another noob to hunting

[fireblaze]

gone for grouse and ducks as a teen back in alberta. got my pal over the summer and love going to the range. I really want to get back into hunting, my wife wants to stick to the range only. I dont want to go hunting alone though, are there hunting guides that I could go out with? I have no idea where to hunt here. back in alberta we had "grazing reserves" where we could hunt. is there an equivilant here in BC?

[gibblewabble]

here its called Crown land and its all over the place, where do you live thats the best way to start. Drive up (elevation) and start hunting.

[fireblaze]

I live in surrey, I am in the agassiz-harrison area lots as my folks and brother live out there. recently bought a 4x4 and never had to use it off road, looking forward to some hunting adventure. I know there are deer in the area as I belong to the range in harrison... look at the brave deer below....http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/304700_10150376324681690_521496689_10497897_151936 902_n.jpg

[markt308]

wow thats hilarious!

[180grainer]

wow thats hilarious!

Not to poke fun, but you need to get a set of regs and read them. If you have a 4X4, a gun, a hunter number, and a lic, then you can go hunting. If your wife doesn't want you too, then you can't.

[fireblaze]

The deer were there all day too. we would have to pause shooting for 5-10 minutes for the animals to clear the range. One actually bedded down under a cedar tree. I was shooting my 9mm handgun, my sks 7.62x39 , and even shooting skeet with my 12 gauge, the deer did not scare. the thing that scared them away.... a flash from a dudes camera. odd.

[fireblaze]

passed my core exam this weekend, and sighted in my .308 and my scope. I need to gear up this week. looking to get , some camo/orange clothes, a skinning knife, saw, a first aid kit. anyone have other suggesttions on what I should pickup? I would feel better with a good GPS too any suggestions would be great.

[fireguy]

A licence and a tag and you are good to go
I'm not sure about hunting on the wet coast, but i use my bino's all the time, I don't own any orange clothes but if it makes you feel safer go for it.
Don't overcomplicate it with to much gear, I usually go with basically what you have mentioned except the first aid kit, it is in my truck but not in my daypack.

[MaxQtime]

Not to poke fun, but you need to get a set of regs and read them. If you have a 4X4, a gun, a hunter number, and a lic, then you can go hunting. If your wife doesn't want you too, then you can't.

I told my wife if she didn't want me going alone, she could come with me. She said yes, and she rather enjoyed it.

[greenhorn]

A licence and a tag and you are good to go
I'm not sure about hunting on the wet coast, but i use my bino's all the time, I don't own any orange clothes but if it makes you feel safer go for it.
Don't overcomplicate it with to much gear, I usually go with basically what you have mentioned except the first aid kit, it is in my truck but not in my daypack.

I agree with fireguy - don't buy more than you need. All you really need is good boots, warm/weather resistant clothes and binos.

IMO you should carry a small first aid kit with you in your pack. You're more likely to cut/hurt yourself while out hiking or gutting/skinning and you should have the kit with you, not the truck.

[sparkes3]

get a back roads mapbook for the area you intend to hunt ,the only time i use orange is when i am dragging a animal out to the truck and its usually on the animal

[fireblaze]

went out for the first time this weekend up harrison lake saturday then ruby creek on sunday, saw 4 BT does, but no bucks. I dont have any calls, which one should I get for blacktail bucks? do the electronic ones work ok?

here is a pic of me and one of the does I saw, she came right up to me. going back to the same spot this weekend to look for a buck in the treed areas, many tracks and a scrape mark about 100 yards up the mountain from where I saw the does, much different than hunting whitetails in the praries....

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/375952_10150451292886690_521496689_10941939_196854 4764_n.jpg

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/382762_10150449553426690_521496689_10932420_592205 136_n.jpg

[buck nash]

Yes the hunting on the west coast mountains is very diferent from the prairies. You seldom get to see much past a couple hundred yards here and often not much more than 50 yards.

Get yourself a backroads map book and a gps that excepts micro sd cards. Then you can get the backroads card for your gps that coresponds to the book.

You're not allowed to use electronic calls for deer here in bc. I'd have to look it up but I don't think you can use them for any game in bc. But I stand to be corrected on that.

Anyhow welcome to the promised land and good luck this season.

[835]

Heck of a .308! Nice rig. What kinda groups at 100 do you get with that?
Yep,, no electronic calls for most animals in BC. Yuo may be aloud to use them on 'Yoties but i dont hunt them to know.

Well you found a place where there are deer, That is the biggest hurddle. Now you just need to expand you knowlage of that area and get some good hikes figured out.
hunting by your self is fine, just tell someone your trip plan and stick to it. Then dont walk anywhere "Risky" and yer good. I enjoy hunting alone.

[fireblaze]

My .308 is really accurate with little kick. sorry I dont know what grouping is, Up I can shoot apples at the range at 150 yards , 5 in a row with no misses. I guess no electronic calls for me. found a good website with laws esaily readable.
good website with bc laws: http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/190_84_01
18 (1) A person commits an offence where he
(f) uses live birds as decoys or recorded bird calls to hunt game birds,
(j) uses recorded or electronic calls for the purpose of hunting wildlife, other than for hunting wolf, coyote, cougar, lynx, bobcat or any bird listed in Schedule C of the Designation and Exemption Regulation, B.C. Reg. 168/90, or

[835]

Groups = 5 shots at 100yds with as full a rest as you can,,, if you got a vise use it.
then you take out the "Flyer" and measure from the center of the hole of the outside bullet holes.

Some people may have different ways of measuring or how they shoot a group but that is what i do.

I use sand bags to build a rest, set up the rifle so the cross hairs stay on the bullseye, then i get behind it and squeeze. Repeating 5 times.
My Rem 700 mountain rifle .270win will do 1-1/2" and under with correct loading.

This is how you test different ammo in your rifle. As well as making sure you are "Sighted in". When you are shooting ammunition that your rifle isnt sighted in for and you are just wondering if it is more "Accurate" then what you currently are shooting. You "Shoot for groups" not caring where the group lands on the target. All you are looking at is how tight the group is. If it is tighter then what you are currently shooting then you have found a new load. Not all ammo is created equal by any strech.

[fireblaze]

that is great info, thank you. I learn so much on this website.

[835]

no prob, there is a thousand ways of doing things, some right some wrong but that is how i do it!

When you get into it, that is one of the ways to get good bench time. Sight your rifle in for one type of ammo. Then you can experiment. If you experiments prove another Cartridge is better shooting in you rifle, buy another box and re sight it in.