Author Topic: What are your hunting conditions like? (Read 2170 times)

John Y Cannuck · « **on:** February 15, 2003, 12:23:50 PM »

I moose hunt out of a small cabin with eight other guys. One room no running water, wood stove. Have a drive through swamp and three feet of water for about an hour in an old army truck to get there.
Snowed last year.
Visibility is mostly 50 yards or less hardwood bush, and small swamps.

longwinters · « **Reply #1 on:** February 15, 2003, 02:05:42 PM »

For whitetail, we drive for about 45 min. then walk in about 3/4 of a mile in the dark. Hunt all day rain/snow/whatever and walk out again in the dark and drive 45 min home. We hunt state land in the big woods. No great feat but just how we do it for now.

Bluenose · « **Reply #2 on:** February 15, 2003, 05:31:31 PM »

I moose hunt out of a camp just East of Algonquin Park (South of Whitney). It's a long way in to the camp, but it's comfortable. It has gravity fed water (drinkable) with propane lights, stove and water heater. It was built by some creative and very handy hunters in the fifties. Lots of swamps with some nasty thick cover separating the swamps from hardwood ridges. It's rare to find a spot where you can see further than 50 yards. When I first hunted out of it, there used to be 13 guys but with the reduced moose population in the area and less tags, there were only 5 of us last October. It's not roughing it like many guys who head North with a canvas tent, but I like it...not just for the hunting, but the experience.

We usually get in for some deer hunting in November too...seems the deer are taking over from the moose. I'm already getting anxious for next fall...

John Y Cannuck · « **Reply #3 on:** February 15, 2003, 11:40:01 PM »

Longwinters
We're a daylight to dark bunch too. But it's nice to be hunting the instant you step out the cabin door.

John Y Cannuck · « **Reply #4 on:** February 15, 2003, 11:48:22 PM »

Bluenose
I've been the tent route. Damp clothes, tent collapse from snow, leaks, aches and pains the whole bit. Used to set out from camp by canoe every morning. Too old for that crap now. Or maybe I'm just a bit brighter :roll: .
We have a water heater too, sort of, it's a water closet on the stove. We have to truck in drinking water, the swamp that the camp is built on has nice brown goo for water.
The area is west of Minden Ontario. It was burnt over at the turn of the century, the topsoil was burnt off, so the trees tend to be short, and the scrub thick.

freddogs · « **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2003, 08:05:55 AM »

Last year hunted State land for Whitetails. A 1&1/2 mile walk in . 20 minutes to a motel by truck. I stay out all day but I like to get a good night's sleep. I'll camp when necessary but it's not my first choice when hunting. I didn't drag anything out so the long walk wan't bad. I hunt around home too.A fifteen minute drive and I'm hunting deer.

Bluenose · « **Reply #6 on:** February 16, 2003, 01:59:30 PM »

John Y Cannuk,

I've only been hunting moose since 96 and haven't done any northern cold camping hunts yet but I plan on it. They sound like they can be pretty rough, like you said, but I really think it's something I have to try. Some of the stories I've been told about the remote bush in Northern Ontario are awesome.

Minden isn't too far from where we've been hunting...how are the moose populations in your unit? Depending on the tag allotment this fall, I'm probably going to try for an area around North Bay instead. Just isn't the same when you can only hunt calves. Last fall we saw a bull, cow and calf on the road going in the first night....not another sign for the rest of the week.

Bluenose

John Y Cannuck · « **Reply #7 on:** February 16, 2003, 11:58:16 PM »

Have not had an adult tag for eight years :cry:
Used to hunt South River, Tag alotment was better, but not good enough for me to get a tag :cry: The terrain there, is similar to your Bancroft area, hills not quite as large (I deer hunt east of there near Denbiegh, and have a cottage north of Havlock)
Hunted North of Sudbury for a while, beautiful country, swamps that allow you to see a thousand yards. lots of Tammarack, so the swamps are ringed with gold trees. Thats where we tented, and canoed out under the stars. Thats where the tent colapsed under the snow, and where we froze. But we cut poles, and fixed the tent, and we had propane heaters, so eventually we got warm. There were good years too.

Big Tom · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2003, 05:49:25 AM »

I hunt with Longwinters. We are about 50 miles south of Lake Superior and 3 miles north of the Wisconsin border. Its similar to your type of terrain but not as thick with conifers. We have some nice oak ridges that are great during Bow season but the pressure at gun time pushes the buck to the swamps.
I hunted a brushy bottle neck travel route and saw some nice bucks including a nice 9 pt. that I shot at 70 yds with my favorite old Sako Lightweight Hunter .308 :lol:

Lawdog · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2003, 12:29:28 PM »

Rolling hills covered with timber(pine, fir, black oak, white oak), brush and open meadows. Lots of Mule Deer with some Blacktail Deer, Black Bear and Wild Hogs. Throw in some quail(both valley and mountain), turkey, rabbit and squirrels and that's Northestern California. Lots of varmint hunting and good waterfowl shooting too. Home Sweet Home. Lawdog

TopGun · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2003, 01:06:11 PM »

Mine are rough, rough, rough and I love it. 2-man back-pack tent, a few MRE's, Canteen, PUR water pump- filters, good sleeping bag on a BullPAC frame with other survival gear, and a ton of wind proof matches. The only things the Zirkel Wilderness provides is the dark, cold, solitude or a few other hard-core camping friends, and opportunity to bang an Elk with TC 375JDJ-Oh, been there, done that. Getting it out is the hard part. I shot my 6x6 12 miles from my truck. It was my hardest on of teh 4 bulls I have. Took 4 of us 2 days to pack him out. He's on my wall! PS-there are only a few friends who ever ask to go back on this kind of hunt! Anuone think they can do it? Wanna go? I'll do it till I can't do it any more. Afterall, I am only 49.

Big Tom · « **Reply #11 on:** February 17, 2003, 01:32:22 PM »

Ahhh 49! I remember those days.......some seven years ago. I love my TC too Top Gun. I have been thinking about getting a .358 Win barrel for close work in the real bush. .375DJ must put em down pretty well.

Mike C · « **Reply #12 on:** February 17, 2003, 02:00:21 PM »

Small world Top Gun, I have hunted the Zirkels for the last 9 or ten years, We go in off the Mad Creek trail head. There is a third season camp that we access off the Red Dirt trail head. We have taken quite a few good bulls over the years there, the past two years have been the biggest bulls of all so the area is getting better!! Only thing I will say is that this year there were more people than I have ever seen and that sucks.

I didn't hunt the Zirkels myself this year but we did pack in a couple hunters to our old site to kind of hold it for us. The buddy who first took me into the Zirkels and I bought an outfitting permit in area 15, Sarvis Creek, we were plenty busy there. My buddy did hunt the third season camp and they got five elk out of six tags in camp.

Take care, Mike C

TopGun · « **Reply #13 on:** February 17, 2003, 02:37:18 PM »

Wow, what a small world? I go to the other end. We've gone in through the Beaver Creek trail 1124 and through Buffalo Ridge. Mostly hunt near 7 Lakes, Encampment Meadows, Gem lake and Lake Dianne. We see nobody! Please don't don't tell anyone. Actually, if they aint hard-core, they aint gonna be there! From Buffalo Ridge to 7 Lakes, Ive taken 4 nice bulls. My 6x6 scored 315. My buddy shot a 340 score 3 yrs ago. I've guided into 17 other kills since 1990. I thnk we're doing pretty good? BUT, last year I couldn't even fill a cow tag. DOW came in and told us teh game wqs not there. Drought and the Hayman fire (only 3 miles from our area) pushed everything out early. We did see some old tracks, but only a scant few in teh new snow of the 1st season. We may try Independence Mtn this year, or maybe the Rabbit Ears. You're an outfitter huh? It won't be long till I start renting horses or hiring someone to 'drop camp'. The pack gets heavier every year! See you there!

Rick Teal · « **Reply #14 on:** February 19, 2003, 01:58:34 PM »

I do most of my deer and moose hunting in the Parry Sound district of Ontario.

We have a 1 1/2 acre lease 4 miles back in the bush and its about 1 1/2 miles to the nearest other lease. We hunt about 1800 acres that are made up of about 60% old burn and 40% hardwood bush.

The whole area is dotted with beaver lakes, muskeg swamps, alder swamps and evergreen swamps. There are lots of evergreen thickets.

The burn has a lot of thick poplar and birch stands with most hilltops open and rocky.

We travel the 4 miles to camp via ATV and trailer over a "road" that is mainly a soupy - greasy ordeal.

The camp is a 1 room cabin that can sleep 12 but normally 10 is about the max. We have a water jacket on our wood cookstove that is attached to a water tank, so we always have lots of hot water. We dip water for it from a creek beside camp, but we have to go about a 1/4 mile to get to a seepage well we use for drinking water. We have a Quebec heater for a heating stove and a small propane stove for most of our cooking. We have a small generator for lights.

TopGun · « **Reply #15 on:** February 19, 2003, 03:59:13 PM »

So what do you rely on if it aint a bolt action rifle? Especially in Canada. I know it's not a TC Contender or Encore pistol! I'm guessing a big Marlin in 45-70 or 444? Maybe the nostalgic 348 or 405 Einchester?

John Y Cannuck · « **Reply #16 on:** February 19, 2003, 11:54:37 PM »

Lever guns are quite popular up here. The moose camp I'm currently a part of, has eight guys, only two use bolt guns. The rest use 308 BLR's except for one 88 Win, and My Savage 99.
Bush is thick, shots are short.
I will on occassion drag my 45-70 1886 Winchester out, or one of my bolt guns if I'm in the mood. (Don't tell Rick)

Rick Teal · « **Reply #17 on:** February 20, 2003, 06:30:57 AM »

Topgun:

Last year I used my Remington 7600 in .35 Whelen as my primary moose gun, with my BLR in .358 Winchester as backup. For deer, the Whelen went home, the BLR was promoted to number 1, and I brought up my Remington 760 in .35 Remington as backup.

On my bowhunt for moose, Im actually took along a single shot as a camp gun. It was my H&R 58 with 30-30 and 20 ga barrels.

Rick

TopGun · « **Reply #18 on:** February 20, 2003, 03:06:27 PM »

Rick, I'm jealous of your 7600! I've been looking for a used one to turn into a woods carbine. I like the way they handle and my brother uses a 760 carbine 06. I already have a customized '03 Springfield that I re-barreled to 35 Whelen. It's probably my favorite rifle. I thing the Big 35 is way under-rated and misunderstood cartridge. I have only killed PA white tail with it but it is authoritative. I don't shoot the big belted magnums anymore. I've passed the big-kick-loud-bang phase and realized that out to 250 yards with my 250 Spitzer, I am carrying a hammer. This isn't to say the Whelen doesn't kick, It is just very efficient. I love the terminal performance, and I personally think hunting with a big bore rifle or TC Handgun has made me a better hunter. I also shoot NRA Hi power matches so I know I can shoot long range, but hunting is different. I'm glad I re-found my Whelen. I will have one in the Encore too.

hntngirl · « **Reply #19 on:** March 14, 2003, 10:37:12 AM »

I hunt in the Cascade mountains in Oregon. Lots of thick brush, steep. There's blacktails, elk, rabbit, cougar, black bear, bobcat, grouse, and quail. During deer season, I usually just sleep in the bed of my truck (or inside if it's raining). I have an old camp trailer I haul up during elk season. No heat, fridge, or stove, but I like it that way. I just use ice chests, a propane camp stove and lantern. And the all-important fire. Man, October seems like a long ways off!

TopGun · « **Reply #20 on:** March 14, 2003, 01:10:50 PM »

Don't you get cold at night sleeping in a truck? I can't wait for October! I hear the Elk calling me now!

hntngirl · « **Reply #21 on:** March 15, 2003, 07:45:26 AM »

It's not too cold if you dress right and have good sleeping bags. Anyway, a little bit of cold is worth putting up with to sleep outside in the mountains! Sometimes if it starts raining I just move to under my truck (it's plenty tall enough) and it usually stays pretty dry there. Oregonians have to work around the rain! :wink:

Lagavulin · « **Reply #22 on:** March 22, 2003, 01:53:53 PM »

For moose I hunt in Northern BC during the latter part of August. While you get incredible velvet covered antlers on huge moose, you're dressing the beasts in 70 degree weather with flies all over the place and Grizzlies living amongst you :shock: . Then you high tail it 3 hours out of the bush into the closest butcher before it turns. Of course an evening shot is little easier for that.
Deer hunting means a family cabin in Alberta. Much more civilized.