BISON Hunt 7-57B

[ultramafic]

Myself and BC Steve (member on this site) have just returned from a BISON draw hunt in 7-57B zone.

We were unsuccessful but did have a very informative time while we were up there. We left early, as the draw is still open but were not able to stay any longer.

As there is very little information to be had on this hunt I thought I would take some time to share our findings and experiences from our time up there in the hopes that others who are lucky enough to be drawn for the hunt do not make mistakes or arrive un prepared.

I realize that some of this information may or may not have been posted on this site before and that some of it may be common knowledge or sense to some.

I will start with the information provided by the Ministry of Environment. They provide an information package to the lucky hunter drawn. This package includes some very basic information about the BISON and the regulations around the hunt. The package further provides a list of outfitters in the area and places to stay should you not wish to camp.

Also included in the package are two maps of what I could best describe as PISS POOR quality. The maps are printed on a regular 8.5x11 sheet of paper and are printed in what appears to be draft or low quality detail. There is a link to the same maps on the MOE website so you can print your own copies on higher quality if you so choose but the maps are still of limited quality in that respect.

Another hunter told me that you could attend the offices in Fort St JOHN and ask for further information, this hunter was provided with the same map printed on much larger paper and in better quality print. From this map we were able to better see the zone boundaries and the areas open to ATV's much better. (There is a restriction to certain trails and roads and ATV's are not supposed to be more than 400 meters off these roads and trails. Snow mobiles snow permitting are exempt from these rules. In my opinion GPS coordinates for the ends for the legal ATV trails should be included with the package but they are not so you are left to educated guess as to where you are able to drive and not to drive as the signs are frequently destroyed,defaced,removed)

On the topic of maps my suggestion would be to source out maps of the area from several sources and have them with you on your trip. This is a good idea for most hunts in pretty much every area but in this case the zone is pretty limited and getting caught out in the no ATV area could be expensive so accurate maps of the area better than those provided by the MOE would be a good idea. (We did see CO's out on snow machines while we were there)

THE WEATHER:

As the information package indicates be prepared for extreme conditions. We asked around talked to anyone who could/would provide us with insight on this topic. The general consensus was there would likely be little or no snow for the early November hunt but it could be very cold.

We went fully prepared for cold weather. We both had sufficient clothing/sleeping bags to keep us warm in the elements snow, wind, rain, low temperatures this was not an issue. We were staying in a Wall Tent with a wood stove and it was sufficiently to almost too warm inside at times. We were also lucky as the temperatures while we were there were mild with lows only near -12 and in the mornings. There was little to no precipitation (snow) while we were there but only days before we arrived there was a large snowfall (for the time of year) in the area in and around 6-10 inches of snow was on the ground upon our arrival.

The back roads were covered in snow and were very slippery, as they appeared to have compact snow or ice under the new snow that had fallen. We had to chain up just to get into the bush but came somewhat unprepared with cable type chains that were totally unsuitable for deep snow. (Being from the Vancouver area we did not know this. Insert your dumb ass lower mainlander joke here) We learned in a hurry that you need to have REAL CHAIN HEAVY DUTY TIRE CHAINS to get around in the bush when there is large amounts of snow. I admit this was pretty dumb and we should have done more research on this but it was what it was, a learning experience. The result was that we busted the links on the cables and the chains were basically useless for other than emergencies.

This limited our access to the roads and prevented us from getting all the way in to the AIR STRIP which has been mentioned on this forum several times. Oh and one more thing on the SNOW was that you might want to bring a big wide purpose snow shovel if you are planning on wall tenting it out there since we only had two small D handle spades, it took us what seemed like forever to remove a 14x16 foot space of snow to place our tent on the ground. Firewood is available up there but it is not like much of the rest of the province where the beetle kill provides more firewood than any of us could burn in a hunt up there the forest is healthy and green with standing dead trees being kind of few and far between. The trees you do find will be like the rest of the forest kind of smaller in size too. I think the largest tree we cut was about 8 inches in diameter where I cut the wedge to fall it.

The AIR STRIP can be found at about KM 24-25 on Mile 171 road west off the Alaska HWY. There is a sign marking the SIKANNI RIVER RANCH (if I remember correctly) and it also has Mile 171 written on it on the back (North) side of the sign. The reason why I include this is because the maps provided show the roads but do not name them nor to they give any real insight as to exactly where they are so now you know. It is was one of the only roads in the area so its not that hard to find but without knowing if it was the right road and it being full of snow caused some apprehension to assume it was the right road. There is a gate at the AIR STRIP that is the limit to legal truck traffic and all further travel must be by ATV, FOOT or Snow machine. This is where most people choose to Camp along the AIR STRIP and there are several fairly well established camps including out houses there.

There was another road to the north past the Bucking Horse River at Mile 178 of the Alaska HWY the access to this road was very good as it was ploughed by the oil and gas companies most of the way in. We did not see any BISON or sign on our quick exploratory drive on this road but that does not mean there are none there. There may have been other roads but most of the information we had been given told us that the AIR STRIP road would provide us with the best chances.

As we were not able to make it to the AIR STRIP with out whole set up we chose to camp back on the main road at about the 7 KM mark. We had to travel on ATV to the GATE, which took us about an hour each way. We also had to travel another hour or so along the trail to get into where we were seeing BISON sign. It appeared that hunting pressure had pushed most of the animals further into the bushes away from the Highway and that was where they remained during out stay. With our additional travel time by ATV we were burning a lot more fuel than we had planned to. We usually less than what we used for a 10 day moose trip but on this trip we used it up in about 4 days. BRING MORE FUEL THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED just in case. That being said there was fuel to be bought nearby at the Buckinghorse River complex should we have needed it.

If you prefer not to camp and wish to stay with the outfitter at the SIKANNI RANCH you must have an ATV to get there and some way to transport your gear from the gate to the ranch (about 10-15 km or so) and from what I understood the outfitter charged 125 dollars a night per person to stay at the ranch for what was described to be a warm room possibly cabin and all your food but not likely booze. This appeared well within the financial limits of some but more than we were willing to pay for us since we were prepared to camp.

There was also two small hotels at the Buckinghorse River crossing complex one is an ATCO trailer complex and the other a permanent structure being the BUCKINGHORSE lodge which was 80 dollars a night for a room only and you could purchase food at their restaurant. We did not visit the other Lodge and do not know what their costs were. Both of these are on the ALASKA Hwy and there would be a fair amount of travel time to the GATE mentioned above.

continued in my next post....

[ultramafic]

We did not appear to be the only ones who either had to leave or chose to leave early as by the time we had departed nearly all the other groups of hunters had left or were in the process of leaving. From what we had heard there was only three successful groups (during our stay there) at the time we left there were only two camps at the AIR STRIP and only a couple of groups at the Outfitter. There were at least two camps in the bush past the gate but considering there was at least a dozen more groups that had already departed for what ever reasons before we had our chances were getting better the longer we stayed. Our last day out we did not see anyone on the trails until we were on our way out.

As far as where the Buffalo were? Best we could determine they were way out in the bush past the ends of the legal ATV trails or they were over the other side (south side) of the SIKANNI river where there are further legal ATV trails but little to no access to them since you must cross the stream within 400 meters of the trail and at the time we were there the river was quite deep and swift and there was no bridge. One ATV for certain became swamped in an attempt to cross luckily the rider was O K and unharmed. Some of the people we talked to believed the animals were up in the hills above the valley floor, others believed they were hiding on the valley floors in the moose willows very few actually knew or know where they were as only three groups appeared to be successful while we were there.

The much talked about Trespass fees. We did not pay any and the trails around the RANCH property were very good. The difference in time did not appear to be all that much or worth while since when you are on the trail you are getting near the decent hunting area either way and might have a chance to whack one just taking the trails depending on your draw time period. However there may be one reason why you might wish to pay this fee. There was rumour that the RANCH had a wide shallow crossing of the SIKANNI river on the property which would allow access to the other side (where I think large numbers of BISON were) we did not investigate this further though I cannot answer any questions about the fee or how much or in what form it must be paid. We were however cautioned by the CO's that the RANCH crossing "MIGHT" not fall within the 400 meters of the legal trails just as an FYI again this was just in passing conversation with the CO's.

The conservation officers (there were two) that were out and had checked us were very friendly, professional and helpful. They were also very understanding as they gave us a break for not having the Authorization letter with us. (YES WE KNOW BETTER) they did come back to check it later to ensure we had it but that was the end of it. This was the first time I had actually seen one out and about in the middle of the hunting grounds. We have been stopped several times at GAME checks and random traffic stops. It was good to see them out and about.

The BUFFALO themselves are obviously not common over the whole province so many of us have not had much experience with them or their sign. My observations have me believing that their droppings are very much like cattle but in most cases thicker in consistency. They did not appear to splatter like cow dung. They also appear to be less frequent in a given area, this may be possibly due to the fact that the BISON appear to wander more than cattle and their droppings are spread out over a larger area due to this wild animal like wandering. BISON footprints are hoof like kind of like cattle with two distinct halves but are somewhat pointed like moose. They are larger on average than moose tracks but are more rounded like the cattle.

All in all we had a great time while we were up there and personally I will continue to put in for the draw in the hopes of putting the lessons learned to good use and be successful. I am hoping that anyone reading this may be able to gain some insight into the hunt to make their experiences more enjoyable and even possibly more successful.

The way I see it is this hunt may be a once in a lifetime chance for many of us and I do not feel the same want to hide what I have learned about the area as I would about my favorite moose or deer hunting spots. For most animals in this province everyone has a chance to put in their time actually hunting them but the BISON draw is different as there are so few chances at it. Yes a scouting trip could be done before the season but it is not the same as real world on the ground at the time of the hunt information. Along with this thought nearly every hunter/group we spoke with in the area was helpful sharing some of what they had discovered. I also felt that most of the people were genuinely nice folks who would help a fellow hunter out in a time of need, which was displayed by one young fellow who had a minor ATV accident where he had hurt his ankle on his 3 wheeler. He had told us about a couple of Firemen hunters who had patched up his ankle in the bush to help him make his way out.

If anyone has any questions that I could answer please feel free ask. You may have to PM me, as I don’t check in that often.


Mike

[Summit 512]

Thanks for shareing that information.

[7mag700]

Great post.

In my experience from last year, you are correct - they ARE up in the hills. Way up. It is AMAZING just how far up those steep, sandy hills (more like cliffs) that those big buggers travel on!

7m7

[tomahawk]

That has got to be the most thorough post I have ever read on this site, well done! The "fee" is related to area "A" for trespass. Great report, we leave in a few days.

[guest]

Great report and thanks for sharing.
Mytag and a friends are for zone A and start on the 1st of Dec. to the 15th.
I hope they are down out of the hi hills by then.
Sorry to hear you did not connect, I sure hope we do as this is my first draw after 15 or more years of trying every year with out ever missing.
I really do think this may be a once in a lifetime hunt being I live so far away from them Cool Critters.

CT

[golden raven]

Game on...... we are heading out there beginning of december we should see shockey's buffalo hunt final shoot ..first time in the A hopefully we get a good shot early in yahoo. mountain dew...

[waistdeep]

we had a great hunt this year in that zone, early draw and herds of buffalo to chose from

[ultramafic]

Forgot one thing...

For those who do not know there are horses out there... Lots of them... they are all over the place and with their huge hoofs be carefull you dont confuse them with buffalo prints.. In the mud this would likely not be a problem but in snow that falls back in the tracks you could be on the wrong track if you are following them... their dung looks just like horse dung go figure, and nothing like buffalo dung.

Word on the horses is that they belong to the RANCH and they have a core group of around 20-40 or so that they keep domesticated and the rest they keep familiar by feeding them in the lean times. We saw about 4 groups of at least 5-7 animals each with one group being on the West side of the SIKANNI river (the inaccessible side).

mike

[bcsteve]

Good job Mike.

Like Mike said, the major factor for us was that we were camped so far from the hunting area. The early snow and lack of good tire chains prevented us from camping at the airstrip and made for a long commute
every day. We were driving 100 kms per day in my Argo and for those familiar with Argos, this is not necessarily a good thing!

The bison signs were way past the gate. I did asked the COs and they said that the bisons are usually all over the area (on each sided of the gate) but they also confirmed that hunting pressure will push them back deeper in the forest.

Although we only had an ATV, the guys with snowmobile were not doing much better. There was barely enough snow to run them and keep them cool and they were going through runners every couple days. More than one group told us that they had to park their sled because of damage.

Overall it was still lots of fun, saw lots of game (except bisons!) mule deer, whitetails, cariboos, elk and moose. We will keep puting in for the draw (maybe the October one) and we will be much more prepared next time with our new found knowledge!

[waistdeep]

Key word "knowledge" yep, thats power :)

[partner]

Been to Zone B 2 years in a row. Seen lots of buffalo late in the season. Can be allusive, they do not like the sound of loud piped sleds. The other side of the river at the ranch I call the killing fields. If you are fortunate to get across you will understand why I call them the killing fields. Tough hunting we are heading to zone A DEC.1st. New area to hunt we will see what its got!

[trigger]

thanks alot for this post. It was an excellent read. I'm heading out for my buffalo hunt right now. I'm in zone A. wish me luck

[hunter1947]

thanks alot for this post. It was an excellent read. I'm heading out for my buffalo hunt right now. I'm in zone A. wish me luck


All the best of luck Scotty Mcgiver hope to see some pic when you get back ,drive safe and be safe my friend http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif.

[David Heitsman]

Hate to hear when guys don't get a buffalo but I actually think the percentage is higher than you'd think.

Do you think you saved much commuting that far vs staying at the ranch?

If you want a trophy you'll need to hold out for one like this 13 year old loner, killed at 23 yards about 15 k upriver from the ranch.

http://www.trophyphotos.com/photos/full/16348.jpg

If you want one that's edible, take a 2 - 3 year cow like this, killed about 1 k from the ranch.

http://www.trophyphotos.com/photos/full/18702.jpg

Don't forget that the WSS will have another guided buffalo hunt at auction this march in Kamloops. That's where my bull came from.

[Thad]

Nice but a little more info next time...

[partner]

The Sikanni Ranch is where it's at. When the buffalo do come down into that valley that's where they like to call home. Some mornings when your eating breakfast and its starting to get light out, there they are, people starting running for their guns. Don't waste your time driving in from the gate, leave from the lodge after a nice breakfast and start hunting. Don't take my word for it. Anybody else that stayed at the lodge wanna chime in here? You could call the lodge they have a satellite phone, talk to Mike or Dixie, super nice people. Mike will give you the real scoop on what the hunting is like right now.

[GoatGuy]

Buddy called last night. They were hunting out of the air strip.

"Bull down, bull down."

Also thinned the wolf pop out a bit.

Was a happy hunter.

[tomahawk]

Buddy called last night. They were hunting out of the air strip.

"Bull down, bull down."

Also thinned the wolf pop out a bit.

Was a happy hunter.

Leaving Tuesday for a buddies draw, any idea where they got there bull? PM me if you like.

Thanks
Tom

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

well just had two groups leave today hunting 7-57b empty handed!! to much pressure early on pushed them into hiding! hope they change the regs next year to extend the hunt over a longer period of time with more tags!!:)

[ultramafic]

I think the question of commuting and saving money is an easy answer yes we saved money in the end we probably burned 150-200 dollars or so in gasoline IN THE BUSH for our trip to stay out on the road in our tent, we could have bought more and kept pushing bush but could not stay longer... If the reports were right and it was 125 per night per person then for our 5 nights in the bush we collectively would have had to spend near 1250 bucks... I would have loved to have spent the time at the ranch but adding another 600+ bucks to my trip was not likely in the financial cards only to end up with quite possibly the same results. At least with the wall tent we could have potentially stayed longer should we have been able to without a continuously building cost of accomodations.

Regardless of where you stay I think the chances of a successful hunt are there its like any other hunt you could be lucky or you might not be.

mike


Hate to hear when guys don't get a buffalo but I actually think the percentage is higher than you'd think.

Do you think you saved much commuting that far vs staying at the ranch?

If you want a trophy you'll need to hold out for one like this 13 year old loner, killed at 23 yards about 15 k upriver from the ranch.

http://www.trophyphotos.com/photos/full/16348.jpg

If you want one that's edible, take a 2 - 3 year cow like this, killed about 1 k from the ranch.

http://www.trophyphotos.com/photos/full/18702.jpg

Don't forget that the WSS will have another guided buffalo hunt at auction this march in Kamloops. That's where my bull came from.

[tomahawk]

well just had two groups leave today hunting 7-57b empty handed!! to much pressure early on pushed them into hiding! hope they change the regs next year to extend the hunt over a longer period of time with more tags!!:)

The trend for the Bison to head for different territory when hunting starts is nothing new. My first draw was 12 yrs ago and they were doing it then, so I doubt anything will likely change. However they may want to think about a crossing for the river which would help in success rates.

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

ya groups were on both the south and north side of the river 156..and 171...178 the guys on the 156 were seeing allot more on the south side, and warm weather did not help either with the river crossings..

[GoatGuy]

Leaving Tuesday for a buddies draw, any idea where they got there bull? PM me if you like.

Thanks
Tom


I think he said it was about 18 kms from the strip??

Found tracks, followed them, found bison, poked hole in bison.

[tomahawk]

I think he said it was about 18 kms from the strip??

Found tracks, followed them, found bison, poked hole in bison.

Thanks...............

[David Heitsman]

My understanding is that there is no legal ATV access on the south side of the river anyways. (If you are referring to the Marion Lakes road.)

[bcsteve]

I don't have my maps in front of me but I believe there is ATV access on the other side of the rifer. Actually, the COs we spoke to tolds us that there was if we could cross the river.

[tomahawk]

I don't have my maps in front of me but I believe there is ATV access on the other side of the rifer. Actually, the COs we spoke to tolds us that there was if we could cross the river.

Your correct, there is a legal crossing and continuing quad road on the south, its accessed on the SE side of the Outfitters property.

[partner]

tomahawk you are correct. I believe the trail goes out to Marion Lake. That is where we seen about 35 buffalo. Apparently the FN have a trail they take that comes into that area from Zone A

[ultramafic]

My understanding is that there is no legal ATV access on the south side of the river anyways. (If you are referring to the Marion Lakes road.)


There is a legal ATV road on the other side of the river headed towards marion lake but it has the same rules as the north side of the river... 400m from that road and no more ATV use... as far as the end where you must stop with the ATV's I do not know if it is marked or if the markings would be present/visable. Hence my thought of a GPS coordinate on the LEH package indicating where the end of the road is to "ASSIST" us in knowing the correct spot to refrain from going too far. As I understand the trails continue past the "Legal" end of the road and may be quite passable past the "legal" limit.

mike

[JPY]

must of missed you two by a couple of hours, I'm the fool with the camper at the air strip. Just wanted to let you know the the gas company came in with about 8 dump trucks and a hoe at 11am, I had borrowed a set of chains and was waiting at your camp site when the hoe arrived, they walked it down the hill and were heading to a drill site to remove contaminated soil. The leader of all this told us 6 trucks were parked on the middle of the road at 6k marker and that they were going to plow. We waited until noon for the trucks to pass and headed out, slow going with the camper, as we reached the hwy what do we see?? the grader. Have to agree with your post, I don't believe Mike was charging to use the crossing a the ranch. The morning you pulled out we were told someone dropped a 2000lber. and we are with you, going to continue to try one draw at a time.

[partner]

When we went down the trail I don't remember a sign that the trail ends. It just stopped at the cabins by the lake. I don't remember to many places where you could drive anything 400 meters off the trail. If you have Backroad BC map its shows a trail out past the end of the lake. I never seen it when we were there. It is not called the Marion Lakes Road, Loranger Creek Trail is listed in BRBC.

[ultramafic]

must of missed you two by a couple of hours, I'm the fool with the camper at the air strip. Just wanted to let you know the the gas company came in with about 8 dump trucks and a hoe at 11am, I had borrowed a set of chains and was waiting at your camp site when the hoe arrived, they walked it down the hill and were heading to a drill site to remove contaminated soil. The leader of all this told us 6 trucks were parked on the middle of the road at 6k marker and that they were going to plow. We waited until noon for the trucks to pass and headed out, slow going with the camper, as we reached the hwy what do we see?? the grader. Have to agree with your post, I don't believe Mike was charging to use the crossing a the ranch. The morning you pulled out we were told someone dropped a 2000lber. and we are with you, going to continue to try one draw at a time.

I remember you, the white dodge with the camper. Glad you were able to get out past that hill. Wish we could have helped you out I plan to have that all corrected by next hunting season for certain. Now if we could just win that draw again hahah.

We never did actually speak to anyone associated to the ranch but have heard there may be trespass fees. That is pretty cool if he was not charging any and will have to keep that in mind for next time.

The news of the road being plowed all the way is really going to BURN BC Steve's ASS for sure... hahahahah didnt really matter for us all it would have taken was another snowfall to get us stuck in the bush anyways.

Lucky guy with the 2000lber i think... we were prepared to get a big animal out of the bush but man 2000lbs is pretty friggin big.

mike

[ultramafic]

When we went down the trail I don't remember a sign that the trail ends. It just stopped at the cabins by the lake. I don't remember to many places where you could drive anything 400 meters off the trail. If you have Backroad BC map its shows a trail out past the end of the lake. I never seen it when we were there. It is not called the Marion Lakes Road, Loranger Creek Trail is listed in BRBC.

According to the fuzzy maps provided and according to the CO's the "LEGAL" to travel portion of the trail does end and there may or may not be a sign (dont think they were going over there either). I am quite certain that the trail continues much further than that but was not able to actually see that myself. As far as the name of the trail you got me on that I just know it heads out towards marion lake.

mike

[Darksith]

when we go, we take a day trip deep into the area to a cabin and base from there. My buddy has shot maybe the biggest buffalo in the province, but we were not able to verify that as the taxidermest "lost" the skull!

[David Heitsman]

My first time in we road down to Marion Lake on an ATV and ended up playing around on the glass ice of the lake. When we returned to the ranch we were told that that we were way out of bounds for an ATV and that only snow mobiles could go down there legally.

There was no sign, indicating ATV usage stoppage and I didn't know at the time but that wouldn't have made a credible excuse to the 'man' if we were stopped.

There are signs at the western limit of the ATV usage on the main road.
(Not that that seems to stop some people.) You can see the tracks going right on past.

I have been 25 K past that area in a camp and had ATV's rattle by our horses. Ticks you off when the rules aren't followed. We also found some ATV's in the trees one year up there way off the route. I felt like chaining them up for the fun of it.

[GoatGuy]

My first time in we road down to Marion Lake on an ATV and ended up playing around on the glass ice of the lake. When we returned to the ranch we were told that that we were way out of bounds for an ATV and that only snow mobiles could go down there legally.

There was no sign, indicating ATV usage stoppage and I didn't know at the time but that wouldn't have made a credible excuse to the 'man' if we were stopped.

There are signs at the western limit of the ATV usage on the main road.
(Not that that seems to stop some people.) You can see the tracks going right on past.

I have been 25 K past that area in a camp and had ATV's rattle by our horses. Ticks you off when the rules aren't followed. We also found some ATV's in the trees one year up there way off the route. I felt like chaining them up for the fun of it.

Seen quads with airless tires in past road closure signs. Weird. :confused:

[d6dan]

My buddy has shot maybe the biggest buffalo in the province, but we were not able to verify that as the taxidermest "lost" the skull!

How the hell do you lose a Buffalo skull??:confused:

[pinofire]

Hey mike we were the last group to leave from this hunt. We stayed at the airstip. It was a tough hunt we did track the bison up the hills way back. They are very jumpy. We got with in a couple hundred feet (pies were still steaming) and they were gone in a stampede down the hill. There was no way we could have packed one out if we had managed to get a shot off the timber we found them in was thick you could see maybe 20-30 yards with the naked eye. We left as we only had one machine and it was a long way back if there was a break down with no one else around. This hunt was much different than we thought and I'm sure other tought as well. I'd say go for the later hunt when the animals are pushed out of the hills

[bcsteve]

Pinofire, you were the two guys at the very first camp at the beginning of the airstrip, right? You were asking me about my Argo. You guys seemed pretty dedicated when you said you were stiking till the end. I'm glad that I least you guys came pretty close.

[PeaceHunter]

There is a legal ATV road on the other side of the river headed towards marion lake but it has the same rules as the north side of the river... 400m from that road and no more ATV use... as far as the end where you must stop with the ATV's I do not know if it is marked or if the markings would be present/visable. Hence my thought of a GPS coordinate on the LEH package indicating where the end of the road is to "ASSIST" us in knowing the correct spot to refrain from going too far. As I understand the trails continue past the "Legal" end of the road and may be quite passable past the "legal" limit.

mike

You should be able to download digital shapefiles of the access routes from the govenments GEO BC website http://www.geobc.gov.bc.ca/, go to Download, then log in as a guest and search on "access routes". I think the general public has access to this. If not try going to your local MOE office with this infor and someone there might get this info for you. You should be able to then upload these into a GPS unit as a track. You might also be able to upload them into google earth and get coordinates that way.

As far as maps I would say stop in at McElhanney in Fort St. John, they will likely sell you some good maps $$$, other than that you are pretty much on your own.

When I was up there a couple of years ago, we were seeing fresh ATV tracks well past the designated ATV routes sign. Very frustrating, especially when you are being legal and parking at the end of the designated route and walking in half several kilometers only to be blasted past by guys on ATV's.

[PeaceHunter]

Yukon MoE posted some helpful video clips of how to dress a Bison as well as Bison sex ID

http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/huntingtrapping/bisonpermithunt.php#resources_maps

[BiG Boar]

Hate to hear when guys don't get a buffalo but I actually think the percentage is higher than you'd think.

Do you think you saved much commuting that far vs staying at the ranch?

If you want a trophy you'll need to hold out for one like this 13 year old loner, killed at 23 yards about 15 k upriver from the ranch.

http://www.trophyphotos.com/photos/full/16348.jpg

If you want one that's edible, take a 2 - 3 year cow like this, killed about 1 k from the ranch.

http://www.trophyphotos.com/photos/full/18702.jpg

Don't forget that the WSS will have another guided buffalo hunt at auction this march in Kamloops. That's where my bull came from.

I would have paid for the stay too. At least you would have some insight maybe from people who live up there year round! Plus save you some commute.

[ultramafic]

I have tried to get into this I have downloaded the WINZIP files and have extracted them but I am not sure what to do with them then. I tried clicking on them but they do not lead me to maps. Might be my computer settings ( i'm not that savvy with computers ) The maps do say open to general public for viewing and downloading if I remember correctly.

Thanks for the link either way. It was this kind of info that I was hoping for with this thread. Didnt expect anyone to be lead to an animal or spot but little basic things that help you with preparations and knowledge of the general area was the whole intent.

mike


You should be able to download digital shapefiles of the access routes from the govenments GEO BC website http://www.geobc.gov.bc.ca/, go to Download, then log in as a guest and search on "access routes". I think the general public has access to this. If not try going to your local MOE office with this infor and someone there might get this info for you. You should be able to then upload these into a GPS unit as a track. You might also be able to upload them into google earth and get coordinates that way.

As far as maps I would say stop in at McElhanney in Fort St. John, they will likely sell you some good maps $$$, other than that you are pretty much on your own.

When I was up there a couple of years ago, we were seeing fresh ATV tracks well past the designated ATV routes sign. Very frustrating, especially when you are being legal and parking at the end of the designated route and walking in half several kilometers only to be blasted past by guys on ATV's.

[PeaceHunter]

These would be GIS shapefiles, they are layers that you make a map out of if you have the software. You should also be able to upload them into a GPS unit using free software such as Ozi Explorer.

Your best bet if you want a good map is to contact McElhanney, and purchase a map from them. Here is a link to their site, I think they have prices posted for standard maps.

http://www.mcelhanney.com/mlsl/Company/OilMaps.php

[Fraink]

Thanks for the link to McElhanney, I called the office and spoke to a fellow named Steve who knows the area well and has good maps ($30-$40). He is a hunter as well, good guy to talk to. I will be going up Dec. 14 for opening on the 16 for my sons draw in Zone A. Steve said there is enough snow now for snow machines and they are getting more this week.
I was in zone B Nov. 20 in 96 for my friends draw, and we hunted hard for 4 days and finally Rob shot a very nice big bull in an old burn up behind the ranch.
Because of info I have got from people who have gone since and been unsuccessfull I always put in for the later draw so I have a better chance of having enough snow.

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

ZONE A AREA? not that hard of a hunt if you are ready to spend some time on your sled lots of bison coming out!!

[Jager-mister?]

Heading up on the Dec 4th with my brother for our draw that starts on the 6th in zone "B". Staying at Buckinghorse River lodge off the highway. This is the first trip for us as well but have had experience with stalking and shooting Bison in the field.
Had a chance a number years back to go and get some Bison in Alta. after the hunting season ended to top up the freezers with some great meat. Went every year for 4 years until all the Bison were being sold down south for "BIG" $.
YEA, it was a "ranch hunt" but the property was very large a well covered with plenty of bush. Did make it a bit interesting at times. But it wasn't about the hunt it was about the meat. To top it off the fellow had Black Russian Bore in the property as well for the added excitement, they were a bit of a challenge to find a nice one in the 200# range and fun to hunt. Very tasty.
Hopefully have a chance to run into someone from the site up there while we are up. Shoot the shite and have a beer [if it's not frozen :)]
Anybody heading up at the same time wishing to share any info would be great!
Good luck
Tom

[cariboobill]

Great Thread!

Lots of good info and hope to hear more on the 2009 hunts. Good luck, if your lucky to have a tag and heading out!

CB