Yesteryear Or Today

[Walleyes]

After commenting on another post something about the old timers hunting vs today's hunting how does everyone compare it.. I mean sure we have modern conveniences like fancy trucks to get there in and all the trailers to haul it in.. And our rifles and loads are dialed in to exact numbers and we know there capabilities down to a couple inches at many yards.. We have G.P.S. to keep us on track and many of us quads to pack our lazy bums into the far reaches of hunting areas..

But in a lot of cases many hunters still hunt the way they have for hundreds of years.. Take the mountain boys.. They still ride horse's up the hill, set up a tent and walk out from there. Mean while living off of well not exactly gourmet meals... Same as many river hunters that still venture out on canoe and use mother nature as their transportation..

But I think in all fairness to our generation we have to get into the farther reaches of our hunting areas.. Now this is our own fault because as outdoors people we feel the need to see whats around that next corner and then the next and so on and as such we are pushing the game farther back.. Now not always but we are pushing herds back.. In some cases and well in a lot of cases hunting is as good as it ever was and in some even better.. But I'm not talking about 20 or 30 years ago but I mean like a 100 years.. There was a lot of game in most areas. Heck even 20 years ago I remember places that my Father would take me back in the early 80's while hunting the Chinchaga area that you would swear people were grazing cattle but it was Moose.. It wasn't a matter of if you would get one but how big... It was unreal.. You just don't see that anymore oh sure there's the odd little hole but not like there was...

So what is you're guys thoughts better hunting today, easier today and what about the old boys sure they didn't have the toys but maybe they didn't need them either..

[sheephunter]

Way...way...way easier today. Just reading through a book about the Willmore and those guys were tough. Ya, it's still horse country today but back then they didn't have the high-tech clothing, tents, food and everything else that makes us comfortable today. I thought I worked my tail off and survived some pretty harsh conditions in September in the Willmore but I'm a pussy compared to those guys. They'd take off for 4-6 weeks at a time, hunting, living off the land and just enjoying life.

I guess there likely was a lot more game back then and guys could walk out their backdoor to shoot a deer or moose or elk but man, those sheep/goat hunters were tough sons of guns.

Speaking of that, I just finished reading "The Mad Trapper of Rat River" for the umteenth time and you want to talk about tough. Ya, the Mad Trapper was but so too were the RCMP and citizens that took up his trail. Living off a dog sled for a week in -40 temperatures with marginal gear at best.

We are products of our society and our society has made us whimps!!!!! We have it easy.

[Walleyes]

:lol: :lol: :lol: I love it... Yah you have a lot of valid stuff there sheep on the living conditions and such for sure.. But how bout the average guy,, I think there hunting was easier..

K How bout this twist,, do to our lack of game compared to theres,, who do you think are better hunters the old boys or us... I think in a lot of cases we have to try a lot harder and as such it has made us if anything better all round hunters,, well I guess better may be the wrong word maybe more knowledgeable..... Mind you some of the rifles we shoot compared to the old guys,, they had to get a lot closer to there game on average than we do..

How many old stories have we all heard about the boys headin out in the 68 pontiac in the morning and returned at night with the father and 2 uncles loaded up with a couple bulls and damn nice ones to... This was done on a regular bases in a host of areas..

[honda450]

Well I own 3 quads and yes use them for hunting. If they were banned for hunting I would have no problem with that. Maybe I shoud not speak too freely---getting old. But no doubt 30 years ago hunting was way different than today. And we can continue to hope it will not turn as our southern neighbours.

[sheephunter]

I'm not so sure I'd agree that game number were higher back then...well I guess it depends when you mean by back then. Whitetail number are definitely at an all-time high now and I suspect mule deer numbers are way up too. Considering that elk were pretty well extripated in the province not too long ago as well, I think we may have far more opportunity today than in the old days plus our access to it all is so easy. No doubt there were a few species with higher population but I suspect not many. The big difference now is the number of hunters and the difficulty of access to private property. That definitely makes things tougher.

[honda450]

68 Pontiac? Luxury. My grandfather used a 46 Ford half ton and we would have to stop at every creek to fill the rad. With his old 303 Britsh, iron sights.I like this post. Maybe I was born before my time.

[Win94]

Speaking of that, I just finished reading "The Mad Trapper of Rat River" for the umteenth time and you want to talk about tough. Ya, the Mad Trapper was but so too were the RCMP and citizens that took up his trail. Living off a dog sled for a week in -40 temperatures with marginal gear at best.


............Very awesome TJ!!! I read the book by Dick North every year at Christmas time as a tradition. I also bought the DVD Lee marvin/Charles Bronson movie "Death Hunt" based on it. Its definitley a hollywood version but i love seeing those lever guns in action.:D

[SakoAlberta]

Sheep,

Is that the Rudy Weibe book? I read it yrs ago and, after spending four yrs in Fort mcPherson, I knowhow tough they must have been!

[honda450]

Yeah that movie has been on TV a few times over the last few months. Me and my son always watch movies such as this when we camp out in the bush with my high tech trailer and generator. But its roughing it.

[honda450]

I remember hunting with my father for pheasant and I was about 12 years old and he would let me drive. He worked hard so he would be in the passager side of the the old station wagon with the shotgun but he would fall asleep. Well 12 years old just keep going. He would wake up and sometimes we would be in Saskatchewan.

[catnthehat]

Well I own 3 quads and yes use them for hunting. If they were banned for hunting I would have no problem with that. Maybe I shoud not speak too freely---getting old. But no doubt 30 years ago hunting was way different than today. And we can continue to hope it will not turn as our southern neighbours.
I'm in the same school as you Hondo.
if they banned jet boats on my river, so what, i'd find another mode of transport.
30 years ago I was packing for clients in a flat bottomed jon boat with a 20 kicker and a 20' freighter with a 25.
I could scull either for long periods of time, and it is a good thing, because i had lots!:lol:
Not nearly so much time these days, so the quicker mode kicks in.
however, when I am down south hunting white tails, it's still
"shank's mare".
cat

[JohninAB]

I think hunting is way easier today than yesteryear myself. Pushing those big coulees in Saskatchewan, dragging deer up river banks and using the 68 Impala versus the 4x4's of today. In Alberta here you see so much new access every year from oil and gas operations and forestry that there seems no place remote any more unless you are in the slopes.

As far as game numbers, way more deer now, both mulies and whitetails as for elk not so sure compared to even 10 years ago. We used to run into elk during bow season left, right and centre, now they seem harder to find. Moose coming back nicely though in 348.

[Huntnut]

I suspect mule deer numbers are way up too.

I remember my dad telling me about when he was young about how many mulies there were compared to now and how you hardly ever saw a whitetail. But I imagine like everything they go in cycles.

[honda450]

Yeah I rememeber in zones where mulies was general and whitetails were draw. Now its oppoisite.

[Walleyes]

Some of the old metis fellows in our area say that when they were kids growing up during the depression that there were hardly any Whitetail and even less Moose,, they lived off the jumping deer,, Mulys...

[geezer55]

I can remember a year that they issued am M.E.D. Tag. You could shoot either moose, elk or deer. Can't remember if you had to shoot males only or you could take either sex. Can remember hunting with my dad using our only vehicle, a 1971 Plymouth station wagon, to haul our animals home.

[honda450]

Holy smokes geezer55 you must be old.

[honda450]

Well here's another story. Years ago 64 or so I would go hunting with my father in Bragg Creek area. Not like it is today. Well there was an old cabin back in there which could hold 6 men. They were bunk beds. There was some food pots pans,plates and other stuff in this cabin, nice fireplace and wood heater. We always had our own food , but they had a coffee can on the counter that you put money in to what you used or a complete donation. My father always left money or the food we had to spare. The coffee can or food supply was always more full after we left. Ain't no places left like this nowadays. Sad.

[Win94]

Well here's another story. Years ago 64 or so I would go hunting with my father in Bragg Creek area. Not like it is today. Well there was an old cabin back in there which could hold 6 men. They were bunk beds. There was some food pots pans,plates and other stuff in this cabin, nice fireplace and wood heater. We always had our own food , but they had a coffee can on the counter that you put money in to what you used or a complete donation. My father always left money or the food we had to spare. The coffee can or food supply was always more full after we left. Ain't no places left like this nowadays. Sad.


.......definitley would have loved to have been a part of that generation.

[Piker]

speaking as an oldtimer definitely things have changed. But one thing remains the same and as far as I am concerned will never change and that is the hunt itself. I started hunting when I was 8 yrs. old yes my Dad brought me a gun taught me all the rules and ethics and everything that goes with it. I still hunt with the ideas he instilled in me regardless of the changing times. There are things I may not agree with but who am I to judge anyone. I hunt because I love it and anything I kill is a bonus. I do like to eat wild meat but get lots from friends which is the other side of it. A lot of the hunt depends on who you are with and the experience of the outdoors. Thks for listening to my rambles

[bowchaser]

A guy I work with is about 65. He told me you used to buy a tag for one animal and the season was only a week or two. You could buy a moose tag every year, but only a moose tag, not umpteen deer tags, 2 bear, a sheep, an elk, and hunt them for 2.5 months. So he believes the game numbers are way down because of it, each person can shoot a pile of deer, bear, sheep, elk, etc in the same season. Don't get me wrong, I fill a few tags myself and apply for draws. He told me they used to go into Racehorse Creek after the season just to watch the elk move, he says the hillsides were covered, now you're lucky to see a bull over the whole season. I have to partly agree when I see some threads of people shooting a pile of game and we complain about drawing tags and not enough game around.

[bagwan]

I grew up just south of Kitscoty and in the late 40's early 50's there was hardly any game in the area. I left in 59 and there were lots of White Tail in the area. There was no season in that area in the early 50's. I did dine on the odd bit of venison, though, as fresh meat was always welcome. Steers were 14cents a lb, too. I left for greener pastures and, yes to you young fellers, I'm, at the brown envelope stage. Did about 8 miles today looking for a gooder WT. so the bod can still get out and enjoy.

[hunt_and_fish]

There are things I may not agree with but who am I to judge anyone. I hunt because I love it and anything I kill is a bonus. I do like to eat wild meat but get lots from friends which is the other side of it. A lot of the hunt depends on who you are with and the experience of the outdoors.

You hit the nail on the head for me Piker. Well said.

I agree with Walleyes that, in general, we are probably more knowledgeable now...partly because we have to be with the increased hunting pressure, and partly because information and knowledge are shared so much more freely now. By reading books that the old guys wrote (which I much prefer over most of the newer ones) we can learn what they knew. On top of that, we have resources such as this site (where I have already learned more than I ever expected) that allow us to share the things that we've learned.

I agree with Sheep that, in general, we are much wimpier. I would attribute this to the fact that things come easier for us now. Most of us aren't out there hunting because we NEED to feed our families and like has been said before, when we do go out we have much better access and far superior gear than the oldtimers had.

Like Piker said, the common bond between us and the hunters of yesteryear is enjoyment we get from the experience. An enjoyment that I find nearly impossible to fully explain to people that don't hunt.

[sheephunter]

Sheep,

Is that the Rudy Weibe book? I read it yrs ago and, after spending four yrs in Fort mcPherson, I knowhow tough they must have been!


No, it's the one by Helena Katz. Not the best version I've read but I was out of reading material and about to board a plane in Whitehorse. Still a good read though.

Interesting how the movie painted Johnson as the poor misunderstood good guy. He was definitley anything but.

[SakoAlberta]

I've read that too. The Wiebe Book was a work of fiction but very much followed the known 'facts'. (A historical fiction?)

I spent four yrs in McPherson(although the McPherson the Mad Trapper bought goods at was at a slightly different location) and I know those mountains and he must have been one tough hombre.

Also, I've seen his grave in Aklavik. After that, and reading the Wiebe book as a teenager, I took an interest in the story.

The movie makes it look almost tropical compared to what those mountains are like when the manhunt was on.

[sheephunter]

I've read that too. The Wiebe Book was a work of fiction but very much followed the known 'facts'. (A historical fiction?)

I spent four yrs in McPherson(although the McPherson the Mad Trapper bought goods at was at a slightly different location) and I know those mountains and he must have been one tough hombre.

Also, I've seen his grave in Aklavik. After that, and reading the Wiebe book as a teenager, I took an interest in the story.

The movie makes it look almost tropical compared to what those mountains are like when the manhunt was on.

LOL...ya it was definitely a Hollywood version.....

[honda450]

Good reading. Thanks.

[SakoAlberta]

It seems to me there is a non fiction version by Dick North as well...?

[sheephunter]

That was the one I used to have...not sure who borrowed it and never returned it.

[SakoAlberta]

That was the one I used to have...not sure who borrowed it and never returned it.

I've read all three at one time or another. I'll have to check my library to see what's still there. I know the Wiebe one is but the other two; I'm not so sure about. My last big game hunting will be next weekend in the camp(until spring bears). I'll have to get a reading list going for the winter. I think, with all this talk, I'll have to read the three 'Mad Trapper' books yet again.

[Mintaka]

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[sonny]

Went on 1st. elk hunt in Alberta in 1960,purchesed hunting licence at Fullertons Gen. Store in Bragg Creek, at a cost of $5.oo plus $1.oo for Ins..
Licence was good for 1 animal male or female, the hunting season that year opened on Nov.1 .
We packed by saddle and pack horse, starting 4 miles west of Bragg Creek to the east side of powder face mt. about 15- 20 miles.
As a green horn to big game hunting in the Rocky Mts. of Alta. as i was a 17 year old flat land hunter from southern Sask. Not ever in my life had i ever seen any big game animal larger than a Mule Deer , As we were packing in , it was winter like conditions,lots of snow and cool, As we passed the Elbow Ranger station we had to stop and regester as to where we were going and how long, regester firearms, then on our way . We saw several moose eating in the willows along the way, i could not believe the size of them, wanting to shoot one in the worst way, but the 2 seasoned hunters who were looking after me said no way this is a elk hunting trip.
After the Ranger station saw a lot less hunters, most hunters would get as far Mclean Creek, without chains.
Opening day i shot a spike bull, i swear i could not believe the size of that elk, Roy shot a cow elk, Dan shot a 6 point bull out of a group of 6 bulls. Opening day we saw at least 60 head of elk on Powder face, we were the only hunters there that day, that hunt was what memories are all about, seems like yesterday.
Thanks for your time
Sonny

[Reeves]

You fellas with these olde tyme topics have brought back some olde memories that bring a smile to enjoy !

My Dad had a hunting camp in N. Ont. He always left a note on the table of this cabin : please enjoy this place, but please leave as found. Never locked the place & never had a problem.
We (he) also had notes left for him, thanking him for the use of his cabin. As well as stories about how these hunters did in the area.
Last time I was in the camp was about the winter of (about) 76-77. Had to ski in (used really old antique wood skis with spring bindings) for about 6 miles from the last place plowed to. Went to -40f that night.
Next day showed no sign of warming, ski out to the car and of course it wouldn't start. Ski out to the nearest farm. "Forced" to have a breakfast of steak and eggs.
This next part you may not believe, but matters not to me.
A F&W guy shows up, the old folks invite him in (old folks were two old men & one old woman) and feed him the same breakfast. While there, he mentioned he was looking into a "poaching" of several Deer. He didn't "dwell" on the topic, just mentioned "in passing".
Being a young lad, I wasn't sure of all the word play and facial expressions.
Turns out the steak was Venison.

I remember another trip to the cabin. A one day trip tuned into a couple days. Dad & his buddies had to stop by and visit the olde tymers that has sugar bushes (Maple) and sample their "products". All I got to enjoy was Maple sugar, fudge etc. Dad had a hard time walking after these visits :D
Wonder what else they could have been "cooking" in those maple shacks ? :D

Funny how a comment or such will trigger these olde memories. And I thank you all for them !