I'm not sure a 26" barreled heavy varmint rig is what I want to be using for hunting where some walking and climbing may be involved. The 230 Douglas would also be ideal but again a carbon steel action and 27" barrel............not the right platform in my estimation. I think the WSM will suffice and I doubt there will be excessive damage with the TTSXs that it likes
Blacktail on the Islands
- Thread starter c-fbmi
- Start date
I'm not sure a 26" barreled heavy varmint rig is what I want to be using for hunting where some walking and climbing may be involved. The 230 Douglas would also be ideal but again a carbon steel action and 27" barrel............not the right platform in my estimation. I think the WSM will suffice and I doubt there will be excessive damage with the TTSXs that it likes
^deer on VI can get a lot bigger than those on Haida Gwaii which are pretty tiny.
A .223 wouldn't be a terrible choice in either place I guess but it would shine on HG.
Then again every deer I see in Alberta after years on VI looks pretty big.
A .223 wouldn't be a terrible choice in either place I guess but it would shine on HG.
Then again every deer I see in Alberta after years on VI looks pretty big.
We plan to move to the Island from the Lower Mainland sometime in the future so maybe this, with the 5 shot magazine will be my truck rig for the tiny deer.
What do they look like? I'm not a salt water boy at all, don't know the first thing about all these critters except they are exceptional to eat.
I doubt it will be as simple as sitting on the beach and blasting away, as I want a good buck for mounting. Gotta represent the species in my "boys" room. Would also like a mainland buck as well for mounting.
The bush is thick, like in thick, thicker and thickest....watching the beaches at low tide works.
Hope you have good weather for the ferry....this time of the year it can be an exciting ride at times. LOL, did you ever try a eight hour long roller coaster ride.
Hope you have good weather for the ferry....this time of the year it can be an exciting ride at times. LOL, did you ever try a eight hour long roller coaster ride.
Think of the shell oil logo.... That is what a scallop shell looks like.... Except it not bright yellow hehehe
They are a good size as well , about 6" across the shell.
We found quite a few along north beach. We stayed at Agate Beach and hunted from there.
Walking the trail that follows the helene (?) River just past tow hill was awesome fun and we found deer
We also took several along the treeline drivin along north beach.
So much fun, wish I was going too LOL
It probably would Gate as would my 22-250 or 234 or any of my 1/2 doz 243s no doubt, but I have limited rifles in full stainless/fiberglass and 223, 234, and 243 are not among them. I don't consider my 22-284 with 28" super heavy barrel nor my 22-250 with it's 26" heavy varmint barrel to be hunting rifles one may wish to carry around. But now that I think about it I may make up some more loads for the 234 Douglas and take it along just in case one gets to snipe a couple without having to get too far from a vehicle. I personally think these would be a lot of fun as a handgun hunted critter, but alas I live in Canada and chances of the laws becoming more lax now that we have a Liberal Fed Gov't are about zero to minus 10.
^^^ after a couple of our deer were down with the typical heart/lung shot behind the shoulder (both of us using M14 type .308 rifles) we changed the killshots to head shots only. This worked well for us. Your 300wsm should have no problem there
Have fun man, and take lots of pics.
I personally will not be going on that hunt again without a GoPro or similar.
Good Luck!
And if yer hankerin for some of the larger blacktails and blacktail/ mulie hybrids , give me a hollar before sept next year
Have fun man, and take lots of pics.
I personally will not be going on that hunt again without a GoPro or similar.
Good Luck!
And if yer hankerin for some of the larger blacktails and blacktail/ mulie hybrids , give me a hollar before sept next year
I think for the hunting duration your are talking about stainless is not really a necessary feature. Oil it up good before leaving home... don't leave it in a wet case, or in the case from outside cold to inside warm, wipe it dry and hang it where air can get at it... then just give it a good strip down when you get home... Bob's ur uncle.
A certain Ruger M77 MKI RSI in .243 would be the perfect piece for that trip!
A certain Ruger M77 MKI RSI in .243 would be the perfect piece for that trip!
Yes a 243 would be about perfect eh? I need one of those.....
As an aside, last time I spoke with CarverK about Gwaii deer, he was perfecting his spear throw
For me, a stainless short barrelled open sighted lever action in 45LC is probably coming along on my next trip over, that or the savage 1899 22HP
As an aside, last time I spoke with CarverK about Gwaii deer, he was perfecting his spear throw
For me, a stainless short barrelled open sighted lever action in 45LC is probably coming along on my next trip over, that or the savage 1899 22HP
I happen to have a 99 22 HP in an old beat up takedown model. It was a gift as the person knew nothing about it but knew I was a gunnut so now I have it.
I just loaded up 50 for my 234 Douglas with 105 Matrix FB at about 3400, changed the scope but am going to change it again, I put a 6.5-20 silver Vari X III on it but I think I'm going to change that out for a 2.5-8 silver Vari X III I have on the bench.
I just loaded up 50 for my 234 Douglas with 105 Matrix FB at about 3400, changed the scope but am going to change it again, I put a 6.5-20 silver Vari X III on it but I think I'm going to change that out for a 2.5-8 silver Vari X III I have on the bench.
The Leupold VX-III (3) 2.5-8X36mm is probably my favorite hunting scope, I have half a dozen on various rifles... three in the backseat as I write this, as I am heading to the range.
I will say upfront, I have zero experience with west coast hunting on any species... but the thought occurs to me based on the stories of those that do have experience, that a flat shooter for open coastal areas, like your .257 Wby or .234 Penguin, and a .44 RM in the brush and thickets, would be a good pairing. Just thinking of stalking the deep woods with my 77/44 (which incidentally wears a 2.5-8), makes me want to head west.
That .22 HP 99 would be an effective, nostalgic choice also.
Someone is bound to trot out that "Bonnett & Grizzly" photo.
I will say upfront, I have zero experience with west coast hunting on any species... but the thought occurs to me based on the stories of those that do have experience, that a flat shooter for open coastal areas, like your .257 Wby or .234 Penguin, and a .44 RM in the brush and thickets, would be a good pairing. Just thinking of stalking the deep woods with my 77/44 (which incidentally wears a 2.5-8), makes me want to head west.
That .22 HP 99 would be an effective, nostalgic choice also.
Someone is bound to trot out that "Bonnett & Grizzly" photo.
My longest shot on a blacktail was just under 400 yards, and my closest about 4 long steps. Most are under 100 yards. If I had to pick a perfect blacktail rifle it would be a compact .260, stainless/synthetic and topped with something like the 2.5-8. It's one of my favorite scopes, too. Although I would certainly consider a comparable scope in one of Bushnells top end offerings, simply because Rainguard actually works pretty good. The .260 would be loaded with a TTSX bullet which would perform perfectly if you were ever presented one of the longish shots, and won't blow up on the close shots.
Most of my blacktail hunting is actually done with my 300WSM and 130 or 150gr TTSX, but that's simply because this stainless M70 was built by Bill Leeper and it's my favorite rifle. I did have a 260 Rem 700 Ti that was almost ideal, but I was never a fan of blind magazines and I prefer CRF rifles.
Most of my blacktail hunting is actually done with my 300WSM and 130 or 150gr TTSX, but that's simply because this stainless M70 was built by Bill Leeper and it's my favorite rifle. I did have a 260 Rem 700 Ti that was almost ideal, but I was never a fan of blind magazines and I prefer CRF rifles.
