Your first big game animal

[bc7mm]

Short story or long, no matter. Your first big game animal, where did you get it etc. Lots of political drama lately, maybe a few hunting stories will help to pass the longest part of the winter. If yer up to a bit of typing, then tell your story. Seldom it’s those first ones that get told. The bucks aren’t big, or the trip isn’t particularly eventful. But they are important stories too, important for the people who helped, and important because it started the journey.

Never hunted big game as a kid, only gophers and waterfowl. When I was about 20 years old I worked with an older fellow in Kerrobert Saskatchewan who was an avid deer hunter. He was surprised I’d never harvested one and invited me along for a day trip to the south Saskatchewan river near the Alberta border about 1 1/2 hours south.

I had an old 30-06 Parker hale lightweight, a ridiculously hard kicking rifle for what it was, made a lunch, tied on my work boots ( no fancy equipment or camo in those days ) and climbed in the truck about 6 am Saturday morning. We arrived a bit after daybreak and he directed me to an old tree stand about 40 yards from the riverbank. It was built from a variety of salvaged wood, 2x10’s, 2x4’s, weathered and old, a big triangle with railings and an old bar stool so I could sit with my back against the big cottonwood. Below me was an intersection in a small clearing, deer trails in and out in all directions. I could see a big sand bank on the rivers edge where they stopped to water, fields to north, I was situated in a long brushed in funnel with big cottonwoods that narrowed to about 80 yards wide.

Our group had split up, some east of me, some to the west. Each group starting 3/4 of a mile out and still hunting in my direction. My safe shooting lanes were explained where the drivers wouldn’t go, A deer drive of sorts but in slow motion. About 20 minutes passed, a doe hopped across the trail at about 60 yards, it happened quick, then a fawn on her heals, headed toward the riverbank. I watched them cautiously walk out onto the sand, drink from the river, then wade across to a brush choked island to bed for the day.

Soon deer seemed to poke out everywhere, all does and fawns, a group of 5 stepped into my clearing, passing 5 yards from the tree base, then disappeared into the thick brush headed west. An hour after climbing into the stand I noticed the deer activity changed, they were moving faster now, the people were closing in on my stand. I saw a hunter at about 100 yards step through a clearing, then like the deer he vanished again.

I heard the deer before I saw it, then a flash of brown moving faster now through the brush. Bumped by the drivers it was moving faster and headed for the river. I lifted the old Parker hale, but couldn’t find it in the scope, it turned, and trotted out onto the well used deer trail, stopped to listen, for a second before turning west, heading my way. Inexperience prevented me finding it in the scope, but luck was on my side this day. As it passed under the stand I had to move to see it, a noise from my clumsy movements above stopped it just as he was about to step into the tangle of brush. This time, when the gun came up the sight picture was perfect, the cross hairs easily finding its mark at 20 yards. The 150 grain bullet entered high, just left of the spine passing through the lungs angling down and forward exiting the lower chest. The deer bolted, bounced about three times and piled up. A fork horned whitetail. Soon the drivers showed up, lots of back slapping, you’d think I’d shot a new world record, I sat back and watched as the group processed it, watch and learn they said.

I was the youngster that day, all of them veterans, some with decades in the deer woods. Although I appreciated what they did then, I appreciate it more now, that group of old guys who included a stranger, made me feel welcome and helped to kick off 45 years of hunting adventures.

happy hunting, and hoping 2025 is a great year

[MichelD]

October 1970.

I was 17 years old carrying my iron-sighted WWI-era Ross M10 303 I'd had for three years in the alpine-like meadows of northern Vancouver Island.

My dad and I rowed across a lake where he had a skiff skilfully hidden and separated and started walking through these meadows. They were flat and grassy with little treed ridges separating them. I snuck up one side of one and as I reached the crest and started down through the huckleberry and labrador tea bushes into the next meadow I spotted a buck being followed by a doe. Raised the old 303, shooting offhand, sighted on the neck and squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped, shot cleanly through the neck.

I walked up to it and had a look. A 4x5 blacktail. After getting my first licence in 1968, and two skunk seasons, I finally had my first deer on the ground.

[Evanguy]

i remember my first big game animal well,

it was Aug 2022, I had just moved my 4 kids and wife to BC a year earlier so i could play in the mountains after dreaming about it for almost 3 years.

I had no friends and didn't know anyone in BC so I had no hunting partner but my 11 year old daughter Brooklyn loved hiking and camping with me so after some back and forth thinking i asked if she wanted to come with me on a hunt.

i figured this is my first big game hunt and fist time in the in mountains, i should make the best of it, so i booked us a float plane to take us in and out of the mountains.

i wanted to make sure we saw animals so we traveled a lot farther than we had to but we got to see a load of the province on the trip.

the day finally come and we were sitting in Iskut getting ready to fly.

we land at lake, hike above the trees and see goats for the first time ever. great. back to the lake to get enough gear to stay a few days up there but this time we went up on the other side of a massive valley, seemed like an easier hike. it wasn't and we stayed up for 3 days but only found goats on the other side of the massive valley (the ones we say the first day). we did see a little Billy probably 1 maybe 2 years old (5" horns). i shot at him but missed by way to much. so i figured the scope got banged on something.

so back down to the lake, Brooklyn has huge blisters now. so we needed to take a few rest days for them to heal. she's 11 so i have to take it easy on her. the goal was to have the best time we could. while at the lake i use my multi tool t remove my scope leavening me with just iron sights on my old Lee Enfield (first gun i ever bought)

so now its Friday morning, we fly out in less then 24 hours. its go time. we pack up and hike above the trees. it takes us 2.5 hours to get up there and as we do i can see 10 goats, i know today is the day. we are making it happen.

after 20 minutes of sitting there watching goats we see the one we want to make a move on. we get into position and the goats gone. already past us. then a few seconds later there he is looking right at us 40 yards away. i get some pics of him and then as he moves out of sight i take to running to get over the hill that is between us. as i do he turns to look at me and kapow the rifle goes off and his legs lock up and he starts to roll, I'm beyond excited, yelling to Brooklyn that we got one.

after we carry the goat off the mountain, its about 5pm so we setup a huge fire and just sit around recapping the whole trip until 1am. the next day the pane picks us up at 10am and we are on out way back to the lower mainland.

i don't think anything will ever top this trip (we redid the same trip in 2024, we got another goat and Brooklyn was 13 now, but it wasn't the first time that is for sure)


some pics too, I'm just so excited about this, typing this out has me all hyped up again
here is a link to the story above https://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showt...-big-game-hunt
and he is the link to my 2024 goat hunt with the same daughter https://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showt...-mountain-goat

[IronNoggin]

Short story or long, no matter. Your first big game animal, where did you get it etc. Lots of political drama lately, maybe a few hunting stories will help to pass the longest part of the winter.

Hell of a good idea Buddy!!

Jump back 55 years ago.
I was 10, and Pa said time for you to stop pulling your pud and start pulling your weight.
He took me on that first hunt for big game - mulies.
We were up in the mountains a fair ways back, on foot, still hunting.
I saw a decent 4x4 - poked Pa in the side and asked Is that one big enough?
His answer took less than a heartbeat as he quickly shouldered his 270 and shot that buck.
He noted: Lesson learned. You not only have to be good, you have to be FAST!
I tagged that one, and set forth to getting both better and faster for the next year.

54 years ago.
Same general area on the mountain.
Again I saw a not-too-shabby 4x4 at about 150 yards before he did.
This time I did not say a word, rather shouldered my GrandPappy's Model 99 250-300, and sent one into it's boiler room.
The Old Man literally jumped when the trifle went off.
I then asked Fast enough for you?
He roared with laughter.
It was a decent buck, and the antlers hung in my bedroom for a very long time.
Wish I still had them...

Cheers,
Nog

[wideopenthrottle]

For big game in BC.......i moved to BC in 1989...in 1992 i was successful for an LEH on a WT doe near where i hunt WT to this day.....there were 3 of us but only i had a doe tag. i was using a rifle that was only the 2nd one i ever owned. My first was from my Great Grand-dads collection of war rifles...it was a swiss straight bolt rechambered to 30-30 WCF built circa 1890 something. i had only fired that rifle once at an animal and it misfired on a buck near naniamo....it was a problem with the firing pin...i retired it after that. needing a rifle, i picked up a sporterized 303 brit from my brother. This rifle was a nightmare until i figured out that the scope mounting was insufficient and kept coming loose. i found a replacement sight and went back to the peep sights on it.

I was walking slowly down a road after posting up until light enough....i looked up hill to my left and saw 3 deer that quickly went behind a patch of trees.....being a bit trigger happy at that point of my hunting career i took the first one that poked it's head out....it was of course the smallest one....but it was with open/peep sights at close to 100 yds...even though i was a little sheepish to show my buddies the little one i shot we all were happy to have one before the teasing started...heheheh

[Sitkaspruce]

Spike blacktail with the 30/30, Cayacus, buddy and I shot 3 bucks and a doe that day and blew up the transmission in the 1971 Chev 3 in the tree going over the Malahat. I believe it was 1979 or 80.

It was the first of many animals.

Cheers

SS

[skaha]

Big old brown phase black bear. Teeth were nubs, split ear, big pumpkin head. Shot him at 10 yards and then realized that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing when it came to gutting. Did a decent enough job for a new guy, ended up with 88lbs of deboned and trimmed meat!

[Mauser98]

Mountain goat.
Middle Statlu Creek
1965
Savage 110 in .270 Win.

[Redthies]

Great thread bc7.

I hunted a bit as a kid, but didn’t get into big game until about 9 or 10 years ago. I was living in Whistler and hunted the Pemberton and Squamish areas a bit. Then we moved to Whiterock and I had to travel. Did a couple of Okanagan and Kootenay trips for birds with the dogs, but didn’t see any legal bucks.

Then I planned a water access hunt up the coast for myself and my “son”. We put in a TON of kms of hiking (our biggest day was 17 km) in the steep coastal forest, and finally on the last day before our pick up, we separated and he shot 2 blacktails right at sunset. It was a crazy night packing two deer back to our camp and didn’t get back until midnight. At least our trip was successful, but I didn’t get to cut my own tag yet.

The next year, we decided to go and explore Okanagan Mtn Park and see if we could find a new “spot”. We saw lots of deer, and tracked a moose that went past while we were sitting on a rub zone, but nothing legal was spotted. We spent a week there and then had to get back to work. We were in a good zone though, so plans were made to go back for the rut.

Fast forward a few weeks and just as we were finalizing our plans, the big floods came and all access to the interior was cut off. What to do? Well, I knew of a great spot that reliably held deer near Pemberton, so I planned an afternoon rip up there. The wife dropped me off on the side of the highway and I started hiking in while she took our bird dogs for a rip in the woods at another spot down the road. I knew where I wanted to be from years past, and on my walk in saw some recent sign, so was optimistic. I crossed the slash into the old growth where there was a main trail and did a quick scout. It was getting towards “deer o’clock” so I dropped my pack and set up where I could see the slash as well as the game trail. Pulled out the thermos and poured a cup of tea. I don’t think I’d even had a sip before I saw movement crossing the slash towards the trail in the trees. Binos up and damn, it was a pair of bucks! I left everything but my Marlin 336 and sprinted as far as I dared along the game trail looking for a spot to intercept them. After waiting a few minutes, they didn’t come in to the trail, so I decided to sneak out through the tight noisy trees to the edge of the slash and see if they were still out there. I couldn’t see them, but there was a gully I couldn’t see into, so snuck back in to the trail, ran up to the crest of the gully and snuck back out to the slash. I looked in, and no deer. Damn. They must have come in to the trail and gone south away from me, instead of coming north towards me and the river like they typically do. I was disappointed in my luck, as I seem to never get a break. For some reason, instead of just turning back in to the forest, I do a long turn back towards where I had just looked out 50 yards to the north. Shit! Two bucks standing there looking at me about 20 yards away! They must have come out of the gully towards where I had been standing when I moved back in and went the 50 yards further to see into the gully. The closest one was a spike and was partially blocking the bigger 2x2 behind. I didn’t care about the rack, and when the spider looked away for a second I raised the .30-30. He looked back and I was locked on. Bang. I don’t remember consciously squeezing the trigger, but he took one step and dropped. The other guy just stood there, and I could have dropped him as well, but one was enough, so wished him a happy life and he went on his way. I called my wife and she was able to drive her Tacoma very close to where I dropped the spiker. He was loaded up and we were eating Sushi in Squamish within the hour.

I had a LOT of days in the woods over the previous few seasons with nothing but good memories to show for it. The washouts and flooding forced me to go back to an old spot from my younger years and that’s what it took for my luck to turn. I didn’t start chasing deer until I was in my 40s, and didn’t have anyone show me the ropes. All my big game hunting friends were beyond the local deer phase of their lives and heading up to Chetwynd or other spots chasing elk, so I had to go from birds to bucks on my own. I never had any trouble finding deer, but luck always had the legal deer out of sight, or me with a dog and 20 gauge O/U with birdshot in it when the nice WT buck walked out in front of me. Lots of “if only…” situations. Now I find myself with multiple opportunities each season, and I occasionally pass on a smaller buck if I know there is a big boy in the area. I’m only out for meat, but a bigger deer means more meat, and if it’s early season, I don’t want to end my local hunts too soon. It’s just too nice being out in the woods.

2 black tail on a travois being dragged down to the boat and my first buck after dragging him out to the road. I had Rock Steady do a euro of the spiker for me, and people ask if it was some kind of antelope as his spikes are very curved and uniform.

[RackStar]

2014 , bull moose. Started the addiction for me. Saw a bull the night before , having no clue about hunting I sat in my truck in the same spot for 8 hours. I fell asleep, woke up .. looked in the rear view and 2 bulls standing in the middle of the road. Shot one and brought it home. Day3 of a 10 day hunt. October 5. Slept in a Canadian tire tent with a leaky air mattress, rained everyday, loved every min of it.