Hunting with snowshoes

[Brambles]

Wondering who among you hunt from snowshoes when the snow gets a little too deep or you start punching through the crust?

What snowshoes do you use and how do you like them

Because of the amount of hunting in the snow I've been doing I went out looking for snowshoes and stopped in at my favorite place "Valhalla Pure outfitters" in Nelson, the customer service is fantastic when you get someone knowledgable, sometimes you get a new guy and he/she talks like they know something but they are just puking up information that has been told to them with no actual personal experiance.

I spend alot of money there and know who to deal with and am very satisifed, (enough of the plug for Valhalla Pure Outfitters)

Anyways, I looked at Atlas snowshoes, and for my specific needs and weight class I got the biggest baddest most advanced snowshoe made:biggrin:
1235's seemed to be the ones for my needs, other than the fact that they are 35's and a little long but when you need weight capacity you need long shoes

These guy also have the contract for the US military special forces

http://www.atlassnowshoe.com/products/snowshoes.asp?productID=1

[Marc]

When I was and foolish I used to go hunting snowshoe hairs in the winter in -25C to -30C . I used to have a pair of the bear paw shoes. They were a little more cumbersome then the traditional sort but they had more surface area fo those with a bit more girth :biggrin:. I made the mistake of giving them away when I moved to the Island as I figured I'd never see snow again.

I just checked Canadian tire where I most likely got then 20 something years ago and they don't show them anymore. They were made of wood with the rawhide meshing.

[Brambles]

I just checked Canadian tire where I most likely got then 20 something years ago and they don't show them anymore. They were made of wood with the rawhide meshing.


There is some in a local sports store in town here, I believe. Do you want me to look into them for you.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

They're "almost" essential for spring grizzly hunting.
I don't have my own pair yet but a friend has the MSR Denali Ascent with the floatation tails. Pretty skookum shoes:cool:. Great for sidehilling and steep ascents.
Barney's Sports Chalet sells them so it usually means there amongst the best available.
http://www.barneyssports.com/category.jsp?depid=2&catid=118&path=

SSS

[Mark_S]

I have a pair of Powder Wings snow shoes from some store I don't remember the name of in Rossland. Very good snow shoes that I have put alot of miles on. Very pricy snow shoes though.

I use them hunting a fair bit and I use them in the winter months when I go looking for cat tracks or to look for real early sheds.

[Marc]

There is some in a local sports store in town here, I believe. Do you want me to look into them for you.


Not at this time but thanks. We don't get much snow on the Island unless you go to the higher elevations in the mountains. I'm planning some high country back packing this winter so I'll get a feel for it then. The most I've seen so far has only been around a foot of snow.

[todbartell]

I got a pair of Atlas last winter for coyote/wolf hunting, they're awesome

I think they are 1030s...

[boxhitch]

I think they are 1030s...
That would be the girlie-size, right ?

I have a pair of the old Sherpas, the foresters standard. They have a web lacing system instead of a finicky snow-board type plastic binding. Repairable and more compact.

[kutenay]

I have snowshoed a lot, for many years and always prefered Canadian Faber 10x36" shoes from Quebec; I used to spend five days at a time, solo, trekkiing into Kokanee Glacier and other spots near Nelson.

In 1975, I happened to find a deal on a pair of Sherpas in Kamloops, still have them and they have many miles on them. In the late '80s, I got a pair of Cole's Expedition shoes made in Wash.state from MEC, great shoes, but bulky and heavy.

Last year, I finally bought Crescent Moon Expeditions from Colorado and they are the best I have ever used, I do like Atlas shoes as well, but, they are now made in China which I do not like. MEC has Canadian shoes that are good,,including Fabers, my second favourite brand.

Try cross-country ski poles, with the large baskets with your snowshoes, they really help and can be used to hold up your tarp shelter when over-nighting.

[Poguebilt]

I use atlas snowshoes... worked great the few times I have used them

[troutseeker]

I've hunted with snowshoes before:-). When I was a teen in Quebec I often would go set snares for rabitts. If there was a fresh dump of snow I could often see the small mounds of snow into which a grouse was laying. Put snowshoe over mound, grouse head pops thru snowshoe, quick kick and voila, grouse in pack! Of course these were the old gut strung snowshoes.

Troutseeker