The annual Antler Measuring Day at the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association (CDFGPA) clubhouse on Saturday was an outstanding success on more than one front.
First, there were large numbers of antlers taken in fair chase entered for scoring. Second, the turnout was a tribute to the dedicated member scorers of the Big Game Records of British Columbia who have done a superb job of assembling these important events of our hunting heritage. Third, while it is not a direct measure of the business at hand I came away from the event convinced that the art of oral storytelling in the Comox Valley was greatly enhanced by this social gathering of hunters.
I spent most of my time at the show watching the storytelling that was going on around me throughout the day. I was particularly impressed by three children of about 10 years old (two boys and a girl) who were telling some animated tales of the hunt to each other.
One little storyteller鈥檚 hands were outstretched as he related the exciting details of the hunt and the importance of the antlers in front of him.
Trophy hunting can be a controversial type of hunting that turns many people off, especially when the talk gets around to non-edible animals.
Notwithstanding, there are many positive aspects of trophy hunting that I have no quarrel with. The older I get the more I think about hunting as a meat-gathering activity. Hunters who spend much of their time in selective hunting, where they are trying to get a particular type of animal where none of the edible meat is wasted, is just fine by me.
I have no time for any person who wastes good food, be it fruit, vegetables, fish or meat. By selectively hunting large animals you run the risk of shooting one that only makes good hamburger, stew and sausage 鈥� that鈥檚 your choice. I know from experience and Elaine has made her preferences very clear.
In the new record book 鈥� Michael Green had this to say in the sixth edition of Big Game Trophy Records of British Columbia where he comments about the quality of the meat of a great moose he shot: 鈥淚 also realize that my recollections never seem to include the meals off that great beast, but that was probably because the quality was so uniform 鈥� even the gravy was tough.鈥�
When I left the show early in the afternoon hunters were still arriving with fine sets of antlers they had collected during this past season. As a lifelong hunter I walked a little taller because of the excellence to the craft of hunting as displayed by this annual event 鈥� congratulations to all concerned.
The club is a volunteer organization that pays its way with memberships, publication of record books and an annual fundraiser at their provincial conference. Last year they published (in high quality hardback) their sixth edition of Big Game Records of British Columbia. The book contains many outstanding stories of hunting in British Columbia and an important story on the early history of hunting black-tailed deer on Vancouver Island by Byron Mason.
If you have a hunter in your family in need of a beautiful gift I recommend this timely book, or if you are a hunter interested in the quality of our great wildlife resource I highly recommend you purchase a copy for your library.
The book is available from The Wildlife Records Club of British Columbia, Box 22, Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, V9P 9J9 - $35 plus $10 mailing costs. It is printed by Friesens on paper from responsible sources.
A second publication the club had on display during the show was an 8x11 paperback edition of Vancouver Island Columbian Black Tail Deer Records, eighth edition, $5 plus mailing $3. If you are an Island deer hunter you owe it to yourself to get this historical little booklet put together by club directors Byron Mason, Jerry MacDermott, Fred Pringle and Charles Veasey. It is available from the above address. Youth black tail deer hunters on Vancouver Island would also find it interesting.
A tip of the hat to Tyee Marina for prizes and participation at the Antler Measuring Day.
P.S. Have you written your letter on halibut allocation?
