Hunting Distance from Road - Part II with Poll [Archive]

Jelvis

01-15-2012, 12:46 PM

Lots of people can't tell how far in the bush they walked, poor judgment in the ridges and trees.
Most walk for a football field length and think it's miles away. Don't know where they are.
Some fellas I hunt with have very bad perception of distance and direction.
Lack of experience in the bush hunting and fear of getting lost. Hunters who on a day hunt that carry a large pack for example are these types.
J .. I would say most hunters stay within one hundred yards of the road in reality. Trophy hunters with experience maybe a mile.

mrdoog

01-15-2012, 12:54 PM

and some never leave their house......

uraarchr

01-15-2012, 12:55 PM

Really varies with the area.I think that"from the vehicle"would be a better way to put it.A lot of hunters use old or deactivated roaads to walk .Me; a hundred yards to over a Km.Depending on where I am.It is nice toget away from the road.

Gateholio

01-15-2012, 01:00 PM

stepping off the road is scary. Stay on the road for safety!

moosinaround

01-15-2012, 01:09 PM

I will cut across country to get to a certain side of a cut due to wind or whatever, then if I kill a critter, I will come back in on the rd with my recovery vehicle! All kinds of different strategies!! That is why it is good to know the area you are hunting well!! Moosin

Moose63

01-15-2012, 04:18 PM

stepping off the road is scary. Stay on the road for safety!

It's just that dilemma, safety of the road versus hunting where there is less pressure. My goal is to go in deep, probably invest in a "spot" before I go......

gunpower

01-15-2012, 04:18 PM

`
stepping off the road is scary. Stay on the road for safety!
Is this in daylight, or with a full moon . LOL

d6dan

01-15-2012, 04:21 PM

and some never leave their house......

and some never leave their trucks..:wink:

gunpower

01-15-2012, 04:22 PM

I'm getting to old and crippled up to do much bush whacking any more, plus I'm 3/4 deaf.
I usally hunt with my son and he gets a little bit pi^& with me at times.
But like I tell him,
Don't get old !!!

TheProvider

01-15-2012, 04:23 PM

I think your should've been more specific to start. As alot of bear and deer hunters dont get off a road but anyone who went on a sheep or goat hunt can say over 5miles

TheProvider

01-15-2012, 04:26 PM

I don't like the sounds of vehicles while hunting wether its a car, logging truck or 4wheeler.

wos

01-15-2012, 04:35 PM

All of the above. but I hardly ever road hunt.

dana

01-15-2012, 05:27 PM

How long have we been on the metric system in this country???

Ambush

01-15-2012, 05:37 PM

How long have we been on the metric system in this country???
About 35 cent-a-years.

d6dan

01-15-2012, 05:40 PM

How long have we been on the metric system in this country???

Talked about in 1972, roads signs by 1977, and everything else by 1981.

dana

01-15-2012, 05:51 PM

I'm 40 and was born and raised in BC. I have been taught nothing but the metric system. So why am I asked distance in miles on a thread on a BC Website?

Darksith

01-15-2012, 05:52 PM

whats a mile?

I may walk for 10-15kms some days, other days I stay fairly close to the truck. I don't think Im ever very far from a road, a couple km's at most, but I put on a lot of kms parallel to those roads. Theres not many places out there that you can actually get 10km from any road.

hunter1993ap

01-15-2012, 06:02 PM

BillyBull

01-15-2012, 06:22 PM

Really depending on the hunting day, trip etc... dictates the distances... I might stroll 8-12 kms down a valley then cross over and stroll back the other side... or might meander up the mountain slopes across the tops and then back track etc... then again might get lucky and only be 6 or 700 meters from the truck and bang dinner is served. My preference is being away from the traffic be it truck or people.

The Hermit

01-15-2012, 06:22 PM

The OP probably asked about miles instead of kms so most us old farts can relate! I'm a real slow learner LOL

The distance I get from the road really depends on the hunt and circumstances. On the Island, I can be happy road hunting bears, other days I want to climb ridges and escape, not usually more than a kilometer from the road cause the terrain and undergrowth suck. Mainland hunting in more open forest tend to go a little further.

Hunt'n Guide

01-15-2012, 06:44 PM

Hmmm... where I work up North it's about 150 miles the the nearest road.

Jelvis

01-15-2012, 07:05 PM

How come then if it's metric a person gives inches for measuring a buck rack lol. Or yards for a football game?
Some things won't change no matter.

dino

01-15-2012, 07:26 PM

How come then if it's metric a person gives inches for measuring a buck rack lol. Or yards for a football game?
Some things won't change no matter.

LOL ha ha you beet me to it. Right on Jel, I can smell the irony.

Steelwheels

01-15-2012, 07:33 PM

How far is the nearest Timmys

Jelvis

01-15-2012, 07:36 PM

Nearest Timmy's lol, good one, can always have a hot sah weet French Vanilla latte and talk about hunting in a warm spot out of the naSty cold.
Jp ..

d6dan

01-15-2012, 07:54 PM

I'm 40 and was born and raised in BC. I have been taught nothing but the metric system. So why am I asked distance in miles on a thread on a BC Website?

When you build anything from wood, do you measure in Metric or Standard?..

91Jason91

01-15-2012, 07:59 PM

stepping off the road is scary. Stay on the road for safety!

Lol but if you kill an animal how do you go get it if you cant leave the road =P

dana

01-15-2012, 08:09 PM

When you build anything from wood, do you measure in Metric or Standard?..

With the Yanks falling behind Asia when it comes to buying our wood, you'll see metric measurements coming into the lumber market and the Yanks will have to live with it.

As for inches in measuring an animal that is only because the B&C system was developed by the Yanks. As for distances in Canada, not too many maps indicate how far it is from one place to another in imperial. Our cars and trucks all have the metric system as well. If you are so old that you still talk in miles, I would imagine you don't get that far from the road anyways. So why would the question be even asked?

As for myself, lots of days of hunting I'll travel 10-20 kms on foot.

Drillbit

01-15-2012, 08:25 PM

Wow, you metric system guys sure must not do much work with your hands.

A lot of tools, like various types of wrenches, aren't metric and they are commonly found, sold, and used in Canada.
Lumber is still sold in imperial sizes, they call them 2x4's and 2x6's. You may have heard these terms used by men standing around telling stories about building stuff.
Land is mostly sold by the acre.
Tire sizes are a mixture of imperial and metric, but rim sizes are always metric.
Golfing is usually in yards.

If you'd like more examples let me know, it may clear up a lot of things you have heard over the years that you didn't understand, because the metric system is all you know.

As far as the OP goes, should be distance from the vehicle. Guys used jetboats that are nowhere near roads. Skidoos are also used a lot for hunting and aren't near roads. For me, I won't walk more than a mile (rougly 1.6km's) from a vehicle, because that's about as far as I want to pack something out. That doesn't mean I'll only walk a mile in a day, it just means I try not go further than that away from where I can get a vehicle.

dana

01-15-2012, 08:31 PM

Drillbit

01-15-2012, 08:38 PM

Hey man, it's OK if you don't care, I was just trying to help.

It sucks listening to a bunch of people talk about something, and you don't know what they mean, because you never bothered to educate yourself. Be diverse.

hunter1993ap

01-15-2012, 08:51 PM

You are the first guy to tell us roughly how far a mile is in kms. Distances are standardly talked about in this country in Metric are they not??? I really could care less about what happens in other aspects of our lives, because most understand how big a 2x4 is. Most don't have a flippin' clue how far a mile is.

just because you know how far a mile is does not mean it helps much. when you are used to dealing with things a certain way its hard to adapt. i dont have a clue what people talk about when they use miles. i have always used kilometers and the metric is a superior system to imperial so why use the imperial system. are you american?

d6dan

01-15-2012, 09:17 PM

Some of us grew up with the 'Imperial measure' and had to learn the metric system, which is not a big deal. As a log scaler doing both the metric and fbm/scribner scale at the same time i found it interesting,but for some of you youngsters, I could see where you would be lost. Oh yeah for you young people, a Km is 6/10th's of a mile.:wink:

Gateholio

01-15-2012, 09:45 PM

Canadians use a hybrid of metric and Imperial. I can use both to some degree, but I get lost when people give outside temps in F. Which is kinda strange because I use F rather than C for cooking temps. Inches, meters, miles, kms, kgs or lbs, I can use them all. :)

TheProvider

01-15-2012, 09:50 PM

I'm lost when it comes to F'. Everything else I"m pretty good at. An i guess you can call me a "younger" person

XMD70

01-15-2012, 10:53 PM

The question to ask is what's the furthest you've packed out an animal the size of a moose - on your back. I'm 60 years old now. Without a quad I would not dare hunt more than a few hundred yards from the road. In my youth it was common to pack out a moose in quarters (or smaller pieces) over many hours, or days.

Moosehunter64

01-15-2012, 11:09 PM

The only reason a 2x4 is called a 2x4 is for convenience.It really isn`t a 2x4,it may start out that size when cut but ends up as a 1 9/16 x 3 9/16 and could be very easily be converted to metric but for convenience and us older guys it is called a 2 x 4

hunter1993ap

01-15-2012, 11:09 PM

i have a feeling more than 5% of people spend most of their time in their truck :p

The Hermit

01-15-2012, 11:34 PM

hunter1993ap

01-15-2012, 11:35 PM

If you were born in Canada your also American!!

the usa is what i was refering to. i would imagine most people understood what i was saying.

hunter1993ap

01-15-2012, 11:37 PM

Dana - If it is difficult for you to think in Imperial, consider how difficult it is for older folks raised in a perfectly good imperial system to be forced to use the metric system (superior or not) ... another Liberal frickin boondogle! Now we have this hodgepodge of two systems, acres and rods besides! LOL

change is good. i see why its hard to adapt to something you learned. i would not want to change to a different system part way through my life.

Spy

01-16-2012, 01:36 AM

Funny thing is all tape measures I have bought in Canada are in inches & feet,thats how we measure shit on building sites!So when did Canada change to the metric system?:confused:

hunter1947

01-16-2012, 03:44 AM

Many of years me and my brother used to head back into no mans land sometimes up to 6 miles just a few years ago I shot this nice 6x6 back in 3 miles took two of us all day to get this bull elk out we skinned it as for sectioning it out then packed it out made 2 trips to get this elk out I was 60 years old at the time..
When I am alone In camp I will keep within one mile of the road but when I have a hunting party in my camp I will head back in 3 or 4 miles to hunt I know that I will have lots of help if I get a bull elk down way back in..

Here is that bull I shot 4 years ago..
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Picture_1245_1_.jpg

Darksith

01-16-2012, 07:36 AM

Funny thing is all tape measures I have bought in Canada are in inches & feet,thats how we measure shit on building sites!So when did Canada change to the metric system?:confused:
wrong, thats not how we build shit on working sites anymore. All my plans are in mm these days ;)

papaken

01-16-2012, 12:43 PM

You are the first guy to tell us roughly how far a mile is in kms. Distances are standardly talked about in this country in Metric are they not??? I really could care less about what happens in other aspects of our lives, because most understand how big a 2x4 is. Most don't have a flippin' clue how far a mile is.
Correct me if I'm wrong but 2x4's are not not actually 2" x 4" are they? ;-0 Typically I figure on hours hunting not distance as I can cover a few K in fairly short time but will take a lot longer to hunt the same distance.

Peter Pepper

01-16-2012, 01:06 PM

This contradicts my observations when I'm out. I would have guessed most hunters stay close to the road.

Maybe you don't see the ones in the bush as often as the ones on the road.

cruiser

01-16-2012, 01:45 PM

Interesting results. Almost a third of the guys who answered find places more than 3 miles/~5km's away from the nearest road on an average hunt - really? Seems to me there's old road networks that keep you from getting that far from a road (logging spur roads, deactivated grown in roads, old mine roads) in many regions. Just because you don't drive your truck on it, doesn't mean it isn't a road.
Myself, I walk many km's, but there's usually some kind of road within about 1km horizontal/map distance of where I go.

cloverphil

01-16-2012, 01:57 PM

does this question imply driving down a road or walking down a road? cuz walking is a lot quieter . . .

I like to go in at least half to a K to see what's over the next hill and then move down road abit further and try it again

I would plan on staying the night there if going more than a few miles from a road

I remember almost bumping into a deer while bear hunting 2 last spring ago about 150 yards from the road

I've heard so many stories from family who've stopped to relieve themselves and stumbled onto moose, deer, you name it

the animals are out there, but I'm sure they see more of us than we see of them

Islandeer

01-16-2012, 02:29 PM

Never really thought about how far,I know that I am usually cooked by the end of the day, and I'm good with miles and kms as I'm on of those half centurion dudes. Still kick ass on any Mtn with those less aged specimans.

pg83

01-16-2012, 02:38 PM

Very open question and answers will vary depending on the hunt. I chose 1-3 miles (approx. 1.6-4.8 km's) as this is how far I am usually from a road.

I have figured out km's to miles conversions, but I'm unsure of the meters to yards. How many meters are in say, 640 yards?

Jelvis

01-16-2012, 02:46 PM

I would say for an example, walking and hiking in while hunting in an easterly direction into the ridges about a kilometer, then going north for another km, then west for a km to get back near the road, then go south a km to the vehicle.
This way your not way out when you get a deer and can manage your drag out. Like a one km block makes 4 km distance.
Jel .. 4k or 2.4 miles approximately .. go slow from early light until you get something.

gunpower

01-16-2012, 06:56 PM

I'm 40 and was born and raised in BC. I have been taught nothing but the metric system. So why am I asked distance in miles on a thread on a BC Website?

All us old boys were taught in the old imperial system. When the metric system came in, thats when we started to be ripped off on all items that we buy!
Why, you ask, because we could not figure out the difference between the old system and the new! ie; $2.50 a gallon - $5.00 a liter.

gunpower

01-16-2012, 07:07 PM

[QUOTE=Darksith;1066722]wrong, thats not how we build shit on working sites anymore. All my plans are in mm these days ;)[/QUOTE

90% of our plans are in the imperial measurements.

Moose63

01-16-2012, 07:17 PM

i have a feeling more than 5% of people spend most of their time in their truck :p

I agree, it could be because;

1) most of the hard core hunters visit this site versus casual hunters that have never heard of or bothered with HBC, therefore the skewed result. A casual hunter would never go 5 miles into the forest.

2) hunters can be a poor judge of distance when in the forest. And over estimate their travels.

3) hunters are in denial on their real capabilities of wilderness travel. And like to brag on an online forum with no threat of someone calling them on it.

bearhunter338-06

01-16-2012, 07:20 PM

I voted stay on the road..........who wants to pack out a moose from 10 miles...............:-)

Singleshotneeded

01-16-2012, 10:54 PM

A kilometre is roughly .6 of a mile, young'uns...:-) I hike over ridges near the road to see what's on the other side,
and set up in the woods near openings, usually within a mile/couple of klicks. Sometimes I'll go out as far as five
klicks/3 miles if it makes sense. Exactly as Bearhunter said, how far do you want to have to drag your big game?