Tunkwa Lake Area

[sdurango41]

Hi All,

I am heading up to the Tunkwa Lake area for a four day hunt in early November. First question is will the rut be on for both muley and whitetails? Second question is how is the whitetail population in that area? Third question is how heavy is the hunting pressure? We like to drive in to an area but then get out of the truck and spend the day off of the beaten track.
I will be hunting whitetails predominately.
We just returned from a 9 day hunt west of Williams Lake and took 5 nice bucks in our group. (pictures to come) The highlight was a nice 4X4 on the final morning. Lots of other buck sightings and tons of does.
Any suggestions of FSR or areas to stick to would be greatly appreciated. Crossing my fingers for some snow as well!!

[RoscoeP]

I stayed at Tunkwa last year mid Oct, there are quite a few whitetails in the area. It was busier on the weekends and on the opening day for immature moose it was real busy. I think it will be better in Nov as Mulies are back to 4 spike or better. Most of the hunters are road hunters and there is alot of quad access. Whitetails were spotted at mostly lower elevations. Lots of powerlines and other access right of ways. Good luck! Cheers Roscoe

[specbelly]

Lots of mulies and WT, the WT are down low near the lake along the powerline but hang along the bus and in the bush. Just walk the edges and watch the cattle trails inside the trees a ways and you'll find them. They start rutting usually around the 15

[Livewire322]

i do all my hunting in the savona/ guichon area and the traffic is SUPER heavy, duffy lake side of tunkwa lake road is worse because of all the off roaders.
i have only seen 2 WT deer in the area and have been hunting there for years... good mulie population though.

[doubled]

See more whiteys than muleys there usually.

[KevinB]

There's a reasonable population of WT's in the area although I wouldn't say it's exactly over-run. I have found the hunting pressure to be quite light once you're in the bush, but the level of blowdown in the pine is making it pretty tough to move around with any degree of quiet. In my experience the bucks in the area are quite active by the 15th of November, maybe earlier.

[coquitlam]

Tunkwa lake has a web site with a hunting report,so you can see how it is going he is very hunter friendly

[pierogi]

I did some hunting there in early Nov last year. There was other hunters, 2 other trucks for the whole day, but not too heavy pressure, only saw mulies, and few moose tracks

[sdurango41]

Thanks for the info guys. We will definately be getting off of the beaten track to find animals. I really dislike being to close to the roads and all of the road hunters. A high percentage of the animals that we take are not easy packs. I can't wait until my son is old enough to join the hunts so that he can "pitch in"!
Has anyone attempted rattling whiteys in? We will hopefully get there just as the rut is beginning.

[lovemywinchester]

Thanks for the info guys. We will definately be getting off of the beaten track to find animals. I really dislike being to close to the roads and all of the road hunters. A high percentage of the animals that we take are not easy packs. I can't wait until my son is old enough to join the hunts so that he can "pitch in"!
Has anyone attempted rattling whiteys in? We will hopefully get there just as the rut is beginning.
Close to the road is where you want to be for the whities. Just park and walk ten feet in the bush and you will see LOTS of deer turds. As stated above the beetle kill is thick so stalking is tough. Best to stake out a good looking spot at first and last light and hope they come out. I have two whities from Tunkwa now and there is a big herd of them roaming around. Good luck.

[specbelly]

Rattling works, only issues are the amount of does so the bucks tend to have lots of choices and don't need to fight for them. Smaller bucks do come on the run to see what's happening but have found the bigger guys tend to hang back

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Depending on what you're used to, I would call Tunkwa country fairly busy. As with everywhere around Kamloops, whities are around but you need to find the pockets. Generally more mule deer, though. As for the rut, does are in estrus right from late Oct through Dec. The peak rut should be between the first and third weeks of Nov, but even if it's not peak, it shouldn't really matter; as long as there's does in estrus there'll be good bucks somewhere.

If this year is like most we've been having recently, I wouldn't count on snow at that time of year!

Have fun!
Jerky

[MuleyMadness]

You're also going to want to try the other side of the road into Logan Lake, on the Helmer Lake side of things. Plenty of good pockets of WTs in there...missed at a chance at an approximately 160" WT there a couple of years back. You have to get off the road though...the pressure in those areas can he heavy, even in November. You won't likely see snow in early November down low by Tunkwa, but if you venture up above Mile High and Face Lake you may very well see quite a bit by the 10th or so...it's a snow belt area in there, and they can get significant dumps.

[sdurango41]

Thanks guys.
I can't wait to get up there and out of the city. It was -6 up there this morning so hopefully that will get things moving. Where is the best (quickest) place to get a hold of some good topo maps?

[lovemywinchester]

Thanks guys.
I can't wait to get up there and out of the city. It was -6 up there this morning so hopefully that will get things moving. Where is the best (quickest) place to get a hold of some good topo maps?
Stop in at Tunkwa Lake Resort. The store has the area FSR map for sale. I think they are $12 or so and have all the logging roads on them plus they can send you in the right direction.

[shelg]

If you are in Kamloops these are the only guys that I am aware of that carry topo maps for the area in stock (universal reproductions) http://unirepro.com/CMS/ but you can't beat the backcountry road books for the thompson/okanagan.

[sdurango41]

3 days and counting before we head up to the Tunkwa Lake area. Anyone have any reports on rut etc.? We can't wait to get going. hoping to run into a nice muley buck but my preference would be a big whitey!!

[lovemywinchester]

3 days and counting before we head up to the Tunkwa Lake area. Anyone have any reports on rut etc.? We can't wait to get going. hoping to run into a nice muley buck but my preference would be a big whitey!!

Saw a nice 4 point big bodied mulie in the meat shed last night.