Anyone familiar with the town of North Battleford Saskatchewan? How bad is the crime really?

It wouldn't be my first choice as a retirement spot.

http://battlefordsdailynews.com/cit...crime-severity-index-might-suggest-rcmp/

I was just curious. It's the jump off point for a hunt I looked at with the Cree Indians handy there. We will obviously be from "out of town" with the U.S. plates on the Duramax full of hunting junk. I've stayed in some rough neighborhoods for work in the past. Didn't like it much. We would be staying in a motel in Battleford,then driving to the hunting grounds each day. I was just curious how bad it really was. Some of the headlines I found in my initial search were from 2010 and 2012. Hoped it was getting better.

Grew up 50 miles south of there and worked out of there for a number of years in the mid 80's. I am still in contact with friends who live there.

Property crimes have risen in the past years , along with violent crime due to a fairly high rate of unemployment within young people who have moved from the local reserves.

The Town of Battleford is much quieter then the City of North Battleford across the river. I'd stay away from the bars in North Battleford and the Casino.

Secure your truck and it's contents. Do not not leave any real valuables or firearms in the vehicles overnight. Of course I wouldn't do that in most places.

Where are you hunting ? Your guides should have some idea of what's happening locally .

Good luck we have had a very mild winter with warm temperatures and little snow. Though March can be a brutal month for snow and cold.

Tim,

Otter6;
Good morning to you sir, I trust this still, cold Monday finds you doing acceptably well.

There are a few things that I might suggest for you and as always are only worth what it costs the reader in time.

I'll note too that I left rural Saskatchewan in '84 and a lot has likely changed since then, but anyway here goes.

Call the outfitter and get contact information of other recent hunters from him and ask them what they did for extra security of their stuff, if it was needed and where specifically they stayed.

Call the motel you'll be staying at and ask them the same questions. Sometimes folks can be downright forthcoming if you approach it correctly.

I'd take a trigger lock for each firearm you're bringing up. Then you are legal up here to store the firearms in your motel room with you all night. Storage for non-restricted firearms is either "under your direct control" or "with a trigger lock or in a safe when it's not under your direct control". Once the trigger locks are in place you can legally leave them in your room and go out for supper, fuel up or what have you and again be legal.

This might not make any sense to you sir, but I'd suggest that the vast majority of our firearm laws really don't seem to.

Off the top of my head, I'd suggest that way, WAY more folks/kids will break into a pickup than would ever break into a possibly occupied motel room. Stats will bear that out too I'd think.

It's a bit of a hassle for sure, but if we're on the road and stay at an "iffy" motel, we always drag the stuff we'd like to keep around into the room with us.

Another final thought is to contact the local RCMP Detachment and ask them what they'd suggest for you to do as visiting hunters. They may blow smoke up your kilt and they just may be quite helpful - again it doesn't hurt any to ask and the right person on the other end of the line can be golden sometimes.

If you do call an RCMP Detachment and the person at the other end doesn't identify themselves as "Constable" or "Corporal" - I doubt the Sargent answers the phone - then you're talking to a "civilian member". Sometimes they are really, REALLY who can give you the low down on what's up in town and what to expect.

Anyway sir, just a few random suggestions as the caffeine kicks in for me here in the western most province. Good luck on your hunt whichever way you decide.

Dwayne

Flyer01;
Top of the morning to you sir, hopefully this finds you well.

We farmed east of Yorkton and I spent my childhood there - with a few years in Nipawin thrown in too.

The last year we farmed was '83 and the worst blizzard of the year by far was May 8th....

We do not miss the Saskatchewan winters all that much. Seeing the sun would be nice on occasion here, but at least winter's pretty much done in the valley here by March, though we can get the odd snotty day still down here for sure then.

All the best to you this February sir and here's to it being mild on both sides of the big hills.

Dwayne

Dwayne,

In my early years working I spent sometime in the Yorkton , area . Wroxton, Mcnutt, as well as south of there in the Kipling Sk thru Maryfield MB .

The first 11 years of my career with CN Rail I worked on a federally funded progam BranchLine Rehabilitation rebuilding grain dependent lines across Alerta,Saskatchewan, and Manitoba .

Ended up in many small villages and elevator tracks across the west.

My wifes family homesteaded in the Carlea area, south of Nipawin.

East of Nipawin



Carrot River looking west, orginal homestead quarter 1907 was divided here by the river.



We now spend our time in the Edmonton Alberta area, Candle Lake Sk and Mexico .

Candle Lake September 25, 2015 after a great afternoon on the lake with friends .

Just south of the town of Battleford approx 35 miles is where Milo Hansen shot the world record buck.



Tim

Tim;
Thanks for the reply and photos - my goodness it's a small world sometimes is it not?

Our home place was 8 miles straight south of Calder, so just a bit southwest of McNutt and of course south of Wroxton.

I shot my first whitetail near the Torch River, northwest of Love.

We used to hunt ducks by Codette and Carlea both so that brings back a pile of grand memories too.

Thanks so much sir and all the best to you folks again.

Dwayne

Yorkton...great place to be from at a certain time in history. If you don't believe me, reflect on these:

You knew opening day of duck or deer season because there were three vehicles parked in the high school parking lot, including one in the teacher's lot.

A small bore range in the basement of one of the high schools.

Almost as many high school girls hunted as guys, and a lot of them had their own trucks

Getting access to hunting was as easy as showing up in the spring, politely stating your hope for the fall, and then picking some stones, throwing some bales, and mending some fences between then and hunting season.

Eighteen? Short drive to Roblin to buy your beer.

Having said that, i would rather be homeless in the mountains than a millionaire in The Flats.

Millionaire? Did i say Millionaire? Melville sucks. GO Terriers.

bcmtnmonkey;
Good morning to you sir, hopefully the BC Family day has been okay for you so far as well.

Goodness the world is a small one this morning it would appear.

My good wife is from Russell, so yes we'd stray across the line from time to time.....

Bought a lot of equipment at Gabers in Roblin though, so we knew the town well enough.

Do you recall the Yorkton TV sports reports by Linus Westburg? He must have had shares in the Terriers or something because I'd swear WWIII could have broken out and he'd have led with a Terrier's story anyway - even in July!!!

As you mentioned, hunting was a big deal there for sure. I honestly don't think I knew anyone who didn't own at least one firearm when I was a kid in the '60's.

Then too I recall asking my parents what Uncle X did for meat when I found out he didn't hunt. I mean "everybody" else hunted right? Our pastor, the Sask Power guy, teachers - it was a world that strikes me no longer exists.

Thanks to you too for the pleasant memories and welcome here if I've not said so already.

Dwayne

PS;
I apologize to the OP that I've helped take this thread into the ditch, through the fence and into the summer fallow....

Hopefully the stubble jumper reunion can be excused and you can glean some useful information from it.

Ahhh... the Qu'appelle valley and my beautiful homeland with towns like Lebret, Ft Qu'appelle, and my families 200 years of history there, I miss the rugged down to earth people.
Anyways, when in Battleford a must see is the gun museum that has an exellent collection of antique firearms, its in the fort there.
I thought Battleford was an exeedingly beautiful place overlooking the Saskatchewan river with lots of early Canadianna history, and in many ways Saskatchewan is the cradle of early western Canadian history.

Thanks for all the feedback fellas. Much appreciated. Looking at hunting with Battle River Cree Outfitters.

I've been longing to get back to Canada since I was a teenager. We flew into a remote lake for a week of fishing. If I had been of age,I'd have defected then and there. Hated to leave. I'm not getting any younger,and I have to try my luck at a north country monster.

It was something of a disappointment to find that our jump off point is on the sketchy side. I've been in rough towns before,but not while loaded down with expensive trap to keep an eye on. I like the idea of calling the RCMP. Makes sense to me. I've worked as a peace officer here,and am a certified firearms instructor. Down here in the lower 48,I'm quite comfortable in the unsavory element. Different story across the border I'm sure. No Glock.

We thought about dragging a camper along. Maybe find a quieter place to hole up. Likely just stay in town and try to keep a low profile.

Otter,
Did you book with them at the Harrisburg show?

Picked up the information and talked with them about booking. Great fellas. Sure hope we can put it all together.

Otter6, I'll put my five cents worth in, as Canada no longer uses the penny's.

Most likely, you will have no trouble.
You will be armed, but would not dare shoot at thief in any event.

You might consider having a straight claw hammer handy, in case you need to "fix" something.

That would sure "fix" something. Oh yeah.

Well, as they say, free advise is worth what you pay for it.

You sounded as though you would feel chilly without the Glock.

I would keep your valuables locked up and/or out of sight. Beyond that; if you discard any notions of partying with the "locals" soaking up a bit of local colour, a romantic dalliance or 3, or wandering around looking like a convenient and easy mark I'd be shocked if you had any trouble. You'll likely come away thinking that its a quiet and friendly place.

On the other hand, if you went out inviting trouble it would be rather easy to get into some.

Nothing wrong with your advice. I appreciate the input. I have to agree that a framing hammer is one bad mammy jammy. When my sister lived in Houston,she kept a hammer handy in her apartment. And her big blue spark. That stun gun was very intimidating.

I agree whole heartedly. I've no interest in socializing in any manner. I think the search results I initially turned up on Battleford were a little skewed. Possibly blown out of proportion to reality. That's why I thought I'd ask around the "Fire". Good place to get the skinny on a lot of things.

This is sound advice, and likely true in any Northern Canadian town, good luck with your hunting.

I grew up 1 hour north of North Battleford. M70Guy is exactly right.

SS

Otter I saw them at the show as well and spoke with them regarding their hunts. Their pricing was reasonable but you need to take into consideration the fact that you will be paying additionally for your food and hotel. They mentioned that the casino would probably be the best place to stay when I spoke to them. They were really pushing to get a deposit. They said that if I gave them a grand deposit at the show they would extend the hunt another 4 days. Something didn't quite sit right with me about those 2 but to each their own YMMV. One thing that bothered me was that they seemed a little evasive on some of the questions that I asked and also the fact that the guy who was the outfitter did not bother to attend and instead sent someone else to do the marketing.

Question for Dwayne and Sam and the rest of our friends up north. Do you have an organization up there responsible for monitoring business complaints against companies or outfitters licenses in some regulatory fashion? Thinking maybe something like a bureau of consumer affairs or the like or a governmental agency that is responsible for the oversight of such entities or business licenses in general , does that fall under the the Department of Natural Resources possibly or the entity that someone would buy a hunting license from? I'm just thinking out loud here. If so this may be something we could add to the sticky thread of the forum. Thanks for your help as always and Happy new year to all, I've been out of touch for a while sorry for the belated well wishes.

Dean

In Saskatchewan here is a place to start researching your guide. http://www.soa.ca/

wildone;
Good evening to you Dean, thanks for the well wishes and please allow me to return them your way for sure.

As my cyber friend Cariboo noted, that's the guys you'd want to start with in Saskatchewan.

In BC it's the Guide Outfitter's Association that would be the place to start.

http://www.goabc.org/

If memory serves it's at the beginning of the sticky thread, but there's admittedly a pile of info to digest there.

Here in BC, if a guide or outfitter wanders off the path legally speaking, the first folks they'll run afoul of is the Conservation Officer service, who enforce wildlife law for the Ministry of Environment.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cos/

While we do have a better business bureau in BC and they might be worth a look too, as far as I'm given to understand they can only give negative feedback or warnings to potential clients.

http://www.bbb.org/mbc

The best advice I can give a visiting hunter now is the same as I gave four years ago Dean, which is to get a list of successful and unsuccessful hunters from the outfitter and phone them ALL.

Write your questions down and ask them - it's your money after all and your time and safety too for that matter.

Hopefully that was useful information for you or other visiting hunters out there. Good luck on your upcoming hunts this year and all the best to you this year too.

Dwayne