Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game My British Columbia Moose Hunt/Adventure.

Let me start with saying Thanks for reading.

A little back story before I start. As many on here know back in March of 2015 I made a decision to lose weight and get in better shape. I lost at one point 140 lbs but have settled into the 110-120 lbs lost. I was walking 20-30 miles a week.

I decided last fall to reward myself by going to Canada on a Moose Hunting trip. I researched and settled on Copper River Outfitters out of Smithers British Columbia. Made my deposit and started planning.

Fast forward to March 2016 I went in for a physical it was discovered that I had Colon Cancer. I had the Cancer removed on the 28th of March. Doctor was 99 percent sure I was cancer free as none was found in lymph nodes or other organs. They performed a genetic test on the tumor and decided that I should have 24 light chemo treatments per the gene test on tumor. Through all of this I never wavered on going on my hunt. In fact I am sure it is one of the reason I have done so well with chemo treatments. I went back to work after 6 weeks of healing and never missed another day until my hunt vacation started.

My lovely wife Sondra decided she would ride with me to Montana and then fly back home. I arranged a extra day off and we made a mini vacation out of it by touring Glacier National Park.



We made a stop at the Chris Ledoux Memorial in Kaycee Wyoming. Chris was one of Sondra and I's favorite singers. Memorial is well done and we listened to Chris's CD's the rest of the day.



Made it to Glacier National Park and made the tour lots of pictures taken what a beautiful place.




To be continued

After touring Glacier we made tracks to Missoula. Stayed the night and then put Sondra on the plane Sunday morning. Missoula airport is really neat and hunters and sportsmen are made to feel welcome. Gun cases didn't seem to raise any eyebrows.

I left the airport and headed north through Kalispell to the Roosville port into Canada no issues with the border crossing filled out paperwork and was on my way in no time.

Made my way up 93 through Jasper Park and up to Hwy 16. British Columbia is amazing and words cannot describe Jasper Park. Pictures can't either.



Say this little fellow on the road I saw several bears in BC while traveling.



British Columbia is a beautiful place and there is a photo op at every turn. People were friendly and polite and seem to obey most every traffic law. Most people seemed to be fit and physical exercise seemed to be the norm as to all the people I saw walking, jogging and riding bikes.

To be continued

Arrived in Smithers and met the Outfitters and other hunters. Jim Lancaster and Bret Hall run a first class hunt. Nice cabins and great meals.
Heres a pic of the main cabin. I actually stayed with the guides in the guides cabin which was just as nice. I enjoyed the stories the guides told.



First night we went on a boat trip. Tried calling in bulls no luck.


One of the hunters arrived a day early and filled his tag on his first hunt. He killed a nice bull with weird antlers they looked more like a 3x3 elk than a Moose. Sorry but I dont have pics of it.

Hunting here is a matter of calling in clear cuts and lakes and walking, driving logging roads. Timber is very thick and once inside the timber you are lucky to see 10 yards. Hunting was tough and we say several cow calf pairs and a few bears none big enough though.



It usually rains a lot but we nice weather everyday. Frost in the mornings while warming to mid 40's during the day. Got to hear wolves howling by the lake on the first nights hunt that was neat.

To be continued.

My guide Gary was a great guy he guides from Spring bear hunts through the summer in the Northwest Territories for Sheep,Goats,AlaskaYukon Moose and Mountain Caribou. We wanted to hold out for a bigger bull but just weren't seeing any. We traveled a lot of miles on foot and in truck/atv glassing calling and looking for fresh sign.

We saw a lot of pretty country and saw a boat load of purple bear poop on the roads. It seems the logging roads are the preferred bathrooms for bears. Blueberries and Huckleberries were everywhere and we ate quite a few.

Finally on Sunday my guide said that if I got a chance at a small bull I better take it. We were hunting a logging road in a new area when this little bull appeared it ran into a little clearing in the timber. It was completely in cover other than its head. It was looking back at us over its right shoulder. At fifty yards I took the head shot and the Bull dropped in its tracks.

What constitutes a "trophy" is different to everyone depending on what they carry with them/where they are coming from... I'd say you got a trophy!

A heartfelt congrat's man...

I was using a Rem 700 6.5-06 in a Brown Precision stock with a 6x36 leupold shooting 127 gr Barnes LRX @2900 fps. Bullet entered under the right eye traveled thru the head neck and destroyed the spine were the neck meets the chest. Found the bullet against the hide on the left side in front of the shoulder found two of the petals there one of the other petals pierced the chest cavity and into the lung didnt find the other petal.


Here's the rifle at the time of this pic it had a 2.5-8x36 I hated that scope. I also changed to Talley LW's

Monday we slept in till daybreak then went to looks for wolves at the wolf bait. Found fresh tracks walking in shortly thereafter we could hear them howling and barking. Made a stalk to 250 yds out. Guide asked if I could make the shot I said if we could get to a stump I would kill him a wolf. We snuck in another 30 yds and found a stump I could shoot from. I made the shot on this black wolf but there were 3 other lighter colored wolves that took off at the shot.





This is the exit wound from the shot. Wolf was still alive and trying to escape when we got to it. I had to shoot him again to finish him off. Tough animal. Was a great hunt and though it's not a huge wolf it still a wolf and not many are lucky enough to get a chance to shoot one.

What didn't you like about the 2.5-8x36?

Congratulations on a great trip/hunt and beating cancer.

Congrats on the whole package. The weight loss, the moose and the wolf is a bonus you'll never forget. Beautiful country and some great people. Copper River is a first class operation.

All in all I had a great trip.I could of killed a bear on the next to the last day of the hunt but it was small. The guides and outfitters were great. Bret and Jim put on a first class operation. Gary and Riley are great guides and even better people. Had a lot of laughs and heard a lot of stories about hunters. My 6.5-06 performed well they said it was the smallest gun they had ever had at camp. The other hunters had .300 win mags the one that got a Moose shot his in the butt because his Swavorksi was on 18 power the other wounded a bull the day I left and they couldn't find it. I was pleased with my rifle and my shooting. I felt I handled the physical part well and I even carried out my own quarters albeit only about fifty yards or so. Im not good at watching others work so I pitched in and helped.

I left on the 5th and went home thru Kamloops and the Kootenai river country. Rode a couple of ferry boats and crossed into Idaho at Portville. Made it home Saturday night. I love the speed limits in Montana and Wyoming a guy can make up some time.

5500 miles on the odometer. Was a EPIC TRIP.

Thanks for reading

Charles Myers

Thank You Sir it is a great trophy. I also have over 1300 pictures for trophies as well. Trip of a lifetime that I hope to do again.

I thought I would love it but I didn't like the eye relief and it just didn't feel as user friendly as all my 6x's whether 6x36 or the 6x42's Ive used them for years so I am sure there is some 6x bias. No harm though I sold it and got the 6x36. Im just a simple man

Thank you sir I only have about 10 more chemo treatments to go. But I got her whipped.

I was a great trip and even Greater people. The wolf was definetly a bonus. Glad you had a great trip with them as well.

7mmMato;
Good evening to you sir, thanks for the hunts story and photos.

Congratulations on what I know is going to be a tasty bull and of course on the nice black phase wolf too.

If I had my way, every visiting hunter would leave BC with a black bear under each arm and several wolves in the back.

Kudos too for both choosing a sensible cartridge AND being able to use your rifle in a timely manner while under pressure. I know that having hunters be unable to do so is absolutely the biggest complaint/consternation that the guides and outfitters that I know have.

Lastly I'm heartened to read that my fellow BC residents treated you well. That's cool to read for sure.

Thanks again sir, all the best to you folks and good luck on your remaining hunts this fall.

Dwayne

Thanks Dwayne and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Good report and great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Congrats on an awesome adventure and thank you for sharing your story!!

Looks like you had a nice trip.

Congratulations.