fearnodeer
10-09-2011, 03:13 PM
Well my buddy Mike and his kid and i just got back late friday, we got there on the wednesday before the opening on saturday to check it out. We got lucky when we arrived because Glen & Tylene the new native managers were still on the ranch to let us in.We booked cabin #6 well in advance but when we got there they told us that we had cabin #5 instead which was an older one, when we booked they told us that the cabins had all the pots and pans, forks and knifes and firewood well that was not the case we had one fork and five plates, thank god we brought our own stuff with us or we would have been screwed. The firewood was there but you need a large axe to chop it. They also told us that the airstrip is off limits to hunting now. We unpacked our stuff and were getting ready to head out for a look when Shanon and Eurika stoped by and asked us if the managers were around and we said that they had gone to fort saint john, they decided that they would go out with us to scout the grounds, well it took us only 10 min. to find a heard right on the airstrip of about 25 -30 boy did that get the blood pumping, that is when i found out Eurika was there to shoot a bison and she could take one before saturday because she was native. They got within 75 yards of the herd and decided not to shoot untill they talked to Glen and Tylene so mike and i decided to go futher down the trail and spotted a few more bison then went back to camp.
The next day we went out about 8am and did some more scouting and found more bison and elk and bear what a great day we staked a small black to within 20 yards and it did not seam bothered by us what so ever. We had gone in about 18k and decided to head back and on the way back at the trappers cabin approx 10k from camp we saw a heard of about 11 on the hillside 425 yards away and thought would we want to haul one out that far ? and decided we probably would, we continued down the road about 1/2k and saw Shanon and Eurika and i asked if they charge her for hunting on the property and she said yes and at full price 175 and 75 for the helper, i said so much for blood and she said she was not from the BlueBerry Band so it did not matter. They had decided to go after the ones we just saw so Mike gave her his cell # and i told her to give us a text if she got one and we would help if they needed it. Well a quick lunch and we got the text so we loaded up a bunch of rope and straps and out we went, when we got there Shanon had allready had it gutted and cut in half so the three boys Mike, Shannon and i started to haul each half within 250 feet of were i could get the quad and boy that was fun i could not imagine how they would have could it out without us, they both thanked us very much and gave me and mike a dozen beer that night for helpng out.
Friday rolls around and we decide to sleep in and get ready for saturday so in the afternoon i decide to go gat some more fuel for the quads, O by the way gas is approx 18 cents a litre moer in pink mountain so top off in fort st john. at the gas station i run into an HBC member Orso who i had been in touch with before we left and told how to get to the ranch, he told me that he booked a cabin at horse camp and asked if i knew were it was and i thought because of all the horses on the ranch it was there but turns out horse camp is 26k in and did not want to haul all of there stuff in after checking it out and someone else was allready using the cabin so they ended up staying at the ranch. A few more people show up that day but we are all excited to get our bison.
Saturday is finnally here and we think this is just going to be to easy, boy were we wroung, the lucky guys turned out to be staying at horse camp because that morning one of the atv's would not start so a couple of guys had to stay behind and wouldn't you know it right at camp a big bull comes within 30 yards of the cabins so they shoot it and anouther one comes out and they find the other guys and get it two but the asian guys put 5 rounds into it and make a mesh off it. two others were taken that day and Orso group of 7 and us could not find one. One of the one that were taken was near the trappers cabin by an older couple that had got Glen and his brother to come help them, so i pitched in once again and helped haul that one out to.
Sunday rolls around and one more bison was taken.
Monday comes along and Orso and his gang get one and a big bull moose was taken at horse camp, i watched a nice 6 point elk come out as well, Mike was talking to Orso when the call came in that they had one down, so after he decided to come back to camp and on the way back he came around a corner and a bison was standing 20 yards in front of him and and just wandered away. We also saw two big black bears that day a nice grizz with two cubs.
Tuesday was depressing we went 28k in and only saw two mountain men on horseback who told us they had not seen any bison that the big heards had not come over they mountain yet, and Orso and his gang left for Fort St James cause they had two moose draws and he sent me a pm saying they just got back and took an 9 x 8 bull moose as well. We decided this day that we would be leaving thursday afternoon so we better get it done.
Wednesday we get up an hour before light and decide we are going as far back in as it takes to get one, just past the trappers cabin we she a heard of elk on the hillside, 8 cows and a nice bull but we decide we came for the bison so on we went. We would split up and take side trails and shuch so we could glass different area's and cover more ground, we keep picking spots to meet and when we got close to horse camp i took a side road and mike carried on, when i came out he was racing down the road trying to find me cause he spotted a couple of bison, but he told me they were way up the mountain side. We raced back to where he spotted them and decided to she if we could get close enough to them and as we got closer we noticed two quads from the cabin next door and fiqured that they had went after them and we would not have because they were to far away. We went down the road a little farther and spotted them agian and by this time they had shot one and thought to are selfs boy am i glad we did not have to haul it out. We traveled down the road about 4 more k and got to the top of a hill and when i just started coming down mike said stop and i looked up and 4 bison were crossing the road. We turned the quads off and waited till the bison were relaxed and feeding again. Mike told me to crawl down the road to see if i could get close enough for a shot so i did i crawled all the way down to where thry crossed to find out that the willows they were in were to high or i was to short to see them, so i decided to make my way back and i got about half way back and stood up and spotted them again but they were about 300+ yards off and still thay willows were in the way so i decided to go through the willow till i could get close enough for a clear shot, it was everthing i could do to get through them without making a ton of noise because they were just so thick. i got myself within 150 yards and started trying to see if i could get a shot off, but no luck, so i just waited, they bedded down for about 10 mins and then decided it was time to move so each one got up and started to walk away starting with the bid bull but they would just stay behide enough willows so i could not get a clear shot. Finnaly the last one got up and started to walk away and for a brief secound she gave me a good look at her but passed into the willows again. when the willows thined out enough i new well enough at her size and vitals location and pulled the trigger, she did not go more than two steps and down she went.
Even helping haul two smaller bison out did not get me ready for skinning and hauling out this one with just two of us. We did the guttless method because we knew we did not have a lot of time seeming it was allready 1:30 it way 10:30 that night before we had it hanging at camp and both tiered as hell.
The next day we decided to head home but in the morning i was talking to the neibours that had shot the one up the mountain and the four of them only had enough time to gut and quarter it, and had to leave it on the mountain. They were going back to haul it out but were warned that grizzley's had been spotted in the area so be carefull so i hope they got it out.
If i have any advise to the next people going up it would be;
- Call Glen & Tylene the night before you arrive to make arrangement to gain access when you arrive
- Bring all of your own pots and pans,dishes ect.
- Bring a mattress i had to sleep on a box spring
- Hunt near horse camp 26k in
- Bring a big axe
- Bring extra bodies to help haul it out 3 - 4 people would be the best is you ask me
- unless you have lots of help don't shoot one to far in or up a mountain
- if you like pm me and i will give you a call with more details
Mike and i asked areselfs if we would do it again ? HELL YA
If i can fiqure out how to post pictures i will if someone wants pm me and i will send them to you to post.
P.S this is the most one finger typing i have ever done.
The next day we went out about 8am and did some more scouting and found more bison and elk and bear what a great day we staked a small black to within 20 yards and it did not seam bothered by us what so ever. We had gone in about 18k and decided to head back and on the way back at the trappers cabin approx 10k from camp we saw a heard of about 11 on the hillside 425 yards away and thought would we want to haul one out that far ? and decided we probably would, we continued down the road about 1/2k and saw Shanon and Eurika and i asked if they charge her for hunting on the property and she said yes and at full price 175 and 75 for the helper, i said so much for blood and she said she was not from the BlueBerry Band so it did not matter. They had decided to go after the ones we just saw so Mike gave her his cell # and i told her to give us a text if she got one and we would help if they needed it. Well a quick lunch and we got the text so we loaded up a bunch of rope and straps and out we went, when we got there Shanon had allready had it gutted and cut in half so the three boys Mike, Shannon and i started to haul each half within 250 feet of were i could get the quad and boy that was fun i could not imagine how they would have could it out without us, they both thanked us very much and gave me and mike a dozen beer that night for helpng out.
Friday rolls around and we decide to sleep in and get ready for saturday so in the afternoon i decide to go gat some more fuel for the quads, O by the way gas is approx 18 cents a litre moer in pink mountain so top off in fort st john. at the gas station i run into an HBC member Orso who i had been in touch with before we left and told how to get to the ranch, he told me that he booked a cabin at horse camp and asked if i knew were it was and i thought because of all the horses on the ranch it was there but turns out horse camp is 26k in and did not want to haul all of there stuff in after checking it out and someone else was allready using the cabin so they ended up staying at the ranch. A few more people show up that day but we are all excited to get our bison.
Saturday is finnally here and we think this is just going to be to easy, boy were we wroung, the lucky guys turned out to be staying at horse camp because that morning one of the atv's would not start so a couple of guys had to stay behind and wouldn't you know it right at camp a big bull comes within 30 yards of the cabins so they shoot it and anouther one comes out and they find the other guys and get it two but the asian guys put 5 rounds into it and make a mesh off it. two others were taken that day and Orso group of 7 and us could not find one. One of the one that were taken was near the trappers cabin by an older couple that had got Glen and his brother to come help them, so i pitched in once again and helped haul that one out to.
Sunday rolls around and one more bison was taken.
Monday comes along and Orso and his gang get one and a big bull moose was taken at horse camp, i watched a nice 6 point elk come out as well, Mike was talking to Orso when the call came in that they had one down, so after he decided to come back to camp and on the way back he came around a corner and a bison was standing 20 yards in front of him and and just wandered away. We also saw two big black bears that day a nice grizz with two cubs.
Tuesday was depressing we went 28k in and only saw two mountain men on horseback who told us they had not seen any bison that the big heards had not come over they mountain yet, and Orso and his gang left for Fort St James cause they had two moose draws and he sent me a pm saying they just got back and took an 9 x 8 bull moose as well. We decided this day that we would be leaving thursday afternoon so we better get it done.
Wednesday we get up an hour before light and decide we are going as far back in as it takes to get one, just past the trappers cabin we she a heard of elk on the hillside, 8 cows and a nice bull but we decide we came for the bison so on we went. We would split up and take side trails and shuch so we could glass different area's and cover more ground, we keep picking spots to meet and when we got close to horse camp i took a side road and mike carried on, when i came out he was racing down the road trying to find me cause he spotted a couple of bison, but he told me they were way up the mountain side. We raced back to where he spotted them and decided to she if we could get close enough to them and as we got closer we noticed two quads from the cabin next door and fiqured that they had went after them and we would not have because they were to far away. We went down the road a little farther and spotted them agian and by this time they had shot one and thought to are selfs boy am i glad we did not have to haul it out. We traveled down the road about 4 more k and got to the top of a hill and when i just started coming down mike said stop and i looked up and 4 bison were crossing the road. We turned the quads off and waited till the bison were relaxed and feeding again. Mike told me to crawl down the road to see if i could get close enough for a shot so i did i crawled all the way down to where thry crossed to find out that the willows they were in were to high or i was to short to see them, so i decided to make my way back and i got about half way back and stood up and spotted them again but they were about 300+ yards off and still thay willows were in the way so i decided to go through the willow till i could get close enough for a clear shot, it was everthing i could do to get through them without making a ton of noise because they were just so thick. i got myself within 150 yards and started trying to see if i could get a shot off, but no luck, so i just waited, they bedded down for about 10 mins and then decided it was time to move so each one got up and started to walk away starting with the bid bull but they would just stay behide enough willows so i could not get a clear shot. Finnaly the last one got up and started to walk away and for a brief secound she gave me a good look at her but passed into the willows again. when the willows thined out enough i new well enough at her size and vitals location and pulled the trigger, she did not go more than two steps and down she went.
Even helping haul two smaller bison out did not get me ready for skinning and hauling out this one with just two of us. We did the guttless method because we knew we did not have a lot of time seeming it was allready 1:30 it way 10:30 that night before we had it hanging at camp and both tiered as hell.
The next day we decided to head home but in the morning i was talking to the neibours that had shot the one up the mountain and the four of them only had enough time to gut and quarter it, and had to leave it on the mountain. They were going back to haul it out but were warned that grizzley's had been spotted in the area so be carefull so i hope they got it out.
If i have any advise to the next people going up it would be;
- Call Glen & Tylene the night before you arrive to make arrangement to gain access when you arrive
- Bring all of your own pots and pans,dishes ect.
- Bring a mattress i had to sleep on a box spring
- Hunt near horse camp 26k in
- Bring a big axe
- Bring extra bodies to help haul it out 3 - 4 people would be the best is you ask me
- unless you have lots of help don't shoot one to far in or up a mountain
- if you like pm me and i will give you a call with more details
Mike and i asked areselfs if we would do it again ? HELL YA
If i can fiqure out how to post pictures i will if someone wants pm me and i will send them to you to post.
P.S this is the most one finger typing i have ever done.