- Joined
- Jun 14, 2015
- Messages
- 6,707
- Reaction score
- 16,235
- Location
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Media
- 266
- Articles
- 5
- Member of
- NRA, DSC
- Hunted
- Nam, Zam, Zim,RSA (Eastern Cape & NW), Canada, NZ, Alaska, TX, LA, MO, OH, MT, ID, WA, WY
Oct 21 Hunting Day 6 (last day)
Connor and I were going to hunt together for the last day and we were going to use the horses. As I always do when getting a new horse, I ask what's it's name. This horse, I was told, had no name. So for that reason, the rest of the morning I was humming the old song from the 70s, "A Horse with no name."
We rode out of camp while still dark. Again, the sky was clear and the moon was pretty full. Within about 20 minutes, we arrived at an old logging clear cut of several hundred acres. Grass and willows had grown and the old log debris piles provided some cover. Connor climbed up on one to get a vantage point for glassing. He also cow called, but no bull replied.
We moved on down the road, to another clear cut and repeated the same drill. We did this at a few more locations, until early afternoon and then rode back to the cabin. This hunt would end with no bull moose, but that's hunting, eh. Everyone was going to load up and head back to the lodge for the afternoon. The plan was to hunt one of the hay fields behind the lodge and see if an easy elk could be had. Frank was going to drive the big truck, pulling the horse trailer loaded with five horses, so I drove his truck back to the lodge. If it wasn't for the fact that I was following Connor in his truck, I probably would have gotten lost. Lots and lots of roads.
Arriving back at the lodge, I put all my gear back in the cabin where I started the week and met up with my two hunting buddies, Kim and Jimmy.
Jimmy had been busy cutting and wrapping both his elk and moose. Ray took Kim to Fort St John, as Kim was flying home a day ahead of us. Ray stopped in town and got us a couple 48 quart ice chests, which can be nearly filled with meat and stay under the 50 pound limit.
Connor and I made one last evening hunt, hoping to punch my elk tag and provide some meat for the guides to share. We saw a bunch of whitetails and mule deer that evening, but no elk.
Our last night at the lodge was a wonderful dinner, prepared by Frank's daughter Holly and by the lodge cook, Christina. Christina hails from Germany and she had a special treat for dessert!
Oct 21 Fly from Fort St John to Vancouver and overnight
Our last morning, be packed and had breakfast. A new group of hunters, a husband and wife from Vancouver Island, had arrived last night and were getting ready to head out on their hunt.
Frank was again busy in the kitchen, slicing bacon from a slab and cooking up eggs, bacon and hashbrowns.
After breakfast, we loaded our gear into Frank's truck and made the hour drive into Fort St John. Checking in at the airport was a breeze and the two hour flight to Vancouver went well. Lots of snow on the mountains! Our bags came out fairly quick and we called the Executive Hotel and asked about their shuttle. They told us where to wait for it and what the van looked like and after about a 10-15 wait, we were on our way to the hotel. We told the shuttle driver that we had a 6am flight the next morning and wanted to head back to the airport around 3 am. The driver informed us that the shuttle only ran 6:30am to 11pm. I had been told it was a 24/7 shuttle when I selected this hotel. The hotel agreed to get us two cabs in the morning and pay for them, so that worked out okay. The other reason for selecting this hotel was they had a COVID testing clinic on site and we made an appointment to get our Antigen test there.
Upon checking into the hotel, we asked if we could put the coolers in the restaurant freezer and the staff was very accommodating. I think a lot of hunters and fisherman past through there and it's a common request. Jimmy took the coolers back to the kitchen and told me he opened the lids, so the contents would better freeze. He used the duct tape to tape the lids open. After getting into our room, we headed to the eight floor and quickly got our COVID test, with the good, negative results. We then headed to the hotel restaurant, had a great meal and then it was off to bed as we had a 2:30 am wake up call.
Oct 22 Fly from Vancouver to DFW, then Shreveport, LA
When we went to check out, Jimmy retrieved the ice chests from the freezer and I could tell from his expression, something wasn't right. Some genius, decided to close the ice chest lids, so the meat did not get exposed to the cold and did not freeze. It was cold, but not really frozen. Tape the two coolers shut, loaded them into the cabs along with duffle bags and rifle case and off we went to the airport.
Check in at the American Airlines counter was painfully slow. Jimmy checked in his bag and the two coolers. He had to do a few extra steps due to the meat. I had the rifle case and it required its couple of special steps. Once past the American counter, the bag drop off place wasn't opened yet. So we sat there for about 30 minutes until it opened. Next was the airport security screening, slow but no issues. Then we went through US Customs and it went quick and they all acted like they could care less about anything. The fact that it was 5am might have had something to do with it. They didn't ask to see my form 4457 or anything. The flight from Vancouver to Dallas was packed, but departed on time. The connecting flight to Shreveport went well.
In summary, all three of us had a great experience hunting with Horseshoe Creek Outfitters. Obviously Jimmy was very happy, having taken a really nice bull moose and a 5x5 bull elk. While Kim and I didn't pull the trigger on anything, we both had a great time seeing some of what northern British Columbia had to offer. We saw some beautiful country, saw lots of variety of game, but in the end the bull moose weren't cooperating this week. The trade off on opening week of rifle season was the clear skies and a full moon. But that is part of hunting.
If you are going to either DSC or HSC in early 2022, Horseshoe Creek Outfitters will be having a booth at both shows. Stop by and say hello to Frank, Ray and the crew. I plan to meet with them and book another hunt.
Connor and I were going to hunt together for the last day and we were going to use the horses. As I always do when getting a new horse, I ask what's it's name. This horse, I was told, had no name. So for that reason, the rest of the morning I was humming the old song from the 70s, "A Horse with no name."
We rode out of camp while still dark. Again, the sky was clear and the moon was pretty full. Within about 20 minutes, we arrived at an old logging clear cut of several hundred acres. Grass and willows had grown and the old log debris piles provided some cover. Connor climbed up on one to get a vantage point for glassing. He also cow called, but no bull replied.
We moved on down the road, to another clear cut and repeated the same drill. We did this at a few more locations, until early afternoon and then rode back to the cabin. This hunt would end with no bull moose, but that's hunting, eh. Everyone was going to load up and head back to the lodge for the afternoon. The plan was to hunt one of the hay fields behind the lodge and see if an easy elk could be had. Frank was going to drive the big truck, pulling the horse trailer loaded with five horses, so I drove his truck back to the lodge. If it wasn't for the fact that I was following Connor in his truck, I probably would have gotten lost. Lots and lots of roads.
Arriving back at the lodge, I put all my gear back in the cabin where I started the week and met up with my two hunting buddies, Kim and Jimmy.
Jimmy had been busy cutting and wrapping both his elk and moose. Ray took Kim to Fort St John, as Kim was flying home a day ahead of us. Ray stopped in town and got us a couple 48 quart ice chests, which can be nearly filled with meat and stay under the 50 pound limit.
Connor and I made one last evening hunt, hoping to punch my elk tag and provide some meat for the guides to share. We saw a bunch of whitetails and mule deer that evening, but no elk.
Our last night at the lodge was a wonderful dinner, prepared by Frank's daughter Holly and by the lodge cook, Christina. Christina hails from Germany and she had a special treat for dessert!
Oct 21 Fly from Fort St John to Vancouver and overnight
Our last morning, be packed and had breakfast. A new group of hunters, a husband and wife from Vancouver Island, had arrived last night and were getting ready to head out on their hunt.
Frank was again busy in the kitchen, slicing bacon from a slab and cooking up eggs, bacon and hashbrowns.
After breakfast, we loaded our gear into Frank's truck and made the hour drive into Fort St John. Checking in at the airport was a breeze and the two hour flight to Vancouver went well. Lots of snow on the mountains! Our bags came out fairly quick and we called the Executive Hotel and asked about their shuttle. They told us where to wait for it and what the van looked like and after about a 10-15 wait, we were on our way to the hotel. We told the shuttle driver that we had a 6am flight the next morning and wanted to head back to the airport around 3 am. The driver informed us that the shuttle only ran 6:30am to 11pm. I had been told it was a 24/7 shuttle when I selected this hotel. The hotel agreed to get us two cabs in the morning and pay for them, so that worked out okay. The other reason for selecting this hotel was they had a COVID testing clinic on site and we made an appointment to get our Antigen test there.
Upon checking into the hotel, we asked if we could put the coolers in the restaurant freezer and the staff was very accommodating. I think a lot of hunters and fisherman past through there and it's a common request. Jimmy took the coolers back to the kitchen and told me he opened the lids, so the contents would better freeze. He used the duct tape to tape the lids open. After getting into our room, we headed to the eight floor and quickly got our COVID test, with the good, negative results. We then headed to the hotel restaurant, had a great meal and then it was off to bed as we had a 2:30 am wake up call.
Oct 22 Fly from Vancouver to DFW, then Shreveport, LA
When we went to check out, Jimmy retrieved the ice chests from the freezer and I could tell from his expression, something wasn't right. Some genius, decided to close the ice chest lids, so the meat did not get exposed to the cold and did not freeze. It was cold, but not really frozen. Tape the two coolers shut, loaded them into the cabs along with duffle bags and rifle case and off we went to the airport.
Check in at the American Airlines counter was painfully slow. Jimmy checked in his bag and the two coolers. He had to do a few extra steps due to the meat. I had the rifle case and it required its couple of special steps. Once past the American counter, the bag drop off place wasn't opened yet. So we sat there for about 30 minutes until it opened. Next was the airport security screening, slow but no issues. Then we went through US Customs and it went quick and they all acted like they could care less about anything. The fact that it was 5am might have had something to do with it. They didn't ask to see my form 4457 or anything. The flight from Vancouver to Dallas was packed, but departed on time. The connecting flight to Shreveport went well.
In summary, all three of us had a great experience hunting with Horseshoe Creek Outfitters. Obviously Jimmy was very happy, having taken a really nice bull moose and a 5x5 bull elk. While Kim and I didn't pull the trigger on anything, we both had a great time seeing some of what northern British Columbia had to offer. We saw some beautiful country, saw lots of variety of game, but in the end the bull moose weren't cooperating this week. The trade off on opening week of rifle season was the clear skies and a full moon. But that is part of hunting.
If you are going to either DSC or HSC in early 2022, Horseshoe Creek Outfitters will be having a booth at both shows. Stop by and say hello to Frank, Ray and the crew. I plan to meet with them and book another hunt.
Last edited:
