Help about BC Regulations and Draw System

[Call of the Wild]

I would really appreciate any help. I live in Alberta presently but seriously thinking about moving to BC. I printed the BC regulations and the LEH (draw regulations), and I don’t totally understand the BC system. It seems more complicated to understand the regulation than Alberta too me.

- How to know one specie is general tag
- For sheep tag, they are called big horn. So stone, dall and big horn sheeps, how to know which one is which, are they general tag or only draw.
- As a BC resident you’re only allowed to host one Canadian non-resident? Also a Canadian non-resident what tag are available to obtain: white tail, mule deer, elk, moose, goat and all bc sheeps??

For the draw, does it work on a priority system or random draw? Where could I get info about the chances to obtain a draw tag.


I spend over an hour looking at the regulations but like I said just can’t understand at a 100%. Any help would help me figure out the BC system.

Call of the Wild

[mark]

Many of us have lived here all our lives and still dont understand the BC system! Our LEH system is a joke compared to Alberta

[boonerbuck]

- How to know one specie is general tag ?

If there is a open season in the regulations then it's general season. If it's in the LEH synopsis it's LEH. There are only two species that are LEH only, Grizzly and Bison. Everything else is based on regiuons and sub regions. You would most likely have to draw for a moose in southern bc but can hunt general in the North.

- For sheep tag, they are called big horn. So stone, dall and big horn sheeps, how to know which one is which, are they general tag or only draw.

There are two bighorn species and two thinhorn species. One tag is good for all but the regions are complicated. Many areas are draw only for Bighorn but most areas that have Thinhorn are open outside of parks. The Thinhorns inhabit the north, Bighorns in the south. Most of the North has Stones Sheep but the very top NW corner of BC has Dalls, the white sheep.

The Southern Rockeis and Spences Bridge area have Rocky Mountain Bighorns while the Fraser River and most of the Thompson areas have California Bighorns. You can only harvest one sheep only. The Bag Limit is one sheep.

- As a BC resident you’re only allowed to host one Canadian non-resident? Also a Canadian non-resident what tag are available to obtain: white tail, mule deer, elk, moose, goat and all bc sheeps??

Best to call the Ministry of Enviroment and ask to talk to someone in Wildlife about this. A mistake could be very costly to you and your right to hold a licence. Worse than a mistake with bag limits etc...

There is much discussed and debated about our draw system on HBC. If you try the search option and enter LEH or Limited Entry here you may find a wealth of info.

Good luck!

[Blainer]

LEH is only available to residents of B.C.
Unlike the states.

[Mr. Friendly]

you buy your basic license which gives you clearance to hunt small game & upland game birds. everything else requires a tag to be purchased to hunt in their open seasons. LEH lets you put in for something twice...you choose two different MU's...a primary and then a secondary.

[ryanb]

The hunting regs lists the species open during general open season:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/

The limited entry hunting synopsis lists the regions where species are available by LEH, the number of tags available, the dates those tags are good for etc. The odds given in the LEH synopsis are the previous year's odds for drawing that tag:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/resident/leh.html

For hosting a non-resident alien (non-canadian) there are rules about who you can take, generally only dirrect family. For hosting non-resident canadians, the rules are less stringent. They can be found in the hunting regulations

[Call of the Wild]

Thanks guys. Regulations are starting to make sense.


One thing I still don’t understand is some codes in the regulations. For example, region 7 B Peace for moose, page 80 am I on the right track
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/0809/docs/Region_7B.pdf (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/0809/docs/Region_7B.pdf)
If I want to hunt 7-32, bull moose I can go Aug 15-31 with rifle or bow. Then Sept 1-30 and Oct 16-31 is again rifle or bow and Oct 1-15 is bow only, those 3 periods have a star. The star means antler restriction as described but the last phrase of in the star confuse me. “The antlers must accompany the species licence.” So does it mean bull moose is LEH or not.
If you look at the LEH book on page 10 for moose in region 7B Peace.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/resident/docs/leh_08_09.pdf (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/resident/docs/leh_08_09.pdf)
The only draw is for youth, any input to clear this??

For mule deer and white tail 7 B Peace. There is a bow season without LEH and restrictions. For rifle season both mule and white tail have a triangle and the triangle definition is written “The antlers must accompany the species licence.” Kind of confusing and in the LEH book same thing again no draws.


I’ll spend time studying the regulations and eventually I’ll make a call to an BC office for answers. For mountain sheep, there’s not even a full page on the LEH book (page 12). That mean only that much zones are draws and pretty much all of BC is open for sheep. Sheep tag is good for dall, stone, Rocky Mountain Bighorns or California Bighorns and a tag is good for one of the four above.


Call of the Wild

[Tuffcity]

The LEH book and the book that out lines the general open seasons (BC Hunting Reg's) are, generally speaking, two seprate things. There might be some over lap with LEH and General Open Seasons (often referred to as GOS) but one does not rely on the other.

If you pick an area to hunt and there is no GOS for a particular animal then check the LEH to see if there is a draw opportunity.


The antlers must accompany the species licence Just means that the antlers must also be in your possesion if you've killed something, cancelled the tag, and you're transporting game (or game is stored at camp). Becomes moot when the beast hits the butcher or home. Usually applies to seasons where there is antler restrictions.


The only draw is for youth, any input to clear this??
This is a cow/calf draw for under 19yr old hunters. The rest of 7-32 has a GOS at various times for bulls.

RC

[Flingin' Sticks]

As stated above, most of us don't fully understand the regs in BC...too much political BS and hippy $hit flinging if you ask me, but that's a different story for a different time.

The star next to the animal in the regs for the moose seasons you're looking at refer to antler restrictions. If you'll notice below all the listed seasons for moose in region 7B, there are footnotes which corrispond to any symbols listed above. In this case, the star denotes that any bulls taken in the noted seasons must fall into one of three catagoires: A spike-fork bull moose (Immature bull,or one having two or less points on at least one antler), a tripalm bull moose (having at least three points on one brow palm, see def'n section of synopsis for a better def'n), or a bull having at least ten points on one antler.

Like I said, too many damn regs and piss poor wording in the regs.

Hope that this helps.

[TimberPig]

- For sheep tag, they are called big horn. So stone, dall and big horn sheeps, how to know which one is which, are they general tag or only draw.
- As a BC resident you’re only allowed to host one Canadian non-resident? Also a Canadian non-resident what tag are available to obtain: white tail, mule deer, elk, moose, goat and all bc sheeps??

For the draw, does it work on a priority system or random draw? Where could I get info about the chances to obtain a draw tag.


I spend over an hour looking at the regulations but like I said just can’t understand at a 100%. Any help would help me figure out the BC system.

Call of the Wild

You can't get a hunter host permit for any wild sheep in BC. Non residents of BC must use a guide to hunt them here. Residents may use the GOS or LEH opportunities.

LEH is all random draw, with successful applicants odds reduced for that species in subsequent years after they have drawn a tag. Antlerless deer tags do not experience this odds reduction (see the Enahnaced Odds section in the LEH synopsis).

[Call of the Wild]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have a better understanding of the regs now. Next I'll have to call or stop at a fish and wild life office for all the minor questions I have.

Like some of you said the LEH system is not the greatest. Anyone heard if BC will change the system eventually for something better?

Call of the Wild

[eric]

Anyone heard if BC will change the system eventually for something better?

Call of the Wild

These are Gov't people your talking about, :mrgreen:
They don't know how to do things properly

Eric