Hunting British Columbia's Lower Mainland

By Sacha Szymczak - Jul 10, 2003

With all the noise, traffic, and lights that come with living in and around the city of Vancouver, it is often easy to forget what a rugged and wildlife rich area we as "lowermainlanders" live in! Hunting in and near our very own municipalities has many advantages. The Lower mainland boasts many opportunities that hunters have often simply overlooked on their quest for a great hunting spot.

Well one does not need to look any further than the lower mainland to enjoy a vast variety of game and hunting opportunities!

A Fraser Valley Special Area map can be an invaluable tool when searching for that special "honey hole" just outside your doorstep. A bit of planning and research can have you hunting a variety of big and small game just minutes from your house.

Although it is somewhat well known, waterfowl hunting in and around cities such as Delta, Surrey, and Eastward through to Chilliwack can be phenomenal. With liberal bag limits and long seasons one can enjoy great wingshooting action often just minutes away!

The Pacific Flyway boasts a wide variety of waterfowl to keep even the most ardent wingshooter busy for the season; mallards as well as other avian are ever present due to our mild winters. Mass migrations of widgeon, pintails and geese, be it canadas, snows, or brants, can also be a true joy to call and decoy into gunning range.

For those who have a good set of legs and a good bird dog, pheasants can also be had, although not in the numbers of years gone by. Wild pheasants can be taken with regularity with a little time and work! Our coastal mountain ranges offer some great grouse shooting action just a short drive from town.

If wingshooting isn't your Idea of fun, and big game is, there is always the Columbian Blacktailed deer! Although often described as a puny or diminutive sub species, blacktails can test the wits, patience, and skill of a tried and true deer hunter like no other deer ! These short and stocky deer can inhabit small farmland woodlots, christmas tree farms, green belts or the more common "coastal jungle", but they are famous for eluding hunters.

A day spent hunting blacktails is often akin to going through the washing machine! It's cold, wet, dark, and tough on your body, but ever so rewarding when you come out of it in the end!

Fore those of you who want a little adrenaline rush we also have good numbers of black bear, cougar, and bobcats in areas surrounding the lower mainland. The opportunity to harvest a real monster bear is always present due to good forage such as salmon and summertime berries feeding these eating machines!

Although not as hunted, wildcats offer an exciting hunt when being chased with hounds. They can make the most fit hunter beg to stop for a rest and will often lead hounds and hunters alike on long wild runs through the mountains!

In no way have I covered all the game you can hunt in and around the lower mainland, but instead I have given you a brief summery of some of the great animals you could be hunting after work, or on a morning off. Just remember that great hunting doesn't have to be hours away, you may verywell have the next record book buck living in that small woodlot behind the house!

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