British Columbia Hunting Articles
Setting Goals for Hunters
It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. 2011 is long gone ...we're well into 2012. And with a new year comes hopes of better days ahead. It is a time when the slate is wiped clean, and we have the opportunity to make the new year better than the last. Many of us began 2012 with resolutions. For some, those included plans to eat healthier, exercise more, and hopefully to weigh less. For others, it may have included a promotion, a career change, or maybe the beginning of a new business venture. Very rarely, though, do you hear any of us diehard hunters talking about our hunting resolutions for the new year.
Lessons Moose Have Taught Me
In the first light of day and the last grayness of evening, there are imagined sounds which seem real and real sounds which might be imagined. And between the two is the muffled silence of the northwoods in autumn, sodden still from the pre-dawn drizzle and musty already with the change of the season. Somewhere in the distance drifted the faint song of high flying geese headed south. But my mind had registered another sound, the sharp snap of a twig behind the screen of alders that crowded the edge of the marsh.
Horse Trails & Elk Tales
Do-it-yourself horseback hunt for elk in the vast and remote Muskwa-Kechika wilderness in northern British Columbia. Pitching camps along the way, saddling and packing the horses, crossing rivers and mountain passes, bugling and calling elk, protecting the venison from marauding grizzlies, and then making our way back along uncertain trails back to civilization.
Finding Coyotes
I live far enough north that when mid-winter rolls around the amount of daylight available to hunt coyotes can be less than eight hours. That means I need to be spending my daylight hours hunting, not scouting for someplace to hunt. But any coyote hunter worth his skinning knife will tell you that to be successful, you have to hunt where the coyotes are. The more coyotes, the greater your success will be. The key then is to have a scouting method that finds concentrated amounts of coyotes - fast.
4 Tips for Hunting Late Season Moose
We don't often hear about hunting moose in the late season. An undeniable romance focuses on calling and attracting bulls during the peak of the rut; but what about when all that hormone-driven activity subsides? Where do the moose go and what do they do? More to the point, how do we hunt them in the late season? Allow me to share the events of a late season moose hunt and offer four tips that helped me close a tag last fall. Whether we're talking about Shiras, Canada, or Alaska/Yukon moose, for much of the year bulls are reclusive by nature.
Hunting the Mule Deer Rut
After a four-year wait, my wife Heather and I finally drew coveted deer tags. Not just any tags mind you; these permits would allow us to hunt on a military base from November 26 through 28 of 2009. So what's the big deal you ask? This annual event is a management hunt designed to cull deer, but more importantly it would allow us to hunt the early stages of the mule deer rut. Each hunter is given three tags, all of which may be used for either mule deer or whitetailed deer, and only one has be used on an antlerless deer. Now, where else can a person harvest two mule deer bucks?
Get High on Whitetails
Today, the vast majority of deer hunters take to the trees. So popular is this movement that an entire industry has evolved along with a paradigm shift in how hunters approach the deer woods. Despite the effectiveness of tree stands, some ask if this strategy is creating a new generation of unskilled reactive hunters. More to the point, there are pros and cons to hunting from the trees, but in the end, it's hard to deny its effectiveness. Let's take a look at what it means to get high on whitetails.
For the Traveling Sportsman
Every year thousands of hunters across the continent book outfitted hunts. Some are booked in their home state or province; others require considerable travel by air. For those with the means, exotic trips abroad are a unique privilege. But regardless of where a hunter goes, the research, booking and travel aspects are imminent. Simple or complex, logistics are a part of the game. I've seen it more than once with first time traveling sportsmen.
Field Judging Deer
Some might call it buck fever. In my opinion it was just plain misjudgment. Sure, my heart races the same as the next guy when I get a big buck in my crosshairs, but I've usually got it well under control. No, this particular instance was a result of poor judgment and a split decision. Too many variables and too little time, that's what this one was all about. Had I been afforded another 30 seconds to evaluate the buck's antlers, I'm certain my decision to hit the switch would have been stifled.
5 Must-Have Tools for Today's Coyote Hunter
Predator hunting is all the rage these days. When most big game seasons cool down, coyote season heats up. Even though these wild dogs are open for the taking year round in many jurisdictions, hardcore predator hunters acknowledge January and February as prime time. Even still, only the most skilled, savvy, and well-equipped hunters learn to score consistently on these small and cagey fur-bearing targets. With today's advancements, predator fanatics learn to equip themselves with five must-have tools: decoys, calls, camouflage, firearms, and good optics.
Capture Your Memories: Tips for Photographing Your Hunts
Every now and then I find a quiet place, plunk myself down, and leaf through my photo albums. Each holds a library of cherished memories. These sacred books are treasured diaries of my most personal hunting experiences and accomplishments. With today's digital technology, it's easier now than ever before, to capture and file those memories in perpetuity.
Hunt Year Round
When we talk about hunting season, most of us think about turkeys and whitetails, basically because they're the most accessible. Truth is there are loads of other opportunities for every month of the year. Following are a few suggestions.
Camp Food: Eating Right in the Backcountry
There are two schools of thought regarding the menu for a hunting, fishing or camping trip in a remote location - roughing it or eating well. On my recent Alaskan caribou hunt, we ate well - including tundra filet mignon cooked on an innovative grill which folds up to the size of a ruler!
Satellite Bucks: Making the Most of Your GPS
Not that long ago, it would take the average hunter a few seasons to truly learn the ins and outs of a new area. Typically, he would gain knowledge of the local topography bit-by-bit, mostly by hunting near obvious landmarks such as watercourses, trails, ridgelines, meadows, and clear cuts. And, for a while, this would work just fine.
Cold Weather Hunting
Cold-weather hunting is not for the faint of heart. I've seen guys throw in the towel after only a day or two, canceling their trip of a lifetime because Mother Nature dropped the mercury into the toilet. Sub-zero temperatures can make the outdoors a miserable place to be. Add wind and humidity to the equation, and things get nasty. Sure you can always hunt a heated blind, but if you need to brave the elements, some planning is in order. Gear up properly and the cold can be manageable. Venture out unprepared and you may as well write off your hunt.
Preparing for a Caribou Hunt
You've saved the funds, cleared it with your spouse, and booked the hunt. Your caribou hunting dream is about to become a reality this fall. But between now and then, you've got a thing or two to do. Luckily, planning for an adventure like this is a whole lot of fun. It builds up the anticipation, gives you excuses to purchase additional equipment, and prompts you to visit the range more often. The excitement grows exponentially as that great day approaches.
To Hunt the Grizzled Bear
Working my way along a fast-flowing river, I glimpsed a patch of brown through the trees. Digging at something along the river's edge, there was my grizzly. As a resident hunter, I'd waited eight years before finally drawing a coveted tag in Alberta. It was early May and there were still patches of snow in low-lying shady areas. As quickly as possible I extended the legs on my bipod, lay out in a prone position and centered the crosshairs of my Leupold on his chest. At this time of year it's especially important to ensure that the bear is alone.
Cry Wolf: Guide to Wolves and Wolf Hunting Opportunities
Ah, the howl of the wolf. Is any sound in nature more primordial? That eerie call, echoing off the spruce and rock faces of a frozen northern lake on a frigid winter's night, can rouse a man from sleep and fill his head with images of tracks in the snow and gore on the ice. A wolf is a paradox. On one hand, it is a fearsome predator; on the other, a social animal that, when caught relaxed, is not all that different from the family dog.
A Hunter's Guide to Crossing the Canada-US Border
There was a time when hunters didn't have to think twice about transporting game and firearms across the Canada/US border. Unfortunately, those days are gone forever. Now, more onerous firearms laws, fear of spreading game-borne diseases, and post 9-11 security concerns have made crossing the border with firearms, trophies, or game meat far more complex. Here's a quick run down of what a traveling hunter needs to know.
Deer Hunting and Weather
Every time we step off the asphalt into the country's wilderness, we carry with us a considerable store of outdoor lore, some of it based on personal hunting experience, some on information gleaned from our peers and our mentors and some on what we have read and heard in magazines and on programs. Our moment-to-moment decisions, regardless of how big or small, are based on this accumulated storehouse of both conscious and subconscious knowledge.