RustyRipper
11-26-2009, 11:49 PM
Got back from my trip up to region 7-20A on the peace river a couple weeks ago and I've finally got my act together to get this thing on here. Unfourtunately a few days after I got home my dad passed away after fighting cancer for 4 years so as you can imagine I wasn't up to doing this for a while. However I've now got some time and will to do it so here goes.
Headed up northward near the last week of october to get the last bit of elk and moose hunting in and be there for the opening of deer season. Myself and my good buddy took my truck and his dad and buddy took theirs while towing the jetboat. It seemed that the rain followed us the entire way from the island right to fort st. john; non-stop! fraser canyon was hell, foggy and rainy, and pine pass was the same. Needless to say we were not impressed about how warm the weather still was. Got where we were headed on a weekend and it deemed to be much too busy with jetboaters so we decided to head up to Pink Mountain to try and find some swamp donkeys and come back after the weekend. Made a nice camp in a small clearing off a GSR.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/139.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16464&limit=recent)
It turned out to be a bad move, as the warm weather and rain made it very difficult to find any moose; albeit for a few cows and calves, we hardly saw anything. Although we did manage to get a few grouse and tarmigan to keep the itchy trigger fingers happy and which made delicious additions to dinner.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/317.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16466&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/413.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16467&limit=recent)
It was pretty uneventful up there, saw few animals, including some wild horses, but nothing like we did last year. Also we were lucky not to run into any big grizzes but we did cross this guy's tracks, glad we didn't see him!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/59.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16468&limit=recent)
We decided not to waster any more time up there and drove back down to our other spot with our tails between our legs. We decided to try our luck with the elk and hit the river with the jetboat. We noticed that everyone else was just cruising the river watching the shores, and saw this to be the quivalent of road hunting on the water, which we didn't have any luck at.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/75.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16471&limit=recent)
so instead we used the boat to get to remote areas beach the boat and cover some ground on foot. We put some serious miles on our boots and I wouldn't have done it any other way, it was a blast. The thrill of having a small herd of 4 or 500 pound animals erupting out of their beds in front you is uncomparable. However they were few and far between in places so we really covered ground.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/66.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16469&limit=recent)
We had a few chances at some cows but at first held off for a bull. I had a chance at a big bull that eats away at me still. I had spooked him out of his bed in the thick stuff (I knew right away he was a bull because I could hear his antlers breaking every branch in his path). I immediately started cow calling and he stopped. I looked about and after a couple scans through the bush caught sight of him, not more than 20 yards away looking right back at me. All I could see was his head neck and base of his antlers. I could only make out a single brow tine on either side and so could not be sure that he was legal. I went from scope to binoculars back to scope for 5 minutes, which seemed like and hour until he finally had enough and took off, moments later my buddy calls me on the vhf to say he just saw a bull jump out of the bush like a lab into the river and run up the other side. Damn. Here's a pic of the havoc he reaked through these trees.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/1310.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16478&limit=recent)
As the open days were quickly dwindling away we became less choosy. Again I had the first chance at an elk when I spooked a couple cows out of their beds and luckily they ran out into a field and a couple cow calls stopped them too. I could only see the one now but she was 100 yards broadside to me, but I was in the bush still, unable to move without her taking off. So I shot through the bushes, free-handed, aiming for the lungs and after the bark of the .300WSM went off, she just took off running like a bat out of hell. I walked up to where she was expecting to find blood and nothing. No sign of blood at all. After searching for some time I came to the conclusion that I had missed. I was so angry with myself. Not too long after I heard a shot go off fairly close to me and waited for the call on the radio asking for help with an animal. Sure enough our buddy calls saying hes got an elk down. Three of us meet back at the jetboat and head to where our other buddy was, only able to get within a couple hundred yards of where he was (too shallow) we beached the boat. When we got there he said there were two elk. Sure enough there were two cow elk laying a mere 40 yards from each other both stone dead. Apparantly the elk I spooked doubled back and crossed the slough in front of my buddy and he nailed the first one coming out and mine dropped dead there too. I hit her in the lung just behind the shoulder so I guess the thick fur there soaked up the blood. Anyway we were happy, but now the work began.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/85.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16472&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/104.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16474&limit=recent)
To add to it by the time we had dragged the first one to the jet boat and came back for the second, it had started snowin like hell.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/94.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16473&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/1116.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16475&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/1212.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16476&limit=recent)
But we managed to get em all on board, one and a half on the bow and half of one riding with us. Those were the only elk we got, which seemed a shame we got em both on the same day but we were happy nonetheless. The skunk was off. Deer season opened in two days...
Headed up northward near the last week of october to get the last bit of elk and moose hunting in and be there for the opening of deer season. Myself and my good buddy took my truck and his dad and buddy took theirs while towing the jetboat. It seemed that the rain followed us the entire way from the island right to fort st. john; non-stop! fraser canyon was hell, foggy and rainy, and pine pass was the same. Needless to say we were not impressed about how warm the weather still was. Got where we were headed on a weekend and it deemed to be much too busy with jetboaters so we decided to head up to Pink Mountain to try and find some swamp donkeys and come back after the weekend. Made a nice camp in a small clearing off a GSR.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/139.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16464&limit=recent)
It turned out to be a bad move, as the warm weather and rain made it very difficult to find any moose; albeit for a few cows and calves, we hardly saw anything. Although we did manage to get a few grouse and tarmigan to keep the itchy trigger fingers happy and which made delicious additions to dinner.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/317.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16466&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/413.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16467&limit=recent)
It was pretty uneventful up there, saw few animals, including some wild horses, but nothing like we did last year. Also we were lucky not to run into any big grizzes but we did cross this guy's tracks, glad we didn't see him!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/59.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16468&limit=recent)
We decided not to waster any more time up there and drove back down to our other spot with our tails between our legs. We decided to try our luck with the elk and hit the river with the jetboat. We noticed that everyone else was just cruising the river watching the shores, and saw this to be the quivalent of road hunting on the water, which we didn't have any luck at.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/75.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16471&limit=recent)
so instead we used the boat to get to remote areas beach the boat and cover some ground on foot. We put some serious miles on our boots and I wouldn't have done it any other way, it was a blast. The thrill of having a small herd of 4 or 500 pound animals erupting out of their beds in front you is uncomparable. However they were few and far between in places so we really covered ground.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/66.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16469&limit=recent)
We had a few chances at some cows but at first held off for a bull. I had a chance at a big bull that eats away at me still. I had spooked him out of his bed in the thick stuff (I knew right away he was a bull because I could hear his antlers breaking every branch in his path). I immediately started cow calling and he stopped. I looked about and after a couple scans through the bush caught sight of him, not more than 20 yards away looking right back at me. All I could see was his head neck and base of his antlers. I could only make out a single brow tine on either side and so could not be sure that he was legal. I went from scope to binoculars back to scope for 5 minutes, which seemed like and hour until he finally had enough and took off, moments later my buddy calls me on the vhf to say he just saw a bull jump out of the bush like a lab into the river and run up the other side. Damn. Here's a pic of the havoc he reaked through these trees.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/1310.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16478&limit=recent)
As the open days were quickly dwindling away we became less choosy. Again I had the first chance at an elk when I spooked a couple cows out of their beds and luckily they ran out into a field and a couple cow calls stopped them too. I could only see the one now but she was 100 yards broadside to me, but I was in the bush still, unable to move without her taking off. So I shot through the bushes, free-handed, aiming for the lungs and after the bark of the .300WSM went off, she just took off running like a bat out of hell. I walked up to where she was expecting to find blood and nothing. No sign of blood at all. After searching for some time I came to the conclusion that I had missed. I was so angry with myself. Not too long after I heard a shot go off fairly close to me and waited for the call on the radio asking for help with an animal. Sure enough our buddy calls saying hes got an elk down. Three of us meet back at the jetboat and head to where our other buddy was, only able to get within a couple hundred yards of where he was (too shallow) we beached the boat. When we got there he said there were two elk. Sure enough there were two cow elk laying a mere 40 yards from each other both stone dead. Apparantly the elk I spooked doubled back and crossed the slough in front of my buddy and he nailed the first one coming out and mine dropped dead there too. I hit her in the lung just behind the shoulder so I guess the thick fur there soaked up the blood. Anyway we were happy, but now the work began.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/85.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16472&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/104.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16474&limit=recent)
To add to it by the time we had dragged the first one to the jet boat and came back for the second, it had started snowin like hell.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/94.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16473&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/1116.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16475&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/1212.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=16476&limit=recent)
But we managed to get em all on board, one and a half on the bow and half of one riding with us. Those were the only elk we got, which seemed a shame we got em both on the same day but we were happy nonetheless. The skunk was off. Deer season opened in two days...