Best place to hunt in Canada??

A

awesomeame

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After seeing the above pic I'm really wondering what the heck I'm doing living in Mississauga, Ontario...just think about all the game those trees are holding up there!!!

I know if'ts a hard question since I'm not asking for specific species, but anyways--if one could live anywhere in Canada, where would you live which would afford the best hunting opportunities? What would Canada's #1 hunting destination be if you had to move your household?

I've always just pictured this to be the Yukon or southern BC, but why I think that is probably just from seeing pictures like the above\

Matt
 
Vast forests don't really have as much game as a lot of people would think. Mixed farmland with lots of cover and different kinds of terrain will support a lot more wildlife.

Southern and western Alberta would have my vote for some of Canadas best hunting (admittedly I am biased). Nearly every type of game can be reached from here within a days drive. From grizzly, elk, moose and mountain goat to antelope, turkey and geese.

Only downside is the ever increasing population and all the hassles that come with it. But where isn't that the case??
 
In the helicopter picture, I sure hope no one is stranded there, hoping to get game to eat!
That type of dense, coastal rain forest, even, the second growth type, has about a zero amount of game. Game is found where it is, because the game has found food and shelter. There will be no food for game here, because for starters, no sun will get to the ground, through the vast canopy of evergreen forest.
And, even if there was game on the forest floor, I can not imagine a worse place to hunt it!
 
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Ken The Kanuck said:
The real beauty of B.C. in my opinion is the variety of cilmates, terrain and things to hunt or catch.

Not all of B.C. is the same. Here is a picture of one of my hunting areas about 2 miles from our cabin,

KTK

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A bit further north than this picture, and on the west side of the river, the mule deer used to congrigate in great numbers, to winter on the famous Chilcotin bunch grass. Close to the Fraser River and centered about on the old Empire Valley Ranch, there would be little, or no snow all winter. Many hundreds of mule deer would gather there for the winter.
In the spring they would fan out to the west for as far as 150 miles, or more, and summer in the lush muntain valleys. But in the fall they would work there way east, so as to be back at the river by the end of November.
Do you know if this pattern is still followed, Ken?
As a point of interest, the cattle from the Empire Valley Ranch used to follow the exact same pattern, and summer as far as 200 miles from the ranch!
 
For sheer variety, the nod definitely goes to British Columbia. Nowhere in North America comes close to the variety of big game species. Alberta comes second for variety and after that, the Yukon. All three offer plenty of opportunity and plenty of public land. There are no bad places to hunt in Canada but the three above sure do stand out.
 
I've heard the annual migration of hunters to Empire Valley continues to be substantial.
 
Well, as far as i'm concerned, y'all missed the best one entirely ! The whole of western Canada is the best place to hunt. My reasoning for this is simple , each province has it's "specialty" shall we say. Each has it's attraction for people as well. The east is not bad in some places , but has nothing over the west. IMHO , but then again i'm bias'd as well ;)
 
Looking at the picture only BC can give these kinds of areas to hunt, here are a couple of pic's of one of my favorite hunting areas here in South Western BC they are only a couple hours drive from Vancouver.

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thegreatnorthernhunter said:
nwt has a good variety
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Yup, but beware the fine print...

moose
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Easiest to hunt up here

two kinds of caribou
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Can't hunt 'em (BG) in the Sahtu or ISR with the exception of West of Aklavik and there's talk that BG Caribou will be entirely closed next year for non-GHL hunters

three kinds of bears
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You need permission from the local HTC to hunt any bear in the ISR bu tgrizz is open in the mountains (G/OT/01, S/OT/01-05 and D/OT/01-02). It's almost a guarantee that as a resident hunter you'll never get a PB tag unless you hire an outfitter to the tune of $30K (or you're the luckiest person I've ever heard of) and not much more likely for a Grizz, or Blackie, though I'll be trying for both this year.

sheep,goat
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The true beauty of the north is the accessibility and affordability of sheep hunting. Last bastion of affordable sheep, I must take advantage

wolverine, wolf
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Permission required from local HTC

muskox
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Draw in the Sahtu and "U" zone, need permission from the HTC in the ISR

buffalo
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draw only

all tags 10 bucks each,
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except the buffalo - they're $50.

The NWT used to be great back in the old days, but it would be at the bottom of the list if it wasn't for the Dall's sheep availability.
 
The true beauty of the north is the accessibility and affordability of sheep hunting. Last bastion of affordable sheep, I must take advantage
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Accessibility is the big factor in the NWT vs the Yukon or BC for Dall sheep though. Not many places where you can park your truck and hike for a couple hours and be in prime Dall sheep country in the NWT but there sure is in BC and the Yukon. Getting a tag in BC can take a few years but to me, the Yukon is Dall and Stone sheep heaven. While the NWT does have a good amount and variety of game, as you pointed out, opportunities for non-status residents are limited and access can be expensive.
 
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If you include birds into the equation then Alberta gets the nod. Huge flocks and liberal limits for birds along with a wide variety of big game puts it ahead of BC IMO.
 
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