Seal hunting

dingus

You now have a project. Get yer ass out there and get pulling the hides and noggins off them fresh dead seals and sea lions.

You may want to do it under the dark of night to avoid DFO. They might get testy.
 
Gatehouse.............when I was a kid (a long time ago) you could shoot seals in BC. Then they closed it and I believe it was to protect the sea lion population, which was very low, and I also think it had something to do with when the US brought in the Marine Mammals Protection Act. They wanted support from BC with Washington and Alaska being at either end.

It was a long time ago though and I could be off base.....but that is how I remember it.:)
 
It wasn't that long ago that there was a bounty on seals in BC, I think it was a good dollar too. Closing seals probably had more to do with carcasses washing up on the shores of Saltspring and Lasquetti Islands. Would create quite the rukus I would imagine, We need an open season for seals and another for hippies!
 
My father tells of salmon fishing in the mouth of some river that runs into the pacific in the 60's. He said when a seal appeared, someone on any of the boats would shoot it.

When a pod of Killer Whales would swim in ruining the fishing, he said it would sometimes sound like he was back in Korea, bullets flying everwhere! He says the local injuns were particularily pissed off at the whales, sometimes emptying a 30-30 into just one whale.

I would imagine you would get a lot of years in jail for doing that now, depending on the colour of your skin.
 
open-sights said:
It wasn't that long ago that there was a bounty on seals in BC, I think it was a good dollar too. Closing seals probably had more to do with carcasses washing up on the shores of Saltspring and Lasquetti Islands. Would create quite the rukus I would imagine, We need an open season for seals and another for hippies!
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:D I love it :D
Let's have open season on Seals & 'Hippies' & 'Tree Huggers"

Then our hunting season would be complete :D

BTW, You score more points by taking out 'Hippies' & 'Tree Huggers' !!!
 
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OK I am coming in late but I lived 9 years in Nunavut and shot many seals. I used everything from my CZ 22 magnum to an old BSA deluxe Majestic I use to have in 458 Win mag( no kidding).

Seals are usually shot in the head or neck when they are resting on the ice. In this game something flat shooting with a powerful shocking impulse is preferred. The 223 is good. The 22-250 ideal. I also had good luck with an accurate 6.5 Rem mag (270 equivelant). The need here is to hit them at ranges up to 200 yards in the head which is a bit like varmint hunting if you think about it. If they die instantly they are less likely to dive down their holes (aglus). The 22-250 does a great job. A seal killed instantly can still have a death spasm that launches them to slide down their hole. You need to get to the hole quick so you need to get close and if you are good enough to get close consistently even something like the 22 magnum works.

From a boat in open water the movement of the boat, water and seal combined mean less precision is possible. Generally ranges are 100 yards or less and you will miss some or make some body hits. Here a too powerful rifle is a handicap. I remember a hunt around Igloolik Island where I christened my then new 6.5 Rem Mag. We lost or nearly lost a wack of seals due to sinkage. The seals lungs would fill with water as their heads disappeared or a 4 inch exit hole was blasted out their chest. The 22-250 could do this to a lesser degree and the 223 was again a good choice. My favourite was the 22 Hornet that would kill well and generally not exit with those 45 grain FN factory loads from WIN.

The best one caliber choice to me is the 223. Flat and powerful enough for shots on the ice and lacking the destructive power to lead to excessive sinkage.

GO Danny Williams...go.
 
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Shooting seals on the spring ice is akin to varmint shooting. Longer ranges, and they have to be anchored, or they are down their holes and lost. From a boat, think about a bobbing target about the size of a grapefruit. Its moving, you're moving... and depending on the season, they'll sink fast. During sinking season, you might have a better chance of recovering a seal wounded using a shotgun, than killed outright with a rifle.
 
Takujualuk said:
GO Danny Williams...go.
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It's a hijack, but did anyone watch Larry King last night? How did Danny do in his sealing debate against Paul McCartney? I imagine that Larry was rather slanted towards McCartney's POV, but would have been interestign to see the show.
 
tiriaq said:
Shooting seals on the spring ice is akin to varmint shooting. Longer ranges, and they have to be anchored, or they are down their holes and lost. From a boat, think about a bobbing target about the size of a grapefruit. Its moving, you're moving... and depending on the season, they'll sink fast. During sinking season, you might have a better chance of recovering a seal wounded using a shotgun, than killed outright with a rifle.
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Hey Tiriaq...hope retirement is going well. Some of the boys have good luck with a semi-auto 22 magnum from a boat. Keep shooting and eventually you will get the critter.
 
BigUglyMan said:
It's a hijack, but did anyone watch Larry King last night? How did Danny do in his sealing debate against Paul McCartney? I imagine that Larry was rather slanted towards McCartney's POV, but would have been interestign to see the show.
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IMO Danny came out on top. Man, McCartney's wife is SO WHINEY! She was constantly interrupting and babbling, I couldn't stand her!
 
Never seen the larry king show but i did see the piece on the news with paul and his wife on the ice flow with the baby seal. they even included the part where the cute cuddley seal pup tried to bite his wife. imagine.... you try to pet a wild animal and it tries to bite you.:rolleyes:

I was wondering how they could get that close to the baby seal without the mother being around. do they adults usually leave the young alone or did they chase of the adult?
 
I saw parts of the replay of Larrys show on global news and Williams did great even said the FBI is investagateing Greenpeace and others as terrorist groups
Williams came out on top! :)
The Bimbo screached like the little Whoreing money grubbing slut she is :D

Paul Mcartneys gota be Deaf or wear ear plugs to be around that Screaching loud mouth witch. ;)
 
Hang on, thread derailing!

All I can say is big applause for Danny Williams! He's got the stuff taking on all the emotional baggage launched his way by the fashionably involved activist club. That was a fixed fight and Danny stood up to the moralistically elite peace-nazis calmly and as fair as could be.
 
Celebs and seals

Monty said:
Just remember that Paul McCartney might be in season, too :D ...
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Back in Newfoundland in the 70's we went through this. There were a bunch of celebs trying to save the world one seal at a time. Tanya Tucker and Sophia Loren were up on the ice and some members of the entourage tried to spraypaint the whitecoats (baby seals) to make their pelts worthless.

I guess when your career is fading you have to project yourself into the limelight. Paul is still a popular guy with more than enough millions to finance a moonshot but maybe he could put his $$$ to better use, like finding a cure for the cancer that took his previous wife.

His current wife couldn't shut her mouth long enough to give Danny Williams a chance to speak, and, at one point, McCartney was actually hitting her leg under the table to try to give her the hint to close her mouth.

Back in the 70's we had a punk group (before punk was even popular) in Newfoundland called Toulouse and Da Slyme and they did a spoof on the anti-sealing movement with an excellent tune called Tanya Whatcha Doin' Wit Dat Seal? The lyrics made a no holds barred reference to some physically challenging things that she and her favourite seal could engage in. It was quite funny and I still have the LP. Maybe it's time to dust it off!
 
Danny Williams has done a bang-up job. I liked him when I saw him stand up to the feds over the oil exploration and he has continued to show he will do or say what is needed.
 
You mean that you have different temp. waters in Nunavut
I thought cold is cold
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In Kugluktuk area where JEREMY(fellow cgner) lives there are warm currents compared to the COLD azzed waters of Hudson's Bay so yes I'm saying there is different temps in the water. I have seen a few seals sink, yet most head shot or wounded with a .22 mag and most that hunted here are quite accurate or you do lose them when sinking. In winter or spring near the flow-edge we hunt seals from anywhere between 200-100 yards as most guys have a white sheet covering the front of their skidoo and un-plug their light to get close ... and usually use .223 then! However, alot do traditional hunting of seals such as I have tried learning ... standing over a breathing hole holding your harpoon with a sakku(spear head) and stabbing them in the head as they come up for air ... I've yet to get one, however will do the same again this spring and hopefully be successful. Seal meat is super rich in taste, the fur is beyond warm when made into gloves, parka's and pull-over hunting pants. There are so many things you can do with a seal from eating the meat, ribs, eyeballs, to making clothing ... and if you're ever stuck out on the water, cold and nothing to eat ... drink the blood as it'll warm you up like you wouldn't believe! Cheers,

Otokiak ... :cool:
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
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