Regulations
Hunting in British Columbia: The Non-Resident's Guide
Big mountains, big game, and one hard rule: as a non-resident you hunt BC with a guide, or you do not hunt it at all.
British Columbia is one of the great big game destinations on the continent. It holds moose, elk, mountain goat, Stone and bighorn sheep, black bear and mule deer across a spread of country from the coast to the Rockies, and it draws non-resident hunters from around the world. Two facts shape any BC hunt before you book. First, the law: every non-resident big game hunter in British Columbia must be accompanied by a licensed guide outfitter, an assistant guide, or a resident holding a permit to accompany. There is no non-resident do-it-yourself big game hunt in BC. Second, the grizzly hunt is closed. British Columbia ended grizzly bear hunting in late 2017, and any page still quoting a BC grizzly price is out of date. Non-resident licence costs are modest (a Canadian non-resident licence surcharge of about $75 CAD, a non-resident alien licence about $180, plus species licences such as $250 for moose), while the guided hunt itself is the real spend. We hunt Alberta, next door, so at the end of this we give you the honest call on BC versus our country.
What British Columbia offers a hunter
BC is huge and its hunting reflects that. The Interior and the northern mountains hold moose, some of the biggest in the country by the northern ranges. Elk hunt the Kootenays and the Peace. Mule deer work the open Interior. Mountain goat cling to the high rock across much of the province, and BC is the only place in Canada you can hunt Stone sheep, the dark northern ram that draws sheep hunters from everywhere. Black bear are abundant coast to Interior, and BC carries a strong spring and fall bear hunt. It is genuinely varied country, and for a hunter chasing a species or a mountain experience they cannot get at home, BC has a deep menu.
It is also serious country. The coast is wet and steep, the north is remote, and a BC mountain hunt asks for fitness and the right gear the same way any western mountain hunt does. The upside of that difficulty is the same everywhere: the good animals live where the machines and the crowds do not reach.
The law: non-residents hunt BC with a guide
This is the single most important thing to understand about a BC big game hunt, and it is not a preference, it is the law. Under British Columbia's hunting regulations, all non-resident big game hunters must be accompanied by a licensed guide outfitter, an assistant guide, or a resident of BC who holds a permit to accompany. Guide outfitters in BC hold exclusive territories with a government allocation of animals, so a guided BC hunt runs inside a defined area with tags the outfitter is authorized to fill. You can read the province's own rules and the current 2026-2028 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis on the BC government hunting pages.
For a hunter used to buying an over-the-counter tag and heading out, this is a shift, but it is the same law that governs every guided mountain province in Canada. The guide is not red tape bolted onto the hunt. In this country the guide is the hunt: the person who knows the territory, holds the allocation, and turns a week in unfamiliar mountains into an actual chance at an animal.
The BC rule in one line
Every non-resident big game hunter in British Columbia must be accompanied by a licensed guide outfitter, assistant guide, or a resident with a permit to accompany. There is no non-resident DIY big game hunt in BC.
The grizzly hunt is closed (do not trust old prices)
British Columbia ended the grizzly bear hunt in late 2017. It is closed. If you find a ranking page or an old brochure still quoting a BC grizzly hunt price, that content is stale, and it is a good test of whether the source is current on anything else. Grizzly remains legal to hunt in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alaska, but not in BC. We say this plainly because getting the closures right is exactly where a lot of hunting content falls down, and booking a trip on out-of-date information is a costly mistake.
Black bear, by contrast, is open and strong in BC across spring and fall. If a bear hunt is what pulled you toward British Columbia, the black bear hunt is the real, current option there.
What a BC hunt costs
There are two costs to a BC hunt: the government licence and tag fees, which are small, and the guided hunt itself, which is the real number. British Columbia's non-resident licence and species licence fees are published by the province. The guided hunt price varies widely by species and outfit, and BC moose is a useful anchor: guided BC moose commonly runs from around $7,500 at the low end to $15,000 to $20,000 or more at the typical trophy end, in US dollars, before licences and tips. Sheep and goat hunts run far higher. Treat the hunt figures below as market ranges to sense-check a quote, not a fixed price list.
| Line item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BC non-res Canadian licence | ~$75 CAD | Surcharge included, GST extra |
| BC non-res alien licence | ~$180 CAD | Non-Canadian residents, GST extra |
| BC moose species licence | $250 CAD | Both licence classes |
| Guided BC moose (market) | $7,500 to $20,000+ USD | Low-end to trophy, by outfit |
| Grizzly | Not available | BC grizzly hunt closed since late 2017 |
BC or Alberta: the honest call
Here is the straight version, from an outfit that hunts the Alberta side of the same Rockies. British Columbia is the right answer for a few specific hunts. Stone sheep lives only in the north, so if a Stone ram is the dream, BC (or the territories) is where you go. Mountain goat and the far-northern giant moose are strong BC draws too. For those hunts, BC is not second best, it is the place.
For a Rocky Mountain elk, moose, mule deer or bighorn hunt done the old way, our Alberta country is the honest equal or better, and it hunts a little differently. We hunt the Blackstone and Wapiabi zone northwest of Nordegg, where motorized vehicles are prohibited, so every hunt is horseback and foot into wall-tent camps, and we are only about three and a half hours from the Calgary and Edmonton airports. The legal picture is the same next door: non-residents hunt Alberta with an outfitter-guide too. The difference is the experience and the access. If a quiet packstring into wild mountains is the picture in your head, that is what we do. Read our guided elk hunting and moose pages, compare the moose options on our Alberta versus BC versus Newfoundland moose breakdown, and if it fits, plan your hunt with us.
Common questions
Q. Can a non-resident hunt in British Columbia without a guide?
Not for big game. Under BC regulations every non-resident big game hunter must be accompanied by a licensed guide outfitter, an assistant guide, or a BC resident holding a permit to accompany. There is no non-resident do-it-yourself big game hunt in the province.
Q. Can you still hunt grizzly bear in BC?
No. British Columbia closed the grizzly bear hunt in late 2017. Any page still quoting a BC grizzly hunt price is out of date. Grizzly is still hunted in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alaska, but not in BC. Black bear hunting in BC is open in spring and fall.
Q. What does a non-resident hunting licence cost in BC?
British Columbia's non-resident Canadian licence carries a surcharge of about $75 CAD and the non-resident alien licence is about $180 CAD, plus species licences such as $250 for moose, with GST extra. Those government fees are small next to the guided hunt itself, which is the real cost.
Q. What can you hunt in British Columbia?
BC holds moose, elk, mule deer, mountain goat, black bear, and bighorn and Stone sheep. It is the only place in Canada to hunt Stone sheep. Grizzly is closed. Species and open areas vary across the province, so confirm the current regulations for the hunt you want.
Q. Is British Columbia or Alberta better for a mountain hunt?
For Stone sheep, mountain goat or a far-northern moose, BC is the place. For a Rocky Mountain elk, moose, mule deer or bighorn hunt done horseback into backcountry camps, our Alberta country next door is the honest equal, motorized-vehicle-free and about three and a half hours from Calgary or Edmonton.
Q. How much does a guided BC moose hunt cost?
Guided BC moose commonly runs from around $7,500 at the low end to $15,000 to $20,000 or more at the trophy end in US dollars, before licences, tips and travel. Treat that as a range to sense-check a quote, since price varies by outfit, area and length.
Keep reading
Plan your hunt
Ask us about a Rocky Mountain hunt in our Alberta country
Tell us what you are after. We reply within 1 to 2 business days with honest numbers, real dates and the outfitters we would send our own family to. It costs you nothing.