Last week-end grizzly hunting in 7-38

[Beardy]

Hey Everyone! (sorry for the read)

So after spending a total of 4 days in MU 7-38, driving close to 2500km total, spending a good $400 in gas and not counting all the other supplies I needed for my grizzly hunt, I’m considering throwing in the towel. Either my timing was terrible or I didn’t know what I was doing (something I’m not willing to admit yet… read so many books, asked so many questions, I felt confident!).


Anyways, I don’t know what to do yet… I think I must have swallowed a good 5gal of dust on those FSR with all those ore trucks driving around full speed. Hahaha I can’t tell you how dusty I got! All the slopes I glassed were empty, I drove every road, looked in every swamp, hiked, staked out a moose kill (not very fresh mind you, but still meaty), staked out the spot where I saw the grizzlies on that first day, walked the banks of the rivers, glassed valleys, and I turned out empty handed; if the roads were not washed out, they were still full of snow. Found lots of nice little moose hunting cabins, a nice moose shed and had fun so I guess it’s no big loss. So thanks to all of you for helping me out with spots to glass, maps, advice, hints and tips. It’s nice to have that kind of support system when you’re a newbie to the sport.

So to finish this off, as a general note on the MU for some of you who haven’t been there in a while, first off, the Ogden Mountain area is almost not accessible, still too much snow and fallen trees, the locals told me that it’s been a while since those roads have been used and they doubted whether or not even someone with a huge pickup (when the snow has melted) could make it. The Aiken Lake area is now Takla Lake Nation’s private property, too bad because it looked SO GOOD with some nice slides to glass at a distance, but yeah, signs say you can’t hunt there anymore and that it’s first nation territory. I drove so much, couldn’t find any other spots to glass. Really disappointing! I was pumped to get a big grizz, any grizz actually! Unless if some of you have any last advice, I don't think I'm going back, I feel like it's random to just drive around FSR looking for bears that might be crossing. I can't find any good slopes. I can't even find bear tracks or scat, and believe me, I looked!!! Congrats to the guys that tagged out!


Thanks for reading!

[BCrams]

well 2500 km of driving etc. Sounds like a bit much to me. I looked at google of the zone and found 2 spots I would simply just camp at and have a high likely hood of getting a grizz without burning gas "road hunting".

But like you said, you're fairly new to hunging and grizz hunting isn't exactly easy.

By the way:

staked out a moose kill (not very fresh mind you, but still meaty)

Staking out a moose kill or any kill for that matter to shoot a grizz on is illegal. As a new hunter, you need to ensure you thoroughly read the regulations.

[Beardy]

I know it's illegal, if I found a grizzly, I would have followed him around and studied his comings and goings... I just wanted to see if Grizzly were even in the area! I did my homework, don't worry.

On google maps, where would you have camped out?

[BCrams]

'followed him around / comings and goings ....' that was a good chuckle!

If you are holding a firearm and a CO comes along, you likely will get a warning or charged because your intent is to "hunt" wildlife attracted to the meat. I believe Bart Lancaster was charged with 'intent' although his hunter never shot anything over a dead animal .... the intent was there. Don't take this as an attack on you. I believe you did thoroughly read the regs, but putting the definitions of 'bait' and 'hunt' / 'hunting' together will make it more clear.

A good rule of thumb, if you know there's a dead moose there, don't sit on it holding a rifle with the idea of 'following the bear' away from the moose to hunt him. I'll bet there was bush around, and I doubt many experienced grizz hunters would go following a griz into the bush like you planned to .... your explanation above won't wash with a CO, and we know you wouldn't watch a kill with no rifle in your hand (grin)

That said ....

The google image is where I would focus my time. All south facing av tracks.

[mark]

I feel yer pain Beardy! Im a pretty experienced hunter, been on 2 such grizz hunts in the last 2 years and both turned out as yours did, not even a spec of sign! It happens, alot of it is timing when it comes to bears!

[GoatGuy]

Too bad. Kinda surprised there weren't any problems last fall.

Sorry to hear.

[Beardy]

I'm not taking this as an attack, I just don't want people to draw conclusions too quickly. I appreciate the advice. I sometimes just talk too much. I was sitting in my truck, glancing down a decommissioned FSR where a moose was dead. The rifle was in the back unloaded, I was just sitting in the truck with a pair of binos, looking to see if there were any signs of grizzly anywhere. I know better than to walk in the bush by myself to investigate a kill... that's all!

Thanks for the info! What part of the MU is that google map pic taken from?


'followed him around / comings and goings ....' that was a good chuckle!

If you are holding a firearm and a CO comes along, you likely will get a warning or charged because your intent is to "hunt" wildlife attracted to the meat. I believe Bart Lancaster was charged with 'intent' although his hunter never shot anything over a dead animal .... the intent was there. Don't take this as an attack on you. I believe you did thoroughly read the regs, but putting the definitions of 'bait' and 'hunt' / 'hunting' together will make it more clear.

A good rule of thumb, if you know there's a dead moose there, don't sit on it holding a rifle with the idea of 'following the bear' away from the moose to hunt him. I'll bet there was bush around, and I doubt many experienced grizz hunters would go following a griz into the bush like you planned to .... your explanation above won't wash with a CO, and we know you wouldn't watch a kill with no rifle in your hand (grin)

That said ....

The google image is where I would focus my time. All south facing av tracks.

[BCrams]

Thanks for the info! What part of the MU is that google map pic taken from?

No problem!

Not a guarantee for a bear but this area would get my attention if I had the draw.

56 deg 04' 10.44" 125 deg 42' 26.25"

There's a burn at

56 deg 12' 07.19" 124 deg 52' 36.31"

But no idea how old the burn is or what access is like. Burns are excellent spring areas for grizz as well as fall. Might have to don a pack and hike in.

[CanuckShooter]

If you are holding a firearm and a CO comes along, you likely will get a warning or charged because your intent is to "hunt" wildlife attracted to the meat. I believe Bart Lancaster was charged with 'intent' although his hunter never shot anything over a dead animal .... the intent was there.

.... your explanation above won't wash with a CO, and we know you wouldn't watch a kill with no rifle in your hand (grin)



I don't believe you can be charged with 'intent' to commit an offense?? That is like stopping you when your driving down the highway and charging you with the intent to speed!!~!!

[tufferthandug]

The google image is where I would focus my time. All south facing av tracks.


Hello BCRams,

Myself being new to hunting, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction via Google Earth/red circles for Stone Sheep, Mule deer and Elk. Thanks in advance!!!

[MRBucks]

Timing, and good old horse shoe luck, is definitely a part in hunting. Better luck next time.

I kind of wonder about the "intent" thing myself. What if your intent was to protect yourself, while looking over a dead animal, that happens to be in a area bears roam? The few times I have spotted a dead animal in the bush, (usually because of ravens) I have walked up to it with rifle in my hands. I think a guy would be a fool not to. I seriously had no intent to hunt for a bear, just to look at the dead animal out of curiosity. Surely others have done this?

[boxhitch]

If your spotted driving a red Corvette in a 50 zone , and there is a report called in of a red Corvette speeding through a school zone, I bet you will get a talking to.
Same thing in the bush. If you and a carcass and a rifle and a dead bear are all spotted in the same area at the same time......well, you do the math. The courts will decide the outcome.
Just have a good story, and try to avoid involvement, and when shit happens, man up and deal with it.

[Sitkaspruce]

Hey Beardy

Too bad about Ogden. It was open last year as we watched three grizz walk around on it last fall. Must have been a hell of a wind storm up there. How about above Kelly Lake?

Aiken Lake is now Takla Territory????

Since when do "they" have the right to restrict access and hunting in the area???

I guess things have changed since I was up there last fall:?:

Do not give up so easily. Go back in a couple of weeks and see how much access will be open.

SS

[Beardy]

Yeah, that's what I'll probably do. I'll go back when the roads are easier to access! I didn't get to Kelly Lake, the road stopped at about mile 18 on that FSR, couldn't get any closer. But another week of melt or so and it should open it up pretty good! I'll have to bring a chainsaw though!

Yeah I don't know about Aiken Lake. It looks like a really good area, there are just these signs everywhere and gates made out of logs and stuff. Disappointing because even the locals in Germansen were talking about Aiken lake, and from a distance with a spotting scope, looks like really nice grizz habitat! I might try to contact the band... I don't know why it's Takla territory, Takla is from Ft St James and this is in the Mackenzie forest district... I don't even know if it's legit, signs were spray painted on plywood, nothing too official looking!

Thanks for the words


Hey Beardy

Too bad about Ogden. It was open last year as we watched three grizz walk around on it last fall. Must have been a hell of a wind storm up there. How about above Kelly Lake?

Aiken Lake is now Takla Territory????

Since when do "they" have the right to restrict access and hunting in the area???

I guess things have changed since I was up there last fall:?:

Do not give up so easily. Go back in a couple of weeks and see how much access will be open.

SS

[Beardy]

Nothing happened!!! There would have been no dead bear because I WOULDN'T have shot a bear over a moose carcass.

Out of curiosity though and to continue this conversation... Let's say that you are hunting black bear in the fall in an oat field. You spot the bear across the field (feeding on oats)... do you take the shot or not? What's the difference there? Some bears feed on carcass, others feed on oats, others feed on berries or skunk cabbage!!! I didn't put the carcass there just like I didn't grow the skunk cabbage to attract the bears! Why is hunting over a carcass illegal when hunting in an oat field or slide full of skunk cabbage isn't? I understand that it's illegal to intentionally bait a bear, but when you try to find bears by looking for food sources, I don't understand why that's illegal!? I play by the rules, I wouldn't shoot a bear close to a moose carcass, but to me, in my head, it's the same thing as hunting a bear in an oat field or slide full of skunk cabbage!



Just have a good story, and try to avoid involvement, and when shit happens, man up and deal with it.

[GoatGuy]

Yeah, that's what I'll probably do. I'll go back when the roads are easier to access! I didn't get to Kelly Lake, the road stopped at about mile 18 on that FSR, couldn't get any closer. But another week of melt or so and it should open it up pretty good! I'll have to bring a chainsaw though!

Yeah I don't know about Aiken Lake. It looks like a really good area, there are just these signs everywhere and gates made out of logs and stuff. Disappointing because even the locals in Germansen were talking about Aiken lake, and from a distance with a spotting scope, looks like really nice grizz habitat! I might try to contact the band... I don't know why it's Takla territory, Takla is from Ft St James and this is in the Mackenzie forest district... I don't even know if it's legit, signs were spray painted on plywood, nothing too official looking!

Thanks for the words

Call the co's on the access thing.

[spikesaplty]

Hello Beardy,The co for your area is Tracy Wallbar.Contact # 250-997-2205.I have talked with tracy regarding similar issues in unit 7-39 an found him VERY knowlegable,helpfull on the facts as well as planning.A great fella ta talk to.Good huntin an good luck on yer bear! Spike 340

[KodiakHntr]

Tracy is good people, no doubt.

I could be wrong, but I believe there is a 3 band agreement with the gov't on hunting use for the area. I do know that in the synopsis it states if you are hunting in 7-30, 7-29, 7-38, and 7-39 you are requested to contact the band office and let them know that you are going to be hunting in the area.

[Ambush]

Baiting?? How many of you would sit by an alfalfa field and wait for a deer? How many of you would sit by an oatfield to shoot a black bear? Both described as bait in the regs. How about salmon in a stream? But it was not PLACED with the intent to attract. How about deer or moose "in heat" scents? What if you shoot a bear and then discover a carcass, is it illegal then?
If I had a grizzly tag, and if I saw a grizzly leaving a dead moose in the spring, I would wait for him to return to his natural food source and I would shoot him. That is no more "baiting" then waiting for a bear to come back to a green spot. If that moose is bait, so is every agricultural crop in the province or any food source for that matter.
And I believe [but not sure] the guide in question was using a horse. You may want to talk to a CO before YOU do it, but I wouldn't think twice.

[todbartell]

Baiting?? How many of you would sit by an alfalfa field and wait for a deer? How many of you would sit by an oatfield to shoot a black bear? Both described as bait in the regs

where in the regs is it stated that hunting over cultivated land is unlawful? :-) I see where bait is described as being crop, but I think that means more like pouring a pile of grain or a pile of apples for deer, bear etc

[MattB]

I believe you are allowed to bait deer, just not bear...

[Ambush]

where in the regs is it stated that hunting over cultivated land is unlawful? :-) I see where bait is described as being crop, but I think that means more like pouring a pile of grain or a pile of apples for deer, bear etc

I believe that is correct. To be bait it has to be purposely placed to attract wildlife. A moose that has died naturaly, I don't think could be considered bait unless you place it somewhere for the purpose of attracting wildlife.
I think the question is not "what is bait", but rather "what is baiting"
I have asked the MOE for a legal definition and will post it, if and when I get it.

[todbartell]

but if you know that moose is dead there, sitting over it will without a doubt be classed as baiting

[Beardy]

Glad to see that some of you agree that the definition of "bait" or "baiting" can be up to debate. Can't wait to see what MOE says so as soon as you have a definition, please post StringFling! Thanks for the input

[KodiakHntr]

Bait - means anything, including meat, cereals,
cultivated crops, restrained animal or any
manufactured product or material, that may
attract wildlife and includes plastic or other
imitation foods, but does not include a decoy
as described under these regulations.

[stovepipes]

Beardy, Have hunted MU 7-38 for 23 years, all for Moose, but I have seen allot of Grizzly and Grizzly sign. Had two Grizzly walk within thirty feet of our wall tent (at night,tracks in the snow) on two occasions. Had one put a stalk on me while I was calling Moose, have found a Cow and Calf Moose burried in brush and twenty feet of ground all torn up, had one carry a Bull Moose head with rack still attached two hundred yards across a meadow and then bend the bar of our chainsaw 90 degrees to get their tongue into the fine stuff after quartering the Bull, it left claw marks embedded into the chainsaw housing. Had one eat a whole hind quarter of a Moose overnight (approx. 135 lbs). A friend shot a nice boar three years ago in the area.
For Grizzly Bears, get a 14 foot alum. boat with 10 to 15 horse motor and hunt the Omineca River from Germansens Landing up as far as you can go (and that is a long way depending on water levels). We have seen all the Bears from mid. Oct. to end of Nov. So do not know if they will be there this early for your draw. As has been stated in previous articles on Grizzlies they seem to be attracted to the shot of a rifle for a free meal, plus this is prime time for moose in that area and gut bags are plentiful.
Hope this helps you, if not it might help someone who has a fall draw for Grizzly in this MU.

[Camp Cook]

If you hunt the Ominica as described above do not constantly run the entire river concentrate on a 5 mile stretch that shows the most sign/tracks in the sand or has the best view of the slides you run up then drift down and repeat you will have far better luck.

[srupp]

Beardy...contact the CO about the garbage with the indians..CRAP...BULLSHIT.....and GO BACK..dont waste the oportunity..a couple of days overtime for the gas money..do it...

However IF ya arnt successful give me a PM..and we can talk about your next leh...I think I can help..and WHEN successful I will come along WITH a camera and help spot :roll: some big bears.....

But do please try again AFTER contacting the local CO..

cheers

Steven

[Beardy]

Hey Steven!

I am planning on going back on Wednesday! I'll try the Omineca River and Aiken Lake again. I tried contacting the CO all week, left a couple messages but haven't heard back. Hopefully I'll get my chance this week! Feeling good about it! I even tried calling the main office in Mackenzie but I HATE HATE HATE going through answering machine menus press 1 press 2 press 3, nobodys there see ya later! Makes me so angry :mad: hahahaha What happened to talking to real people?

Anyways, I'll let you guys know how it turns out! Thanks for all your advice!

Phil


Beardy...contact the CO about the garbage with the indians..CRAP...BULLSHIT.....and GO BACK..dont waste the oportunity..a couple of days overtime for the gas money..do it...

However IF ya arnt successful give me a PM..and we can talk about your next leh...I think I can help..and WHEN successful I will come along WITH a camera and help spot :roll: some big bears.....

But do please try again AFTER contacting the local CO..

cheers

Steven

[MattB]

Good luck this time Phil! We'll have to try and get out for elk once im back up in PG!

[Beardy]

For sure Matt! PM or email me when you're back down!


Good luck this time Phil! We'll have to try and get out for elk once im back up in PG!

[BiG Boar]

We could de-bait about bait and baiting definitions all day, and still who knows our fate. However I am going to be late for picking up my date named kate, and I dont want to have to spend the night at home alone and ******bate! Late-r

[BCHunterFSJ]

I am going to the Aiken Lake area for grizzlies tomorrow. Any updates on the "First Nations" issue??

[Beardy]

I am going to the Aiken Lake area for grizzlies tomorrow. Any updates on the "First Nations" issue??

Hey!
So you are leaving tomorrow? So am I! You going by yourself? If so, maybe we could go together?

I talked to the CO about the Aiken Lake issue. The access to Aiken Lake (the road with the mailbox off the Tenaki FSR) splits in two. One road leads to private property which we are not allowed to be on, the other is officially now Takla territory, they built a camp there and gaited the entrance and stuff. The sign says no hunting so we are not allowed to hunt Aiken Lake anymore. This comes from Tracy the Mackenzie CO. Shitty deal but he says there is no other way of accessing the slides that are right off the lake. I have a boat and everything, legs to hike up, but we just can't hunt there anymore and the CO said there's nothing he can do about it. Disappointing because that is NICE grizzly habitat! I was planning on hitting the Ogden/Kelly Lake area, should be melted by now and the road should be easier to access. If not, I'll be hunting the Tenaki again, that's the only spot I saw Grizz. I'll also be driving a grey SUV (Honda CRV) so if you don't want to go together and you see me driving around, stop me and we'll have a beer! Let me know either way though... are you from PG?

Cheers

[srupp]

MAN Beardy thats STILL shit about first nations garbage..I am working or I would go with you...good luck take lots of photos of your bear..

Steven

[BCrams]

Beardy

Why don't you just go to the area I gave you the GPS co-ordinates on here which is west of Uslika Lake up that valley. Lots of slides in there as you saw from the images posted. Take snowshoes too and hike up the little valley and glass slides too ... the area looks way better than Aitken if you ask me.

** I just had another look at the orthos. Maybe it isn't as good as it looks vs google earth. Tough choices where to go.

The main thing you should do is pick an area with slides, and stick with them. Even if it means hiking 5-7 km up a snowed in road to view slides.

[Beardy]

Beardy

Why don't you just go to the area I gave you the GPS co-ordinates on here which is west of Uslika Lake up that valley. Lots of slides in there as you saw from the images posted. Take snowshoes too and hike up the little valley and glass slides too ... the area looks way better than Aitken if you ask me.

** I just had another look at the orthos. Maybe it isn't as good as it looks vs google earth. Tough choices where to go.

The main thing you should do is pick an area with slides, and stick with them. Even if it means hiking 5-7 km up a snowed in road to view slides.

Hey!

I will check that spot out! Thank you very much for the input. The only reason why I'm not banking on that spot and only on that spot is because the road to Uslika Lake was snowed in last time I was there. No way to get there without hiking like 50kms! Not an athlete... yet! ;) hahaha But yeah, I'll for sure check it out!

Thanks

[srupp]

Thats what I would do for an interior mountain grizzly..look for slides south facing and once in there look for the greens..the more remote the better...imho

Steven

[Beardy]

MAN Beardy thats STILL shit about first nations garbage..I am working or I would go with you...good luck take lots of photos of your bear..

Steven


Hey Steven!

Yeah, that is real garbage... who knows, maybe they're hunting those nice grizzlies on the Aiken Lake slopes! :( Unfair... but what the hell, what's one man going to do about it? I'm alone out there and I don't want trouble so I wouldn't want to chance it by trespassing or something. Makes me angry though.... I always feel like no matter WHO you are or WHAT you are, that everyone should get the same chance, a fair chance. Anyways, maybe I'm rambling...

Too bad you are working! I would love to have someone experienced come with me! It's kind of overwhelming sometimes when the area is so big! As BCRams said, (and he can give me his advice on that too) my strategy is to drive around, glass slopes and if I see a grizz, to study him and then make a move... Should I just stick with a set of slopes and not do that? I mean, how can you be guaranteed that bears will even be hanging on a slope if you don't see them there? Am I maximizing my chances by glassing as many slopes as I can and then moving on if I can't see any bears?

Also, I was told that the area bordering 6-18 (I think) on the Tenaki up towards Johansen Lake is good Grizz habitat. Have any of you ever heard that? I've glassed those slopes three times now and there was still too much snow but maybe worth another look? Do any of you know if there were some grizzlies harvested from that area?

Thanks for all your help... be sure that if I'm lucky, I will take TONS of pictures!

Cheers

[elkdom]

old burns,beaver dams,lotsa debri, lotsa ant hills, dandilions and or clover! and find fresh poop! and yur on the right path!

[Beardy]

ALSO: I bought this useless as tits on a bull Backroads Road Map to Northern BC. It's got all the main FSR but it's so inaccurate that it's infuriating. Where does a man look for real up to date FSR maps? I worked in environmental Consulting for Canfor and they had all those nifty super well detailed maps but can you even purchase those? I can't go see my Environmental Conservation boss and tell him I need a map to go hunt some grizz! hahaha Where should I look?

[BCHunterFSJ]

Hello beardy;
Thanks

[BCHunterFSJ]

Hello beardy;
Thanks for the information. I am going with my son and his buddy, both of whom have tags. I am going along as "mentor"... We are going to start off at Lay Creek, heading towards Johansen Lake. I shot a big grizzly there some 10 years ago. we will have 2 trucks. My wife and I will be in a blue GMC with a white Okanagan camper. Can't miss it. Stop by and have a beer... We are going for a`week.
I am from Fort St. John.
By the way, where is this Kelly Lake???

[Beardy]

Hello beardy;
Thanks for the information. I am going with my son and his buddy, both of whom have tags. I am going along as "mentor"... We are going to start off at Lay Creek, heading towards Johansen Lake. I shot a big grizzly there some 10 years ago. we will have 2 trucks. My wife and I will be in a blue GMC with a white Okanagan camper. Can't miss it. Stop by and have a beer... We are going for a`week.
I am from Fort St. John.
By the way, where is this Kelly Lake???

Kelly Lake is west of Germansen Landing on the way to Ogden Mountain. Where will you guys be staying? I will most likely be staying next to a crack shack on the corner of the Messilinka and the Tenaki FSR. YOu shot a big grizz off the Tenaki on the way up to JOhansen? It's nice country for grizz up there... I'll for sure see you around then!

Cheers

[BCHunterFSJ]

Did you say "crack shack"???

[Beardy]

hahahaha yeah, I call old run down, holes in the wall, unsafe to live in cabins crack shacks! I don't think there's anyone out there in the middle of nowhere land making crack! hahaha I'm so bored when I'm by myself out there I sometimes feel like I'm loosing my mind. Read alot of books on hunting and trapping in Northern BC back in the late 1800 early 1900's and I CAN'T imagine these guys living by themselves for whole winters trapping... I guess the term "cabin fever" came from there!

[BCHunterFSJ]

Hi Beardy;
We just got back from our grizz hunt in 7-38. Were you up there? We did look for you, but never saw anyone. Unfortunately we did have some misadventures... I blew my transmission at Km 140 of the Finlay Road and had to be towed back to Mackenzie by my son and his buddy. From there got towed to Prince George. $3000 later I had a new tranny! Ouch!!!!
We did see 3 grizzlies; one on the road and 2 that were mating on some really green hillsides and sliding down a long snow patch. It was awesome to watch them, but it was too late in the day to make a move on them. Next morning we did not find them.
How did you make out?

[Beardy]

Hey Everyone!

Sorry it took me so long to end this thread and let you know how my last attempt went!

So, unfortunately, no grizz in the bag for me this year. It was still a great hunt, saw TONS of wildlife, some nice backcountry, learned ALOT and hopefully, next year I'll be better prepared. I went for my last hunt the last week of may, during the week-end and hunted the Ogden Moutain, Diver and Kelly Lake areas. Really nice country up there but unfortunately, didn't make it very far on those old FSR. If trees weren't down, every culvert was dug up and every bridge was dismantled so never got close enough for a hike even if I would have spotted a grizz. Saw some signs in the mud, but nothing really worth tracking! I was disapointed, but I know there was a reason for it to end this way... because there's the biggest Grizz in the universe of grizzlies waiting for me to track him down next year! hahaha I'm keeping positive, I was just so sure I was going to fill my tag but hey, life is not perfect sometimes! So being the new hunter I am, not sure of this answer, but I heard rumors that sometimes if you don't fill your spring grizz tag, that it can be good for the fall given you get the right paper work done. Is that true? Or did I lose 90$? (of course it's not lost because it goes to the BCWF for wildlife research and conservation efforts) but is my tag lost now or is there a remote chance that it could become valid again for the fall grizz hunt?

Anywho, thank you so much to all of you for being patient and answering my millions of dumb questions. Srupp, GoatGuy, BCRams, RyanB and all the other guys who have helped me so much, thanks to all of you. Hope I can return the favor. If any of you want a hunting partner for next year, I'm always up for a trip, there are two things I learnt from this trip: 1) bring a chainsaw and 2) if you can, hunt with a partner with experience! I swear I traveled so much, I pretty much every road and shortcut in 7-38! hahaha So thanks guys and congrats to all the fellows who got a bullet dirty

Phil

[todbartell]

you're done. no fall hunt can be applied for if you got drawn for spring in the same year :D better luck next year

[srupp]

Beardy thats why its called hunting and not shooting..well done..

Steven