Show Time

© By Othmar Vohringer

It’s that time of year again, were I am getting ready for the seminar and trade show tour. Starting of with the BC Boat & Sportmen’s Show on March 2nd to 4th in Abbotsford. This years seminars are on how to get better results with calling whitetail deer and in the second seminar we will replace commonly held whitetail deer rut myth with scientific facts. Keith Beasley from Canada in the Rough Television will also be there with seminars and talk about the Canada in the Rough television show.

On the fishing seminar stage we will see Brian Chan, a true BC flyfishing icon, plus others. I always look forward to the BC Boat & Sportsmen’s Show and not only because it is my home turf but this show is getting from year to year better and bigger. It going to be a great show highlighting all the aspects of what makes British Columbia the avid outdoors enthusiast number one destination. The readers of  BC Outdoors magazine and the fans of the BC Outdoors Sport Fishing TV will be able to chat wit the cast,  staff, editors and writers on on the BC Outdoors booth.

I am looking forward to meeting with my fellow hunters, so come on by the hunting stage and say hello.

Another Hunting Season Past

© By Othmar Vohringer

As you read this the 2011 fall and winter hunting season is closed with the exception of geese and coyotes. The reports I received from across North America suggest that this will be another of “those seasons”. It seems that the experiences of most hunters reflected my own observations, namely that deer movement was somewhat erratic and sporadic compared to previous years. While some hunters managed to shoot respectable mule and whitetail deer bucks, some of which were taken right here in our backyard, for the most part very few bucks of either species were seen during legal hunting hours.

That dilemma extended to other game species too like bears, waterfowl and small game animals. Nobody seems to know why this was one of those seasons where wildlife behaved “strangely” but of course we all have our opinions… some say it’s global climate change while others suggest that the La Niña weather system moving though the northern hemisphere was to blame. Despite it all I had a very successful and rewarding hunting season. As I wrote about in an earlier column my brother from Switzerland, whom I haven’t seen in over 20 years, came to stay for a month. Besides showing him the beauty of British Columbia I also took him hunting. On our very first hunting trip my brother saw the first real live black bear in his life. It was a young animal and we were quite close. I could feel the tension building up in my brother at the sight of the bear, but a week later as we encountered a big black bear for a brief few seconds my brother was much more relaxed and even suggested we go and see where the bear had run.

Besides bears we saw other wildlife such as mule deer and whitetail deer. We managed to stalk quite close to a big mule deer buck but unfortunately he never got in a position for a safe and ethical shot. We saw many other animals like coyotes, eagles and salmon among others that Europeans only know from books or TV. As my wife and I played willing tourist guides and witnessed my brother’s amazement of the vastness and breathtaking beauty of our seemingly untouched wilderness something began to dawn on me. It was the fact that we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth with more wildlife variety and numbers then anywhere else in the world, with the exception of Africa, and yet we take it for granted. My brother’s visit has reminded me again of this fact and how very fortunate we are to call this unique place on earth our home. At the end of the hunting season it didn’t matter to me that, apart from a coyote, I had not taken any other animal. My biggest trophy of the season was spending time with my brother and being reminded by his amazement of what he saw here that we are a truly privileged people to be able to go hunting and enjoy the vastness and diversity of nature in all it’s wild untamed beauty.

Ask A Pro: Is the .30-06 enough gun for elk?

© Othmar Vohringer

Q: Hi Othmar, I currently own two .30-06 caliber rifles. They both have served me well over the years for all of my deer and elk hunting. However, recently all my hunting partners carry 7mm Rem. Mag, and 300 Win. Mag when we go elk hunting. Now I am wondering if my reliable .30-06 is outdated and perhaps it is time for me to upgrade to a bigger and faster gun like my hunting buddies. What is your opinion? Thank you in advance for your valued advice.
(Name withheld by author)

A: The magnums your hunting buddies carry for elk hunting are very popular right now, another word for it would be “fashionable”,  and yes they are good calibers for elk but so is the .30-06. Consider this 7mm Rem. Mag, and 300 Win. Mag are very big calibers and they have some serious recoil that not every hunter handles well. I spend quite a bit time on the shooting range and see it time and again that after three or four shots with a magnum people start to flinch in anticipation of the kick they are about to receive. If you can handle a magnum fine but you really don’t need one for elk hunting or just to keep up with your friends fashion trend.  The .30-06 is around for many decades and has remained a favourite with the majority of hunters and quite rightly so. The good old .30-06 has taken just about every big game animal in North America, including grizzly bears and bison. It is more important to determine what caliber you can shoot well rather than how fast a gun can shoot. A big caliber does not make up for average or lousy shooting. In short. A well-placed 180-grain Nosler Accu-Bond retains plenty of energy and speed within 200 yards, were most elks are shot, to drop the biggest bull elk and keep it on the ground.

###

If you have a hunting related question send it to me at: atacov[at]yahoo.ca

My First Coyote Hunt

© By Othmar Vohringer

Over the years I often thought about extending my hunting season beyond deer hunting, which around here closes on December 10. Hunting coyotes seemed always a possibility to do that but for some reason I never went out again once the deer hunting season closed.

A few weeks ago as I walked to my stand I could hear coyotes howling from every hilltop. Walking along the trail my flashlight beam caught eight shiny spots in the field. Living in bear country my first thought was “bears”, but when I turned the light beam up a notch I could see four coyotes looking at me. Walking further I noticed a hump on the side of the trail and as I got closer the hump turned out to be a dead deer. The carcass was still steaming in the frosty air. That deer had not been dead for longer than a half hour and by closer examination I could see bite marks to the deer’s neck and hindquarters. I got mad for two reasons. First because that dead deer, obviously killed by the coyotes I’ve seen earlier in the field, spoiled one of my most productive stand sites for days if not weeks to come and second because the coyotes killed the deer.

Continue reading »

Late Season Buck Hunting Tactics

© By Othmar Vohringer

It is early December and in most regions, other than in the some Canadian provinces, the rut is winding down to the post rutting stages. With most does breed bucks change their behaviour once again. With the breeding frenzy over and food sources limited bucks concentrate their efforts on gaining back the weight they lost during the rut. Now the buck’s main activity consists of sleeping and feeding to gain the necessary strength to make it through the harsh winter. Many hunters, me included, believe that the post-rut is one of the best times to kill a monster buck. Why?

During the rut bucks chase does day and night and there is no predictable way to determine where they will turn up next. After the rut is over bucks stay in one core area where they can find sufficient cover and food in close proximity. As an additional bonus bucks become more tolerant of each other and it is quite common that several bucks share one core area. But make no mistake late season bucks are no easy pushovers. Even at that time of year bucks are still weary. The bucks that survived the early and rut hunting seasons are skittish and have little tolerance for human intrusion in their core area.

Continue reading »

Hunting Success Is The Result Of Learning

(Originally published in the Merritt News – Othmar Vohringer The Outdoorman)

© Othmar Vohringer

Over the years the one thing I’ve noticed about successful hunters is a trait they all have in common: Knowledge! Successful hunters have spent many years perfecting their skills and have studied the habits and behaviours of animals. They have learned how wild animals use the landscape features to navigate around in their territory and because of this they know what features to look for that enables them to encounter wildlife. Knowledge permits the hunter to make an educated decision on where to go and at what time of the season and day, and if he should be in a particular spot in the morning or afternoon.

Hunters who lack knowledge will have to depend on luck. Luck, however, is fickle. Sometimes it comes to you the very first time but more often than not it ignores you for all of your life. Is there a shortcut to becoming a successful hunter? A way to shave off years of learning by trial and error? Yes there is! By learning from successful hunters that are willing to share their “secrets.” Continue reading »

November Changes Everything For Deer

(Originally published in the Merritt News-Othmar Vohringer The Outdoorsman)

© Othmar Vohringer

This year’s summer was hot and the fall had the occasional rain, which provided deer with plenty of nutritious food and good conditions to raise their offspring.

At the opening of the hunting season the deer usually grazed late in the fields; often after dark to avoid the heat of the day and early evening. During the day the does and fawns browsed and bedded in the timber or in patches of tall grass along field edges. The bachelor groups of bucks seeking cooler climates and isolation tended to stay in the higher elevations.

At the first hints of frost in late October the bucks started to become more active. The maturing fawns fed more widely separated from each other and their mothers. The juvenile bucks began to test each other’s strength by mock-fighting each other.

Now with the temperatures falling well below zero Mother Nature begins to change drastically and so does the deer herd. Soon to be gone are the beautiful fall colours, to be replaced with tones of grey. This is the time for deer to prepare for the most important event of the year: the Rut.

For us who call ourselves hunters this may also be the most productive time to be out and about in the fields and woods. The bucks start to come into the open as they lose some of their cautious nature as they actively start to seek out the doe family units. The bucks are not yet actively looking to breed with does, they just want to know where they are and more importantly, they want to know where the older, more mature does will be. Those are the ones that will come into estrous first.

The smart hunter knows that now is the time to observe the does closely and keep track of their movement. Now is the time a hunter has the best chance at a usually weary mature buck. But make no mistake; although bucks loose some of their suspicious nature as their hormone levels rise, they are not totally oblivious to danger.

Mature mule deer bucks visit the does only at night in the fields. Before daybreak they return to the hills and wait for the does to return from the fields where they join them. Your chances at a mature buck are much better if you learn where the does go to bed down and then set up close to them and wait for a buck to pay his visit.

Mature whitetail bucks are seldom seen standing in open fields during daylight hours; they mainly wander along woodland edges and in strips of brush or tall grass, providing them with good cover and a view of the open doe feeding areas. Try to find these buck travel corridors and you’re very likely to have an encounter with a mature whitetail buck in search of a doe.

If you haven’t had much hunting luck keep at it. Plan on hunting all day long because bucks will be moving around in search of does from dawn to dusk and all night long, eating little and sleeping even less. Good luck to you all.

No Deadly Salmon Virus Found BC

© By Othmar Vohringer

Why a fish relegated topic on a hunting blog? Because most hunters are also anglers and the issue about a deadly fish virus in BC has been concerning everyone. According to a newspaper article in the Times Colonist officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Fisheries and Oceans said that there is no conclusive evidence that BC wild or farmed salmon are infected with salmon anemia.

Results of followup tests, carried out at DFO’s reference laboratory in Moncton, N.B., run contrary to findings from tests on the same fish samples conducted at the University of Prince Edward Island, but confirm results from an independent laboratory in Norway, said Con Kiley, director of the CFIA’s national aquatic animal health program.

However, some questions remain, Kiley said.
“The supplementary results must be considered inconclusive because of the poor quality of the samples,” he said, adding, “additional testing will continue and the results will be provided when we are ready.”

Read full article here.

Ask A Pro

© By Othmar Vohringer

I get a lot of emails and some phone calls from hunters of all skill levels, asking me questions or my opinion about all sorts of hunting related stuff. The questions range from tips and advice on whitetail deer and turkey hunting tactics to equipment tips and political issues pertaining to hunting.

This gave me the idea to add a new category to this blog under which I will publish some of the questions and my answer. It is my hope that my answers will help other hunters too. To view all the Q &A click on the link “Ask A Pro” under “Category” on the upper left side of this blog.

If you have any hunting related questions, be it about hunting tactics, equipment, hunting related political issues or anything else to do with hunting, please do not hesitate to contact me at OthmarV[at]shaw.ca . The question and my answer will be shared with other hunters here on the BC Outdoors Magazine Hunting Blog.

Ministry Seeking Input From Anglers, Hunters and Trappers.

© By Othmar Vohringer

The public is invited to comment on proposed angling, hunting and trapping regulations and policies through this engagement website.

The Province recognizes that a wider range of perspectives can be reached through web-based public engagement. We will continue to use a face-to-face consultation process in addition to collecting online feedback.

The ministry posts regional and provincial regulation and policy proposals on this website for public comment. User comments are visible only to designated ministry staff and to the user that posted the comment. A summary of responses garnered from the website will be qualitatively analysed, summarized, and forwarded to ministry decision makers for consideration. The ministry will post final regulatory and policy decisions on the website. Users can sign up for RSS feeds and/or email notifications to follow the status of specific proposals.

Key Ministry drivers or “tests” for regulatory change in angling, hunting and trapping regulations include:
1. regulation simplification;
2. harmonization of regulations within and between regions;
3. increasing hunting and trapping opportunity and
4. program delivery within existing resources.

The following regulation proposals describe the current and proposed regulations, and include rationales for the regulatory change, including how the proposals address the tests for regulatory change while ensuring that the Ministry’s primary goal of conservation is maintained.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and working together to ensure that British Columbia provides world-class sustainable hunting, trapping, and fishing opportunities.

For more Information visit the website of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations