How’s the weather?

[RD.]

Winter stargazing is the best.

I though you might get a chuckle from a pic I just took of my newest dog tool; it's a brand new poop scooping hand shovel to take me through the coming winter. The new one is obviously on the left; on the right is the remains of last winter's scooper, showing signs of its age after several months spent chiseling frozen surprises out of the ice.

View attachment 1508356

We must be softer here in the West. My scooper is a two part tool, one for scooping out of the snow/ice, the other for collecting the goods - and both attached to poles so I don’t have to bend over.

 

[jjohnwm]

But...but...but...I don't understand. If you don't bend down, you pretty much eliminate the risk of frozen turd chips spraying you in the face while you chisel. Where's the fun in that?

 

[esoxlucius]

Okay, I'm not going to start complaining about the weather...but...I am scheduled to leave on a drive-to camping/hunting trip on Friday, approximately 400km from my driveway to the campsite. Most people in North America can probably see the difficulty here; it began snowing this morning and the forecast calls for snow more or less continuously for the next 80 hours...and then they throw in little kicker words like "tornado"...

My buddy and I were extremely lucky to draw this tag; tags are issued on a lottery basis and this particular one typically requires a 7- 8 year attempt before a successful draw. The odds of drawing it again while I am still physically capable of doing this hunt are very slim...I just turned 65...and now we are facing a long drive with a foot of fresh snow on the ground, actually still falling when we leave. This is a hunt that demands lots of walking...I would have expected to cover 10+ km per day on foot, in mixed prairie/brush terrain. That for sure will not be happening in a foot of snow, snowshoes notwithstanding.

So...yeah, okay...I guess I am complaining about the weather...

It sounds like you and your buddy are gonna attempt this journey no matter what the weather throws at you. And I can understand why if this golden chance isn't going to come around again anytime soon.

If that snow continues, along with those forecast high winds, it sounds like it's going to get potentially dangerous. Take care my friend.

 

[jjohnwm]

It sounds like you and your buddy are gonna attempt this journey no matter what the weather throws at you. And I can understand why if this golden chance isn't going to come around again anytime soon.

If that snow continues, along with those forecast high winds, it sounds like it's going to get potentially dangerous. Take care my friend.

Oh, we're still going, never doubt it. We may wind up leaving a day late, cutting into our scouting time, but we have only a 6 day window during which our tag is legal, and we won't let it pass us by. Thanks for the well-wishes.

 

[esoxlucius]

Oh, we're still going, never doubt it. We may wind up leaving a day late, cutting into our scouting time, but we have only a 6 day window during which our tag is legal, and we won't let it pass us by. Thanks for the well-wishes.

It's a shame I don't live nearby, I would have taken a few steaks of moose off your hands to go with my Christmas dinner, lol.

 

[Friller2009]

Oh, we're still going, never doubt it. We may wind up leaving a day late, cutting into our scouting time, but we have only a 6 day window during which our tag is legal, and we won't let it pass us by. Thanks for the well-wishes.

I haven’t heard of this tag system before. Where I live you need a license. How exactly does it work? Sorry for another one of my stupid questions.

 

[jjohnwm]

It's a shame I don't live nearby, I would have taken a few steaks of moose off your hands to go with my Christmas dinner, lol.

Elk, not moose. I grew up eating moose, always thought it was the best game meat in North America. Only tried elk for the first time a few years ago, and...wow. It has definitely replaced moose in my estimation.

I am a newbie at elk hunting, have only gotten one personally and had to drive to Montana for that. The Manitoba subspecies of elk is unique and is only available to residents of this province to hunt...which makes it that much more appealing to me. Realistically, I don't expect we will be successful...but lack of success is guaranteed if we don't actually go...

 

[jjohnwm]

I haven’t heard of this tag system before. Where I live you need a license. How exactly does it work? Sorry for another one of my stupid questions.

Not a stupid question at all, if you don't have the same system in your part of the world. I still need a licence, which allows me to hunt...but to hunt specific species you require a tag for that species, which is affixed to the carcass immediately after the kill and must remain with it until it goes into your freezer. Some species, like deer and black bear, are abundant and tags can be purchased over the counter. In times of overpopulation, you might be able to buy multiple tags in one year. If populations drop, as they did a few years ago after a couple of very tough winters, tags might be limited to only one per year, or perhaps even to only one male animal. The province monitors populations and determines how many animals can be taken in each area in a given year without impacting the health of the overall herd.

In the case of elk or moose, the allowable harvest per year is far smaller than the number of hunters desiring a tag, so a lottery system is in place for the tags that are available. The odds of success are published each year, based upon tags available versus projected demand. In the case of elk, the typical applicant puts in his name 7 or 8 years before lucking out and drawing a tag; we were extremely lucky and were drawn in only our third year of applying. An elk tag requires at least two people to apply together for a chance at one tag.

There are tags in North America, for animals like Desert Bighorn Sheep, that are applied for every year by some hunters who continue to try each year for decades, or for a lifetime...and never succeed in drawing the coveted tag.

 

[RD.]

Taken plenty of both, with bow and rifle, and still place a young moose as # 1. Taken early in the season, hard to beat the taste of a young moose IMO. Then elk, then deer. Again, early in bow season. Bugled in many bull elk, just an hour west of here. Plenty of both moose and elk closer, but only on draws like yours. I’ve actually seen several moose on the street where we live. Deer on the front lawn almost every night. Lol

 

[RD.]

And somehow we’ve turned a discussion on weather, into the killing fields of Canada. Now you know why some folks refer to us as crazy Canucks.