Big Game Hunting Guide in Alberta Canada

2010 In Review

This year we took: one trophy whitetail hunter (fourteen day hunt); four whitetail hunters who came for seven day hunt; and one trophy moose hunter.

The rifle moose hunt was great but only lasted few days. In that time we saw 8 cows and calves and three bulls all of which we stalked to within range of. The hunt was everything the hunter had hoped for and more. On the final stalk there were two trophy bulls together; both were similar in size and you knew that they had lived though a number of hunting seasons and were vary wary. Not wanting to mess anything up, the hunter took off his boots and stalked through wild rose bushes in his socks for over a hundred yards. He had thorny feet after the hunt but said it was worth it. His moose was feeding approximately 125 yards away when the hunter set up and waited for a clear broadside view of the closer of the two bulls. He was kept waiting for several minutes and later mentioned that he was never so excited in his life. His 2010 moose was very impressive and as a bow hunter himself, he now understands why this years archery hunter got so excited when a moose walked up to within 13 yards of him.

Our 2010 trophy whitetail hunter took the largest whitetail of the year. He hunted nine days and saw several nice bucks. The day prior to taking his trophy, he saw a buck that he would have taken except that the opportunity never really materialized. When he first saw the buck it was only seventy yards away but coming straight for his blind so he didn't dare move and planned to take the buck when it had passed by. Unfortunately the buck winded him and froze right in front of the blind making it impossible to move without being seen. These bucks don't get as big as they do by sticking around when there is danger in the area. Two fast bounds and the buck was in the bush and gone for good. Fortunately the next day presented the hunter with a better opportunity and he took a impressive buck, that stopped in clear view, 100 in front of his blind.

Of the hunters who came for the seven day hunts, one stayed a couple of extra days hoping to get another opportunity at a super deer he had seen earlier. While he saw several great bucks, some larger than he had had an opportunity to shoot in the past, he was waiting for the one that he described as a real slammer. He hunted it for several days but in the end only took home a lot of fond memories.

One of the other seven-day hunters took his deer on day two of his hunt only to have a 160 class deer show up in front of his stand minutes after he tagged out.

The third hunter in this group was on pins and needles for over a half an hour as a mule deer doe, a mule deer buck and two whitetail bucks (one of which was noticeably larger than the other) chased each other around the bush right in front of the hunters blind. Each time a deer presented a shot through the bush, the hunter had to check to make sure that it wasn't one of the mule deer and then had to determine if it actually was the bigger of the two whitetail. By the time he had determined this, the deer would have moved off. Unable to get a clean shot at the buck he wanted, the hunter decided to eliminate one factor. As both the whitetails were bucks, the hunter decided he had a 50/50 chance of shooting the big one. The next time a whitetail presented a shot, he decided that he would just verify that it was a buck and not try to determine if it was the big one or not. His gamble did not pay off as he'd hoped and although he was happy with his buck, it was not the one he would have liked.

Hunter number four had taken B&C class deer in the past while hunting with me. On day two of his hunt we set record cold temperatures for our area and he decided that it may be a bit more comfortable and much warmer if he tagged out early. After seeing 12 whitetail that day, 10 of which were bucks, he took a nice whitetail that was just over 270 yards from his blind, standing broadside in front of a patch of bush,

Once again all the rifle hunters enjoyed themselves and everyone left talking about coming back again in the next year or so.

We had started the year off taking a local hunter on the Outfitters Special Archery Moose hunt. This hunt takes place during the peak of the rut which can make for a real exciting week of moose hunting.

It was a little warm the week we choose for the hunt but we had a great time. Within hours, on the first day of the hunt, I called in a bull which presented a broad side shot at 19 yards. Once the bull realized that he had made a mistake, he began his retreat and I was able to stop him again at 25 yards and 33 yards. The bull was on the smaller size and we didn't want the hunt to end so soon so, given the opportunity, he was one the hunter decide could be left for later in the hunt. Over the next few days I called up several more bulls but it either got too dark on us, the bull got our scent too far out for a shot, we never got a clear shot or the bulls were with cows and I couldn't persuade them to leave their potential mate.

On the fifth day, we had two bulls answer immediately on our first call. This is always good when the bulls are in opposite directions as each tries to be the first to reach the cow. The winner was in the 50 inch category and this bull came charging over a hill, raking trees and grunting most of the way. The bull was on us within minutes of my first call. After thrashing another tree in front of the hunter, he presented himself standing face to face at approximately 15 yards. At this point, I turned off my video camera hoping that the noise of doing so would get the bull to turn in my direction. It did and was now broadside to the hunter at approximately 13 yards. We were not prepared for such a fast response and if you are not at full draw when a big bull is that close to you, you can't move and it's best just to pretend you're a tree. If the bull had taken a bit longer, the hunt would have been over. This was one of the most exciting encounters I have had while calling moose and this bull doesn't know how lucky he was that he got to walk away after winding us and realizing the mistake he had made. If it had been rifle season it would have been over for him as I managed to stop him twice more before he retreated over the hill the way he had come.

Like the hunter mentioned after the Bull had left; you can read about it, watch movies and videos on it, visualize what it will be like, but you can never prepare yourself for the rush of coming face to face with a 2,000+ lb. bull moose who is trying to tell a potential mate that he is the biggest and toughest moose in the bush.

We spent the next day looking for the big bull that we now knew was in the area. Although we saw two other bulls, a cow and two calves, we never saw that bull again. That evening we set up close to the spot we called him into the evening before. Unfortunately he did not come. As it got dark we started back through the bush to the truck. We were half way back when we heard him coming from a long way off. We waited until it was fully dark but we could tell from his grunts and thrashing that he still had not reach the spot we had called from.

The last day of the hunt we once again headed for the area where the big bull was seen last. First thing in the morning we had a very nice bull and a cow at approx. 100 yards before they moved behind some willows. Twice more we got within a 100 yards of the bull and the third time the hunter stalked within 60 yards of him but the bull had moved a few feet back into the bush making a clear shot impossible. We spend 2 1/2 hours stalking this bull before he followed the cow over a hill and out of sight. That evening we had an exceptional bull come in but although we had a clear view of him at around 100 yards, he never came any closer.

As time permitted, we came for one more evening of hunting. We saw a small bull and a cow, and as the sun was about to set we had a nice bull circle downwind within 60 yards of us before continuing in the same direction he was headed. Usually the bulls will back track when they wind us. The reason for this unusual retreat was soon answered as we heard the grunts and thrashing of what must have been a much bigger bull coming in following the same general direction that the earlier bull had taken. This second bull must have been pushing the first bull out of the area so that he would have the cow to himself. He sounded and acted in a similar manner as the big bull we had come in a few days earlier, and as he had done then, this bull timed his approach so he would not arrive until after dark.

All in all, it was a great hunt. We saw numerous bulls, cows and calves. I called in bulls every day. Overall, we had clear views of 8 big bulls and 4 smaller ones within 100 yards and on 5 occasions, we had bulls within 60 yards. Unfortunately, other than the huge bull that came within 13 yards, we never got another clear shot at a bull other than the one we had come in on the first day which had presented opportunities at 19, 25, and 33 yards.

When you have 2000+ lb. bull moose regularly coming in on you, it makes for a very exciting hunt.


Optical Illusion	Hunter with sheds found by Guide

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