Last year a vast new area was opened up for elk hunting in Northern British Columbia, giving several outfits a new opportunity to book hunters for never-before hunted elk. I told Hunting Report subscribers about this opportunity when it was first announced in June 2008. In fact, the news was so fresh the regulations hadn’t been printed yet. You’ll recall that the new hunt was in the huge wildlife unit known as Zone 7-52, west of Fort Nelson. (See Article ID 2110.) Operators in that area were cautiously optimistic about the new 10-day elk season there and were not promoting it much. So, how did the season go, and more importantly, should you bother booking an elk hunt in this area?
Success was nearly 100 percent on some excellent bulls. While no “Booners” were taken, they were seen and will probably be taken this year or next. Darwin Cary of Scoop Lake Outfitters (250-491-1885; www.scooplake.com) reports one client passed on 22 bulls scoring 320 or better on his hunt while chasing a true monster in the 375-class. Scoop Lake hunts both sides of the Kechika River, which divides area 7-51 (open to elk hunting for more than 15 years) from area 7-52 where the elk are thriving in a vast burn and had never been hunted. An old hand in the business, Cary says his area offers one of the best free-range elk opportunities in North America. It’s so good in fact that he will penalize a hunter for shooting a bull under 300 points. In other words, a 300-plus point bull should be a “gimme.” Carey says there is lots of rutting activity and that the elk are very responsive.....
