Canadian Bear Hunt

[oakcreek]

Here's a link to the sporting goods store in Saskatoon
http://www.wholesalesports.com/onlin...trol/store_loc

[Buckfever4life]

I may have missed it.......is this your first bear hunt?

Yes this is my first real Bear hunt. I have hunted Bear in Southern WV on 10,000 acres of coal mining land and did not see any bears. We are not allowed to use bait and the guy with the bear dogs did not show up so we ending up riding out ATV for over 70 miles that day looking for bear.

I have most of my gear packed up and ready to go. I have decided to take a small carry-on with my digital camera and 10x42's. I have my passport, declaration form filled out but not signed, and plane tickets are waiting to be picked up. I guess I will have to pay $50 to get my rifle through customs, $150 something for my hunting license and $11 for my big game stamp once I get to camp. The airfaire and actual hunt is not costing me anything as this is a "business trip" for the company I work for. So out of pocket will really be license fees and taxidermy. Does anyone know what the tip should be for a guide, or do you tip the guide on an all exclusive hunt package? I know you get a guide who baits the area for you and takes you to and from your stand and skins the bear for you. The outfitter told me that if they dont get torrential rain storms that they may take us up to 60-75 miles back in the wilderness. I guess they will drop us off at the stand site and give us a radio for periodic radio checks. Wonder if I will spot bigfoot?

Here is a link to the website fo where we are going:

http://www.larsonlakeoutfitters.com/Bear.htm

[Buckfever4life]

I forgot to ask if I should carry cash and/or travelers checks with me to canada to pay for things like license, gear, and general shopping. Should I take a credit card or ATM card as well?

[nchunter54]

Use a credit card if possible, Mastercard/Visa will do the exchange thing for you; no the dude on the other side of the counter. I think the fee for a firearm is $26.00, my buddy had to pay last September at the border, we drove up. I have the Firearm's Card so all I had to do is show it.

Don

[Buckfever4life]

Originally Posted by nchunter54

Use a credit card if possible, Mastercard/Visa will do the exchange thing for you; no the dude on the other side of the counter. I think the fee for a firearm is $26.00, my buddy had to pay last September at the border, we drove up. I have the Firearm's Card so all I had to do is show it.

Don

I had heard that they dropped the firearm fee. How do you get a firearm card?

[nchunter54]

Check out this website http://www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca Back some years ago when Canada started requiring the firearms form and fee, they offered a Firearms Safety Course. After you passed the course, you could apply for and receive a Firearms Possession and Acquisition License. This allowed for the hunter to register his/her firearm(s) and travel into Canada without having to complete the Gun Form each time and pay the temporary license fee. If they have stopped and/or waived this fee, it has been done since last September.

They have waived the Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) renewal fee, which is good for five years. The safety course has to be offered (for a fee) by an approved Canadian offical, they have it at some outdoor and gun shows. The PAL also allows a person to purchase ammo in Canada.

Please DO NOT take me as having the correct answers, the only thing that is for sure is that things change. Check with your outfitter, they should know all the hoops that have to be jumped through and paperwork that has to be filled out. One thing I have found, those officers at Customs will be just as nice as you are - or the other way too. I have had no problems taking a rifle into or out of Canada and I have been hunting up there 5 out of the last 8 seasons.

Don

[Bow Drawn]

I went through Saskatoon last June no problem witha bow or rifle. With the paper work and passport I didn't have any issues.
There is a new sporting goods store in Saskatoon but we drove right on by it. If you pack right you shouldn't have to stop there. For snacks and other things like beverages there's several other stores close by the airport. there other stores as yu drive north towards La Ronge as well.

Your hunting license in Saskatchewan has be bought well before your arrival per province laws and your fishing license is the same. I sure hope you bought it already.

Have a great trip and hunt in the great north of Saskat.

[Buckfever4life]

Your hunting license in Saskatchewan has be bought well before your arrival per province laws and your fishing license is the same. I sure hope you bought it already.

I called the outfitter yesterday evening after I read the above entry and he told me that we did not have to purchase our license ahead of time. He said he sells the licenses at his lodge and we can get them when we arrive to camp. You had me going there for a bit....lol...

There is a new sporting goods store in Saskatoon but we drove right on by it. If you pack right you shouldn't have to stop there

I was wanting to stop and purchase some bear deterrent pepper spray. I dont know if it will flag being in your uggage or not so I figured I would buy it once I get to Saskatoon. I have watched shows on the OutDoor Channel where bear have tried to climb up in the stand and guys would drop items of their gear to run them off. I figured a small blast of pepper spray would do the trick.

[Buckfever4life]

I also was wanting to know if and how your firearms case needed locked? I have heard of special locks that the customs people have a universal key for. I have not read anything where it states what type of lock needs used. Also, does your ammunition have to be in the rifle case? Luckily a few years ago I purchased a nice aluminum single scoped gun case from Sams Club. It has reinforced corners and very dense foam inside. The case has 4 hasps on it and the one on each end has a loop for a lock. Should I use a small combination lock on the case?

[TLC]

buck, call the airlines you're using and ask them about the locks. one company may want one thing and another something else. check with YOUR carrier. lose the pepper spray. leaves a lasting scent you don't want staying in the hunting site. IF it worked, be good for the problem at hand, but would screw up the hunting site. make you and the outfitter very un happy. tap the bear on the nose if it gets to close with an arrow. not going to use my foot like they do in the bear-n-down videos. like my body parts where they are. as far as tips, not sure there is a formula for it. depends a lot on what the guide, not the outfitter, does for you. tracks the bear, skins it, quarters it, hauls it out for you. and are they trying/doing everything they can to make your hunt successful? the better they are, the better the trip. last years hunt, tipped my guide $150. we all just threw everything into a pot and gave it to the outfitter to divide up. he did some of the guiding for all of us, so we never knew how much to give him. so we told the guides what we did so they knew we left the money for them. and don't forget about the cook tip also. seems like that should be included, but its not. figure $50-75 for that also.