In the Province of Ontario, we are very fortunate in having a 4-month long period for hunting a variety of species from small to large, from September 1st to December 31st. That’s determined by licensing and dates for each species: Game birds like ducks, turkey, grouse and phesant; and small ground creatures like rabbits, coons, skunk, fox and groundhogs are all at potential risk to hunting. Similarly, in the medium to large game: canine predators, deer, moose, elk and black bear. A small game license covers the majority of such hunts, and individual big game licenses covers the rest: i.e – predators, deer, moose, elk and black bear.
My preoccupation come September 1st to late October will mostly focus on black bear with wolf as a secondary target. Not having a moose or elk tag, the last week of October will see me at home having vacated the area in favour of moose hunters moving in for a week. The first half of November, deer will be another option with bear and wolf still in the game if those licenses remain unfilled. Bear season ends November 31st, and wolf has to be renewed by Jan 1st if intent is to chase them to the end of March 2026.
The above is a potential schedule for various hunts during the fall and early winter. However, it will not be a daily routine as I’ll need to put a limit on how often I’ll make that 1 hour trip, each way, for my wife’s sake, rest, and expenses. And weather conditions will impose its own limitations as we move into November and possibly December.
Depending on a number of issues, my main weapon for bear while sitting in a blind will be the .458 Win Mag shooting those 400gr Colorado Customs at ~ 2260 fps. That’s about the same as those Federal factory loaded 400gr TBBCs at ~2280 fps. I’ll probably have a few of those along as well in a jacket pocket – just in case those 400gr CCs fail to work as anticipated – which I doubt will happen. . . . . . but ya never know unless you’ve BTDT – which I haven’t so far!
For the deer hunt (including wolf), it’ll be my .35 Whelen: load yet to be determined. Likely the bear load of 2023: 225gr AB at 2840 fps, OR a new load of those 250gr Partitions at 2710 fps as bear season will still be on (unless I’ve already filled that tag). A buck deer of the area could easily go +300 lbs, so the Whelen load of either the 225s or 250s would be suitable and work as well on any “chance wolf”.
< Year: late September, 2012. I was in a tree stand for bear hunting and spontaneously asked my Heavenly Father to see some wildlife. In less than 10 seconds this doe walked out of the woods with a buck following. First time in six seasons I’d seen deer on this property, and deer season was nearly two months away.
These will be day hunts with the opening day for deer finding us – my son, Phil, and I – awake and ready to roll before the sun rises. That will mean up and about by 5 am, leaving the house by 6 am and in the woods by 7 am. This will mean finding spots to sit and watch a trail for the first couple of hours, then walking quietly about searching for sign, etc. Then sitting a bit having a snack and a drink – perhaps back at the vehicle for some warmth. Then back at it until closing light. . . .
That will be a fresh challenge that my body isn’t yet ready for . . . . . It’s not presently a daily routine, yet if done correctly, it can only mean better health in the longer run – especially for my legs and heart. I try to work out daily in a purposeful physical sense: weights one day and walking the next. . . . weights and walking; weights and walking; weights and walking, etc.
Weights: 15 lb dumbells in each hand for a variety of excercises for 15 min. Then other routines finishing with 30 pushups (hey! I’m almost 90!)
Walking: at a good pace for 20 minutes up and down the hilly street outside – about a mile. Or, if weather is bad or it’s winter, at the local mall – five circuits at a good pace (short of running) within a particular area (about a mile).
It’s not the distance or time, but the steady routine of doing it that counts.
Of course, life itself dictates lifting weights and walking without a routine. Within a typical week, I’ll make several trips to stores and malls for cores and shopping. And I cut grass with a push lawnmower. . . . and shovel snow in the winter. etc. And I go down and up two sets of stairs, several times daily: One down to the finished basement apartment (for students attending the local college), and the other for leaving the house through the front door. When I leave the house there are two sets of stairs: one from the main floor to the front door, then an outside small patio that turns 90* to a final set to ground level. That’s 5 plus 7 = 12 stair steps out and 12 stair steps in every time I leave the house – and that might mean an average of 2 – 3 times a day. So in a week that could be up and down those stair steps 15 to 20 times; or nearly 500 steps. And that’s beside the indoor steps to the apartment below us (Our house is a raised bungalow). Don’t you think that matters for physical status? Just ask my wife with a very bad knee under care by a specialist, and an infected big toe requiring medication!
So my bear gun for this year is the Ruger No.1H in .458 Win Mag. It goes 10.65 lbs ready to hunt with scope, sling and ammo. So what’s 10.65 lbs compared to 160 lbs each and every time I climb out of the basement or back into our house? Groceries can weigh far more than that! In fact, I’m quite often toting 2x that in each hand in returning from shopping – that is compared to the rifle, not my personal weight!! And there are those who wince and cry over a rifle that weighs 7 lbs ready!
I don’t believe they’re real hunters, but shooters who drive to a range or setup, unload their “stuff” there, shoot their loads that generate less than 15 ft-lbs, load their “stuff” back into their vehicle, drive home after a “hard day” of shooting and/or “hunting”! Unfortunately, the Internet has become more of that sort of thing than actual hunting experiences with real hunting guns!
One foul-mouth “know-it-all” who professes to be “the expert” on all-things wonderful for long-range shooting or hunting has yet to show any real results for his claims. When challenged, he claims his rifles are easily capable of taking elk at 800 – 900 yds! Of course, those are expensive target rifles, but despite that no evidence exists that he’s ever shot a game animal close or far! And he uses the most disgusting language to put down anyone who challenges or disagrees with him! Yet, amazingly, there are shooters (hunters?) who think he’s the epitome of excellence in knowledge of shooting game animals at extreme ranges!
<hunting, tactical or target rifle?
Increasingly,”sanity” is becoming obsolescent in the English language! The above pic is of a Tikka T3X Lite Tactical rifle. Some would say it’s a great hunting rifle for elk at extreme ranges!
“Extreme range” – anything from 600 yds to. . . .
“Long range” – 300 to 500 yds
“Normal hunting ranges”: 50 to 350 yds
“Average hunting range” for big game: inside 250 yds.
I’ve often used this photo within my Crown Land hunting area to illustrate what it would take to lethally shoot a big game animal, like a mature moose, at 400 yds:
<From where I took this pic to the farthest corner is over 400 yds according to satelite imagery. This is one of the more open areas in this region. I’d just visited my usual bear-bait setup at 50 – 60 yds up behind me. Beyond that at 100 yds up the ridge was my blind. It was late September – early October, moose season coming fast. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that it was about two weeks later and I had a bull moose tag waiting to be filled and a mature bull was directly across the bog at 350 yds. This is a bog with a lot of unseen water. Where could I set up to take a shot? The shot would have to be taken from a standing, offhand stance – or maybe from the tree to the left as a rest! But movement could spook the bull. Should I shoot, or wait? This is typical moose country for the region. The logistics are very demanding. Impossible, really, for a solo hunter. Even with a team of three others with a couple of ATVs plus saws and axes, there’s a long night and day ahead for full recovery of the carcass. The rifle for such a scenario, is not the main consideration, but I’d certainly NOT want a wounded moose that might make it to the woods beyond and then where? Two or more shots? You shouldn’t count on it. . . nor would I. I’d choose a cannon that would drop it right there and keep it immobile till recovered!
The point of all that is to say that a .300 Wby is better than a 7 Rem Mag, and a .340 Wby is better than a .300 Wby, etc. in such a test of reality! That is to say: If we can shoot the more powerful one as well as the least powerful up till our marksmanship begins to deteriorate. Yep, I’d used my .340 prior to the time of that photo on a nice bull over 900 miles/1460 km further north. And I shot it as well as my .223. I was in my early sixties and don’t claim such expertise today. We must know our limits regardless of age, physical conditioning and circumstances. Then they don’t become excuses!
Till the next. . . .
Shalom
BOB MITCHELL
“He (Jesus) died for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live”. (Galatians 1:4) NLT
Lovin' The Big Bang 