HELP! First great hunt?

[codykarey]

Hey Guys!

I'm an 18 year-old novice hunter and I've developed THE BUG! I recently moved down to Vancouver in pursuit of my career, and I've been locked up in the city for too long already:sad:. I'm looking for some advice...

I decend from a long line of hunters, and have developed a passion for it over years of hunting as an observer and last year finally as the hunter. I'm looking for advice on planning a a good trip for myself, my dad and my uncle. I've read through reams of threads and forums about where to hunt and guided hunts and just about everything.

I used to live up in Fort st. James near Vanderhoof and PG, and have long dreamed of the day when I could venture out with my two hunting partners into the great wilderness on a wild adventure. I've been on Moose, Deer and Elk hunts, however I've never successfully taken a Moose or Elk of my own...

How would you great hunters suggest I begin my planning? As I said, I've looked at tons of areas from the northern rockies to the kootneys to the coast, and just cant find a place to start.

I love the back country and need to go back! thanx for your help!

Cheers and good hunting!

[BCRiverBoater]

This is a great spot to start. Ask around and pick a general area. Start getting maps and start doing research. Big thing is ask a million questions and listen to what you are told.

[K-1]

You say you come from a long line of hunters. If you are going with your dad & uncle, your best bet would be talk & make plans with them.

[cainer]

I'm no great hunter but here's my 2 cents. Decide how far you're willing to travel-then pick an area-it's always best if you know the area but, if you don't have that luxury-guess! Pull up google earth, find a coupla' cut blocks/swamp/alpine where you know the animals you're looking for are huntable-and off you go.
Buy the backroads map series for the area you're going to before hand-they are awesome books.
There's nothing more rewarding than finding your own little honey hole, and you'll find lots of nothing along the way.
If you're lucky, dad and uncle will pass on their locations to you. I never had that, so above is what I have done. Good luck!
And sounds like your ahead of the game already anyways by having been on hunts previously.

[bridger]

one thing i would suggest is to decide which species you want to hunt first and then do some research on different areas. if you wanted to start with moose i suggest you consider hunting in 7b as this area has a lot of moose, crown land, and no leh so hunting trips are easier to plan ahead of time. if you want to hunt elk concentrate on the east kootenays or again in 7b. after determining what and where you are going another thing that would be helpful is to call the conservation officers or wildlife biologist in that area and pick their brains about general areas and conditons etc. they are usually helpful. If possible get to know guys in your area that hunt or join a rod and gun club. there is always a lot of info to learn from these guys. good luck

[hunter1947]

If you are wanting elk or moose mule deer I would plan a trip into region 7-49 or 7-45.

For mule deer a place that is clouse to home to hunt and fair hunting would be in region region 8-4.

For white tail and mule deer elk region 4-25 in the East Kootenays ,good luck with what ever area you decide on going.

[Dad and son]

Do you have a back country map book? These books show all the forest service roads and off highways roads. Very valuable to have. Also there are 3 main ways people hunt. Driving in a pickup, walking or quadding. Your method of hunting will somewhat influence where you go. If there is an open season, you can assume there should be plenty of game in that area. I do not think you should worry too much about the right area because most areas in the province have good animal populations. If you are hunting one area and do not find game, simply going 1 or 2 km away will probably change things. You might want to enter the Limited Entry Hunting draw in early June as sometimes these animals are easy to harvest. There are also some special lottery draws for whitetail doe for new hunters only.
I suggest simply going down forest service roads and looking for cut blocks, you will find deer, moose and bear in cut blocks. hunter1947 & bridger gave good suggestions for areas. Of course the area you go will also be influenced by how much time you have, your budget and if you are going to sleep in the woods or a hotel.

[Blainer]

Obtain an old copy of the limited entry regs.,as hunting plans can change in the event you receive a draw.
Ascertain from the regs. which hunts you would have an interest in and study the areas in the event you are drawn,and plan an optional hunt in the event you are not drawn and best of luck.

[Dragginbait]

I would suggest, if you want to scratch that itch sooner, plan on a spring bear hunt. It seems like halloween was only two weeks ago so May will be here before you know it.
What have you got for transportation? and what are you planning to hunt with, rifle, bow?
As said before, if your dad and uncle are still into hunting, pick their brains about areas and if they still are interested.
Have fun and see if any of your friends are interested in starting a new obsession. If your going to become an addict, this is a good onehttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_1_20.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxpt425YYCA)

[codykarey]

Thanks for all the info guys. I've been doing some talking to a few guys here and I'm becoming more and more drawn to an Elk/Moose hunt in 7b. I hear the game populations for Elk there are on the rise, and moose pop. in the mountains are high. I'll be hunting with either a .270 Win rifle, or a 300 Win mag. either of which I'm pretty sure will handle anything save a Grizz. Also have the option of quad hunt or just a backpack hunt.

Certainly don't plan on sleeping in a hotel. lol. I wouldn't feel that all satisfying connection with nature that seems to diminish the importance oif anything else. There's nothing like feeling that there's nothing but you, trees and sky within a million miles (and hopefully what ever animal youre after!)

As for getting info from my dad and my uncle...I do come from a long line of hunters, although these guys have only ever hunted close to home. 20 years ago Moose pop. was still great in 7-13, -14, and -25 and with all the logging, good cut-block were easy to find. However, over the recent years the Moose populations have been on the decline and the Open seasons are restricted to "spiker"bull and I believe there's one for Cow/Calf too. There is a couple of small herds of Elk back home and I'm quite familiar with the areas which they inhabit, but I've been on several hunts for these guys and finding a 6 pointer is some task!

I guess what I'm after is a hunt that offers me the opportunity to take a variety of game (ex. Moose/Elk) so I can buy a couple of tags and increase my chances. I wouldnt be dissapointed with one or the other, and certainly not with both!

thanx for the advice, any further suggestions wouold be awesome! I'll certainly be buying the backroad maps that are held in such high regard!

Cheers!

[BCrams]

more drawn to an Elk/Moose hunt in 7b. .......... quad hunt or just a backpack hunt.



Backpack moose? :-?:-?

7b is definatly a good choice for elk / moose