2 Week of oN 16, 1972

- WRN OUTDOORS and WINTER SPOR

B.C. HUNTING

Birds i in. deta

hard to find |

By ARNIE HOMEWOOD
At this early stage of the sport
it looks like hunters are in. for
siim. picking:

winter of 1972-73 ~ the winter of

"71-'72 took care of that,

If that wasn't enough, mother

nature threw a second magnum
barrel at waterfow] in the
province with the spring floods
this May and June. Only the
early nesting mallards: and
Canada geese escaped the high

species hit hard by floods,
Moose suffered severely in the
hard winter in the Peace Country
of British. Columbia’s north.

areas, abolishment of antlerless
seasons is bound to see a cut In
the harvest this fall.

Earlier this year it seemed a
compulsory’ hunter-training
program was: going to cause

‘ oF hunting licences, But ‘it's

BIG HORN SHEEP show their displeasure of the photographer. These rams are located -

in the high mountain country of B.C.

B.C. Gov't Photo -

| Grizzly Gulch
park asked

Grizzly Gulch in Southeastern
B.C., site of one of Western
Canada’s first oil wells, may
become an historic park if the
federat government heeds the
request to make it one,

The Waterton Lakes Chamber
of Commerce claims the area,
about five miles from Waterton
Lakes National Park in Alberta,
is threatened by a logging
project, apparently started to
- stop an infestation of bark
beetles.

ROVER & LAND-ROVER

Genuine Factory Paris

JAY'S B & E MOTORS LTD.

7457 Seymour $¢., Vancouver 2
Telex 06-0558 Ph. 01-4826

PEUGE oT
Parts - Sales. Service
JAY'S B& E MOTORS
1257 Seymour St., Vancouver 2
' 601-4626 Ph. “ASATA :

14679 ‘Stewert Ave., Nanaimo, B.C,

‘Velux e0-seesne = Ph. 754-4491

FROM PAGE ONE

Hunting

activities

total $39 million

within the past two years there
has been a new concept. in
campgrounds, to develop new
Sites for both tents and trailers,

. and to renovate the old campsites

to take care of both.

The campgrounds themselves.

have increased from 97 last year
to 116 in 1972 and more are under
construction. ‘There are now 13

- marine parks in B.C., compared

to 10 last year, and five more are
in the works.

Another item of recreation that
ties in with residential tourism ig
hunting. A survey made for the
B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch,

' just recently released, points out -

the various activities associated
with hunting: This survey is the
first of its kind dealing with B.C.

_Tesidential hunting and there are

no past figures for comparison,
The booklet, “The Value of
Resident Hunting in British
Columbia”, is available without

| @>-
Far Prospesting, .
.Beachcombing -

: Ghosttowning
+ Gempins, Rackhoundin,« ate,

o ~ ez Harel” Streatl

with tte GOLDMASTER 66-TR

MINERAL-METAL DETECTOR

From’ ‘your local dealer or write:

“WHITE'S ELECTRONICS, LTD.

6” and 10%" water-

proof loops

Sensitive 442” mater
Utilizes pentight cells ~

: 2 Year Warranty

” Doslar anquirtes dnvited

Box'339, Abbotsford, B.C, y ,

chatge from the B.C. "Fish and -
Wildlife Branch in Victoria,

‘The ‘survey reports that in

_addition to the time. actually

spent on therecreation of hunting -
there is considerable time and

.energy spent on _ activities

associated with the sport,
They include: — shooting ©
practice, exploring bunting ~
territory, viewing © and -.
photographing game, (using
binoculars and telephoto lens) °

_and ‘training dogs for hunting.
The survey totalled 966,000 days |
‘in activitles, or for. every two

days spent hunting another day
was. spent in- preparation. The -

. total of the hunting and activity
days i in 1970-71 was-2,809,000.

‘The survey also points out that
B.C, residents spent more than.
$29.3 million on hunting activity.”
in the 1970-71. season.” This.
amounts to $290 per hunter’ or
$21.50 per day for each day spent:
hunting. It: covers guns, ame |
taunition, equipment, - lodging,

_ licences and tags, transportation

and miscellaneous expenses,
Actually there.is no monetary -
standard to measure the value of
outdoor recreation in health and
fitness, :

photography, -
camping .and hiking -or some
other outdoor leisure activity.

In short, its not ‘a question’ of
monetary values, but how'much -

. you gain‘in fun and health in ‘your
a tecreation time.

* Get. out there : and. enjoy”
yourself!

relaxation and “en. --
., Joymient of the outdoors, be 'it in .
. outdoor sports,,

~The |
“great nesting

business as usual in most
goods stores throughout

*, Spa
‘ British Columbia with the ex-.

ception of Vancouver Island. The
usual ‘‘are you a resident”, ete,,

questions will get you a hunting *

licence anywhere except on
Vancouver Island. (See the B.C.

hunting regulations covering -
Island licences). o
Grouse (most species) are ata

low ebb in their life ‘cycle in
British Columbia. Even the

‘usually jubilant early Vancouver

Island blue ‘grouse forecast was
‘missing this: year as were the,
coast deer reports. ~~

' “Maybe about the same as last
_year”’ was about the best we
could get:on deer and grouse
from Vancouver Island. And last

"year certainly didn’t raise any

eyebrows with hunter successes.

‘Upland game in B.C.'s interior

figures to be in very short supply.

-Ruffed grouse. and Franklin.

grouse are two species showing a

- drop. ‘with the Blue grouse of the

interior far from plentiful but in
greater. numbers. than ithe first
"mentioned two, 0

“A good friend of the writer who
‘knows the. 100-Mile area of the
Cariboo like the palm of his hand,
spent a fishing and gamie

‘scouting ‘trip there a couple of.
Weeks ago and came ‘up with a:
-single sighting of a grouse in 800

miles of backwoods driving,

The only bright-note of his trip

was spotting seven deer.’

-- But he. had ‘to .spoil that by
saying ina normal year “T would,

“probably have seen: 70."

When the Chukar: “Portridge °

was released in the arid hills-of
Kamloops a few years ago *t was

hoped ‘they would replace our

‘declining upland. game ‘-bird

* stocks, And for a while this exotic __
.- Asian import did just ‘that, but
just for a year or so, Their

numbers have tumbled each year

since, and today you rarely hear
their exciting calls from the ry

‘hills | -around < Lillooet’:

‘surrounding Kamloops. Lake.
The Chukar’ partridge — ‘a poor:

with a scope sight are caused a
~  ariffe and sight that doesn’t fit:
.- the shooter properly; and by-the:
~ shooter trying to,line‘up‘on:the.*.
: target: by: peering : through ‘the oi
‘Scope with one eye. : ae —
Courtesy CL. musics; wet

~ show slated once again for this

fine game bird.
exciting « cand

“highly
" popular ringneck pheasant had a

s in the fall and.

water with: the later nesting

some confusion in the purchase

year in 1972: and |
‘first-hand ‘reports. from: the |
- Okanagan valeve Point to toa good no

crop of birds but public shooting
grounds gradually dwindling in
size just as it has in the Lower
Mainland. - ;

“At best.we can expect no more
than scratchy pheasant hunting
in the Lower Mainland and fair to
good sport in the O.K. Valley for
those who. pay. a ‘fee: for .the
privilege of hunting .on Indian

“lands and private property such

as the “Coldstream Ranch at
Vernon, ;
. All-in-all a rather grim hunting
.season is the forecast for. the fall
Black: bear are. numerous in |
most :areas of ‘the - province,
almost to the pest stage in West.

Shorter seasons, and in. some Vancouver and Coquitlam. The

one migratory bird that is

- plentiful in-Coastal areas is the

bandtail pigeon which opened °
Sept.1. 0.

‘And don’t forget, if you area
migratory bird hunter. (ducks,
geese, doves, pigeons, etc.) you

~'maust- have a ‘migratory bird

licence as well as.the provincial |

‘ hunting licence. The'B.C. licence

is available at: sporting goods
stores, the migratory bird
licence at post offices.

Sights are

important

Stiooters tend’to either take |
- their rifle sights for granted, or .

to have strong opinions on the
kind of sights that are best for
them. . -

Any rifle, . regardless of the
sighting equipment, has to be
adjusted:so that it shoots where
theactual user wants to place the
bullet, The way in whiich the
‘sights are seen and aligned, and’

. how the-rifle is held and .con--

trolled‘ by. the shooter affect

. bullet placement. -

Open sights have some atl
vantages, and some. disad-
vantages. as well.” They... are

_simple, familiar to all shooters, .

and for fast, short-range shots or
foul’: weather hunting they're
hard to beat, Long-range shots -
and poor light limit the efficiency
of open sights, ©...

. Scope sights are. alternately

- hailed as‘ the answer to all a
+ hunter's. aiming. problems, or
Cursed as the: cause of missed
Shots. Again,’ ‘either-‘can . be

correct, but it all spends on the

. shooter: Sos

‘One of the. scope’s greatest
advantages is that whem properly .
focussed a’ clear. image. of: the
target, its surroundings, arid the

Aiming reticle all appear on the.

eye-plece. lens,. Errors in aim are
reduced, -as only one aiming ~

“Mark, the scope reticle, has to be
' lined up on the target, =

A second major advantage of

the scope sights:is that ‘a target
can be clearly. distinguished.in
" ‘poor light, or wher. hidden by. -
“brush or ‘heavy shadow.”

_ Generally, aiming: ‘problems