Goat and sheep hunting in BC

Evanguy

Evanguy

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Hi, I've been reading the regs for the last few days, I find it hard to figure out exactly what I'm looking for so I figure its probably easiest to ask here and then go back and read the regs more with some back ground info,

I want to try goat or sheep hunting this year. I'm a BC resident now (I live full time on Gambier island and switched all my stuff over (health card, drivers license, car insurance, NS hunters safety)) can I just buy tags for goat or sheep or are they only limited entry draws.

also if someone has never hunted either of them before and plans to go alone or with a friend that has also never hunted them before what area would be the best to try and get tags for, or are tags good in most areas?

I guess I'm just looking for someone who has done it before to give me the down low on the tags and locations or how the whole governing system over them works, this system is crazy complicated compared to NS fishing or hunting licenses

Thanks
 
cant help you on delays but seems for the one in knows that atlin region is a gem for the hunters of bc ... they can even hunt caribou that we cannot in the yukon ... for that area.
 
If you have the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, 2020-2022, with the ram on the cover. What is listed in it is "over the counter", buy your tag, put your boots on and go.

The Limited Entry Hunting Synopsis is yearly and lists those hunts on a lotterty. Many of these goat hunts are easy to draw, the limited Sheep hunts are not.
 
Almost all of the more accessible areas in the southern half of the province are limited entry only for sheep and goat, too late for this year, however there are a few small difficult to access areas along the Fraser River north of Lillooet that have specific openings for sheep. Other than that, for open seasons on goats and sheep you need to look at the northern 1/3 of the province, a long long way from Gambier Island. Your best chance for success would be a floatplane flyout from Fort Nelson, Dease Lake or Whitehorse YT. Any of these jumping off points are 2 days or more of hard driving from Gambier Island. The season has already been open for a week and weather can become fickle and even dangerous in the mountains this far north after Labour day so at best it's a short window. Floatplane charters are normally booked months in advance so unless you can somehow score a cancellation your best bet is to start planning and training for next year's adventure today. This is very demanding and exciting hunting but also hazardous and I strongly caution against lone hunts except for the very few most experienced. I have had two friends die in the mountains, one hunting goats, the other hunting sheep. The goat hunter was alone, very experienced, and it took a long time to find him. Good luck.
 
thanks for the info guys, ill do some more looking into it and yeah alone may not be the best in northern Bc when I'm from nova scotia, quite a bit different area.

I had assumed id be going up north, I get 2 weeks off in September I've driven across Canada 3 times in the last 11 months (ns to bc and back and forth) so I'm not opposed to long drives

i did a trip last summer that was a few days in Stewart then a few days in Telegraph creek and the I was going to got to Atlin for a week but I couldn't get into the Yukon due to non BC resident and covid rules so I stayed an extra week in telegraph creek

the weather does see to turn fast when you go up north, snow way earlier then I'm use to

my buddy that id be taking is from Alberta and he has hunted there a lot and now lives in Revelstoke so we aren't new the the bush but new to BC's bush

I may have to just use this year to get it all figured out and the really plan a trip next year.

I was hoping to be able to buy tags are the Lillooet area as I have another older friend who lives there and has hunted his whole life, he jetboats to his hunting spots and doesn't want to go up north. he says he too old for that, Ashcroft, are you able to give me a little more info on the " Fraser River north of Lillooet that have specific openings for sheep" that may be closer to what I'm looking for
 
MiG25 said:
Pages 44 -46 of the Regulations.
Click to expand...

thanks, I've downloaded and printed the "Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, 2020-2022" but its still confusing, so i was hoping to get it in layman's terms. maybe ill have to sit down without the kids bugging me and go over it all tonight
but I do have the info now, ill just have to figure it out, either way this thread has been helpful. I always like to hear from people who have done it
 
You have to understand the definition of Full Curl Bighorn and Mature Bighorn sheep regulations on Page 4 of the regs synopsis and figure out what parts of 3-17, 3-31 and 3-32 are open if you want to hunt the Bighorn sheep open season.

If you want to eat game meat I understand you're sitting in a prime spot for blacktail deer.

There's a spot in 2-6 open for Mountain Goats but you have to be part sasquatch and part mountain goat yourself to get there.
 
Evanguy said:
Hi, I've been reading the regs for the last few days, I find it hard to figure out exactly what I'm looking for so I figure its probably easiest to ask here and then go back and read the regs more with some back ground info,

I want to try goat or sheep hunting this year. I'm a BC resident now (I live full time on Gambier island and switched all my stuff over (health card, drivers license, car insurance, NS hunters safety)) can I just buy tags for goat or sheep or are they only limited entry draws.

also if someone has never hunted either of them before and plans to go alone or with a friend that has also never hunted them before what area would be the best to try and get tags for, or are tags good in most areas?

I guess I'm just looking for someone who has done it before to give me the down low on the tags and locations or how the whole governing system over them works, this system is crazy complicated compared to NS fishing or hunting licenses

Thanks
Click to expand...

Check the Hunting Regs for Region 2 ...
Specifially around Squamish to the West of Hwy 99.
Likely Limited Entry and your to late for that ticket this year.
Not having read the regs . since about May and not looking for Goats or Sheep that is the best information I can offer.
Rob
 
I'd talk to your friend about a "cast and blast" boat trip for Mule Deer. It won't hurt to have a Sheep tag in your pocket (be aware of closed areas and legal horn sizes), but realistically sucess will be a fluke. Mule Deer on the other hand have a realistic chance of success in the same mountains.

It looks like ~3 rams per year are taken in those areas.
 
thanks guys, the "cast and blast" idea is a good one, that would be really fun, ill talk to him about that. also yeah there is loads of black tail deer here, I guess they are a mule/black tail hybrid though, they have ears like a mule deer but also have full black tails. they are very small, I raised sheep back in nova scotia and these deer aren't much bigger them them

I can feed the deer by hand here if want. it wouldn't be much of hunting lol. but it would fill my freezer and living on an island with no stores and trying to grow and hunt/fish all my own food year round that would help.

there has been 2 bucks around lately that are in full velvet and they are a 4 and 6 point. they are good looking bucks

im going to look into where 2-6 open for Mountain Goats is, id be interested in just hiking such an area or even seeing a goat would be awesome, I haven't seen one before. same goes for sheep

and ill check for section 2 and see about keeping it in mind for next year
its going to be a while before I figure out these regs, but over the next few years id love to hunt all the big game in BC, I'm super excited to hunt here compared to nova scotia

thanks.
 
ok so I got some time to read and hopefully understand the regs. this thread has helped as well.
correct me if I'm wrong but areas 2-5 and 2-6 for mountain goat seem to be open, close and pretty easy to get to. also for bighorn mountain sheep areas 3-32, 3-31 and followed by 3-17 seem like close and fairly easy access.



MD said:
They are blacktails.
Click to expand...

Thanks, good to know. I've just been going off what the locals tell me ( I'll trust you more then them, most are from Vancouver just at their cottages) I'm new to all mule and black tail deer myself
here are a few pics I took tonight, I didn't see the bucks though.

51366323801_0781f51ede_o.jpg


51367057354_643d774086_o.jpg


51366322846_834c29046e_o.jpg
 
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Please be aware of the difficulty in judging a legal ram. Difficult in thin horn sheep and very, very difficult in big horn sheep. Big horn sheep in the areas around the Fraser that I have hunted are virtually all broomed when mature and judging their legality is difficult. If you go to sheep conferences you will learn how difficult it can be as guys debate the legality of a ram when they have the horns in their hands. Now do that in the bush from 5-600 meters away on a moving ram milling around with several other rams. Sheep hunting is thrilling. Harvesting a legal ram is a big deal,(because it's not easy).
 
Lots of great advice on here Evan, most of it from those who have "bin there, dun that". If you can, try to make that first trip this year, Lillooet area for sheep would be a great way to get your feet wet and learn about new to you game and new to you hunting techniques. You will see sheep in this area. You will probably get the opportunity to judge horns at a distance and sometimes up close. Sheep hunting here is different than in the north, often you need to look down rather than up and frequently in treed areas where you might expect to see mule deer.
In the north almost all of the sheep and goat hunting is above timberline, in the open. The distances can be vast and sometimes you can be literally hundreds of kilometers from the nearest human being. Sheep hunting there for Stone or Dall sheep is usually quite different than for sheep in the south. Goats in the far north are rarely the primary goal, they are more often taken as a target of opportunity during a sheep or caribou hunt. Having said that, perhaps the finest ( and maybe the most difficult) goat hunting is in the coast mountains between Smithers and Prince Rupert and north and south for hundreds of kilometers from highway 16. The world record and most of the top 20 in B&C come from this area, goats are plentiful, difficult to access and a new world record is probably dying of old age there every day. Get the best boots and the best lightweight binoculars that you can afford, a strong comfortable pack and go for it. Oh, many hunters with wide experience consider mountain sheep the best eating game of all and mountain goat easily the toughest. PM me for more detailed and localized information. J.
 
Ashcroft said:
Almost all of the more accessible areas in the southern half of the province are limited entry only for sheep and goat, too late for this year, however there are a few small difficult to access areas along the Fraser River north of Lillooet that have specific openings for sheep. Other than that, for open seasons on goats and sheep you need to look at the northern 1/3 of the province, a long long way from Gambier Island. Your best chance for success would be a floatplane flyout from Fort Nelson, Dease Lake or Whitehorse YT. Any of these jumping off points are 2 days or more of hard driving from Gambier Island. The season has already been open for a week and weather can become fickle and even dangerous in the mountains this far north after Labour day so at best it's a short window. Floatplane charters are normally booked months in advance so unless you can somehow score a cancellation your best bet is to start planning and training for next year's adventure today. This is very demanding and exciting hunting but also hazardous and I strongly caution against lone hunts except for the very few most experienced. I have had two friends die in the mountains, one hunting goats, the other hunting sheep. The goat hunter was alone, very experienced, and it took a long time to find him. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'd not be too surprised to see the areas North of Lillooet closed due to the fires through there. They are still closed for access in a lot of the Elephant hill fire zone.

I have seen a few goats in my area (3-16) but the closest I have ever got to one was a lasered 650 yards, and it was pretty close to most of that being vertical above me. Not easy access to their country, here.

There are some sightings of some decent sheep around here, but finding places that are accessible as well as actually huntable (because nobody I know can walk across a talus slope quietly enough to get close to a big ram!) can be a real chore.
 
Thanks for al the info guys, this thread has been great, just the type of info I was hoping to get.

so I have done a little thinking about it and I need to start planning now as I have like a month until season opens and I need some gear and

how does this sounds for a plan, I hope I'm not missing/lover looking something in the regs

get my self a Mountain Goat tag, a Mule Deer tag and a black bear tag
hunt in region 2-6 between September 10 and September 30th
drive up the Squamish river forest road turn left at Elaho river then ill be out of the map B9 mountain goat closed area
hike up to Blanca lake to set up camp in that area and make a base camp for a 8 night trip
then over the 7 days there hike to different spots like Exodus Peak and around that area both above and below the tree line in search for any of the 3 animals I have tags for

it would be a awesome trip even if just saw a goat, I just want to get my boots on the ground and get into the mountains and spent some time. filling the mule deer tag as well would be cool and the bear tag would be just incase I saw one but I wouldn't really be looking for it

i would have no issue picking another lake to make base camp at and another peak to hike up and around, if anyone had any suggestions.

ashcroft, ill be Pm'ing you for info on next years trip, seems like yo have the info I need
 
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