Successful Hunting

Today I was driving home from a weekend get away trip in the BC interior. As we drove through Manning Park towards Hope, B.C. we spotted this nice sized black bear so we pulled over and took some pictures.

This boar actually had a decent sized melon on him.

He looks well fed, I guess living in a park makes life a little bit easier.

I just talked to my sources out where I will be going grizzly hunting soon and appearantly the grizzly bears are coming out. One guy said the skunk cabbage is out and you can see bear scat and trails all around. Another guy I know was telling me he sent a few friends out to scout an area and a 9′ grizzly bear came out right where they were instructed to sit. It looks like the timing is correct and coming together perfectly. I hope to see that 9′ grizzly myself when I go up there. I am getting pretty excited.

I went to the range to test some hand loads out the other day. I was using Barnes TSX 200 grain .308 cal bullets for my .300 WM Weatherby Vanguard. I loaded some bullets with Reloader 22 and some with IMR 7828SSC.

Here is a picture of some brass in a loading block and a box of Barnes TSX 200 grain .308 Cal bullets.

So off to the range to do some shooting. In my particular rifle the Reloader 22 powder is not that accurate, here is a picture of a 3 shot group at 100 yards.

You can see that the group is approximately 1.5", not that great for handloads at 100 yards.

The following target is some groupings with IMR 7828SSC powder.

You can see that my 2 shot group of 65 grains of powder was touching and then my 3 shot group of 66 grains of powder was -1MOA. I started having signs of excess pressure at this amount with a sticky bolt. So I decided to load 65 grains of powder for further testing at the range.

I got a few items back from my taxidermist recently. I use Ray Wiens in Abbotsford. He is a good taxidermist has very reasonable rates. You can check him out here:

Ray Wiens Taxidermy
25319 24th ave.
Aldergrove, BC
778-241-0208
ray_wiens@hotmail.com

Any ways here are some pics of the work he did, this is the mule deer rack from my Rock Creek Archery Mule Deer.

Here is one from my Kootenay Rifle Hunt.

Here is a picture of a throw rug I got tanned of my Harrison Spring Bear.

Yesterday I loaded up some bullets for my grizzly hunt coming up. I went to the range prior and used the most accurate load to make a box of 20 bullets for my hunt. So here is the video on the steps of reloading ammunition. For the example I used Barnes TSX 200 grain .308 cal bullets for my .300 Winchester Magnum. I am going on a grizzly bear hunt so I had to load a bit heavier bullet for more energy. This video goes in detail through: cleaning, tumbling, sizing, trimming, measuring, powder, labels, manuals, dies, equipment, and as much as possible to help you reload your own ammunition. Remember to reload safely and consult manufacturers literature and your reloading manual. Check it out here:

http://www.huntingtipsandtricks.com/p/Ammunition_Reloading

I was looking at this thread on a hunting forum and in the spirit of spring bear hunting I thought I would share it on my blog. Check out some decent sized black bears harvested in British Columbia here:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=19251

Here is great thread on judging bears in the field:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=10788

If you want to learn more about successsful black bear hunting check out this book and DVD:

http://black-bear-hunting.com/

Today I started loading some rounds for my spring grizzly hunt. I was loading 200 grain .308 cal Barnes TSX bullets for my .300 Win mag. I started at the lowest possible charge with IMR 7828 SSC and Reloader 22 powder. I loaded 70 bullets in total so I will go to the range and see what my rifle likes best. I will sight in 2" inches high at 100 yards so I am approximately zeroed in at 200 yards. I wont be shooting long ranges for my grizzly hunt, I will try to keep any shots at a grizzly around 150 yards or less.

My RCBS equipment works really well for reloading, I recommend it to anyone wanting to get into reloading. I have the Rock Chucker Supreme Kit.

Well officially since April 1st/2010 black bear spring season is now open in British Columbia. I suspect May will bring the most bears out but there still should be the odd black bear roaming about now. Good luck to everyone going black bear hunting this spring.

Before you go out hunting for spring bears this year make sure your rifle or bow is sighted in and you are very comfortable with making accurate shots. Do not shoot beyond what your comfortable shooting distance is and if you are unsure of the distance please use a rangefinder.

Be aware that black bears are very tough animals and you must make your shot count. Check out these shot placement charts so you know where to place your shot: http://www.huntingtipsandtricks.com/a/Bear_Anatomy_and_Shot_Placement_Guide

Happy hunting and be safe this spring bear hunting season.

Please dial in to the CKNW 980am Christy Clark show tomorrow (Friday) at 1-1:30PT to hear President BC wildlife Mel Arnold on the Grizzly Bear Hunt. They will also have a Suzuki representative on this call. Be sure to call in to support this science based sustainable hunt. 

Thanks,

I have been talking with a friend out in Williams lake about preperations for my grizzly bear hunt this spring. I am getting quite excited. My friend has been giving me a lot of insight on gear and areas to hunt as he has been hunting grizzly in British Columbia for 30 years. I have heard that on the news they trying to ban hunting grizzly bears in British Columbia so this might be my last chance to harvest a grizzly if these left wing politicians succomb to hippy pressure. Anyways I am quite excited and hope to be successful with a bruiser of a grizzly. Check out this article on grizzly bear hunting : http://www.huntingtipsandtricks.com/a/Grizzly_Bear_Hunting_Tips_

I also got a few boxes of Barnes TSX 200 grain bullets in .308 caliber for my .300 Winchester Magnum rifle. I am going to start reloading them this week and go to the range to see what works best in terms of accuracy and velocity. I will most likely use IMR 4831 powder as that is what the Barnes manual says is the most accurate powder.