We offer great spring hunts for either, Black Bear or Grizzly. Our Fall Moose Combo's offer great opportunity at excellent trophies for all species. Finally our Goat hunts, which take place through the winter, are the premier Goat hunt found in North America. There is no other area that produces Goats with larger horns, or longer hair, the combination is unbeatable!
A common question is: What do we specialize in? The answer is being virtually a year round small-personalized service particularly for Trophy Bear, Moose and Goat Hunts. This allows us to monitor the conditions and animal habits as they change through the seasons. This contributes to our high quality of service and excellent success rates.
McConnell & Company operates an exclusive guiding territory in the heart of British Columbia's Northern Coastal Ranges. We offer a small-personalized service, allowing us to satisfy virtually all of our guests needs, as we customize each trip for you!
The territory takes in both the east and west sides of the Coastal Ranges, allowing us to be very, very versatile. With two different climate zones, we can offer trips during any season, to meet anyone's needs.
The eastern side of the territory is located near Smithers. This is an area well known for it's incredible big game hunting. Smithers is made up of farmland along the Bulkley River, with pine forest surrounding the farmland, stretching as far as the eye can see in every direction. Amongst the pine, lies the eastern edge of the Coastal Ranges, which tower high over-head, where Goats, Caribou and Golden Eagles call home. Amidst the pines and peaks, numerous lakes, swamps and valleys are to be found that a wide variety of wildlife call home. These include Moose, Grizzly and Black Bear, Mule Deer and Whitetail, Wolf and Wolverine, Lynx and Cougar, the ever-present Red Squirrel and Rough Grouse, Mallards, Teal and Canada Geese as well as Mountain Caribou and Elk. This area is relatively dry, compared to the western side, but still receives plenty of precipitation for excellent growing conditions.
The western side of the territory is located nearest Terrace, an infamous Hunting & Fishing destination. The area is comprised of towering peaks, rising abruptly from the large river valleys below. On these peaks, tremendous Mountain Goats roam, overlooking their kingdom lay out before them. Below these monarchs, Grizzlies, Black Bear and Moose thrive amidst the salmon streams and clearings, choked with willows, grasses and summer berry crops. Huge hemlock and cedar trees grow to over a hundred feet. This large old growth forest is typical B.C. rainforest, with nothing but moss growing on the shaded ground beneath.
The territory takes in approximately a million acres of the mixed terrain. This is an EXCLUSIVE area; no other outfitters operate within this territory. The huge majority of the area is un-roaded, allowing us to hunt vast amounts of wilderness. It is rare to see any other people in our remote areas!
Elevations range from 1500 feet to over 8500 feet. All hunts with the exception of goat, take place below the timberline, which is approximately 5000 feet.
The center of our area has huge amounts of wilderness that we access using ATVs, boats and horses through our trail networks. This area has a lodge and various cabins located on a lake as well as various out camps. These consist of very comfortable wall tents. This is where the bulk of our fall hunts are conducted as we can cover huge amounts of territory from our Moose Lake camp.
On the eastern and western boundary lie logged areas. In the spring we hunt these areas for Bear and during the fall for the various animals we offer on our combo's. These are our least demanding hunts. 4-wheel drive trucks and ATVs are used to access these areas. These areas make up about 20% of the territory.
The southern portion of the territory is exclusively float-plane access only. We take only a limited number of people annually on this to allow for excellent trophy potential. There are a variety of lakes, with the 2 largest lakes each having an excellent wall tent camp that are center stage for these areas. Boats are the main transport, with some hiking involved. This is an excellent area for Moose, Mountain Goat, Bear and Wolf/Wolverine.