Queen Charlotte Elk

[Frosty]

Hey, I'm just wondering if any people have made it over to the queen charlottes to hunt elk. I'm just wondering how to get to them, i've heard it is tough. What kind of numbers there are? Basically any info is good info.

[todbartell]

never hunted them, but talking to guys there they said its a very hard, remote hunt. guys who have horses and alot of desire are the ones who score

[trigger]

i think its a horse or plane ride type of hunting

[Hanrahan]

i'm flying over the charlottes almost every day at work. in four years of working there, i've never seen an elk. more deer than you can ever possibly hope to count, but no elk. They do exsist but only in very small numbers. I do know other pilots that have seen them, but you're talking about miles of hiking through muskeg, forest and swamp to find them. And with so much area and so few animals its like looking for a needle in a haystack. I don't even know of any locals who've ever successfully shot one. My advice is save your money. However, the deer are open 7 months of the year and there are some monster steelhead running in the Yakoun river in February. If you want to do a combined deer/steelhead trip I would say it is worth it. The deer are small, but you're bag limit is 5 and yearly limit is 15. And boy are they good eatin'. And in January or february when everyone else is just thinking about hunting, its good for getting your fix, as well as some damn fine meat.

[Hanrahan]

oh yeah and if you're planning a horse trip, bring your own. There aren't many there. Too wet i hear. They get hoof rot apparently. I don't know anything about horses, thats just what i hear. The bush is extremely wet there though, i know that for a fact.

[ianwuzhere]

no locals shoot em? well now i wanna get out and find one...

[Robert_G]

The estimated population on Graham Island (which is the only place they exist) is 120 animals. Now there aren't any anter restrictions, so you are looking at 40-50 bulls on the entire island. That doesn't leave very many legal animals for a land mass that large.

[Seeadler]

Aren't there a few feral cattle there as well?

[todbartell]

yes, Ive heard that too. some sort of longhair breed that are pretty wild and dont get seen much

[tangozulu]

Back in the early 80's I did a lot of flying over the elk swamps with the local VIH long time res pilot. I believe the area was called the pontoons. Even back then they were never seen and only rarely heard about and then only by a third party. Has anyone ever wondered if maybe they no longer exist? I understood they were the Rocky Mtn variety and perhaps poorly suited to the environment.

[Robert_G]

yes, Ive heard that too. some sort of longhair breed that are pretty wild and dont get seen much

Open season on them feral cattle.

[Frosty]

Are they roosevelt or rockies that are on the charlottes, i've heard rockies from some and roosevelt from others......lol

[Hanrahan]

not sure what breed they are, buti do know they have been seen in the past year. As for the cattle, I see them all the time. They're fairly accessable, but I'm not sure the regs on them. I thought there was no season on any animal not included in the regs. Correct me if I'm wrong (and i'll be going hunting next week). Graham Island is about 80 miles x 80 miles. There is really only about 20 % of that area that is accesable by road. With probably 10-20 legal elk on the island your odds are fairly slim.

[brno375]

IIRC Red Stags were transplanted there in the '20's before the elk and there may have been some cross breeding. I'll look for my reference.

[FLHTCUI]

The Elk on the QCI are of the Roosevelt Variety, and from the locals in QC City, they are hard to come by, but if you like to bushwack, try around Reynolds Sound on the West coast of the Island. With some assistance from Google Earth, you should be able to narrow the feild down some.

BC Ferrys sails into the Charlottes outta Price Rupert or via Port Hardy, check the home page for scheduling and reservations and oh yah dont forget your Mastercard 'cause it is going to be expensive for a truck and camper/trailer with quad.
If there where only 40-50 animals on the Islands, do you really think that the MoE would allow a harvest on them??

[brno375]

OK, found it.

"Rocky Mountain Elk were also introduced onto Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1929, using animals from Buffalo Park near Wainwright, Alberta, and in 1930, with Elk from the Okanagan that had originated from Wainwright. At one time Elk were on Moresby Island. They still exist on Graham Island, where they may have interbred with the European Red Deer that were introduced there in 1918. Today, there are perhaps 100 to 150 Elk on Graham Island." Referenced from "Hoofed Mammals of British Columbia" by David Shackleton, pg. 107.

[Perry]

Does anyone know when the deer on the Charlottes loose their antlers? Hunting them in the late winter months it might be hard to tell the bucks from the does.

[Hanrahan]

It doesn't matter, unless you don't want to shoot a doe. Does are open from Sept some time until the end of Feb I believe, when it closes for both antlered and antlerless. Bucks open again in June and its bucks only till the antlerless opens again in Sept.

[25tikka]

Hanrahan....who do you fly for?

[Brew]

I know I guy from the charlottes and he said the locals hunt them and that they are pretty tight lipped about telling anyone about the elk and where they are. he has shot numerous bulls.

[thunderheart]

i lived there for a number of yrs ..qcc actually .... elk were always the talk .. the ghost herd of legend .. but by gawd those are the tastiest deer i have ever eaten .. we used to cut them up in strips and give them a little pound once or twice .. breaded with seasoning and floor .. mmm culinary orgasm for sure .. bottled all the tuffer parts but ewven them you could club a few times and were great .... bottled deer mayo and onion sandwiches ,,, oh yes .. now we talking
the queen charlottes were probably one of the best places i lived .. i miss it for sure ..

[One Shot]

Just got back in Oct from a 2 1/2 week hunting fishing trip in the QC islands. Did not go for elk but everything else. Talked to the locals as well as BC F&G personnel on the islands. The elk are near the center of the NW portion on Graham island. they are very inaccessible and very difficult to bring out. You will need a truck, quad, good boots with strong legs and back. The numbers apparently are good and expanding. It seems that very few are taken each year due to the accessibility.

[M@B]

it's more the south east portion..... but, yeah either way. not real easy to get too

[freonguy]

Thunderheart and M@B:

I too lived on Haida Gwaii for several years in the mid- 90's - I think about it every day - - - - - greatest place I have ever lived.

As for the elk - I have a couple friends who hit them pretty hard in an area called the pontoons - tough to get a glimpse of - these guys are DIEHARD walkers and great hunters - it is just a tough bog to hunt. - - - -

I know a local who has taken several animals over the years - he has a small cabin in the pontoons, and if he gets one, invites 6 - 8 friends to pack out the pieces - you got to keep what you packed out - it was that tough.

As for the deer, best eating EVER - I don't know what it is, but the stuff is like veal - nothing better than a whole hind roasted with chantarelle gravy - the deer are the size of a big dog mind you.

As for the feral cattle; my buddy shot one about 5 years ago in Naikoon Park - the thing was tough as nails - both in the number of shots with the 30-06 to take it down and the meat. It charged him after he shot it at close range in the deep salal - good thing he is nimble !! They hang around the high cutbanks of sand on the East side of the islands north of Tlell.

Check with the local CO in QCC if you are thinking about shooting a cow - I am not sure of the legalities

I wish I still lived there - - - - - - - -

[M@B]

Yeah it's a neat place to live but, only if you're heavy into the outdoors!!
Where did you live when you were there? I grew up in Masset.

As for the cows. yeah they're pretty well anywhere on the shore lines of the northern and eastern side of the island. If you do get a crack at one, don't take a mature cow/bull. they live a tough life and you can taste it. dump one of the yearlings. things are still 4-500lbs+ and are the best beef I've ever had!

[shantz]

I grew up in at lawn hill in the charlottes and used to hunt elk a lot and took a few over the years. I lived there from 1984 til 2002. Going back for the holidays and then next sept for an elk hunt.

Lots of wild cows at cape ball.

[Hanrahan]

Hanrahan....who do you fly for?

I used to fly for Harbour Air/North Pacific Seaplanes. I haven't for a couple years though.

I will be going to the Charlottes at the end of November to try and find some deer. Does anyone know if the deer are still rutting at that time?
I also wasn't aware that you're allowed to shoot the cattle on North Beach.
If that's the case, I may try and take one of them too.

[herefordsrock]

for you guys that think u are going to come over here for elk hunting with horse or plane to go elk hunting have fun trying to your horse through bottomless bogs casue they will not make it 5 feet on the traili ve lived and hunted them my hole life and still yet to see one and as for #### no body really knows how many live on island
i think its a horse or plane ride type of hunting

[todbartell]

The herd bull was taken this year though. he was a bruiser. Trying to find a pic.....
But if you can find the herd, you'll get a bull/ they're not very spooky compared to mainland Elk.

please do, Id love to see a pic of a QCI elk :-D