Looking fo Vancouver Island Hunters to answer some basic questions!
- Thread starter drpestilence
- Start date
Hunting on the Island is pretty bleak in comparison to the rest of the province. There are some awesome bears to chase, outside of that you can hunt 90lb black tailed deer or you can put in for the next 30 years and MAYBE draw a Roosevelt's Elk, some of the largest of which live on the island.
hmm let me think, waterfowl is an option as well, but from everyone ive talked to, sea birds taste like fish so I never got into it when I lived there.
Terrain is dense bush, uphill or downhill are your options- buy good boots. If you live in Victoria you need to drive north, try some of the back roads around Cowichan, or better yet, get north of Campbell River, then get out of the truck and start hiking.
Good luck!
hmm let me think, waterfowl is an option as well, but from everyone ive talked to, sea birds taste like fish so I never got into it when I lived there.
Terrain is dense bush, uphill or downhill are your options- buy good boots. If you live in Victoria you need to drive north, try some of the back roads around Cowichan, or better yet, get north of Campbell River, then get out of the truck and start hiking.
Good luck!
Yotarunner
CGN Regular
- Location
- Eastern Alberta
Yes you can hunt on the island. Depending on where you are you can kill blacktail deer, bear ,cougar, wolves ducks, geese, and elk are on draw.
Good boots and rain gear are essential. I won't say where is the best because I only ever hunted around Campbell River and don't know therest of the island.
Ducks can be found both puddle ducks and divers but you have to put in some work to find em. Estuarys are where I go and if you can secure some private land birds can be found there as well.
Good boots and rain gear are essential. I won't say where is the best because I only ever hunted around Campbell River and don't know therest of the island.
Ducks can be found both puddle ducks and divers but you have to put in some work to find em. Estuarys are where I go and if you can secure some private land birds can be found there as well.
Macarena Man
Member
- Location
- British Columbia
Sadly, much of the areas south of Campbell River are gated off.
A good pre-rut Blacktail can field dress in the 150lb. range. I've taken one that went 172lb.
Raingear, good waterproof foot wear, make your day more enjoyable.
Blacktails are a cagey deer pre-rut.
A good pre-rut Blacktail can field dress in the 150lb. range. I've taken one that went 172lb.
Raingear, good waterproof foot wear, make your day more enjoyable.
Blacktails are a cagey deer pre-rut.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
I’ve been going to the island for 37 years and lived there for a year in the 90’s. We had deer in our yard every day. Some of the biggest bucks we ever saw came to eat our gardens but I never saw one that would have gone 172 pounds on the hoof never mind 172 field dressed?! Thats a massive blacktail. My grandfather shot one in the early 80’s that field dressed at 97lbs and his neighbours went on and on about what a brute he shot!! Most times they ran in the mid 60lb range. He used to say there would be more meat on their dog.
There was lots of good grouse shooting to be had up in the mountains and we used to see alot of bears. There was areas with good waterfowl numbers mostly in the estuaries and you had to observe the birds to better understand which tides would give you your best shooting times. I haven’t hunted there now since the mid 90’s but it was pretty good for the most part if you put in the time scouting. And though I never tried for them I always wanted to try bagging a few California Quail. They introduced them years ago and they were a neat looking little gamebird.
There was lots of good grouse shooting to be had up in the mountains and we used to see alot of bears. There was areas with good waterfowl numbers mostly in the estuaries and you had to observe the birds to better understand which tides would give you your best shooting times. I haven’t hunted there now since the mid 90’s but it was pretty good for the most part if you put in the time scouting. And though I never tried for them I always wanted to try bagging a few California Quail. They introduced them years ago and they were a neat looking little gamebird.
Dirty shorts
New member
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Lots of good hunting on the island, the deer are good eating so are the geese but I believe its who is doing the cooking. I have taken deer behind Sooke, up in the hills, there are lots of logging gates all over the island which can be discouraging but some are manned, eg. Chemainus, and you can go in as long as your out by a certain time or you could get locked in for the night. also you can ask permission from land owners. As far as a rifle, anything on the lighter side, maybe a .270 . A lot of hunters are using bows or crossbows these days. You can PM me if I can help, I am new to the site but not to the sport.
IronNoggin
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Alberni, Vancouver Island
Spoken like a prime example of a man who has never hunted them!! LOL
Shockey rightfully called collecting a Book Blacktail THE Toughest hunt in North America.
And I strongly concur.
I have managed to collect book heads of whitetails, mulies, elk, caribou, sheep and more.
Put enough time in, hunt where they live, and it is very do-able.
Conversely, I have now lived on this Island over 20 years, and although I hunt more than anyone else I know who lives here, I have not managed a true Book Blacktail to date.
And I am in the right areas, and know what the hell I am doing.
These Timber Ghosts become a true Addiction for many - myself included.
And a source of amazement and confusion for many whitetail or mulie hunters who think they are up to the challenge!!
As for size, most will run around 140 - 150 lbs.
Some get dramatically larger.
Few years back I took an ancient old retrograde buck (no teeth - antlers gone to hell) that went 225 on the hook.
By FAR the largest Island deer I have ever heard of:
Crossbow at 35 yards in The Thick.
This year the young fellow that I was mentoring took a prime example of a great Blacktail.
It was around 175 or so on the hoof, but is indeed sporting a Book rack:
That tale is here: https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1798075-The-Mentor
We also have Black Bears of world record size.
I took two in the last 2 years:
Seven Feet Six inch hide, 22 2/8" Skull:
Seven Foot Two inch hide, Larger skull (still drying):
Been trying to draw an elk tag since we got here, but BC's backwards approach to their draws means I likely never will.
I don't hunt waterfowl here, but have Buddies that do and they thoroughly enjoy that pursuit.
Grouse are reasonably common, and fine grits when you do find them.
BC does offer some interesting hunts over on the mainland, and that should not be overlooked IMO.
In fact I'll be headed out for late season archery in the OK shortly now.
Another consideration - the fishing off the Island is damn tough to beat.
Salmon, Halibut, Lings, Cod, Prawns, Crabs and more!
Might want to consider looking into a boat!
Life, and hunting are largely what you make of them IMHO.
The Island offers a few unique opportunities, and there are many more over on the mainland.
I certainly ain't considering wandering off any time soon!!
Cheers,
Nog
