I've been busy lately, preparing for hunting season, designing a Field Target Course for the Prince George Rod and Gun Club (of which I'm Smallbore Director), and breaking in pipes as I work, or smoking cigars if I'm outdoors or at the range. I'll be in this zone for about another week or two, and then back to regular posting.
First of all, BEARS!. The Central Plateau of British Columbia has the highest bear density in the world, except for a few spots in Russia. They're not big bears (although I've seen a few 8 footers in the Bowron area) but they're aggressive and pests. I hunt bears (they make great stew, and the meat cans well). They're also all over the place, and even the Prince George city area has too many - the Fish and Wildlife guys shot over 150 in the city last year.
I've personally shot an unknown number, stopped counting at 30 and that was 25 years ago. I target mostly spring 2 1/2 year olds or 3 year old dry sows. They're the best for the pot. The 3 year olds i target in berry patches or oat fields (I have a lot of farmer friends and they gladly give me access to their land, for deer as well.
I know bears especially, very well. During the early spring, when the bears come out, I often don't carry a gun but a camera. Bears are lightning fast and a gun in an attack situation is a liability when carrying a camera, so I approach the bears confidently but unarmed. I can usually get within 20 feet of them in full view, and as my truck is usually 30 yards away, The bears come out of hibernation in the following order: 2 year olds, first. They're curious and take of if you run at them. 3 year old dry sows are next, and they are benign, and usually just saunter away. Big boars are next. They are safe to approach for about a 1 week window. That window ends when the skunk cabbage swamps are eaten (the boars love this stuff). All bears eat grass, weeds and foliage when out of hibernation because that's all their stomachs can take. So if you know the area and their habits, it's safer than approaching deer with a camera. Much, in fact. I will note though, that the Mama bears with cubs come out last, right after the boars finish the skunk cabbage. When the mamas come out, the 3 year old dry sows go into heat, and all bets are off for approaching bears. Period. For two weeks or so during the "rut" they're more dangerous than the rest of the year combined.
First of all, the yearlings and two year olds. Two photos here - just out of the den and staring into a hole in the plastic of my den downstairs, and a little fella eating apples and reclining at my friend Mike's house, right in his back yard!
Next is a photo of a 3 year old dry sow. I knew she was over the knoll, so I crept up to the edge, stood up, focussed and took the picture as she sauntered off. As I shoot film, I was using my Pentax MX with the 35-80 zoom I always used for this work. Probably set at 80mm as the perspective is slightly flattened.
This next one is a 4 year old boar. He's now eating skunk cabbage, and within another 4 or 5 days I wouldn't be taking this shot. I was about 20 feet from him. He was totally into eating, and so I just said to him, "Hello there, bear!" He looked up, sniffed, and went back to eating. I took a few snaps, and walked back to my truck about 30 yards away. Don't do this unless you know precisely the emergence pattern of the bears in your area. I know them thoroughly in my bailiwick and never felt threatened at all.
As far as hunting is concerned, the area from Prince George to Vanderhoof is where I usually hunt. Prince George is a big swamp, and Vanderhoof is a prairie environment. Here's a few photos of where I live, hunt and fish. My other hobby is photography, and so I'll start with a couple of pictures of me with a couple of bunnies (snowshoe hares). I hunt small game with an airgun . . . that's a AirForce Talon in .22, a PCP compressed air rifel with a short barrel. It's devastatingly accurate, and will hold a 1/4 group out to 45 yards, which is about the limit I'll shoot small game with a .22 calibre airgun. I'll go out to 75 with my .75 cal. Talon. At season's end when their spooky, I'll do the .22 rimfire thing. What you can't see in this photo of me (outside of the fact that I was pretty beefy in my 50's lol) is the rest of the 17 rabbits I shot that day in a box at my feet.
The second photo is one of my "rabbit roads", I'd set up my 5x7 Gowland at roadside because I was doing some swamp photos that day. But the hares come out to roadside from dawn to dusk, so you just stop the care before spooking them, and shoot. A .22 cal pellet well placed drops them in their tracks with either a head shot or a lung shot.
This is typical fall deer and moose hunting terrrain in the Prince George area. I hunt at dusk, as is in this photo. Too many hunters out in the morning, and they're often hungover.
Here's a few photos of the prairie farmland I hunt deer on in Vanderhoof-Ft Fraser area. There is an infrared shot included, of the same field from different perspectives. I'm a 1 gun hunter (I use a .270 Remington Model 700 for this work) but usually carry 5 or 6 cameras an a trip lol. Weird, Kinda like pipes, eh?
It's really wonderful country. God's country! BTW that shot of the rabbit road above is half way between Prince George and Vanderhoof. Full of grouse, rabbits, and deer. Bear? Yah. They're all over the place. I'll do some similar posting on where I live, hobbies, etc., but now I'm going to have lunch, smoke a cigar and go out to the range. As I've increased in age, I've moved from a .300 Weatherby (I had a Remington Model 700 Classic in this caliber, and it shot a 200 grain Nosler Partition at a chronied 3100 fps. I used this gun for everything.) Then to the .270 mentioned in the text above. Now, I shoot a Savage in .22-250 with a Barnes XXX 45 grainer. It's dropped everything I've shot with it with one shot. Shot placement is WAYYYY more important than power.
Even though I have a collecting mania, my shooting rule for hunting guns is if it don't do 1/4" at 100 yards, I get rid of it. Not interesting in a gun that ain't accurate. My rules for competition guns are even stricter. It's got to be pretty much a one-holer, otherwise you're not in the game.
Salut and see y'all soon!
First of all, BEARS!. The Central Plateau of British Columbia has the highest bear density in the world, except for a few spots in Russia. They're not big bears (although I've seen a few 8 footers in the Bowron area) but they're aggressive and pests. I hunt bears (they make great stew, and the meat cans well). They're also all over the place, and even the Prince George city area has too many - the Fish and Wildlife guys shot over 150 in the city last year.
I've personally shot an unknown number, stopped counting at 30 and that was 25 years ago. I target mostly spring 2 1/2 year olds or 3 year old dry sows. They're the best for the pot. The 3 year olds i target in berry patches or oat fields (I have a lot of farmer friends and they gladly give me access to their land, for deer as well.
I know bears especially, very well. During the early spring, when the bears come out, I often don't carry a gun but a camera. Bears are lightning fast and a gun in an attack situation is a liability when carrying a camera, so I approach the bears confidently but unarmed. I can usually get within 20 feet of them in full view, and as my truck is usually 30 yards away, The bears come out of hibernation in the following order: 2 year olds, first. They're curious and take of if you run at them. 3 year old dry sows are next, and they are benign, and usually just saunter away. Big boars are next. They are safe to approach for about a 1 week window. That window ends when the skunk cabbage swamps are eaten (the boars love this stuff). All bears eat grass, weeds and foliage when out of hibernation because that's all their stomachs can take. So if you know the area and their habits, it's safer than approaching deer with a camera. Much, in fact. I will note though, that the Mama bears with cubs come out last, right after the boars finish the skunk cabbage. When the mamas come out, the 3 year old dry sows go into heat, and all bets are off for approaching bears. Period. For two weeks or so during the "rut" they're more dangerous than the rest of the year combined.
First of all, the yearlings and two year olds. Two photos here - just out of the den and staring into a hole in the plastic of my den downstairs, and a little fella eating apples and reclining at my friend Mike's house, right in his back yard!
Next is a photo of a 3 year old dry sow. I knew she was over the knoll, so I crept up to the edge, stood up, focussed and took the picture as she sauntered off. As I shoot film, I was using my Pentax MX with the 35-80 zoom I always used for this work. Probably set at 80mm as the perspective is slightly flattened.
As far as hunting is concerned, the area from Prince George to Vanderhoof is where I usually hunt. Prince George is a big swamp, and Vanderhoof is a prairie environment. Here's a few photos of where I live, hunt and fish. My other hobby is photography, and so I'll start with a couple of pictures of me with a couple of bunnies (snowshoe hares). I hunt small game with an airgun . . . that's a AirForce Talon in .22, a PCP compressed air rifel with a short barrel. It's devastatingly accurate, and will hold a 1/4 group out to 45 yards, which is about the limit I'll shoot small game with a .22 calibre airgun. I'll go out to 75 with my .75 cal. Talon. At season's end when their spooky, I'll do the .22 rimfire thing. What you can't see in this photo of me (outside of the fact that I was pretty beefy in my 50's lol) is the rest of the 17 rabbits I shot that day in a box at my feet.
The second photo is one of my "rabbit roads", I'd set up my 5x7 Gowland at roadside because I was doing some swamp photos that day. But the hares come out to roadside from dawn to dusk, so you just stop the care before spooking them, and shoot. A .22 cal pellet well placed drops them in their tracks with either a head shot or a lung shot.
Here's a few photos of the prairie farmland I hunt deer on in Vanderhoof-Ft Fraser area. There is an infrared shot included, of the same field from different perspectives. I'm a 1 gun hunter (I use a .270 Remington Model 700 for this work) but usually carry 5 or 6 cameras an a trip lol. Weird, Kinda like pipes, eh?
Even though I have a collecting mania, my shooting rule for hunting guns is if it don't do 1/4" at 100 yards, I get rid of it. Not interesting in a gun that ain't accurate. My rules for competition guns are even stricter. It's got to be pretty much a one-holer, otherwise you're not in the game.
Salut and see y'all soon!
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