What you learnt and want to share about hunting last year

[Dad and son]

As we get ready for spring hunting I thought it would be good to share insights we all learnt last year out in the woods. Maybe we can stop someone else from making the same silly mistake we made or help someone bag their animal they might otherwise miss.
These are the 2 things I learnt
1) Don't leave a dead animal accessible at night around camp. I shot a large black bear in region 6 and drove it back to camp on my quad and arrived in camp after dark. I was tired, the bear was gutted, but not skinned. I simply dropped the bear unto the ground, noticed a lot of blood on the quad but simply covered the quad for the night and went in to eat and to sleep. The next morning the bear was gone. We were camped by a cutblock so I walked a bit around to see if the grizzly had carried it only a short distance and tried to bury it. I had no luck, so I now had a cancelled bear tag but no bear. I assume the large amount of blood on my quad attracted a grizzly.
2) I also learnt about the importance of labelling my hunting gear. I some how lost a bag of hunting gear out of my truck. I did not realize it until I arrived home. It was lost on a back road, maybe when I got out of my vehicle, who knows. I wish I had my name on the bag so whoever found it could have returned it to me as there was some valuable things in there.

How about you, what can you share with us about what you learned hunting last year.

[todbartell]

I learnt that hunting elk is better than any other hunting :lol: and that falling through the ice in a creek up to your balls really sucks

[Gateholio]

I learned that if it is the last day of the season, and you can kill any buck, and you see 4 bucks..It's better to just enjoy it, and not shoot.:p

Also, be sure to pick up any untagged hunting gear. Man, I got lots of stuff this year...:-P

[hunter1947]

I learnt to ask your hunting partner if you get half the animal if he kills it. Won't make that mistake again in my lifetime. Also to make sure you have a real powerful set of binoculars so you can identify a sixth sticker on an elk or other antlers that have restrictions on antlers.

[Gamebuster]

I learnt to ask your hunting partner if you get half the animal if he kills it. Won't make that mistake again in my lifetime. Also to make sure you have a real powerful set of binoculars so you can identify a sixth sticker on an elk or other antlers that have restrictions on antlers.

I thought sharing the meat from the spoils of the hunt was standard practice among hunters..I aint never heard of anybody not doing this....find another partner

[gone hunting]

Hey Dad and Son, Where were you hunting? We were hunting near Horsefly last November and came across a black back pack. It had some nice stuff in it (a pair of binoculars, a leather belt pouch with some 270 ammo in it, etc) but no ID. We debated over what to do with it and decided the best plan was to leave it where it was and ask everyone we met if it was theirs. We passed it on the road, in the snow on that hill side , every day for about a week, then one day it was gone. I hope it was found by the owner.

[hunter1947]

I thought sharing the meat from the spoils of the hunt was standard practice among hunters..I aint never heard of anybody not doing this....find another partner
I thought that as well ,thats why I didn't ask ,I thought it was standard practice http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon9.gif ,as for another partner ,I have dozens that I hunt with and I know they all share what was taken..http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif.

[Dad and son]

I was hunting near Sayward on Vancouver Island when I lost my backpack. Mpotzold if you consider getting a winch get the warn winch that slides into the hitch receiver. I have that winch and had a hitch receiver mounted in the front of my vehicle as well. Now I have the potential to use my winch from the front or back of my truck. That flexibility has come in very handy both around camp and for getting unstuck.

[Sitkaspruce]

Considering getting a Warn Winch for the f350. (never had 1 before). Loading an 850 lbs moose last Sep. into the back of a pick-up was a backbreaking (and morale breaking) exercice. Hoisting it on a cross bar was another agonizing story.Both involved sheer strength,determination and pulleys.(never again!!)

Hey mpotzold

Ever tried quartering a moose???:biggrin:

It is a lot easier to pack quarters than the whole thing.

If you really need to put the whole thing in the truck. pick up one of those Costco 2500 lbs winches and mount it on a cross member. Put the cross member across the box of your truck and mount it. Then rig up a slide system that allows you to winch the animal into the truck. Easy on your back and a lot less frustrating. But seriously, quarter your animal and it will be easier to handle and you will have more time to have a couple of cold ones.

[Kody94]

I thought sharing the meat from the spoils of the hunt was standard practice among hunters..I aint never heard of anybody not doing this....find another partner

Hope your partner was a newbie and just didn't know better, '47.

The rules/etiquette of "splitting" are not hard and fast (given the variety of circumstances that occur), IMHO, but the offer should generally be made...especially if you are done a hunt and all travelling back home.

My Pa added another dimension to it...."if you pack it, its yours". It does encourages some guys to get out their packboard and help you out instead of heading off hunting, and it only seems fair!

Cheers,
4ster

[guest]

After harvesting dozens of game animals, meat and trophy class, it's never to late to miss possibly one that you want the most. All the hard work, the prep, the years waiting for the LEH, the costs, sweat and blisters. I shot high after rushing a shot with out a rest on an extreme angle uphill. I pulled high !!! Even in my senior years of hunting.....I think buck fever can hit anyone. No one to blame but myself. Here goes again waiting for the same LEH...urgh! Staight shootin everyone.

[Dannybuoy]

Hey mpotzold

Ever tried quartering a moose???:biggrin:

It is a lot easier to pack quarters than the whole thing.

If you really need to put the whole thing in the truck. pick up one of those Costco 2500 lbs winches and mount it on a cross member. Put the cross member across the box of your truck and mount it. Then rig up a slide system that allows you to winch the animal into the truck. Easy on your back and a lot less frustrating. But seriously, quarter your animal and it will be easier to handle and you will have more time to have a couple of cold ones.
Or we have put a whole moose into a pick up a couple of times now by pulling it up onto the high side of a bank ... then just roll it down into the truck ... ours have just been smaller size moose (1000 lb?) but it would work on any size .... just have lots of rope
Dan

[tomahawk]

I learnt to clean your ATV of all animal blood etc as soon as you can. Unlike Dad and Son who lost the animal, I had what I think was a coyote\wolf\racoon or whatever come in at night and couldn't get to the meat so it ate half the seat, including the cover and foam.

[Muleycatcher]

taking one step either left or right can make the difference between just seeing a doe standing there or taking the step and seeing a huge buck standing behind a tree. Also when making a shot on a running 5 point buck make sure the safety is off when he comes to a stop and it is time to make the shot!!! man I felt stupid

[Jelvis]

I learned most people don't want to walk up a 1000 ft in elevation and hike around where the deer are. In the snowy bush for eight hours looking for deer in country way off the road. So forget even asking, go anyway on your own cause if you wait for others you'll still be waiting. Another thing I learned after I sold my gas guzzler truck and I learned without a vehicle it's hard to get some one to drive you out to a place where you climb a thousand feet up and walk around for 8 hours in snow looking for a big buck you have to drag out for three hours over snow covered wind fall and steep rocky terrain. I learned a lot. Jelearned

[johnes50]

I thought that as well ,thats why I didn't ask ,I thought it was standard practice http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon9.gif ,as for another partner ,I have dozens that I hunt with and I know they all share what was taken..http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif.

LOL. I learned that one too, but last year with a Blacktail and it was my deer and I got no meat. Long story. I gave up a hunting partner over that one.

I also learned that my partner needed a hearing aide and glasses. Now when I talk to him he doesn't just give me a dumb look and nod and I don't have to keep telling him, "No, that doe doesn't have antlers". Much better now that he's got glasses and a hearing aide. He also told me he didn't know his wife yelled so much.:grin:

[porcupine]

I learned that if you get the ATV stuck in deep mud and gun the engine, you can get yourself covered in mud pretty quick. Also, learned how to winch and ATV of of a bad spot. Also, learned that if you use satellite imagery from google you can find a hidden spot and shoot the only moose taken in the camp last year.
________
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[mark]

Dont piss into the wind! Oh ya, and dont eat the yellow snow!

[quadrakid]

last year i learnt that you can,t expect a hunting area to hold the same amount of moose as it did a few years ago.(i also learnt that excuse) also came to realize how comfy walltents can be.

[bsa30-06]

I learnt to ask your hunting partner if you get half the animal if he kills it. Won't make that mistake again in my lifetime. Also to make sure you have a real powerful set of binoculars so you can identify a sixth sticker on an elk or other antlers that have restrictions on antlers.

hunter1947 are you saying your partner took the hole animal.I always just assumed splitting the animal was an unwritten rule....that sucks.

[Gamebuster]

....My Pa added another dimension to it...."if you pack it, its yours". It does encourages some guys to get out their packboard and help you out instead of heading off hunting, and it only seems fair!

Cheers,
4ster

yup that's a good point but I thought it was also standard practice for partners to chip in and help out...I guess I aint never had a partner that didn't want to share meat or chip in and help pack or drag somethin out

[betteroffishing]

i learnt that its great to get out walking instead of driving and not to be to picky with the shot . if its a go squeeze the shot and then you can get picky with the shots the camera takes of you and your new dead freind

[Kody94]

Dont piss into the wind! Oh ya, and dont eat the yellow snow!

And the one most of us end up learning the hard way ;) ..."don't fry bacon with your shirt off!"

[camelsfoot]

I learned to enjoy every moment as the next hunt can't come quick enough.

[Wolfman]

I learnt that hunting elk is better than any other hunting :lol: and that falling through the ice in a creek up to your balls really sucks

Yikes!

I had that happen to me up in the Yukon and I agree: It sucks!




Wolfman

[GrizGuy92]

I learned not to hand my rifle to my DAD while I take off my pack to get set up when theres a grizzly at 60 yards in the middle of the road while quatering away leaving a nice clear open shot. Because most likely he will put the safety on.

[Koot]

I learned that I should have listened to Dad and Son about my moose draw last year.He was 100% spot on.The area blows!!! I also learned that the sun coming up over my shoulder can really screw up my view through my scope.Try as I might I could not repeat those conditions.I guess that mulie wasn't ment for my wall /freezer this year.Oh yeah,It really sucks when your rifle sling gets hooked on your arm rest when the hunting gods give you a "gift"
Koot

[Sideofabarn]

I learned to always have the bow handy when you get out of the vehicle to pee, and that guys who have to knock back wobblies at 8am probably aren't the best hunting partners

[orion]

I learn something every season and this year it was the following:

1. In the later part of elk season only the satellites will respond and show themselves. The big boys already have their cows and are reluctant to leave their cover to pick up one more. Need to be more agressive. Last issue of "Bugle" magazine described four such tactics.

2. When a grizzly is within 30 ft., make sure your scope covers are off :oops: !

[boonerbuck]

I learned first hand (proved what I knew already anyways) that it aint over til it's over.

I had very limited time last season during the rut and besides helping a friend find a meat deer and looking to fill his LEH moose draw, I hadnt chased those big rutting mulies yet. It came down to the final three days of the season and the first two of those were only evening hunts.

Day one I road hunted/scouted an area I was given a heads up about. I was driving around only because I went in blind. That evening I found a series of cuts and swamps that had plenty of sign.

Day two's evening hunt I sat on a stump where I could see 360 around me with my optics looking at what was still moving around. I saw three seperate mature bucks with 2 being Hogs.

Day 3 I spent the whole day watching 3 spots for action and waiting where they seemed to be moving the most. Last 30 minutes of closing day out wandered a buck and I nailed the smallest of the 3 I was after but it was still one of my biggest bucks to date.

I got to tell you, this was one of the most rewarding kills ever because of my optimistic outlook despite not having a spot and only having 3 days.:smile:

[44inchStone]

To Never forget back up hearing aide batteries.:frown: My hunting partner was wispering that he was a big six point and to shoot. It proves that I was not very good at reading lips.

[bearheart]

As we get ready for spring hunting I thought it would be good to share insights we all learnt last year out in the woods. Maybe we can stop someone else from making the same silly mistake we made or help someone bag their animal they might otherwise miss.
These are the 2 things I learnt
1) Don't leave a dead animal accessible at night around camp. I shot a large black bear in region 6 and drove it back to camp on my quad and arrived in camp after dark. I was tired, the bear was gutted, but not skinned. I simply dropped the bear unto the ground, noticed a lot of blood on the quad but simply covered the quad for the night and went in to eat and to sleep. The next morning the bear was gone. We were camped by a cutblock so I walked a bit around to see if the grizzly had carried it only a short distance and tried to bury it. I had no luck, so I now had a cancelled bear tag but no bear. I assume the large amount of blood on my quad attracted a grizzly.
2) I also learnt about the importance of labelling my hunting gear. I some how lost a bag of hunting gear out of my truck. I did not realize it until I arrived home. It was lost on a back road, maybe when I got out of my vehicle, who knows. I wish I had my name on the bag so whoever found it could have returned it to me as there was some valuable things in there.

How about you, what can you share with us about what you learned hunting last year.This reminded me of something I saw years ago. I pulled into an old campground in the east Kootenays years ago and a bunch of guys were running around with their rifles looking for a @#$!^%$in black bear. The bear had taken the seat off one of their quads and ran off in the bush with it while they were sitting around their campfire shooting the breeze. Turns out they had some moose blood on the seat from a hunt earlier in the season and hadn't bother to clean it well. They never did find the seat or the bear, a word to the wise!!

[Leaseman]

Last year was my sons first year of actual hunting.... our whole season was spent getting him his first deer (work interfered too much for more time!)....

I learnt/saw all over again the thrill of someone getting their first big game animal....after 40 years of hunting, the thrill was there for me every season (I thought) until I got to see my son shoot his buck.... What a thrill!!!!!



Mike

[Archer]

As far as splitting meat, that sucks that you had to lose a partner over the deal 47. But between myself and a few buddies, we have never really bothered to share meat, even though we all help with the dragging/packing.
I guess we all just assume that since we all have tags, we'll bag our own meat. Mind you, we always hunted the Island with general tags. I'm sure we'd share if it were an elk or moose, but with bear and blacktails, we never bothered to share, and none of us ever seemed to mind. Not that we wouldn't, but it just never really came up, I guess.
Back to the topic, one thing I learned this season is 700 yrds seems a hell of a lot farther when you're dragging a deer on your own.

[kenkell1]

I learned to always make sure your day pack has an ample supply of arse wipe because wool socks really aren't that soft and neither is the sleeve off a wool shirt ;)

[moosinaround]

I learned that successful hunting usually involes lots of patience time and persistence. In my case it took 13 years to finally bag an immature bull moose. Best part was it was with my son and my sister, and we didn't see another hunter all day! just because they call the tires mud lites doesn't mean they can go anywhere! Peace country muskeg sucks when you break through it!! Moosin

[hunter1947]

As far as splitting meat, that sucks that you had to lose a partner over the deal 47. But between myself and a few buddies, we have never really bothered to share meat, even though we all help with the dragging/packing.
I guess we all just assume that since we all have tags, we'll bag our own meat. Mind you, we always hunted the Island with general tags. I'm sure we'd share if it were an elk or moose, but with bear and blacktails, we never bothered to share, and none of us ever seemed to mind. Not that we wouldn't, but it just never really came up, I guess.
Back to the topic, one thing I learned this season is 700 yrds seems a hell of a lot farther when you're dragging a deer on your own. I guess I take things for granite ,I assumed that I would get some of the meat. That's one thing I learnt ,ask befor you hunt with someone ,then decide if it will work for you and the other that you are going to hunt with..

[Spuddge]

"SLOW DOWN", it's amazing how much more you see if you just slow the pace down.

[Red Foreman]

We split evenly with moose,with deer everyone ussually ends up getting one so we don't bother.Everyone knows this at the start and we'll all help with the dragging or packing.Normally if someone helps you,you buy the beer.

[wsm]

I was hunting near Sayward on Vancouver Island when I lost my backpack. Mpotzold if you consider getting a winch get the warn winch that slides into the hitch receiver. I have that winch and had a hitch receiver mounted in the front of my vehicle as well. Now I have the potential to use my winch from the front or back of my truck. That flexibility has come in very handy both around camp and for getting unstuck.
lock your winch my friend lost in cache cr when he went in to paY FOR FUEL

[wsm]

last year i learned not to ever forget tire chains

[bruin]

I learned a good lesson in hunting all day in the late season, because bucks can be moving at almost anytime and although they may not move quite as much as the prime hours there is still a good chance of stumbling into a buck.

[Archer]

One other thing I learned was don't go hunting with your boss. Besides trying to tell me how to hunt the whole time, he decided to take it upon himself to buy us some very pricey booze after we had agreed to split all costs 50/50. I just wanted to hunt hard, not sip expensive liqour in the woods! To top it off, on the way home he casually mentions that I can shoot him 10 bucks so that he can wash his company truck! The guy makes over 200K/yr and the company pays for his truck! Never again will I make the mistake of hunting with him.

[Timbow]

Dont piss into the wind! Oh ya, and dont eat the yellow snow!

:lol: I learned those two things when I was in grade one. Please don't tell me you just learned that last year.....just kidding....couldn't resist.

I learned, once again, never to leave your pack with all the gear at the truck when you decide to track a set of deer tracks for 1/2 hour. Last years 1/2 hour hunt started at 2 pm and ended 11 pm. Wife was not impressed with that brilliant idea.

Cheers

[mookie_monster]

I learned never to walk away from camp without a gun or husband with a gun when your in griz country. We were camped about 50km east of Tumbler in a foresty campsite, lots of ppl everywhere. Took the dog for a little walk to a bridge about 100 feet from our site. Walked to the bridge and right back, took about 5 minutes, no sooner then getting to our site 2 grizzlies walked onto the road between the bridge and our site. I coulda been breakfast. :eek:

[TIKA 300]

I learned next time we hunt at the Parsnip,to bring bait (just kidding,still bitter about not even seeing a bear :mad::frown::?:)so at least we would see something.LOL TK

[mr eagle]

I learned not to forget your boots at home when going hunting in the interior at the end of October. The feet get might cold and wet in a hury when hiking through frosty meadows at 5 30 am on the way in to a spot.

I then learned that interior sporting goods shops make a fortune off LML hunters who forget their boots. The cost was double what it is in the LML.

[7mmag]

I learned that hunting Elk rules!:D

and working over sea's sucks!!:frown:

[Paulyman]

i learned that if you dont cover your meat properly cougars may or may not take it and if you are going to shoot your rifle at game make sure you have it secured properly, cause scopebite sucks.I now have a nice 1" scar above my nose.

lastly but most importantly when you go out for your day hunt, don't forget the t.p.!!!

[wjh131]

I learned to make darn sure to stay til dark. Missed out on a very nice whitetail that woulda went over 180 because my ride was waiting for me at the main road. Also, I learned to shoot when you have the first best chance, no second guess.

[Mr. Dean]

I learned that holding out for a booker in a 1 deer MU, is very rewarding; even though all I got was an uncut tag. The lesson learned was that there is truth to hunting being more than just a prize (dead animal) to show for the time put in.

The experience of last year could not have been had if I pulled on the 1st buck that presented a shot.

[BiG Boar]

I learned everything I know about hunting in my last hunt, as I am a newbie. I like this forum!

[Paulyman]

I learned you should never share a tent with someone who snores or has been eating stag chilli that day.

[MichelD]

I learned that safety is all well and good and it is wise to leave your safety on at all times, but when a flock of Canada geese flies over you at 30 feet, in order to shoot them you must take the safety off before pulling the trigger.

[bruin]

Paulyman, got any scopebite pics?

[pikey]

I learnt that when you follow some tracks of the road that it is best to leave someone on the damn road. We both went in, on the way back out heard a bang and lots of hooting and hollering.

We pushed a big 'ol buck out onto the road just as a group of hunters were driving down....4 point gift. :)

[Paulyman]

Paulyman, got any scopebite pics?


Ha ha, youre a funny guy!

[EvanG]

I learned that when walking several hours up to find a goat, and take a few slight falls, look down to make sure your scope is still there, thank god for iron sights.