7-42c Bison Draw

[steelhead68]

Just wondering if anyone has advice for accommodations in the area?
We will be going up in November. Cheers in advance.

[glenn22x]

Same question here, we will be going up Oct 1 - 15.

fwiw, I have read other posts on here and many have mentioned McElhanney maps. I called and ordered one, they said it will take about a week to get shipped. Cost was $60 plus $20 to ship. Bit steep but might be worth its weight in gold. here's the phone number I used: https://www.yellowpages.ca/bus/British-Columbia/Fort-St-John/McElhanney-Land-Surveys/3559556.html

[kevingm1987]

There is only really two places for accommodations that I know:
One on the Halfway, the other one the Sikanni

Zone C from the Sikanni side has basically no motor vehicle access. You can ATV up to the boundary and maybe about 100m into zone C it but after that its horseback or foot for October. For November, snowmobiles open up and will open up more country, they don't fall under the motor vehicle closures, but snow can be hit or miss that early in the year, usually a miss.

Both are challenging times to hunt Zone C from the Sikanni side, but people do it every year. Plan for a sheep hunt style of hunt, not a moose style of hunt.

Know nothing about accessing zone C from Halfway, so can't help with that.

Good luck

[steelhead68]

Excellent thank you

[steelhead68]

There is only really two places for accommodations that I know:
One on the Halfway, the other one the Sikanni

Zone C from the Sikanni side has basically no motor vehicle access. You can ATV up to the boundary and maybe about 100m into zone C it but after that its horseback or foot for October. For November, snowmobiles open up and will open up more country, they don't fall under the motor vehicle closures, but snow can be hit or miss that early in the year, usually a miss.

Both are challenging times to hunt Zone C from the Sikanni side, but people do it every year. Plan for a sheep hunt style of hunt, not a moose style of hunt.

Know nothing about accessing zone C from Halfway, so can't help with that.

Good luck

cheers, thank you

[Darksith]

I have experience on both the halfway/Blueberry and Sikanni. October for zone C...unless you can get horses its really a waste of time, energy and resources. If I had that draw I would be calling Todd at sikanni chief lodge and looking to book the hunt with him. Will cost you some $ but at least you stand a chance of being successful. Once you factor in doing that hunt in the late season with snowmobiles its really not that big a hit if you don't own the machines already.

Early November is basically going to be the same issue as mentioned above. Those 2 valleys are not in any sort of high precipitation zone, they don't generally get snow until mid nov. We were there Nov 20 last year and we still running ATV's as there was only an inch or 2 of snow and it was -25 or even -35 some nights. We tented it and eventually started to run the sleds but the road past the gate was bare so we used the ATV for the fist 20km then the sleds from there. It was hard on the machines.

Todd and Wendy at the lodge are great people and they have top notch facilities. People always expect them to know exactly where the bison are but thats not reality. The bison show up when they decide to come down off the high forested slopes. You can catch them on the grassy slopes as well but generally they don't come down into the valley until mid Nov although like with anything there are always a few resident herds kicking around. The early hunts are super tough and you must be aware of where you are allowed to run ATV's and where you aren't.

TOO many guys don't give a shit and think running an argo down every trail they find is OK. Eventually if people keep abusing this they will close it right off as it is a management area. We gave a couple groups shit last year asking them why they weren't running their sleds that were at the airstrip and they said they didn't want to beat them up, yet we were beating ours up and we told them the rules and that we weren't going to report them but we were a bit miffed at them as they were following us around.

This might be one of the most logistically challenging hunts in the province. It requires equipment, the ability to deal with some dangerously cold temps at times and the animals can simply not be around. The success rate is pretty low so keep that in mind if you go and don't have super high expectations. Not seeing any sign or animals for 9 days can break you mentally but sometimes day 10 or 11 it all changes in a split second.

I also have a BC Bison Hunting fb page that I try to help people out. Feel free to DM me as well. Im happy to help where I can, there is no honey holes, the bison simply move around too much.

[swampthing]

I have experience on both the halfway/Blueberry and Sikanni. October for zone C...unless you can get horses its really a waste of time, energy and resources. If I had that draw I would be calling Todd at sikanni chief lodge and looking to book the hunt with him. Will cost you some $ but at least you stand a chance of being successful. Once you factor in doing that hunt in the late season with snowmobiles its really not that big a hit if you don't own the machines already.

Early November is basically going to be the same issue as mentioned above. Those 2 valleys are not in any sort of high precipitation zone, they don't generally get snow until mid nov. We were there Nov 20 last year and we still running ATV's as there was only an inch or 2 of snow and it was -25 or even -35 some nights. We tented it and eventually started to run the sleds but the road past the gate was bare so we used the ATV for the fist 20km then the sleds from there. It was hard on the machines.

Todd and Wendy at the lodge are great people and they have top notch facilities. People always expect them to know exactly where the bison are but thats not reality. The bison show up when they decide to come down off the high forested slopes. You can catch them on the grassy slopes as well but generally they don't come down into the valley until mid Nov although like with anything there are always a few resident herds kicking around. The early hunts are super tough and you must be aware of where you are allowed to run ATV's and where you aren't.

TOO many guys don't give a shit and think running an argo down every trail they find is OK. Eventually if people keep abusing this they will close it right off as it is a management area. We gave a couple groups shit last year asking them why they weren't running their sleds that were at the airstrip and they said they didn't want to beat them up, yet we were beating ours up and we told them the rules and that we weren't going to report them but we were a bit miffed at them as they were following us around.

This might be one of the most logistically challenging hunts in the province. It requires equipment, the ability to deal with some dangerously cold temps at times and the animals can simply not be around. The success rate is pretty low so keep that in mind if you go and don't have super high expectations. Not seeing any sign or animals for 9 days can break you mentally but sometimes day 10 or 11 it all changes in a split second.

I also have a BC Bison Hunting fb page that I try to help people out. Feel free to DM me as well. Im happy to help where I can, there is no honey holes, the bison simply move around too much.

I follow your facebook page! Now I see who you are here!

[luckofthedraw]

I've got the Jan 16-31 zone C draw :) Question for the experienced guys; am I too crazy to think we can wall tent this hunt? 4 capable guys, with good gear and experience. I am very much looking forward to the logistic challenges ahead.

[stoneramhunter]

no problem wall tenting in you have a wood burning stove.

[Smokeeater]

I did the zone C (oct1-16), blueberry side a few of years ago. It was t-shirt weather when we arrived and -30°C/ couple inches of snow, within the first week. The actual boundary is about 3km past where the quads are not permitted. The McElhanney map will show you that. No bison were to be found or any fresh sign. we followed the rules and did a lot of hiking (25-30km per day) but there were others that were driving quads on all the roads.... Didnt seem to care. On the blueberry side, there is only one road and some spurs, so there is a lot of people in the same area. I had talked to one of the CO's before I went and they mentioned that they do occasional helicopter passes up the valleys to check on the hunters. Didn't see them but it did make me park the quad and walk. I would suggest horses if anyone is going early in the season. I would not do the hiking thing again.

[kevingm1987]

I've got the Jan 16-31 zone C draw :) Question for the experienced guys; am I too crazy to think we can wall tent this hunt? 4 capable guys, with good gear and experience. I am very much looking forward to the logistic challenges ahead.


I did this same hunt in January 2022 and will be going again in January 2024. We did the wall tent thing and it worked for us. We had a chinook though and the coldest temp we saw was around -17. We plan to do the wall tent again as long as temps are forecasted to stay above -20 or so. After -20 you will spend half the time cutting firewood and keep the stove burning. Water will freeze up, machines will struggle and riding around at those temps is down right cold. Need to also be super careful with a bison down. Warm blood on the hands get cold fast. Skin hose freezes to the meat.

If temps are super bad, we will bail or attempt to get a cabin with one of the ranches.

[justachip]

Ive never used one but a diesel heater would be a good investment to use along with the wood stove in the wall tent.

[kevingm1987]

Ive never used one but a diesel heater would be a good investment to use along with the wood stove in the wall tent.

A diesel heater would work, but then you need to carry diesel too. At -30 or lower the unit would be on full blast and a lot of diesel being burnt. Sledding in fuel for sleds and heat would be quite the job.

[Patman7]

I’ve done it at-30. Make sure you tarp the roof and walls, makes a big difference! Machines don’t like it, always travel with a partner and carry some survival gear including fire starter and food and blankets. Good adventure!

[Darksith]

I follow your facebook page! Now I see who you are here!

Oh no!!!! haha

[Darksith]

we were in -20 to -30+ this november in the wall tent. Water won't freeze as long as its in the tent usually. Put it in its own cooler if your really worried about it. If you have good gear and you are hunting dark to dark you aren't cutting wood all day.

[Mudsey]

If have space, 2' X 8' sheets of Styrofoam insulation placed horizontally against the walls around the inside of the tent make a big difference in holding in the heat. Also the flexible bubble wrap style of insulation used for waters heaters etc. works great on your cot underneath a sleeping pad or foamy for additional heat retention.

[justachip]

Has anybody burned coal in their wood stoves? I have read its a thing and would last longer than wood.

[swampthing]

My first year of buf hunting I actually stayed in a 20 year old pup tent! I had a good sled but a small not so good skimmer so my carrying capacity was limited. Temps started at -22 and warmed up to -15 during my 3 day trip. I struggled in my -18 taiga bag but got by wearing a few clothes to bed. I had to keep my beer in my sleeping bag during the day and it ended up near the fire at days end to get it drinkable. I did bring a mr buddy heater to take the edge off at bedtime and first thing in the morning. I camped on a creek and was able to chop a hole to get water as required. My suppers were all pre packaged in tin foil and cooked over a fire. The jetboil ensured I had morning coffee. A wall tent would have been a real luxury! That was a great trip and I actually found a buf minutes into the first mornings hunt. He was up in a high basin above treeline. I had packed a moose out of that basin almost 20 years back and it took 4 of us two days so that buf was safe from! I am hooked on sled camping now and have a bigger, sturdier skimmer and some upgraded sleeping gear! I have never experienced the mountains like that during the dead of the winter and I am hooked now!

[walks with deer]

Wow you went up for a three day trip?

[vincentcui]

I did the zone C (oct1-16), blueberry side a few of years ago. It was t-shirt weather when we arrived and -30°C/ couple inches of snow, within the first week. The actual boundary is about 3km past where the quads are not permitted. The McElhanney map will show you that. No bison were to be found or any fresh sign. we followed the rules and did a lot of hiking (25-30km per day) but there were others that were driving quads on all the roads.... Didnt seem to care. On the blueberry side, there is only one road and some spurs, so there is a lot of people in the same area. I had talked to one of the CO's before I went and they mentioned that they do occasional helicopter passes up the valleys to check on the hunters. Didn't see them but it did make me park the quad and walk. I would suggest horses if anyone is going early in the season. I would not do the hiking thing again.

That was exactly what happened to my dad's friend's group in October 2019. We arrived on Sep 30th, weather was in upper teens for a couple days. My dad and I left on Oct 3 because we got a 10-pt bull moose (at the time GOS but now LEH) on Oct 2, and had no choice but to bring the meat and trophy home. Other group members who actually had the bison LEH stayed for another week and experienced a dramatical change in weather, but at the end they did get one bison home though LEH issued two.