Seal Hunting calibre choice ...
- Thread starter Otokiak
- Start date
Speaking of headshots- we found that if you shot swimming beaver straight on in the head it opened up their lungs to fill with water and caused sinking problems. Does this happen with seals too or are they so fat they always float?
Head shots are the name of the game.
I understand that but they are still not a bullet to shoot into a skull, I've used them on Marmots and gophers and that is all I would use them on.
I'm not talking ethics either just saying I wouldn't use them on seals unless your seals up there are a lot smaller than the seals down here.
30 years ago a buddy of mine used to hunt seal for a living in Alaska can't remember what cartridge he used to use but he said he would wait until they would take a breath before he would shoot otherwise they sink.
DFO. Yes, it's stupid, they specialize in that.
http://www2.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fam-gpa/bssp-saps/lcs-scdp/cond-e.php?yearE=2009&cond_idE=10529
I hope you've got a good guy on the outboard seal hunting this time of year. Major pain in the arse trying to jig 'em off the bottom if the sink before you get to them. When my family still fished on the Labrador, Spring/Summer seal was always welcomed as a source of fresh meat. Fresh Cod & Salmon can get tiresome day in and day out for weeks on end.
Clubbing and hakapiks are still in use during the commercial seal hunt, mostly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence where ice conditions are much different. Quebec sealers, guys from the Magdalene Islands and a few from other Maritime provinces participate in that hunt, along with some crews from Newfoundland's west coast/northern peninsula.
At the Front, which is almost 100% prosecuted by Newfoundland/Labrador sealers, centerfire rifles are the primary tool for harvesting animals. Head shots are the norm in order to minimize pelt damage and to ensure an quick, efficient kill.
Centerfire .22 are the preferred. I used to use .22-250, but the .223 is cheaper, easier on barrels and most cost effective to shoot a lot. For personal use, 12 ga. shotguns and just about any big game caliber can be found on the water for the guys hunting from small open boats.
The regs are completely screwed, however. If you hold a commercial license, you aren't permitted to hold a personal use license. Guys holding personal use licenses aren't even allowed to have anyone holding a commercial license to take them out using their boat. No one NOT holding a personal use license cannot be aboard the boat, so forget taking your kids with you.
For new guys looking to learn the ropes, DFO has essentially left them 100% on their own. For guys not experienced on the water, this is going to lead to needless deaths and lost seals.
You would think that DFO would encourage new personal use hunters to be mentored by experienced sealers. To teach them safe boating, safe sea conditions, how to actually hunt seals most efficiently and to determine what species can and cannot be taken legally. There is a difference between harp, bearded, gray seals, etc... For a first time hunter in a 20' open boat with 3-4 foot swells and lots of open water mixed with growlers, it is easy enough to make a mistake that will get you into all kinds of trouble, or to muff the shot and lose the seal.
Then again, DFO and common sense is rarely mentioned in the same sentence.
Below are a couple of pics of my "first" hunt taken in Twillingate sometime in April of '75 (I think). Back then kids actually were able to learn from their fathers and people's lives were deemed more important than being politically correct or satisfying the animal rights loonies.
Anyone looking to cook seal and would like to take some of the stronger/fishy smell/taste off the meat, pre-soaking the meat in a bowl of water with baking soda works miracles. The meat itself is extremely rich in iron and Omega-3 fatty acids. Nothing better than a feed of seal flippers and roasted veggies in gravy with a paste or duff on top piping hot from the oven!
Clubbing and hakapiks are still in use during the commercial seal hunt, mostly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence where ice conditions are much different. Quebec sealers, guys from the Magdalene Islands and a few from other Maritime provinces participate in that hunt, along with some crews from Newfoundland's west coast/northern peninsula.
At the Front, which is almost 100% prosecuted by Newfoundland/Labrador sealers, centerfire rifles are the primary tool for harvesting animals. Head shots are the norm in order to minimize pelt damage and to ensure an quick, efficient kill.
Centerfire .22 are the preferred. I used to use .22-250, but the .223 is cheaper, easier on barrels and most cost effective to shoot a lot. For personal use, 12 ga. shotguns and just about any big game caliber can be found on the water for the guys hunting from small open boats.
The regs are completely screwed, however. If you hold a commercial license, you aren't permitted to hold a personal use license. Guys holding personal use licenses aren't even allowed to have anyone holding a commercial license to take them out using their boat. No one NOT holding a personal use license cannot be aboard the boat, so forget taking your kids with you.
For new guys looking to learn the ropes, DFO has essentially left them 100% on their own. For guys not experienced on the water, this is going to lead to needless deaths and lost seals.
You would think that DFO would encourage new personal use hunters to be mentored by experienced sealers. To teach them safe boating, safe sea conditions, how to actually hunt seals most efficiently and to determine what species can and cannot be taken legally. There is a difference between harp, bearded, gray seals, etc... For a first time hunter in a 20' open boat with 3-4 foot swells and lots of open water mixed with growlers, it is easy enough to make a mistake that will get you into all kinds of trouble, or to muff the shot and lose the seal.
Then again, DFO and common sense is rarely mentioned in the same sentence.
Below are a couple of pics of my "first" hunt taken in Twillingate sometime in April of '75 (I think). Back then kids actually were able to learn from their fathers and people's lives were deemed more important than being politically correct or satisfying the animal rights loonies.
Anyone looking to cook seal and would like to take some of the stronger/fishy smell/taste off the meat, pre-soaking the meat in a bowl of water with baking soda works miracles. The meat itself is extremely rich in iron and Omega-3 fatty acids. Nothing better than a feed of seal flippers and roasted veggies in gravy with a paste or duff on top piping hot from the oven!
