World greatest place to hunt!

Pudelpointer said:
I'm from BC (35 years of it), so you could try to tell me, but I would call BS on most of it.

I knew that you would bring the Griz hunt up Demonical!

Is there great hunting in BC, sure, unfortunately most of what is still great is at least a 12 hour drive from where I used to live. Now I can hunt world class animals without taking 2 weeks off of work.

I have been through this argument before and clearly understand that the BC'ers truly believe they live in God's country, they just have not (or refused to) realize they actually live in LIBERAL country.

:nest:
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I realize that for the most part B.C.er's are conceited, over-bearing, obnoxious, fat-heads and I don't want to give them any more cause to inflate their skulls... but... ;)

For me the grizzly trumps everything, for N.A. big game! You can debate the rankings among B.C., Alaska, the Yukon/NWT. You could easily make an argument for any of them as No. 2 hunting destination in the world. I just hate to tell the guys in B.C. that they could be No. 2, although they already know it... :runaway:

I rank Tanzania/Zimbabwe No.1 due to the dangerous game. How do you beat elephant, cape buffalo, lion, leopard, hippo and something like 20 species of plains game!?

And compared to the other destinations and variety of game, I don't know how anybody can rank Sask above No. 6. Number one for deer? That's even debatable, versus Alberta.
 
Grizzlies nice. So's sheep.

But in the end, good ol' Saskatchewan got better deer, better seasons, and WAAAY better bird hunting. Everyone seems to forget birds. Alberta's close, I'll admit.

In the end, niche species are great, but you can't do that every year, and I like bucks. Plain and simple. How many you B.C. guys went 3 years in a row with 6x6 bull elk? I did, AND still brought in 3 deer a year.

Ummmm.... Strike that. Saskatchewan sucks. Everyone go hunt in B.C. Yeah. That's the ticket... B.C.
 
BC Has Dall sheep, Stone Sheep, California Bighorn and ROcky Mtn Bighorn. If you are a sheep hunter, you could do worse.:)

BC probably has the most variety in Canada- All the common species except pronghorn (no walrus, muskox or polar bear);)

Only species you need a draw to hunt is bison and grizzly. Open seasons for everything else, and most of the seasons are 2-3 months long.

I think most of the western provinces have decent hunting for the most part. Where you rank also depends on if you like the experience of hunitng in the mountains, as mountains get in pretty short supply east of the ROckies.:p
 
Saskatchewan hunting is pretty much reserved for residents, and as a result doesn't get much press. that is OK by me. If a hunter is Big Game specific, I would have to vote for BC. But if a more varied bag is your game, Saskatchewan ( or arguably Alberta) has far better opportunities. Our bird hunting is second to none, for both upland and waterfowl, and our access to private land for hunting is unsurpassed anywhere in North America and possibly the world.
 
Gatehouse said:
BC Has Dall sheep, Stone Sheep, California Bighorn and ROcky Mtn Bighorn. If you are a sheep hunter, you could do worse.:)
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Only species you need a draw to hunt is bison and grizzly. Open seasons for everything else, and most of the seasons are 2-3 months long...
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Where can you hunt Dall without a draw? Same for California BH? Stones yes, Rocky's some, but good spots are draw. I thought the whole Thomspson/Nicola and Okanagan were draw for sheep these days (granted I have been gone for 6 years). As for Dall, the only Dall I know of in BC are in the Tat area, and that used to be all draw as well.

FYI, I put in for sheep in the Ashanola every year for over a decade (in the 1:5-7 odds areas) and never got drawn - ever, and I think my buddy is 15 years now with nothing to show for it. So where is the opportunity? The only zones are the main Rockies where you can hunt BH each year, and that is some ugly country, nasty thick undergrowth to fight through.

For now, we can still buy over the counter tags and hunt the vast majority of sheep country every year until we get one.

BC = Variety - Yes, BC = Quality - (mostly) no.

AFAI am concerned, BC only clearly beats AB in 3 areas: Grizzly, Goats, and 'Bou (I am not going to count species that are geographically exclusive like stones, blacktails, pronghorn, dalls or ground squirrels), and has more opportunity for cougar, wolves and black bears (but only by a bit).

AB is exponentially ahead when it comes to Mule Deer (don't even try to argue with me), Whitetails (same), Rocky Mtn. Bighorns (this we can argue about), and opportunities for elk (but not necessarily trophy quality). Birds - unquestionably better, both upland and waterfowl.

As for moose, there is a lot of opportunity here, though it is extremely limited in the south, but the boreal areas (equivalent to Prince George north) are easy to get drawn in every year or two (it just went to draw for all zones this year - so no general seasons except for some archery). However, in areas (BC) with 1:5 odds I have friends who have taken 12 years to get drawn, and others who have been drawn 3 years in a row! At least here (AB) in zones with 1:5 odds you will get drawn every 5 years - guaranteed, if you choose to put in for those zones.

Now here is a big difference between the two:

Archery season - most areas of AB = 2 months, most areas of BC = 9 days.

Rifle seasons - most areas of AB (not including the Mountain zones)= 1 month, most areas of BC = 3 months.

So, if you are a rifle hunter BC likely is much better, but for all round opportunity if you use both rifle and bow, I still believe AB is ahead.


JUST MY OPINION as a FORMER BC'er.

:)

Sorry, back on topic - Sask is #3!!! (in Canada).
 
Cali Bighorns are GOS here in my region. As a former South African I can tell you that nowhere in Africa has the hunting opportunities available to residents, that BC has, unless you are the land owner. The value placed on wild animals in Africa is so high that they are virtually all reserved for paying hunters at prices that are unaffordable for locals.I have not hunted the other provinces, but would be willing to bet that for locals , they would have better hunting than anywhere in Africa
 
tetachuck said:
Cali Bighorns are GOS here in my region. As a former South African I can tell you that nowhere in Africa has the hunting opportunities available to residents, that BC has, unless you are the land owner. The value placed on wild animals in Africa is so high that they are virtually all reserved for paying hunters at prices that are unaffordable for locals.I have not hunted the other provinces, but would be willing to bet that for locals , they would have better hunting than anywhere in Africa
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An interesting observation.
 
Pudelpointer said:
Where can you hunt Dall without a draw? Same for California BH? Stones yes, Rocky's some, but good spots are draw. I thought the whole Thomspson/Nicola and Okanagan were draw for sheep these days (granted I have been gone for 6 years). As for Dall, the only Dall I know of in BC are in the Tat area, and that used to be all draw as well.
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You need a draw for dall, but not for any of the other sheep.There is a full curl season for Rockies, Californians and Stones.


FYI, I put in for sheep in the Ashanola every year for over a decade (in the 1:5-7 odds areas) and never got drawn - ever, and I think my buddy is 15 years now with nothing to show for it. So where is the opportunity?
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Just because you didn't get a draw doesn't mean you couldn't hunt sheep!:p

The only zones are the main Rockies where you can hunt BH each year, and that is some ugly country, nasty thick undergrowth to fight through.For now, we can still buy over the counter tags and hunt the vast majority of sheep country every year until we get one.
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And yet every year people in BC kill Rockies without a draw. Hmmm...


BC = Variety - Yes, BC = Quality - (mostly) no.

AFAI am concerned, BC only clearly beats AB in 3 areas: Grizzly, Goats, and 'Bou (I am not going to count species that are geographically exclusive like stones, blacktails, pronghorn, dalls or ground squirrels), and has more opportunity for cougar, wolves and black bears (but only by a bit).
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You aren't going to count the species that Albertans can't hunt for in a "where's best" thread? We better not discuss Cape Buffalo then!:p

Fact is, in a "where's best to hunt" thread, you have to count everything. Any BC resident can hunt all this with no draw:

BIG GAME

Black Bear $20.00 $180.00
Bobcat âś± $8.00 $40.00
Caribou âś± $20.00 $230.00
Cougar âś± $30.00 $230.00
Deer â–Ľ
(mule, white-tailed & fallow)
$15.00 $125.00
Elk $25.00 $250.00
Lynx âś± $8.00 $40.00
Moose $25.00 $250.00
Mountain Goat âś± $40.00 $350.00
Mountain Sheep âś± $60.00 $620.00
Wolf
Wolverine $8.00 $40.00

You need draws for these:

Bison $70.00 $700.00
Grizzly Bear âś± $80.00 $1,030.00


($ numbers are resident and non resident tag costs)


AB is exponentially ahead when it comes to Mule Deer (don't even try to argue with me), Whitetails (same), Rocky Mtn. Bighorns (this we can argue about), and opportunities for elk (but not necessarily trophy quality). Birds - unquestionably better, both upland and waterfowl.

As for moose, there is a lot of opportunity here, though it is extremely limited in the south, but the boreal areas (equivalent to Prince George north) are easy to get drawn in every year or two (it just went to draw for all zones this year - so no general seasons except for some archery). However, in areas (BC) with 1:5 odds I have friends who have taken 12 years to get drawn, and others who have been drawn 3 years in a row! At least here (AB) in zones with 1:5 odds you will get drawn every 5 years - guaranteed, if you choose to put in for those zo
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nes.

There is plenty of mule deer and now the whitetail rats have been overrunning BC. There is no more Whitetail LEH, they are all GOS...Elk are all over the place....

BC has pretty limited LEH opportunities, but plenty of GOS opportunities. I'd rather not have to wait 5 years to get a moose draw if I want to hunt moose. All Alberta moose hunting isn't on a on draw, is it? World record Canada Moose comes from BC, so I think we have decent moose here.

People tend to get hung up on BC's lottery style drawing system but it's just so unnecessary to get a draw to have a full hunting experience. You can hunt so much without a draw that it rarely really affects a hunters season detrimentally. There is a big push in BC to get as much as possible OFF LEH and into some sort of GOS.

Now here is a big difference between the two:

Archery season - most areas of AB = 2 months, most areas of BC = 9 days.

Rifle seasons - most areas of AB (not including the Mountain zones)= 1 month, most areas of BC = 3 months.

So, if you are a rifle hunter BC likely is much better, but for all round opportunity if you use both rifle and bow, I still believe AB is ahead.
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Only one month to hunt with a rifle! That's a REAL lack of opportunity!:runaway:

You can hunt with a bow for 3 months in BC, BTW. You aren't restricted to using a rifle during a GOS.

As I said before, all the western provinces have good hunting. I don't think I'd move from one to another just for the hunting, unless for some reason I really just HAD to hunt pronghorn every year.:p
 
Gatehouse thanks for doing the typing!

Pudle, where did you live? Must have been Van Isle?

Sorry you did'nt figure out how to make BC work for you. I am a 'grass is always greener' kind of guy and I really can't find a place I'd rather be.

BTW Open Season for full curl Thin Horns is Aug 1 to Oct 15. You can Hunt sheep With a Rifle for 75 Days straight! In some of that area you will overlap with Goat for 55 days, Caribou for 30 Days, Moose, ELk, Black Bear, Cougar, Wolf, Whitetail and Mule Deer.

That is all General Open Season and if you got a moutain bike, horse or strong wife there are endless areas to hunt.

The bottom line is that Alberta ecology is broke bad. (use Griz as an indicator) BC still (hold breathe) is functioning in many areas as an ecoysytem. Take a gander at a satellite image of Alberta there just aint room between the corridors anymore for things to function beyond twig eaters and edge dependent species.
 
How many you B.C. guys went 3 years in a row with 6x6 bull elk? I did, AND still brought in 3 deer a year.
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In the Peace River Area LOTS and LOTS. Some of them guys also killed sheep, goats and sundry other game as well. My nieghbour's 14 year old daughter killed a 6x6 and a near trophy moose (in her first season) and she'll likely do the same this year. 6x6 elk are the new 4 point mule deer. Tack on the ability to shoot the 4-5 point bulls on GOS and the cows (during th e rut and after) and you got an elk paradise

BTW 3 deer a year is no big deal to accomplish in my area of BC. A trophy whiteltail is always a trophy whitetail and never easy but killing three legal deer is a no brainer here for anyone with a 30-30 and the ability to take 3 steps with out falling down. (it is so easy that occsassionall I even bag a diminutive buck) Deer hunting pressure is ridiculously low here. peak of the rut and you never see a soul on deer rich crown land near town!
 
Love the video ... some of those deer racks are HUGE ... I'd love to hunt dall sheep too ... grizzly ... nice stuff my southern CGNer's. :D

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
"Pudle, where did you live? Must have been Van Isle?"

Close, Sunshine Coast, but I hunted damn near every zone in the province at one time or another.

"Sorry you did'nt figure out how to make BC work for you. I am a 'grass is always greener' kind of guy and I really can't find a place I'd rather be."

Same. I do miss hunting Stones though.

"BTW Open Season ... "

I am well aware of BC's "General Open Season" mentality and think it is a pathetic excuse by the BC gov. to spend ZERO $ on management.

"That is all General Open Season and if you got a moutain bike, horse or strong wife there are endless areas to hunt."

That is funny DD.

"The bottom line is that Alberta ecology is broke bad. (use Griz as an indicator) BC still (hold breathe) is functioning in many areas as an ecoysytem."

Considering biology is my field, and I worked in forestry, fisheries, and currently the environmental sciences, I would have to argue with you there. Yes AB is an agricultural landscape in vast areas, BC is a forested landscape. Different set of circumstances.

The grizzly situation in AB is a joke, a political one unfortunately. The number of bears is not in decline (poor data makes poor policy), and the definition of "population" is meaningless when we use political boundaries to delineate populations. AB's bears are BC's bears, and vice versa.

The biggest issues in AB are fragmentation of the landscape and increased access to "wilderness areas". Much the same issues as BC. If you think that ecosystems are functioning in BC, you must be a registered professional forester. The amount and intensity of logging in the province is beyond criminal, especially on the Coast - now, don't get me wrong, I am not anti-logging and worked in forestry for many years, but I am anti-government-fu*king-stupidity-and-greed! I have seen ENTIRE watersheds logged, from ocean to alpine, in less then 20 years. Land slides, rivers and streams sterilized, and steelhead runs wiped off the face of the earth.

Where are the salmon runs in the province? Where are the balanced age-###-ratio wildlife populations? Seeing 300 mule deer, zero of which are bucks, is not a healthy population.

Using a purse sein to catch every single fish that may be returning to a stream in one set is not ecologically sustainable. Neither is the rate of logging as experienced in BC, neither are General Open Seasons for most species; can the species survive - yes. Is it a "functioning ecology"? Not even close.

DD, I am not sure where you live, but am happy for you that you like it there. Gatehouse, same thing (except I know where you live). I am not sure if either of you has hunted in AB, but if not, and you want to try it, let me know and we will see what can be arranged.

Besides, it's summer here, so the grass is pretty green.:D

Cheers.
 
Dogleg said:
Not that it matters much to me, but for the sake of arguement how many deer tags could an Albertan get last year? My son and I had 9 tags apiece in ole saskabush.;)
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I had six tag in AB for white tail and mule combined..not all same wmus but still not bad.

I pay resident prices in both provinces.....thanks to my job....it is a perk.
 
Pudle , points well taken. Nope I am not a forester but we send off proffessional Biologist dues every year and have seen the very best ansd very worst of what happens in the Bush. I hear what you are saying about those sunshine coast watersheds. My wife and I mapped every thing from squamish to pender harbour from the salt chuck to the top of the watersheds. I mean every everything! Same with most of the lower fraser valley, north shore and the corridor to Pemberton from horseshoe bay. Since then we have been everywhere in the NE and found some time along the way to get familair with lots of the Thompson, PG area and the QCI I got a permenant trimble crook in my spine, a few ideas about watershed management and some opinions about wildlife management LOL.

Nothing here is perfect but like you say the Fragementation in Alberta is beyond ridiculous where as in BC there are still some decent hunks protected by unbridgable rivers, mountains and other economic constraints to development.

I still see grizzly tracks on the majority of my hunts (even in some ag areas), find the odd spot where a caribou can raise a calf in peace and have yet to run out of places to explore those to me are the acid tests.

Ultimatley the only important thing is that we are all hunting and enjoying ourselves.


Oh the answer to how many Deer tags in BC is 13. slam dunk.
cheers
 
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