Hunting MU 2-3 and an introductory of sorts.

[Taurusguy]

Hello all I finally got my account activated (it expired once before a MOD activated it ). I have been searching this site and man .. there is some great info here on this GREAT site! Learned a fair bit.

I am 32 years old but a fairly new hunter, having started hunting with my dad on his LEH Elk Hunt in Campbell River 2004 which we got (tagged along as camera man). I got my hunting licence in 2005 and since then my experience has only landed me one solo kill of a single point (non typical since one point was down in front of its eye) mule buck and a few grouse and my 2007 Big bull moose I shot it at about 300 yards off hand in the lungs. I was also part of a large hunting party in MU 5-13b in 2006 where we took out 7 bull moose in 7 days, i didnt shoot but being part of that once in a life time hunt was awesome. Never again will I see that many moose hanging in camp at one given time.. Made some compiled vids of those 2 moose hunts as they were amazing.

Here is my 2006 LEH moose hunt video (below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVY1NCaxPYE

Here is the pic of the hunting party for 2006 below and 6 of the 7 moose we got. The 7th moose was down but it was in the bush as we got it late in the evening the day prior to this pic and was about to head out to retrieve it. (i am on the far right and my dad is right next to me to the left)
http://i39.tinypic.com/mlsbr7.jpg

Here is my 2007 LEH moose hunt video (below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZwAFbGwbLE

This is a pic of the moose I got in the 2007 video below. Sorry its a bit small.
http://i39.tinypic.com/9gammh.jpg

This year I took my Daughter (who is 13) out to experience some hunting on an open season deer hunt in the okanagan in MU 8-1 in Mid October and we got skunked, however my daughter shot 3 grouse with my single shot .22 one of which we persued for almost an hour! lol .. wasted good deer hunting time .. but whatever .. she was having a blast and I was too watching her.

After we got back to camp ... I cleaned one grouse and had her clean the other 2 .. and she did great! Eyes closed .. but whatever .. she ripped the head off .. and stood on them and ripped out the guts! I was SOO proud! She wants her full licence now and her own bag limit for next year now too. She is looking forward to doing taking her core exam and fire arms licence.

Here is a pic of her first ever grouse! below
http://i43.tinypic.com/2wfv0ia.jpg

My son (who is 7) is now chomping at the bit to hunt aswell. Took him out in MU 2-3 (chilliwack river valley) for a day hunt only to see 2 bears ... and 2 grouse (they flew away to fast to even bother persuing). he was much to loud walking around in the bush with me so we stayed close to the truck.. lol but he had fun still exploring and hiking around.

Anyhow .. I have been out around the Chilliwack river Valley area and it seems all i can find are the Bears and garbage! I dont really want a bear, however I am looking for some pointers on where to begin looking for deer in that area for a day hunt to put one in the freezer! I seen a HUGE blackie (looked like a griz tho but black) that had tracks almost the size of my boot! Any tips on where to begin in that area for deer or another area close by, I live in coquitlam and to get out for more than a day is virtually impossible at this time. Not looking for any of your special spots .. just a good starting location to begin searching for sign ... or is chilliwack valley a waste of gas? Maybe Skagit Valley? Any pointers for some local areas would be much appreciated, as I am looking for some good spots to take my kids out to learn to hunt and spend some bonding time with them and give the wife some days off from them at the same time! (kills two birds with one stone!)

A few other hunting pics

Moose in MU 8-1 i ran into in 2010 (below) .. no tag though. He was with a cow and a calf too. Nice to look at though!
http://i40.tinypic.com/9lcz1w.jpg

ANyhow .. sorry for the long post and intro ... I will probably be around this forum alot as I make my way around here and do some exploring around my local areas. This is my first year where i have descided to go hunting on my own without my dad and have been bringing a friend with me to help me pack something out if i get anything. Gotta love friends who are willing to be pack mules! lol.

[sparkes3]

now thats an intro worth reading,welcome to the site.
cant help you around chilliwack or skajit valleys as i have yet to explore these myself.

[pmj]

Darn good first post. Welcome to the site. Serch under fraser valley, chiliwack, skagit or harrison for tips on the near by areas. Should find lots of info.

[Taurusguy]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!!

I have done tons of searching with those key words .... pretty much read every post that contains Chilliwack ... blacktail ... skagit ... fraser valley. The just of what I have learned is that you need to hike high, but with a 7 year old and a 13 year old trailing with me .. makes it difficult to wander too far from the truck for too long not so much with the 13 yo .. shes great but the 7yo .. is far too noisy. Usually we poke our noses into different spots and wander for about 20/30mins then head back and carry on. That way they dont get too bored either and get to see different areas. But, if i was hunting with another buddy only or got my wife to come along (she would, just no one wants to BB sit for us to go out together to hike and hunt unfortunately). I may try to do some truck hunting/exploring with my wife and kids though this weekend again in the chilliwack area ... or possibly drag my dad out .. either way, im heading out to figure out the chilliwack valley area some more.

I just want to bag a deer ... it doesnt have to be a monster either .. just something with horns on its head that will fit into my Freezer! This will give be braggin rights to my old man ... as he has been skunked now 2 years in a row and this year he stayed for 4 extra days more than I did on our Okanagan deer hunt in MU 8-1 with my younger brother because i had to go back to work and he STILL got skunked even tho the deer were starting to move around some more the last days i was there. hahaha... Ill get me one... just gotta keep at it ... expensive groceries though .. lol... probably cheaper to buy a cow .. take it out to the forest .. shoot it with a .22...gut it .. and have it butchered. But searching for Dinner is WAY more fun and rewarding, PLUS its a life skill (like swimming lessons!) that is becoming forgotten in todays society as people rely more and more on steroid injected pumped up commercialized proteins or McDonalds on 2 or 4 feet lol.

One things for sure that I have discovered though since I started hunting the local areas.. Google earth LIES! Especially about what is accessable or not. So its best to just head out and have a look. HOpefully I will get a chance to post some pics and land me a blacktail in the near future ...

[pinebushman]

Just spent the day out in that valley myself and was hoping to see a bear or a deer and saw neither. I already have one deer in the freezer from region 8 and was taking a friend of mine for a local day trip. We tried to get up real high in the open areas but were met with snow early on and didnt bring chains or a winch for the truck. We almost ended up backwards over the bank when we started to slip in one area. We stopped at a number of different areas of varying elevations and looked for sign but did not come across much, maybe a single set of tracks here and there. I thought we may encounter a late season bear along our travels and again didnt really see anything of much interest. I love the beauty this region has to offer so its nice to get out there and go for a hike but, seeing some animals would sure be nice. Even the sight of a doe or two would have been a pleasant change. I am thinking we may just have had to climb even higher but am not 100% sure. One interesting thing we did come across though was an old cabin that looked to be in decent shape other than the fact that the foundation had shifted and now looked as if the trees were the only thing preventing it from toppling over. Some serious effort went into the construction of this thing but it was in the strangest location- pretty much the middle of nowhere. It left us wondering why in the world it was there. If anyone knows of this cabin or wants to venture a guess as to the one I am referring to and has info on it I am quite curious.
The season appears to be over for me this year since I am going on holidays and have to work on the other available days. I must hang up the boots for the season so I wish you a world of luck on your quest and would love to hear your story when you manage to connect with your deer. I hope you can share the experience with one or both children, this year I shot my first deer with my 12 year old son and I know we will be talking about it for years to come. :-)

[Taurusguy]

Thats great you got your first deer while your son was with you. Yo usaid you tried to get up high but was met with snow ... what area did you try to get up high in? All the bears i have seen in region 2-3 have been down low ... i have gone out 2 times into region 2-3 and both times I have seen bear. Look down towards the end of chilliwack lake for your late season bear ... they are there .. seen tracks all over and one HUGE one right on the main road. Must have been 300-400lbs or so ... ad probably like 5-6ft high on all fours and its tracks were almost the size of my boot track. I have not climbed high enough up into the mountain yet in region 2-3 to see anything signifigant such as this cabin your referring too.. but hiking that hillside is in my future! There is a couple spots that look good to start at along chilliwack lake road but no sign down low to indicate that they would be good spots .. other than the trees are easy to see through once you get up a few hundred feet.

Looks like I may try the foley lake area this weekend if the wife lets me lol ... I dont have a bear tag ... so i will be staying away from the "bear" areas i have seen so far.

Thanks for the wishes .. I too hope to nail my deer soon .. and possibly have one of my kids with me when it happens. Would make a great experience for them and ME!

[pinebushman]

We were up in the Mt Archibald, Mt Laughington and Mt Mercer area. The cabin was on Mt Mercer. My intentions were to get to what would have been alpine meadows in the snow free seasons and any cut blocks in those vicinities but had not planned on the snow being as low as it was. Some deer truly seem like mythical creatures and since the one we got this year only had one antler (other one broke off at some point) it only seemed logical that it be refered to as a unicorn! LOL. I have read some reports of absolutely beautiful deer coming out of that area so I guess its just about putting in the "ground work".

[4 point]

How come my moose trip aren't always like that? Good stories and pictures/videos.

[Taurusguy]

THanks 4 Point! .. I gotta put together the vids/pics from the 2004 elk hunt still ... prolly never win another one of those again.

@pinebushman - yeah man .. LOTS of foot work for that area to figure it out. Hopefully I will run into these cabins people keep seeing ... I have never seen anyhting of that sort when I have been hunting. The only "out of place" thing I have seen was a truck over the embankment about 50ft down stuck up agasint the side of a tree ... there was no one there but there was a drum of farm gas sitting in the creek un broken ... and someone was bleeding when they left as they walked back to town. Left a bit of a blood trail around the truck in the snow ... and then seen the foot prints heading the direction we was going .. (this was on the HURLEY PASS towards goldbridge) The person made it to town and we reported the truck to the tavern and gas station there and when we went back over the Hurley .. there was another truck there retrieving the gas and trying to pull the truck out. They filled our quad up! Actually i think i got a story written up already on the net somewhere ..with pics. it was several years back.

Always great to find stuff "out of place".. makes great and interesting stories/pics. EVen better, when you bag something too to go along with it!

[Taurusguy]

Ok .. i found the pics ... check it out lol .. it was crazy.

(below) truck run off the road...
http://tinypic.com/fo41gi.jpg
(below) A shot of where it went off the road
http://tinypic.com/fo42gz.jpg
(below) The snow storm on our way back towards pemberton AFTER we reported the truck... This was near goldbridge so we had not climbed very high into it yet. I had to put my camera away to hold on. 4 hours later ... back in camp :( At the top of the hurley .. the snow was like 5ft deep .. could not see over the snow drift on either side of the road goin up when we were at the top. Crazy snow ... and no deer that trip either :(
http://tinypic.com/fodc35.jpg

It was fricken cold I tell ya ..... riding on the quad for 4 hours in the blizzard over the Hurley. Brrr...

Edit to fix pic

[30-2 Buck]

Ok .. i found the pics ... check it out lol .. it was crazy.

(below) truck run off the road...
http://tinypic.com/fo41gi.jpg
(below) A shot of where it went off the road
http://tinypic.com/fo42gz.jpg
(below) The snow storm on our way back towards pemberton AFTER we reported the truck... This was near goldbridge so we had not climbed very high into it yet. I had to put my camera away to hold on. 4 hours later ... back in camp :( At the top of the hurley .. the snow was like 5ft deep .. could not see over the snow drift on either side of the road goin up when we were at the top. Crazy snow ... and no deer that trip either :(
http://tinypic.com/fodc35.jpg

It was fricken cold I tell ya ..... riding on the quad for 4 hours in the blizzard over the Hurley. Brrr...

Edit to fix pic

Well, I KNOW THE FEELING, ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO ,MAYBE THE SAME SPOT, WE HIT BLACK ICE ON THE HILL AND STARTED SLIDING BACKWARDS TOWARDS THE BANK, LUCKY WE MANAGED TO CRAWL DOWN AND START OVER, NOT A VERY NICE FEELING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.( SORRY FOR THE CAPS)

[Taurusguy]

Well .. had a day hunt in the chilliwack river valley area . seen one bear and some deer tracks. didnt get to shoot the bear as it was not a clean opertunity. O well .. gotta keep exploring to find a buck in that area. Getting harder to navigate in that area tho as it has began to snow now around the chilliwack lake. Makes great for finding game tracks .. but not so good for driving up the available roads. :(

[Taurusguy]

Update! .. My daughter now 14 got her hunting licence this year just in time for the LEH draw ... We are hoping to win a mule doe for the LEH so she can have her first chance at a big game kill. Keep your fingers crossed for us! :P

The other weekend we went out scouting a bit and sighted in my 30/06. I had her and my wife take a few shots with it. My daughter is VERY stoked to take her first shot at deer now since she managed to land a hit with the 30/06 within the kill zone on the target on her first shot at about 100 yards. She even managed to keep her cheek on the stock of the gun for the shot. However the look on her face when it went off was priceless! WIsh I had my camera ready when that happened. haha .. cant wait for the LEH results!

[835]

TaurusGuy,

Have you thought about weekenders? Princeton, Merrit, coacahalla er choka halla er cocohalla ( SP Sucks there)
Sorry im not familiar with the highway! But, from LML you can get to some pretty good places!

Good on ya for gettin the kids in to it, Get a road atlas and look for lots of access. Really for the kids if you managed a couple three dayers it will get welded in their heads. Bird hunting is better in September, keep that in mind too.

[Taurusguy]

My wifes boss gave me a GPS (an older garmin but .. heck .. will work just fine)! so i found a way to get some topographical maps on it for the elevations and i have been drawing in the roads we used to hunt on from the back road map books into it manually and the game trails i marked etc since they are not all on there and marking my game sightings in that area and adding in my notes from the paper copies. Great tool!

My 14yo came on my deer hunt last year ... that got her hooked! My 8YO is still very noisy .. cant sit still lol. I do want to get them out and blast some grouse though with my 8YO to get him in on the action.

I have yet to go down the Coq ... most of my hunting is in okanagan .. when i go with my old man for the LEH or up near QUesnel. I have yet to take my kids out to some close by areas for actual hunting .. but that is coming. NExt year I will have a setup for my entire family to go wife and all! (wife wont get up for the early morning hunts so she said she would stay in camp and make lunch for us when we get back after the morning hunts and join us in the evenings.

SO STOKED and excited to have my 14YO as an up and coming hunting partner. Been waiting for this for years!

[835]

If you do it right,,, and it sounds like you are it will stick for years... Its what my dad did.... Cost me a hell of alot of money and a couple girls but you can earn more money!!!! JK

my wife is just learning the ropes too, she has had her liscense for a couple years now. But she likes to hunt birds with our dog.

[Taurusguy]

The way i see it .. if i can get my daughter to be more interested in a great time out doors with me then she will be less interested in guys at school! (so far so good!) .. not to mention she is also in martial arts! MY wife and I joke that she will have a hard time finding a guy that is more manly than her lol ... she can shoot a gun .. and take me down with her self defence.. she even jokes about stalking a deer and sneaking up to it and knocking it out with a round house!! lol ..

Well .. as for cost .. my old man always said . "if your worried about the cost then go buy a cow its cheaper, because hunting is not about the cost, its about living the simple life and enjoying our beautiful country and the outdoors all the while creating oppertunities to fill the freezer!"

My wife was worried before she shot my gun that she would end up with a black eye .. or stitches if she did it wrong.. I told her a story about a young woman up in quesnel (sylvias cafe actually close to blackwater or buchie lake) who had shot her boy friends gun and he didnt give her proper instructions and let her make a mistake by looking too close to the scope and it hit her above her eye and split her eye brow open. My wife assumed the possibility was there no matter what i told her. I gave them both good instructions and they did just fine ...

[bccanadian]

Just thought I'd mentiont that the huntfest is on during the weekend of June 23rd in Chilliwack. I think it would be great for a hunting family to check out. Your kids will probably love it. Needless to say the parents won't be bored either.

I don't have any affiliation with the huntfest. I usually go to the outdoors show at the tradex (missed it this year due to work commitments) and I try to get the the H.A.C.S. show in Burnaby once a month.

There's another thing to check out.

Taurusguy, great photos, vids and stories. Keep them coming.

[Taurusguy]

THanks bccanadian!

Oh absolutely. I will be attending that. My old man had me put it on the calendar. :)

[itsy bitsy xj]

Hey Taurusguy
GREAT write ups!! Have you been up Chilliwack Lake road this fall?The reason I ask is this is my first ever year hunting and my parents have a cabin/summer house up there 2 kms before the lake, it backs onto the river in a little subdivision of cabins. Some friends and I (& my 13 year daughter) will be there for the Oct long weekend And I'd like to try and get a bear or deer or both. So like you I'm just looking for some pointers.

Thanks

[Taurusguy]

I have not been up there yet this fall .. but last year i went 5x .. and each time i seen a bear along the rd from chilliwack lake to the backside of it along the gravel rd towards pale face creek and depot creek near the end of the season .. and when all the dead fish are all over the river. Didnt have a bear tag .. :( One of them was huge ... prolly 400lb monster black bear(just guessing by the size of it). Once it stepped onto the rd I could not see the road around it from my view in the truck. It popped out in front of me about 20ft away or so from the truck and then ran back into the bush. I stopped and went in to take a look to see where it went .. but it was gone .. not a trace of it.