THE ELK HUNT

Rich Boulanger and his buddies Pat Law, Derrick Martin and Kyle Best, all from Chalk River, were among the few to take a cow elk to a check station. One group from Stoney Creek called me to say that they had successfully shot a cow elk hunting Elson Ruddy’s farm while staying in their Mercedes Benz camper. (I didn’t know the company built such.) They called to say that they had purchased bags and bags of ice to help cool down and preserve the elk while they high-tailed it home to their butcher.

The Boulanger group, all avid moose and deer hunters, didn’t want to miss an opportunity to be part of this inaugural hunt so relatively close to home although they chose to stay at The Best Western in Bancroft “to treat themselves”. They were hunting Crown Land in Wildlife Management Unit 57 on September 22 when Boulanger, the seal holder became Boulanger the shooter at approximately 7:45 a.m. He was using a .308 with a 165 grain bullet. Like many other hunters the group said that the elk give off a distinctively strong “perfumy” smell. As all of the other hunters I spoke with, they said scouting was key – especially having local maps and meeting local landowners “face to face” for inside information. Following the weigh-in at the Bancroft check station (the cow weighed 293 pounds) they hastened for home for an appointment with their butcher.

CWD

During the two week gun season for deer I spoke to some hunters who wanted to turn in the heads of their bucks to the MNR for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing. However, they were worried that the rest of the body would be untagged and that they could be charged by a Conservation Officer. I asked Provincial Enforcement Specialist David Critchlow for his insight. His answer follows.

If the hunter has handed in the head, with the seal attached, to the CWD team, the hunter has met his obligations – the seal is still attached to the wildlife. It just doesn’t happen to be with the carcass. If stopped by a C.O. indicate that the deer head was turned over to the CWD team, with the seal attached. The C.O., if he needs to, can then follow up with the CWD collection team. The hunter should not remove the seal from the head when giving the head to the CWD team.

AND FINALLY…

Maintenance free – When it breaks it can’t be fixed. Anon.

Photo – left to right : Boulanger, Law, Martin, Best