest service road , past where theyve blocked off the road should be quite . good luck and good hunting.

[rishu_pepper]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I really appreciate the support of this board. :-D There are so many choices on locations, my head's spinning already!

Another thing I wanted to ask, should I get a grunt caller or something similar?