A Stone Sheep Hunting Tale

This is a story written by Dad.  He spent nearly 30 years as a big game guide in Northern BC, hunting primarily sheep.  This is a story about the largest ram he ever personally guided for.  Enjoy.

OCTOBER 19^th; The date of the best and worst of my sheep hunting memories. It was late October 1973; we had 2 sheep camps out in the area one lead by me the other by my father. Snow had been building for three days straight, my crew and I didn’t care. My hunter’s tags were filled and cancelled. We had 37 head of pack horses, 4 hunters and our gear to move out to the main lodge before we could go home to our families for the winter.  

 

The crew and I had packed our string that morning in blinding snow at one of our high sheep camps 2 days travel from the main lodge. It was a wet miserable move, arriving at the half way point campsite at dark. We unpacked and got the cook tent up and a fire going, so my aunt Diana could start coffee and dinner, the hunter and guide tents came next, all were up in record time, while the wrangler turned the horses loose to graze. This was a task the crew and I had completed many times, since the third week of June, when we first trailed out of the lodge that year.Diana yelled “come and get it” from the kitchen and everyone congregated in the 16×16 pyramid tent for coffee, sheep steaks and all the trimmings.

Part way through supper the horse’s that were now out grazing started to whinee. A few moments later we had another 30+ horse pack string at the hitching rail as my father had arrived with his operation. Boy was he glad to see tents up and coffee on. My mother was doing the cooking for him and immediately went to the cook tent to start another meal with my aunt.

The hunters they had with them were a disgruntled bunch as between the 4 of them they had 1 ram, 2 caribou and a goat they had just shot a couple of days earlier. They had already consumed the sheep and caribou meat and had been living off of the tuff old billy for 2 days. Needless to say these guys thought they had died and gone to heaven, riding up to a warm camp and sheep steaks.  

Dinner was full of stories covering the past 18 days since the hunt had started. My father had found very few sheep in the area’s he hunted and had made the move to lower ground, hoping he could fill his sheep tags with 3 days of season left. Now that he had caught up with me it changed to I had 3 days to fill his hunters along with Donny and Denny Russell, two brothers that were part of my crew and he volunteered to take my camp into the ranch, thanks Dad.  

Little did I know but those 3 days would start me on a sheep hunt that would span three full years of wet, sore feet and tired legs….

The next morning we saddled up and left camp early with the hunters, leaving the rest to pack up all but a small spike camp, which we would use for the remainder of our hunt. Mom stayed to cook for us as my aunt had not been feeling well. Donny and I took 2 hunters and went up and around the mountain in front of camp, Denny went up a draw behind.

Shortly after breaking timber line, we started finding sheep, more sheep than I had ever seen in this area as the deep snow had pushed them out of the high country. By noon we had looked over at least 100 rams.  Donny had taken off after a group of twenty three with two over 40 in the bunch. I was watching a group of nineteen from below that had one about 43 inches in their midst. They were in a spot that made it damn near impossible to get on them.  

After some discussion with my hunter, a pizza chain store owner by the name of Harold Timber. We decided to ride further up the valley, climb the low ridge and try to come in from above them. We tied the horses and made the short climb in about an hour, once on top we were in plain view of the rams, 600 yards out with no cover. In disgust I picked up my bino’s and started glassing for more sheep.  

It was heaven sheep were everywhere, standing out like sore thumbs in the deep snow. There was a group of about thirty in a valley across the main river, we put the scope on. What I saw in that scope still today is imbedded in my mind. There stood a ram a long way off that looked to me like he could beat the Chadwick. “Harold” I said, “we are no longer interested in those sheep below us, have a look at this.” We studied the ram for what seemed like hours, he was in a valley that I had never been in and I knew there was no cut trail.  I could see from our vantage point that it would be hell getting to him as the climb up into the valley was steep with rocky crags and a canyon in the creek. The sheer size of those horns though was going to drive us to get there somehow, so I picked a few points to remember and we trailed off the mountain and back to camp.  

Donny and Denny both came in around supper time with happy hunters carrying rams of 42” and 42.5” inches. The stories were great around the table that night as the big ram had fueled everyone’s excitement in hopes that we could get him. Over night the skies had cleared and it had gotten very cold, an inch of ice on the water pail.  

Harold and I saddled up and off we went with the horses, down the frozen trail. Picking a spot I had marked in memory the day before, we started up the hill to access the valley. In later years we called Cabin Creek. It was a miserable S.O.B and we had to back track many times before getting to the top of the initial face and into the draw. It was now about 3 pm and we still had to find the ram as well as put a stalk on him.  

Finding the sheep was not hard and we had the scope on him immediately. I estimated him at 49 inches in length and about 15 inches on the base. We had seen enough! The stalk was on, a short climb up a side draw and over the ridge would put us right on him from above. Little did we know as we started the climb, but in our little side draw was a herd of caribou that could not be seen from the bottom. Now we were trapped, if the caribou spooked the sheep would be gone.  Daylight was fading fast and we had to make a move, so I said to Harold “let’s try and keep low, we will walk up hill and see if we can get between the sheep and caribou, spooking the caribou out away from the sheep.” It worked and in no time we were on the ridge looking down on thirty some rams. 

Now I couldn’t find the big one, sheep were everywhere in the brush, some laying, some feeding and some just standing around, light was low and it was impossible to pick out the big fella.  With light fading fast one of the rams lying about 190 yards out seemed to have a big curl and I had told Harold, “I think that’s him.” Get ready and I’ll get his attention, if he’s the one, drop him. Once Harold was ready with his rifle rested on my pack, I let out a shout and the ram turned his head to look up. “WOW”, is all I heard Harold say and a shot rang out, the ram jumped up and he shot again, I said “hold low you’re shooting over him” as the ram started to run. Harold shot one more time and the valley fell silent, the sheep and daylight were both gone. We stumbled off the mountain in the dark and arrived back at camp totally defeated and wore out, it was 1.30am.  

With one day left, I wanted to go back up after the ram we had tried for on the first day, but Harold refused to go. “After all…” he said “how can I shoot that first ram we saw after what I missed yesterday, let’s go home I’ve had my chance.” And at that, we packed up camp and trailed for the ranch, ending that season. 

The following July, we went in with a trail cutting crew and made a horse trail up into Cabin Creek and a couple of other places near there. My plans were to take the first sheep hunt of the season into the area and try to get the big fella if he had made the winter.

July 30/74 saw the arrival of a father and two sons on a sheep hunt. Dad was the major share holder of Alamo rentals and the sons were both graduating from school and were going to pursue football careers at Texas A.M. The boy’s were gung ho and at the ranch the night of their arrival, were asking a lot of questions about guides and physical conditioning etc, worried that with their age and football conditioning, the guides would be out of sheep shape. 

They were right we had done nothing other than ranch work to stay in shape, but there are some tricks of the trade to balance things out. It’s amazing what a few hours on a fat horse, with a rifle under your leg can do to slow down a young dude.  

Usually, I would always guide the leader of group, and would have guided the father, but with that big ram out there and these cocky young fella’s wanting to go. I felt it would be better to have one of them behind me, on this hunt. Little did I know. 
 
We trailed out to our campsite and set up the tents and were ready for opening morning. Now I’m a fairly big man and took some ribbing the night before the season, about my stamina and climbing ability. My hunter came out of his tent the next morning, rifle in hand, looking for his saddle horse. I said “no horses… we are walking today up there and probably tomorrow”, pointing to the mountain top behind camp. Took us a full 4 hours to make the climb, before we started glassing for sheep, the day was warm and the climb had been hell. My plan was to stay on top, travel the ridges, covering as much country as possible, looking for the big guy.

We travelled slow, wearing our eyes out looking through glasses, studying every nook and cranny, I found a few bands of rams, none of which I classed as legal, although some were. I was hunting one ram in particular; I did not want to give my hunter the option of a smaller ram yet.   

Late in the afternoon my hunter started to complain about hot spots on his feet. Knowing that nothing can kill a sheep hunt faster than blistered feet, we had to stop get his socks off an dried, luckily we always had the guides pack a piece of mole skin with them for this purpose and I had mine in the pack. So after doctoring this big tough football player that was breaking down on day one, we started on again in our search, coming right up on 5 rams lying about 100 yards away.

The big one in the group was 39 inches and with sore feet my hunter opted to take him. This brought my quest for the big guy to an end on that hunt. I continued hunting that area with my next 2 sheep hunters that year and failed to find what I was after, but took good rams for both.

Figuring that maybe he didn’t make the winter and not wanting to over harvest that area, I moved to another area for the month of September, hoping another chance would come later in the season.

October came along and was nothing like the year prior, no snow to speak of and a beautiful Indian summer was upon us. A hunter by the name of George arrived that I guided on a couple of other mixed bag hunts. He had heard the stories about the big ram and wanted to try for him. After explaining that I had harvested all the sheep we wanted out of that area already and if we went there, he would only be able to shoot the big ram if I found him. He agreed and we packed a spike camp and took off on what was a 2 day ride, to the area.  

On October 19th we trailed up Cabin Creek on our horses and once well into the valley, I got off to glass. “There he is…” I said excitedly as I had found a group of rams lying on sky line up in the head of the valley. It was at least a mile away, but I could tell by the sky lined horn, that it was him before digging out the scope. We put the scope on him and sure enough it was the ram we were after. The spot they were laying in was one I had been across at least a couple of times in August and I knew exactly how to get to him, it was easy. We tied the horses and climbed the ridge out of site, sneaking around the backside. Three hours had passed and we were now laying 175 yards above the seven rams.  

I took off my pack and set it up for a rest, the rams had no idea we were anywhere around. George my hunter was getting his breath and preparing himself for a once in lifetime shot. George crawled over to the pack looked down at the ram through his rifle scope, making sure he was comfortable, all was good, “I’m ready” he said… My glasses were already on the big ram and had been since I had set up the pack. “OK George he is 175 out and a couple of hundred feet below us, so hold a little low…”  

The words were just out of my mouth when George said; “Bill my guns jammed…” looking over, he had tried to chamber a round and it was hung up halfway into the chamber. The bolt would not grab it enough to pull it back out and it would not go in the brass was too large. After trying for a few minutes to get it out and not succeeding, we decided to back off away from the rams and try to pound the point of a knife through the brass and pry it out.

We backed up another 100 yards and were in the process of pounding his knife through the brass, hunkered in the rocks. When we heard something above us, we both looked up and there with in feet was the biggest ram I’ve ever seen. The sheep had gotten out of their beds and came up the ridge right into us. There we were with a useless gun and no time for a camera, the rams spooked and over the backside of the mountain they went. The 300 Weatherby mag we had been working on went over after them and is still there on the mountain somewhere today.

George had thrown it over the mountain in utter disgust. The problem however, was not the rifle, it was hand loaded brass a friend had loaded, that had been shot out of other rifles, I believe and not tried in George’s gun. My bad luck or the rams good luck won again in 1974. 1975 came in much like the previous year. I was again going to go hunt the Cabin Creek area, seeking another chance at the ram, hoping he had made the winter. I again hunted there with the first 2 hunters and while taking rams for both again. Found no sign of the big boy from the past 2 years.

We moved and had our camp situated way back on the Rabbit River in late September that year. The sheep hunts were completed and we were hunting moose and caribou, getting ready to trail home in mid October. Dad was flying now and had come into camp with the Super Cub to tell me that he had a fellow by the name of Bill Butler at the ranch. He and Bill had been having discussions on a trade hunt as Bill was a Guide Outfitter in Montana. I was told if I agreed to stay and guide him, after I got the pack string to the ranch. He would trade a sheep and a caribou for the chance of two bighorns and we would go right after we shut our lodge down in a week or so. I agreed as long as I could pack a spike camp and trail back to Cabin Creek. 

It was October 17th that Bill Butler, myself and a young wrangler by the name of Dennis Schubert travelled out of the ranch arriving at our campsite late in the day. Overnight a storm had blown in and we could barely see the mountains, so we opted to take the day and go hunt caribou behind camp. The hike was not that long so we walked, climbing up the creek bed.  Soon we spooked a couple of nannies and a kid out of the rocks and they went running up and over the saddle at the head of the draw. We kept going and were starting to climb the ridge on our right, when back over the pass came the nannies and kid, running like hell. Behind them was a pack of seven wolves.

We watched in awe as before our eyes the stories of wolves only killing the weak and the ill were proven wrong. Once the wolves had a goat down, I asked Bill if he wanted to try for one, risking spooking any caribou that might be in the area. He decided to try for a wolf. From where we were to the goat that was still kicking while they were eating it was about 400 yards with no cover. Dennis asked are we close enough to shoot and I replied no we have to somehow get closer. I don’t recall how but the conversation turned to the color of Bill’s long johns which were white.

But between Dennis and I, we talked him into taking off his outer layer of clothes and going after the Wolves in his white flap door Stanfields. Not thinking it would work, Dennis and I laughed, but to our amazement, he walked directly at the wolves until in shooting range, lay down in the snow and took the big male that was in the pack. The next morning October 19/1975, we awoke to freezing cold clear skies and a foot of new snow. Dennis went for horses as I made breakfast and lunches, after saddling up we headed out for the climb up into Cabin Creek in hopes we could find the big Ram. With the fresh snow and clear skies, I was feeling good knowing if he was still alive, I would find him that day.  

We froze our butts off getting up into the draw and started glassing. To my disappointment, I could not even see a fresh track up in the head of the valley. The first thought that came to mind was he must have winter killed the year before. We continued up as far as we could go on horseback. Due to the cold day we lit a fire to boil a pot of tea and thaw our sandwiches at noon, totally disgusted as we had not yet even cut a Moose or Caribou track.  While we toasted our sandwiches, I explained how the ram had gotten away from me and pointed to the spots where we were on him in past years.

My partners wanted to finish lunch and then turn back, due to no tracks, but I talked them into a short walk up over a small ridge ahead so we could say we at least looked over the whole draw.

Dennis tied the horses while Bill got his gun and I packed away the tea pot. Starting out up the creek, we had gone less than 100 yards, when out of the brush at 35yards broadside jumped three record book rams.  The big fella was in the front, he had broomed his horns considerably since I had last seen him but there was no mistake. It was him, I hadn’t yet said a thing when I heard the blast of Bill’s rifle and the ram fell, putting an end to a three year sheep hunt.

Dennis, Bill and I congratulated each other as we watched the two remaining rams standing there looking back at their fallen leader, wondering where to go and what to do. I don’t remember taking the few short steps up the hill. Reality hit when I picked up the head and admired the size of this incredible ram. A ram that had led me over countless ridges, draining all my energy and sending me home with a lesser specimen many times.  A hunt that spanned more highs and lows then could be imagined by any sheep hunter, was over as fast as it had started.

The hunter Bill Butler with his ram.

My dad (Bill) with the ram.

You can see here just how much this ram actually broomed… 

Support The BC Bear Hunt

Why You Should Support The BC Bear Hunt

Under recent political pressure from the environmental profiteers activists regarding BC Grizzly and Black Bear hunting, I thought it would be important to dispel a few of the myths they are presenting with some actual facts.

Make no mistake, this is an emotional campaign designed solely to tug on the purse strings of every resident in BC and around the world. This is only to further the agenda of a few environmental entrepreneurs who see an opportunity for more profit by excluding other user groups from enjoying our great outdoors.   What does that tell you about their industry if it can't exist in harmony with other outdoor user groups?

These groups don’t really care about the bears, If they did then they would understand the imminent repercussions of an un-hunted population of Black and Grizzly bears within the province. The truth is they know the populations are doing well, they just need to gain some much needed political ground so they can continue exploiting the bears for profit at the expense of thousands of other back country users.

To Start Off With… Let’s Dispel A Few Myths.

Myth #1. Hunters Shoot Sows With And/Or Cubs. This myth is constantly brought up in the Articles and press releases from some of the Conservation greedy environmental exclusionist groups trying to stop the hunt. It’s a myth they have concocted to pull at your purse strings.

Fact: Believe it or not, there are MORE sows w/cubs shot and killed in BC by RCMP and Conservation officers then hunters within the province.

One of the most deadly killers of bear cubs is actually older male bears, who will seek out, kill and eat cubs they did not father. Black Bears and Grizzly Bears give birth while in the den during hibernation through the winter. Spring bear hunting seasons in BC occur AFTER this time, so it’s very easy for a hunter to identify a family group. It is unlawful for a hunter to shoot a bear in the company of cubs.

The Fall Hunt obviously carries the potential for a sow to be shot, while pregnant with cubs. This is a rare occurrence as once again, hunters are also requested to take an older male bear. For the Guide Outfitters and other experienced bear hunters who are field educated in identifying the difference in sex this doesn’t pose much of a problem especially with the Grizzly hunt where the difference between an old boar and a sow are quite substantial.

It cannot be denied though that yes during the fall black bear hunt there will be a few pregnant sows killed by hunters but it’s clearly not an issue threatening the conservation considering the liberal seasons we have for Black Bear across this province with an annual bag limit of 2 bears per hunter.

Myth #2. Bears Are Shot & Their Carcass Left To Rot. First let’s state the obvious, nothing is wasted in nature. While Grizzly meat is considered “not fit” for human consumption there is still a requirement for a hunter to retrieve all edible portions of a black bear.

Here Are A Few Things People Do With The Bears They’ve Hunted:

- Bear Fat when rendered down makes an excellent waterproofing for boots, and other leathers as well as excellent lard for the perfect pastry believe it or not. Ask any bear hunter you know for some if you’d like to give it a try…

- Spring Black Bear meat often favored because of the bears primary diet at this time (berries, grass, greens) is turned into all sorts of delicacies such as smoked hams, smokies, pepperoni, jerky, burger, roasts and even steaks!

- Grizzly or Black Bear meat is often ground up and boiled to the required cooking temperature and made into a great natural and healthy dog food (I am trying to get a black bear right now for this very purpose)

- The hide can obviously be tanned/preserved and used as a rug or life size mount. This practice helps keep our largely home based business network of taxidermists alive in our provincial economy. These highly skilled small business men and women generate millions of dollars every year in our local economies. Without BC bear hunters these businesses would take a measurable financial hit. In the case of a Grizzly Bear being shot, the skull is taken, the hide is taken and the meat is usually left behind because it is not considered “safe” to eat for humans, although quite a few hunters will take the meat out and utilize it somehow because they don’t like to waste.

To take the “Trophy Hunting” wind right out of the greedy conservation outdoor exclusionists sails we could just place a requirement on the removal of the meat from a Grizzly Bear. When cooked properly the meat can be turned into smoked delicacies as well as a natural food for your dogs.

Bear hunters would likely support a motion such as above more so then an outright ban on hunting.

The reality of a bear’s life is that eventually the bear is going to die. Grizzly bear hunters are primarily targeting the older male boars. Not sows with cubs or younger males.

The targeting of the older male Grizzlies by hunters is actually helping the bears comeback by allowing a higher rate of survival among the cubs. Many of which would be otherwise killed and eaten by these older male bears.

Myth #3. Grizzly Bear Populations In BC Are In Trouble.

Fact: If you look at the statistics it’s quite clear the population is not only growing but thriving in many parts of the province.

The town of Bella Coola is a perfect example. There were so many problem bears in the town last year that between the RCMP and the Conservation Service they were averaging nearly two problem bears a week. This helped prompt the ministry into allocating 10 more LEH tags in the immediate area surrounding the town itself.

Fact: In 1978 there were 317 Grizzly Bears killed by hunters.

This was at a time when there were over TWICE as many licensed hunters in the province as there are today, and you could buy a Grizzly bear tag over the counter and hunt them in a general open season.

In 2007 there were 363 bears killed by hunters and 67 bears killed in traffic accidents and by conservation officers combined. A total of 430 Grizzly bears.

To put it that into perspective, in 2007 BC had nearly 50% less hunters then in 1978 with even stricter regulations with the limited entry hunting (lottery) system, and there are yet even MORE bears being harvested.

Twist the facts all you want, those numbers don’t lie. We are now harvesting more bears (and more problem bears killed) then ever before, during a time when hunters are fewer and more heavily regulated through the LEH (limited entry hunting) system.

This would suggest one thing… The Grizzly Bear Population is strong, stable and growing (almost too quickly to manage in some areas around the province)

Fact: Grizzly Bears are migrating to Northern Vancouver Island

There have been at least 5 different Grizzly bears reported in the last year alone on Northern Vancouver Island. These bears aren’t coming here because of human encroachment…

They are moving because they have outgrown the carrying capacity of their coastal habitat on the mainland. There are simply too many bears in too small of an area and the overflow bears need to find somewhere to live. Northern Vancouver Island is only a few mile swim across from some of the coastal mainland areas that these Grizzlies live. These bears that are swimming across the straight are simply taking part in a natural migration of their species.

These bears simply need more space to survive and thrive and if the current trend continues, watch for a booming Grizzly bear population on the Northern end of the Island in another 10-15 years. What will they eat you ask….? Deer, Elk, Small Mammals, Grass, Berries and Salmon, and of course the main staple in their diet will likely be black bear cubs which they have been proven to acquire a taste for and can easily catch and dispatch. Change will definitely be coming to our Island paradise.

Myth: There are only 3000-4000 Grizzly Bears left in this province.

Fact: According the ministry of environment there are approximately 17,000 Grizzly Bears in the province.

And this number is only a conservative estimate. BC is an incredibly vast landmass comprising of some 360,000 square miles. It would be impossible for anyone to come up with any kind of accurate number without extracting their data from a number of different sources. The ministry of environment comes to their Grizzly bear population number through aerial surveys, feedback from residents, feedback from hunters and other back country users who spend much more time in the field then most if not all of the armchair conservation experts. All Grizzly Kills must be reported to the nearest wildlife inspector with in 30 days for inspection.

This harvest data is invaluable at helping biologists come up with their population estimates and knowledge on the Grizzly bears within the province. After all of their data has been collected they can then apply scientific formulas and come out with an accurate enough estimate to manage the population effectively.

It’s a much more accurate measurement then what the $$$$ minded conservationists outdoor exclusionists can put forth. Their only data comes from their own paid scientists and supporters who conduct research only in the zones they intend to “make money from” by running their tours. Their “scientists” and “bear experts” help play a major supporting role in furthering the exclusionary agenda they seem to be pushing.

While the Conservation Outdoor exclusionist groups concentrate on making more money, the people who really care about the bears, The Ministry, Biologists and Hunters continue to collect data and work to maintain healthy bear populations province wide for all to enjoy.

The Conservation Outdoor Exclusionist Groups would love for you to believe there is only 3000-4000 Grizzly bears left in this province. My suggestion to them is that they should probably venture out of their coastal bubbles and start looking at the entire province to collect their data.

Their estimate of 3000-4000 bears is probably right on the money for the amount of bears that inhabit the “coastal” areas of BC where they primarily offer their tour services but nowhere near is it an accurate representation of the bears across the province.

Here’s Some Food For Thought…

The Roosevelt Elk inhabits Vancouver Island for which the population estimates also dwindle somewhere around the 3000-4000 animal mark. There is a limited entry hunting draw, along with tags allocated to a few Island guide outfitters.  The Elk face the same threats as the bears with logging and development and as far as populations concerned they are about in the same position that our outdoor exclusionist groups claim the Grizzly Bear are in.

So Why No Campaign To Stop The Elk Hunting & Save The Island Roosevelt Elk????

It’s simple… There is no money in it for them… They aren’t in the business of operating Roosevelt Elk Tours are they…? Instead, They are trying to conserve a resource (they have very little data on) for the profitability & protection of their own industry.  They want to monopolize bear habitat and exclude other users for their own financial gain.

Make no mistake that’s exactly what they are trying to do… You don’t see the resident hunters of this province banding together to put an end to bear tour operators and sightseer’s do you…?

Hunters and Biologists in this province have been and will continue working hard at maintaining healthy bear populations for ALL users to enjoy for many, many years to come. We do not try to exclude other user groups we’d much rather work together.

So What Would An End To Bear Hunting In BC Really Do:

1. We would see an incredible rise in the amount of problem bears being shot by RCMP and Conservation Officers (Lots more sows and cubs). Problem bears would be classified as the bears digging through your garbage, hanging around your campsites and being a little too brave around humans in general… This would start increasing the year after all bear hunting stopped and would continue an uphill rise. The costs to trap, kill or relocate these bears would be substantial. I do not believe for one second that Raincoast or any of the other outdoor exclusionist groups will donate a penny to the effort. I am also willing to bet that the tour companies themselves would also offer little if any financial assistance for the problem they are fighting so hard to create.

2. Bears would start to lose their natural fear of humans and we would see a substantial rise in the amount of dangerous Bear-Human encounters with some of them resulting in injury, damage to property and yes, even death. It would be very interesting should an incident like this happen within the confines of one of their tour operations. Bears that continually threaten people and property must be destroyed… There is no way around that fact and when a bear is destroyed by RCMP or CO’s it ends up in the dumpster and the entire bear is wasted.

3. Bear populations would increase on a scale that would have them eventually outgrow and “out eat” their habitats carrying capacity. Along with this comes, disease, sickness, starvation and a few other negative side effects of stretching their habitat too thin. The Grizzly bear is not as slow to reproduce as they want you to believe… It’s not uncommon for a sow to have a litter of 1-3 cubs every other year. The biggest killer of bear cubs is in fact other male bears.

4. The increase in Bears would have a negative effect on local ungulate populations (Elk, Moose, Deer) as bears often like to hone in on the newly born fawns/calves because they are such easy meals. This can push the ungulates into unknown areas and out of their traditional range. You might move your campsite too if there were bears all around you, wouldn’t you?

5.The province would lose close to $1,000,000 in revenue from the purchase of bear tags and permits and $1,000,000’s more in PST generated from the purchases bear hunters make in preparation and during their trips.

6.The Guide Outfitting industry in BC would take a major financial hit costing the industry several million dollars in revenue every year. Smaller more remote towns where the outfitting for bears takes place will feel the financial pain more so then any lower mainlander. This will cost people jobs.

7. BC Taxidermists would take a major financial hit. Many taxidermists rely on a steady stream of bears coming through their shops… Bear Rugs and Mounts being some of the most expensive it would put a severe dent in their business and likely some of them could not withstand the drop in business. Vancouver Island taxidermists especially where more bear hunting takes place then anywhere in the province.

8. BC Butchers would also be affected. With a meat removal requirement for black bears many of these bears are taken to local butchers where they are turned into various smoked meats, steaks, hams and more. The average bear will cost upwards of $200 to have turned into Smokies, Pepperoni and other delicacies.

So What Would An Increase In Bear Tours Do For The Bears?

In short an increase in bear tour companies will do nothing but harm these bears in the long run. This activity will rapidly habituate the bears to humans. With recommended viewing distances of approximately 100 yards (or closer if the bear walks closer) it’s going to send a very clear message to the bears that these humans are no longer a threat.

Dangerous bear encounters will happen much more frequently. With this increase in viewing pressure the bears will start to move their traditional feeding grounds from the stress of the tour boats coming and going and constant sounds and smells of humans.

Some of these same issues are already affecting the whale watching industry in BC. You can have as many as 50+ tour boats surrounding a single pod of whales, with hundreds of passengers making noises, cheering, laughing, shouting and it’s affecting how the whales behave.

One also has to ask, what the environmental impact to an area will be with the increase in traffic from boats, planes and other vehicles as they transport more and more people in to see the bears.

I’ve got absolutely nothing against the tour companies and outdoor exclusionist for their ability to raise awareness about the most important issue affecting our BC bears, which would be habitat loss due to logging.

Their business strategy of excluding other user groups from their age-old back country traditions is ridiculous. While hunting might be tough for some to swallow, it’s a perfectly legal activity and has been going on for far longer then you or I have been around.

If you want this mans thoughts, I believe the tour companies should be regulated much like the Guide Outfitter industry.

These tour operators should have regulations and quotas as to what time of the year they can operate and how many boats they can run, how much time they can spend in an area and also how many people they can take on an annual basis. Their carbon footprint over the land is far greater then your average BC bear hunter and should be regulated.

So ask yourself this question… When there is a major increase in bear problems following a ban on bear hunting do you think the tour companies are all going to chip in and pay the exponential increase in costs to our police force and conservation officers…?

Not a chance… They will lobby and promote, and try and weasel their way into making the Government pay to fix the problems that their own personal greed has created or they’ll once again turn to the public for funds through one of their emotionally designed tear-jerking donation campaigns.

What gives any of these groups or individuals the right to decide what my future in the outdoors will look like…?

What gives any of these make-believe conservation groups the right to decide what I can and cannot “hunt” as a legal and licensed hunter within the province?

The BC resident hunters of this province certainly aren’t riding the backs of our bears to try and make a buck like the tour operators are. We’re here for the bears… And to preserve a tradition and way of life that is slowly being forgotten as we pave way for bigger skyscrapers, bigger highways, and more and more residential spaces.

When can the argument turn away from who or how we are going to make the most money from the bears and instead concentrate on preserving habitat for bear viewers and bear hunters to utilize for decades to come.

The outdoor exclusionists would be better off directing their fight and funds towards fighting big development and logging. The two biggest threats to our black and grizzly bears and wildlife in the province as a whole…

Instead they are targeting the wrong crowd. They go after hunters, because the outdoor exclusionists rarely win against development and logging companies, it just costs them piles of money with little results.

The outdoor exclusionist groups go after hunters because naturally, we don’t put up much of a fight… We don’t draw a big salary from our non-profit organizations to spend all of our time rallying and fighting for another cash cow cause… We just get out there and enjoy the great outdoors.

Most of us BC resident hunters have jobs, businesses and families to take care of. As a group, we are poorly organized for this fight and thus the easiest target for the outdoor exclusionist to single out. It’s really a shame, they don’t realize hunters are the forefront of conservationists in this country, always have been and always will be.

Carl S.
Qualicum Beach BC.

Mystery Ranch NICE Frame W/6500 Bag Review

We’ve just hung up the phone with Steven from Mystery Ranch Packs out of Bozeman, Montana and our new pack will be in the mail on Monday. I am looking forward to writing a very detailed review of this pack when it arrives.

I’ve done some extensive research on packs over the last few weeks and there were a few names that kept continually popping up as the best hunting packs available.

Kifaru, Mystery Ranch & Barney’s.

After going through the feedback, asking questions and drilling down I finally made the decision to give the Mystery Ranch NICE Frame along with a 6500 bag a try.

It’s really hard to find anyone with anything bad to say about any of these pack manufacturers and in the end boils down to personal preference.

One argument constantly came up though and that was pack weight…

Kifaru (longhaul) is about 3lbs lighter then Mystery Ranch
And Mystery Ranch is about 2lbs lighter then Barneys.

I’m convinced the weight issue can be taken care of quite easily by me losing a couple of pounds, so it’s not that big of a deal for me. Instead I looked at build quality, and feedback from actual users in the field.

When the pack arrives I’ll do an initial review along with several pictures… I’ll do another review a few weeks after that (after I’ve put some miles on with the pack) and then I’ll post a followup review after my Stone Sheep hunt this August 2009.

Stay Tuned….

Carl