Hunting with the Honda Big Ruckus

"What is that thing?" he asked.
He was another hunter who was riding a Honda quad.
"It's a Honda Big Ruckus, 250 cc."
"Is it made for off road?"
"It was made for gravel roads but it really does well off road too." I'd traded my Honda 230 CRF for a Polaris 500 Sportsman but a man child had not returned it so thankfully Laura had let me use her Big Ruckus which I'd got her a year ago so we could ride together to Whistler. Standing with the 4 other hunting men I didn't mention that it really was my girlfriend's motorcycle. I just accepted the praise and fascination.
I really was enjoying the Ruckus. It's a scooter. Automatic. Street legal. That's what I like over the quad.
We were hunting moose but when Luke saw one it skiddadled to safety before he could get his rifle up. I saw 4 and they got away too disappearing into the thick forest off the side of the road.
It was spike fork season and because of the fabulous autumn weather they were getting a full nights fun and frolick and going to bed early in the morning. We weren't seeing them that much but there was all the evidence in the world that they were about. Regular moose highways of tracks in mud and sandy areas.
We were shooting grouse and Gilbert the cockapoo was flushing and finding the birds we shot. He even rode between my knees on the ruckus. It's got room on the back too to carry his box so he can come along for the ride.
I figure if I do shoot a deer or bear I can carry it out on the ruckus. I once rode down a Vancouver Island hillside sitting on the back of another fellows off road honda motorcycle with a deer being carried under my rump. If that littler Honda could do that, this Honda Big Ruckus could carry one for sure. It wouldn't be able to carry a moose but I figured when I was off riding alone with a rifle on my back I'd just go get my truck, and hopefully my friends Luke and Tom, if I shot one. The last moose I shot three years back I was riding my little Ruckus, the 50 cc one when I saw that moose on a hill and shot it. Luke and Tom did all the hauling, gutting and cleaning, and getting the moose in the back of the truck.
As it was this trip, we didn't get a moose, but each of us took a turn on the Ruckus with the other two and Gilbert following behind in the truck. Half the fun of hunting is all the other stuff we get up to like riding a Honda Big Ruckus high speed fishtailing on gravel logging roads.

























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Clearwater, BC -Hunting with Luke, Tom and Gilbert

Up at 6 am. Porridge and coffee. Trucks packed the night before. Driving up logging roads at dawn. Luke had his Rhino GPS and was taking us to Grizzly Lake where he'd been once before. He was in his truck with Gilbert and the Honda Big Ruckus on the back. Tom and I were in the my truck.
They were in front and stopped as a moose ran in front of him. He was getting his rifle out while Gilbert was ran after it up the hill. Tom and I joined up but the moose was long gone.
We left Tom and Gilbert to fish at a lake further past Grizzly. Luke went off in his truck. I took the Big Ruckus, 250 cc, up the mountain seeing lots of bear sign and moose sign but none of the animals that made them.
Back at the lake Tom hadn't caught any fish but I'd shot one grouse and Luke a couple. Gilbert was ecstatic we were all together. He found a grouse head from where Luke had cleaned the bird and brought this to us to play a grissly game of 'ball'. I would like him to 'fetch' the grouse not just find them so we played 'fetch' with the grouse head for a while.
A couple of other hunters on quads came by. We chatted a bit. We'd meet a couple more people and one dog that had Gilbert really excited at as social opportunity.
We ate lunch, the hard boiled eggs Laura had made with trail snacks, cheese, kippers, chocolates and apples. It was a glorious sunny fall day and life was good.
After lunch we headed round the mountain to a clearing where we target practiced for a bit before heading back to the moosey area. I shot another couple of grouse and Luke shot 2 more as well, he having shot 4 to my 3 for the day. We chided Tom for not catching any trout but he was there to drive the truck and prepared to help haul moose, complaining that we hadn't given him employment hauling moose.
At night we loaded up and drove the 20 minutes back to Dutch Lake Resort where Luke built a fire then cleaned the last of the grouse. Laura had warmed up the rabbit stew I'd made and we had that with Caesar Salads.
Then we planned the morning hunt.