Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada guide in B.C. for Mule Deer

Looking for recommendation for a guide in B.C. for Mule deer.I have been beaten by them for so long that I am willing to pay. This will be the first time ever using a guide service for any animal. Not interested in road hunting , Would appreciate any recommendations
Thanks.

I don't get it. You're from Idaho and you want to come up here? Last I heard there were lots of mulies down your way. To be honest, I don't think it'd be any better here.

Even if you want to hire a guide, wouldn't it be cheaper/easier in your home state?

Yeah you are right sorry I asked

BCJR;
If it were me and I was going to come to BC on a mulie hunt, I would be looking at the Kootenays and further north either in the Cariboo on the Fraser River breaks or perhaps the Peace area.

The mulies in those parts of BC tend to be larger on average and produce larger racks. That is not to say we don't get the occasional good buck here in the Okanagan, but we're talking odds of a better buck here.

I'd really recommend that you check the references given by the outfitter and try to talk to unsuccessful clients as well.

You are certainly OK to ask for no road hunting and by all means pay careful attention to the answers to that particular question.

Without going into details, I am acutely aware that some visiting hunters to the southern areas of our province were less than impressed with the "wilderness hunt" that they did not experience.

Not that I'm trying to divert money into another province either, but Alberta may give the visiting hunter an opportunity for a bigger rack - on average - than here too.

The downside of an Alberta hunt may, and that is a may, be that it would be less of a wilderness type hunt than you'd like.

Anyway, hopefully that was some use to you. If I can be of any more assistance please let me know.

All the best to you in 2012 and good luck on your mulie hunt, wherever it ends up taking place.

Regards,
Dwayne

Thanks for the reply ,I appreciate it.Yes there are Mule deer here in Idaho. The best hunts , as is just about everywhere ,are draw hunts. Also there are several guides that would rather not take a Idaho resident into their hunting units/areas as that hunter could return on his/her own. Some of our "famous" mule deer areas have herds down in numbers , over hunting bad winters and exploding elk numbers(waha unit 11) in some areas are part of the dilemma as is predation. Most western states are a draw and I am ready to go now , life being short and all. Montana got rid of outfitter tags. There is opportunity here in the western US to take Mule deer , and I may wind up going down here , but I was asking out of curiosity trying explore any and all possibilities.
This thread touches on what I am talking about:
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5963574/1

Thanks again,
Bill

I would look very hard at Canada...especially if I wanted something in the 180 class and above,and don't want to wait for a tag like you do down here.

You can shoot lesser bucks in lots of places.

I sent you a PM

BCJR,
I didn't mean to discourage you, I just figured that the mulie hunting in Idaho was every bit as good as it is here.

If you want to come here, BC30 is right, the Fraser River area in the Cariboo has lots of big mule deer, as does the Peace River area. In both areas, the moose hunting is excellent, too.

packhorse creek outfitters has taken some nice mulies last few years they are in the east kootenays

I'm an extremely satisfied elk & moose client of theirs. PM me, and I'll be glad to give you the 411.

FC

We spent a month elk hunting in the Peace....never saw a single deer this year....the predators and over harvesting under the guise of protecting farm crops is decimating the deer herds in the Peace. Not to discourage you from a Canadian hunt, but with what is going on in this province I would encourage you to look at the Kootenays, or Alta/sask as an alternative. We wouldn't want you coming up and getting sorely dissappointed.

Been 3 years since I was up there, but mule deer populations on the Alberta side of the Peace seem not to be what they were a few years ago either....tough winters and lots of wolves, I hear.

I once saw a tv show of an alpine mule deer hunt in BC with an outfitter. Looked exactly like what I hunt here, but the racks were much bigger. I'd love to pay the fee, tell the guide to stay at camp, and get after it.

Interesting. Thanks for the update. The last time I hunted deer in the Peace (3 years ago) they were all over the place. Usually, if I go up that far north it's for game bigger than deer.

Calvin: Generally I get dropped off, left on my own to wander at will in the Breaks.I can't recall ever killing a buck up there with the guide anywhere near me.

It isn't alpine mountain country up on the Breaks, but it is fun country to hunt.Canada does grow some toads.

Noticeable decline in deer population due to wolf prededation in the central interior. there are good mule deer in our area but not as prevalent as the Peace Country. But , if you want to shoot black bears there are way to many of them.

There is still some good bucks in the peace, but it is a farm/field hunt, with spot and stalk or sit in a blind type of a hunt.

The East Kootenays has good deer as well and is a spot stalk hunt in the alpine/sub alpine in the early season and a spot/stalk in the timber/open areas later in the year.

The Caribou has some good deer, but it is more of a truck/drive/walk hunt than a horse back/backpack hunt.

Lots of good deer in BC, just depends on what type of hunt and where you want to go.

Cheers

SS

Thanks to all for the reply's . I travel the NW in my work and everyone I talk to says the Mule Deer arent what the use to be. The Eastmans have even written recently about the poor state of the Mulies in WYO. We have something called the Mule Deer initiative here in Idaho. I hope that something can be done to save the future of this incredible animal.

It can be that way....I like to walk the Breaks of the Peace....some neat country with other wildlife to see...moose, bear, elk,whitetails, wolves. Some units along the Peace (across the bridge from Peace River) on the east side,has some country not easy to get into....from what I can tell it gets little pressure.

I went in once on the Ledoc(sp?)River(IIRC Unite 521?)....lots of whitetails;mule deer as the country broke down to the Peace. Not a sign of another hunter.Love it up there.

My Godson lives in FSJ and said that it was a poor year for mulies up there.Bad winters and overharvest to satisfy the farmers has taken it's toll.Most of the locals hunt the fields and are lomg range shooters.like BobinNH I have always prefered still hunting the breaks on the Peace,Beatton and Halfway rivers.I've picked up a couple of not bad bucks doing that and have seen a lot more than I've shot! Monashee