MU 3-12 Public Land Hunting Access

[NdnHunter]

So... beginning of November I'm planning on going hunting MU 3-12 for 3-4 days, maybe a week. I'm not familiar with this area when it comes to hunting or anything else for that matter I suppose other than driving to Kelowna/Vernon via Merritt a couple times in the past. Now I'm looking at my map book & surfing HuntingBC so I can slowly begin planning on where to go (what FSR to go down, where to pitch camp... etc). Too bad I don't have time/money to go scout the area so I'm gonna have to pretty much take my chances & plan my trip on paper & with hopefully a little luck.

So I'm looking on my map book to places like Pennask Lake FSR off of 5A going to & around Minnie & Stoney Lakes and that whole area in general also & going through some of the posts on here & I come across the Douglas Lake Ranch vs Anglers/Nicola valley sportsman fight club (first I've heard of this issue). Anyway, what a mess. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about basically a lot of ranch private property there & some dispute over private vs public property access to roads going to lakes. A lot of access denied... legal as opposed to illegal? I don't know but I have heard of roads being gated, being dug up & dead trees to stop people from getting through. How big is this guys' f***ing back yard? I'd hate to go all the way there & drive down FSRs just to find out I can't get in. I can't even find any maps online or anywhere that clearly define public/private property lines. Is all of MU 3-12 private property or what?

Frustrating... anyway, anyone have a dog in this fight? Any suggestions on where to go & what areas to avoid? Not asking for exact GPS locations on anyone’s honey hole... just general directions on accessible FSRs I'd be better off planning to go to & places to completely avoid due to this conflict. I've never asked before, I usually just read existing posts for hints on where to go if I've never been before and look for & find places myself but I don't want to plan to go somewhere just to get there & find out its on private property or that I can't go through because some ***hole decided he doesn't want anyone going down this FSR.

[Quince]

Been up 3-12 a couple years in a row, havent had any real problems accessing anything yet. Ran into a CO and he said basically stay a ways south of douglas lake and u should be fine. Pennask is a Park so i dont think they can restrict access.

[goatdancer]

There is some posted private property by Pennask Lake that is owned by the lodge. There are a lot of FSRs around there that would take you a long time to explore properly. Good luck.

[Bugle master]

I grew up hunting and fishing 3-12 and area, I've seen a lot of changes over the years. It's a great area for monster deer if you know where to look. Late November is your best bet for good deer. the snow will push them out of the pennask area by then but you never know what might be hiding up there. Anyways as for the posted land with Douglas lake ranch it pisses me off on what they post and are not aloud to. If I take my hunter hat off and put my ranch hat on I can understand why they do it as well. There is some bad apples that have f.cked up everything for the rest of us so I can be mad but understand why at the same time. Nicola ranch has a lot of land in there a too, as does Quilchena ranch. Nicola has always been good with allowing hunting if you ask, as does Quilchena but Douglas has not been. Call the office and ask about hunting those places. Douglas has been known to even put up cameras too." Had a buddy get caught that way"
the semi open country has always worked the best that time of year by the way.
not sure if any of this helps but get your land owner maps and find the crown land if you don't want to ask the ranches for permission. Pm me if you like and I can point you in the right areas to hunt.

[sailpunk]

Going up there this Thursday and staying at the Pinnacle Lake FSRec Site. I have done this the last 3 years and have had no issue. Seen the odd other person hunting. Mostly people fishing up at Hatheum. I have been able to get around in my Jeep pretty well without issue. I have steered clear of Pennask Lake because frankly there are so many other spots. I also do a lot of walking so I may not draw attention to myself. I wouldn't be put off and have a great time.

[HarryToolips]

Lots of good areas in 3-12, try the Elkhart Rd/Paradise lake area and you shouldn't have any trouble, or even take Douglas Lake Rd all the way up from Merritt to the Beautiful Lake area, seen decent numbers of mulies and WT in there before, even the outskirts of Pannask Lk area is good, lots of cattle but lots of crown huntin land around there...

[caddisguy]

I'm thinking of heading up to Merritt from the LML on Saturday, hoping to get on some trails before first light. I was just thinking about hanging out around Comstock / Gwen area, but Pennask and Douglas Lake roads look pretty good. I don't know the area incredibly well, so I'll probably just go with whichever one has more trails to get off the main road. It would be nice to find a WT buck or a 4 point muley, but I'm still trying for my first successful hunt so I would settle for grouse if there are any around. Any tips, PM or otherwise would be greatly appreciated.