Big Game Illustrated - Issue 29

Fall 2020 issue CANADA/USA 6.99

COVER STORY

DOUBLE HEADER ON ALBERTA WHITETAILS Teesha Klein FEATURE ARTICLE

DOUBLE DROP DREAM BUCK Ryan King

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14 Feature Editorial DOUBLE HEADER ON ALBERTA WHITETAILS

By Teesha Klein

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With rifle season approaching it was time to put the decoys away and get out the rifle.

DOUBLE DROP DREAM BUCK

By Ryan King

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I had tried for six years and couldn’t get him, and he was a dandy. He grossed 168 and change and net 164 a nice 5x5.

In This Issue WHAT A WAY TO START 06

By Brogen Bowes

DOUBLE HEADER ON ALBERTA WHITETAILS

By Teesha Klein

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DOUBLE DROP DREAM BUCK

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TRYTON, THE MYSTERY BUCK

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GROWLER, JOKER & THE KING (PART 1)

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MY LUCKY SECOND WITH A BOW

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By Ryan King

By Dana Pace

By Dylan Cadman

By Ryan Carrier

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LUCKY 56

By Dylan Hunter

THE CRAZY FLIERS OF RICKY BOBBY

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FRIDAY THE 13TH

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THE VELVET MULE DEER

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By Cauy Hultman

By Colin Masko

By Dylan Kirzinger

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WHAT A WAY TO START!

By Brogan Bowes

I started going out with my Dad, spotting for deer in the summertime, when I was about four years old and quickly started to really like the outdoors.

In the winter of 2018/2019 we had a mule deer that we watched but Dad decided that he needed another year yet to reach that next level so we were able to get the sheds off him in the spring of 2019 and couldn’t wait to see what he would look like in the fall time.

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We would put in lots of hours early in the morning and late evenings spotting for potential mature deer for my Dad and his friends to archery hunt come September 1.

Over the years I started to get more and more into it and began hunting coyotes. My Dad took me out early morning to a friend’s place and there were a few coyotes there, so I picked out one and let him have it. The coyote went off running and didn’t see him drop right away but Dad helped me, and we were able to get on the blood trail right away and there was my first coyote! I dragged it back to the truck and I was pretty happy! We took it to our friend Rion White and had it skinned out and tanned and now hangs in my room.

I had the great experience and was also very fortunate to be with my Dad when he arrowed his big double drop tine mulie and he was a big old buck which we thought he didn’t make the last bad winter that year and hadn’t seen him all summer until opening morning.

We often go up to our relative’s farm by Duck mountains and hunt for bear up there and over the last seven years we have done lots of work in setting up different spots to give us the best chance at a monster black bear. My Dad has had numerous big boars on his trail cameras, but it just hasn’t come together for him with him using his Hoyt bow, but we always knew that it was only a matter of time.

I was turning 12 on April 24th, 2019 and wanted to be able to go for bear with my Dad so the fall before I had money saved up to buy an Excalibur assassin cross bow and get used to it before spring. I did my hunters safety course online and was able to get 96% and had to do the practical in early May before we went bear hunting and passed with 100% so I was ready to go now, or so I thought! My hunter’s safety had to be sent into Regina and get all the paperwork done before I could get a tag.

My Dad went to the farm to get everything ready and scout the bears until I got up there on Thursday with my Grandpa.

Over a few years, I had found 3 or 4 really good spots

I called my Dad on Tuesday night and asked if there was any big boars and he told me at our new site we had a big brown boar and big black boar. I told him I wanted the chocolate brown boar and he agreed. I had broken my wrist and was unable to play spring hockey in Winnipeg, so my Grandpa took me up to the farm and when Dad showed me the pictures, I knew right then I wanted that big chocolate bear. He liked to come in around supper time so Friday night we were in the stand and ready for action. We were in the tree blind early that evening and lone behold both big bears were coming in together! I was ready and waited for my opportunity for a clear shot and when I had that chance for some reason my crossbow wouldn’t fire.

Dad helped me hold it together and had to wait till the bears walked out until we were able to get out of the tree stand.

The next morning, I tried to unload it but couldn’t, so I cranked it back up again and tried to fire a bolt at the target. It worked, so I fired it about 7 more times with no issues and was ready to go for round two with BIG CHOCOLATE. Dad figured we should get in there early as he had a feeling he may come in earlier than normal so we did and boy were we right. Within 20 minutes there was four bears at the site and then all of a sudden, they looked to see what was coming and they all bolted out of the area fast. Instantly, I saw why, and There he was!

“... they all bolted out of the area fast. Instantly, I saw why, There he was!”

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My target bear was now in sight and I was so nervous but quickly dialed in and got ready for my shot. I waited patiently for what seemed like a long time but was really only minutes and when he turned broadside my Dad said simply, “Yup”. I knew what that meant, and I squeezed my trigger on my Excalibur Assassin cross bow and the bolt flew 22 yards and did a pass through on my target. He ran uphill and went 52 yards before expiring. When we walked up to him, I couldn’t believe how big and awesome looking he was. We quickly took some pictures and tagged him and then went for help. With the help of some of my relatives we got him loaded up and out of the bush and back to the farm late that night and decided with the cool weather we would skin him first thing in the morning.

Once we unloaded my bear, we weighed him. He came in at a whopping 430 pounds! We skinned him out with intentions of doing a full body mount or 1/2 mount at Orion taxidermy in Moose Jaw where my Dad gets all his mounts done. We had his skull officially measured and it came in at 20 4/16”.

After a long summer waiting for the fall hunting seasons to arrive, and with archery season coming up I had my Hoyt now all dialed I and ready for opening day for mule deer.

We went out opening day and had some close calls but couldn’t seal the deal. We hadn’t found much for big mulies that we wanted to go after so we just hoped that in later fall one mature buck would appear. In the winter of 2018/2019 we had a mule deer that we watched but Dad decided that he needed another year yet to reach that next level so we were able to get the sheds off him in the spring of 2019 and couldn’t wait to see what he would look like in the fall time.

However, we hadn’t seen the buck all summer or early fall. On November 20, I checked my trail cameras and had a picture of what I thought was the buck we called, “KING”. After going through a few of the SD cards, there was no doubt that it was indeed “KING”. He was obviously there for the does and was the biggest buck in the area and one we knew was mature. We were able

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to get out on November 24 and setup a pop up blind with my Dad and his friend Terry Banelevic. We had just got everything setup mid- afternoon and settled in to see what showed up that evening. We did not have to wait until the evening though, as after 20 minutes my Dad looked to the right and said, “Here he comes, he’s following a hot doe!” My Dad asked me, “Is the buck you want,” and I confidently said, “Yes”.

KING presented me with a nice shot once a doe had cleared behind him and I aimed for his heart and squeezed the trigger on my crossbow and let the bolt fly and the bolt did a pass through and King jumped up and he was off. After 20 minutes, my Dad said, “Let’s go look for blood,” as he was confident in the shot placement and we walked up to where he was standing and seen blood right away and we looked north and there he was, about 35yds away, expired!

I couldn’t believe how much mass he put on over the year and I was really happy I had my first mulie buck in my hands at 12yrs old. When we took my buck back to the garage at home, we were skinning him and noticed a wound area. There was an arrow and a broad head inside him that was under his spine and above his vitals. He was one lucky and tough buck and showed no effects of it at all when he was walking so we don’t know if it was from that fall or an older wound. I’m getting a shoulder mount done at Orion taxidermy in Moose Jaw and can’t wait to see him on the wall. I would like to thank my Dad for always taking me out since I was a little guy and teaching me about all the animals and to good friend Terry Banelevic for helping me that day and to my relatives at the farm for letting my hunt on their beautiful land. I’m looking forward to many more years of hunting with friends and family!

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Cover Story

DOUBLE HEADER ON ALBERTA WHITETAILS

By Teesha Klein

Well, after what felt like an eternity, I finally experienced a hunting season that will be hard to top.

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My friend Randy Endersby, who owns Wide North Outfitters, asked if I would like to guide for him for his spring bear hunting season. I thought about it and with little hesitation I decided this would be a great opportunity.

We were having a great season and our hunters harvested some great bears. I was completely ecstatic for them, but like anyone in this situation I was starting to get the hunting blues. I wanted to be the one hunting for myself. So in saying that, between hunters I was granted time to take a few days off to hunt for myself.

Throughout the beginning of the season we had a particular bear show up in camp on more then one occasion, and become a nuisance, to say the least. He was a gnarly bear, you could tell he was a fighter. I made it my goal to try and locate this particular bear. I set out, and to my surprise, not far from camp, I located the bear I was looking for. Sneaking into less than 20 yards I settle the crosshairs just behind his front shoulder.

“Sneaking into less than 20 yards I settle the crosshairs just behind his front shoulder.”

At the sound of my .270, the large boar dropped in his tracks. My emotions came over me and at this time I felt like I was on top of the world. Without being able to bow hunt this year due to waiting for some serious neck surgery, I was extra happy. This would have been the perfect opportunity for my first bow kill but I gained confidence just knowing that I could get in that close. While skinning the bear for a half mount my friend Jason Huellbusch, owner of Alberta Taxidermy felt something on my bears forehead. Much to our surprise it seemed the bear must have got a little to close to some for comfort. A very close grouping of BB’s from a 12 gauge shotgun right smack dab in the middle of his forehead and some pellets even ended up in his skull. The large boar ended up scoring 18 8/16.

Once bear season was over all I could think about was bird season. I was fortunate enough to be apart of some amazing goose and duck hunts. One hunt in particular stood out though. On October 18, 2020, I spent the day scouting for a hunt in an area I don’t normally scout in. This area is usually looked after by my friend Dan Mosier, but he left it up to me to scout as he was away at work. I thought, :Crap, I have to prove to him I can do this with myself despite being fairly new into the game.” I ended up finding a small hunt of Canada Geese and a few Great White Fronted Geese but figured a few hundred birds was enough. The next morning, to my disappointment, it started off slow with the birds not decoying. “Did we not have enough decoys set out? Did we set the spread up wrong?” I wondered.

Eventually though, the birds started to come in pair after pair. What a let down, as I figured this was a for sure thing. Right before deciding to pack up a single goose came in honking like a honker would. Luckily for me, my Dad missed the bird. I took a shot dropping the bird to the ground. When retrieving the bird my friend said, “You won’t believe this, It’s a HYBRID.” Well sure enough it was, and a fairly rare one from what I have been told. Speaking to some people who are avid bird hunters from all over North America majority think it’s a Lesser Canada Snow Goose Cross.

But only time will tell as I sent a tissue sample to the University of Washington to determine exactly what kind of goose it is.

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He will forever be a reminder to never give up. As Brandon always told me before each hunt, it’s about being at the right place at the right time and that day I certainly was.

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With rifle season approaching it was time to put the decoys away and get out the rifle. I spent a lot of time scouting a particular area and setting up trail cameras only to feel slightly disappointed in the quality of deer I was seeing. But as every hunter knows you just never know what will show up during the highly anticipated rut and that’s exactly what happened. In November 2019, I put in more time hunting that I ever have before. Sitting in the same spot in boredom, watching the same little bucks day after day. I became frustrated and decided that I would take November 23 off. After calling a few friends and inviting them over for supper I had to venture out and go to the grocery store. I decided to take a detour and drive by the spot I faithfully hunted all month long not missing a single day. While approaching the property I noticed there was a deer in the field along the bush approximately 700 yards away.

I grabbed my binoculars only to be disappointed that it was a young buck I knew very well. Some movement In the bush behind the young buck caught my eye though.

I couldn’t believe it, but there stood what I thought was a very heavy mature buck! If I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all or so it seems anyways as I didn’t have my rifle with me. I decided this was not a deer to just forget about and head home hoping I would see again. This was a deer I needed to try my hardest to harvest. It was without a question I had to go home and get my rifle and go hunting! I remembered my friend Jason Ofner had said earlier that morning as he felt today would be my day.

After grabbing my rifle and tag I was running out the door with only high hopes he was still in the close vicinity. I was in such a panic I didn’t even realize what I was wearing or what I had on my feet. Capri pants, hoodie, and slip on shoes. In November? Yup that was my Saturday grocery shopping attire for the day, but I was not going to turn the truck around and waste more time changing at this point. After parking the truck, I got out and immediately felt the cold and thought to myself, “Wow, I’m not dressed for this weather”, but the excitement of this buck had me decide to start my walk. I neared the area I had last seen the two bucks, getting as close as I could before needing to crouch. The treeline straightened out where I had seen the deer only

a couple hundred yards west of my current location.

From there I knew I had to crawl to get into a position where I would be able to shoot from. I crawled through the mud and some snowy patches which reminded me again that I was not prepared to be crawling! The cold really started to get to me, but all I could think about was that this better be worth it.

I made it within about 50 yards to where the deer had been when I had seen him earlier. I sat for what felt like hours, shivering, not knowing how I would even be able to steady to make the shot if I got an opportunity.

Luckily I didn’t forget to grab the shooting sticks out of the truck. I decided to set my rifle up on the shooting sticks and get prepared as a small buck came out of the bushes 75 yards away from me. Within seconds the giant buck I had seen earlier ran out and chased him back in the bush without giving me any shooting opportunity. My mind started to do a roller coaster as I thought, “Did I miss my only opportunity?” Then without notice the pair of bucks played this game a couple more times, still not giving me any shooting opportunity. Then all went quiet, I was feeling sick to my stomach and disappointed that I may have missed my chance at this deer. I just couldn’t pull the trigger as I wanted to be confident in my shot. I figured I should stick it out for a while longer. All I kept thinking was, “If only I had my rattling antlers and grunt tube I could maybe lure him out of the bush.” I decided to text my friend Tyler Reynar who was hunting nearby giving him the low down on what I had just witnessed. I asked how his hunting was going, although to be truthfully honest at that point I didn’t even care as I was just wanting this giant buck to reappear!

I put my phone in my pocket and looked up to see this beautiful deer standing broadside within 75 yards, not having a clue I was there impatiently waiting. I slowly got comfortable, settled the crosshairs and squeezed the trigger. The giant dropped in his tracks.

The Browning .270 did it again. All I could think was how blessed I was to get the opportunity at such an amazing animal. My heart was pounding so hard and my legs were shaking. I couldn’t even get up to go look at the deer. After a couple minutes I decided to get my

“But as every hunter knows you just never know what will show up during the highly anticipated rut and that’s exactly what happened.” butt over there and see exactly what I had harvested.

As many people including myself talk about ground shrinkage when walking up to a deer, I was excited that this was definitely not the case. He got bigger as I got closer! I lifted his head and slowly counted 12 points on one side and 6 on the other. Which to be truthfully honest, I had no idea he had a single non-typical point on him before that moment, I just knew he had a good frame and mass. I dropped down to my knees as I held his antlers and cried as it felt so surreal. “This cannot be happening to me, I’ve never seen this deer, am I dreaming?” I thought. I pulled out my phone and texted my friend that I had a BBD. I am thankful he was able to come give me a hand as I could not have loaded him and dealt with it myself. We later scored my buck at 184 3/8 Gross and 180 1/8 Net non-typical. Many people are so concerned about score, don’t get me wrong, I’ve always dreamt about killing a deer of this caliber. But in this case, the uniqueness, age and mass of this deer means more to me than any score. I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to call him mine.

With an already extremely successful hunting season behind me I thought to myself, “Its not over yet, I till have my Camp Wainwright primitive weapon season in only a couple days”. I started to get ready for this hunt. With eight years hunting priority, I had decided back in May of 2019 that I was going to draw this tag. I knew a group of people going so we decided we would work together to cover ground and see what we could find. With four different groups of us all going in different directions we had covered darn near the entire base over the first two days and only harvested one doe. Feeling frustrated, we decided we needed a new plan of attack. Luckily for us we were the last remaining eight people in the morning meeting building when plans changed, and they opened another area for hunting. In my head I was thinking, “Does this mean we are

the only ones that know this area is being opened? If so, we got to get our butts in gear and get out of here”.

We headed out with a plan for us all to cover this area and see how we would make out. I ended up walking about five kilometers when there was an intersection and I hesitated to go west but decided to continue south. As I got to a slight hill in the road I stopped on the top to glass the opening. A flash of something to the east caught my eye. I put my binoculars up to see what a nice mature dark antlered whitetail was looking back in the bush at a doe. I hunkered down and backed down the hill a bit knowing I couldn’t get any closer without him busting me. 225 yards with the muzzleloader is a fairly far poke but I was confident in the gun and knew it was consistent at 300 yards as previously proven. As I was crouched down I thought, “Okay Teesha, don’t screw this up”. I knew I would only have one chance to stand up and shoot. Then I started second guessing exactly where the deer would be when I stood up. But I thought I better give it a go before he was gone. I slowly stood up; it took me a moment to find the deer against the trees at that far away. I put the crosshairs on him and boom. I have never in my life heard a smack like that from the impact. It was incredible. I watched him turn and go only about 30 yards to where he expired. I rushed over there to take a look.

I was so pumped, and I couldn’t believe my luck. All I could think about is how my Grandma must have sent me some luck from up above. Thanks Grandma for the large Taxidermy bill! Huge thanks to everyone who was there for me this year to give me a hand, I truly couldn’t have done it alone. Thank you also to my Dad and his friend for getting me into hunting when I was just a young pup.

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DOUBLE DROP DREAM BUCK

By Ryan King

The history with this particular deer began in late summer of 2017. I had one single picture of him standing in front of the trail camera. Just from that one picture, I knew that he had potential to be something special.

As time went on I hadn’t seen a decent buck anywhere. I was thinking to myself,, “This is the first year I don’t have a target buck to pursue”.

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I wanted to get more pictures and had cameras all around this spot. I covered every direction. However, as summer rolled along came fall and deer season. Still with just this one picture, I knew he was young and was not about to hunt him but wanted more pictures to get some better looks at him. The season passed by, then New Year’s came and went and there was still no pictures and no sightings. I left three cameras out late into the winter to keep searching for him.

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I was getting different bucks on camera, but I had no luck with him. One afternoon I had some time and hadn’t checked cameras for some time, so I ran out, changed cards and came home. As I was flipping through pictures, I stopped in my tracks. It was him all, his rack was intact and even being so young, I was in awe. He had all kinds of character and a ton of potential. Now I focused on my one camera that he had visited. As winter went on, he was there practically every day. Finally, it was shed season and I continued to check the camera. He showed up with one antler, and I was ecstatic. Immediately heading out to check feeding areas all afternoon. I had no luck. Two days

before he ended up losing his other side, the drop tine side, he showed up with it broke off. Somewhat saddened, I carried on my winter chores. I was out in the country a few weeks later and, as I was driving in across the field, I spotted an antler. As I drove over, I was hoping that is was a good one. I pulled it up out of the snow and couldn’t believe it. It was his antler.

Fast forward to year two, 2018. It was a busy year with cattle farming and working. As time went on I hadn’t seen a decent buck anywhere. I was thinking to myself, “This is the first year I don’t have a target buck to pursue”. As harvest rolled in, we were in the crop swathing and bumping up the odd whitetail but still no target. Then one day as we were combining, I was across the field when my brother was going around a willow slough. From halfway across the quarter I saw a buck and I could see the rack and I was pumped. Early the next morning I got cameras out. After a couple days I checked it. This particular big deer was an old 5x5 that I had an ongoing six year quest on. Now I got wondering about my drop tine buck. As I moved cameras around and put out more, I was hopeful for even one picture, but as fall rolled on, I had no luck. About

two weeks before whitetail season, as I was having l lunch and checking my cards, I almost choked.

I was scrolling through and boom, there he was!

And two drops this time! With a sequence of three or four pictures in a row, I scrolled back and forth and zoomed in. Studying this deer, I knew he had great potential. After looking at pictures, I went out and moved cameras again to focus around this area. Days went on and no more luck. Finally, just

before the season, and on a camera two miles away, I got another three or four pictures. I was excited for the pictures and I studied them closely. After trying to guesstimate his size, I told myself he was not big enough or old enough yet. “One more year,� I thought.

Opening morning arrived and I was like a kid at Christmas. I love getting out, even to just see the animals. My hunting buddy Lindsay came out for a week, so away we went. I was focused on trying to find

It was one of those rare moments when the buck gets bigger as you get closer to him!

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the big old 5x5 I had hunted for so many years. As we hunted and days went by, we were seeing deer but not the bucks we were focused on. One particular day as we were driving into our location when he stopped the truck. There, he pointed, and as I looked over, there was a small buck standing in the willows. We sat there watching him when all of a sudden up jumped a doe and my 5x5! In shock we both bailed and before I had him in the scope I heard the shot and he vanished.

“I waited for what seemed like forever, then he turned broadside and I let the shot go. ” Lindsay had just shot my deer. As we walked up on him he was apologizing. I laughed because I really was very happy for him. I had tried for six years and couldn’t get him, and he was a dandy. He grossed 168 and change and net 164 a nice 5x5. With this buck out of my grasp I had to try and find a new target, and with Lindsay tagged out and gone back to work I was on my own. As I hunted for a good shooter, I wasn’t having any luck. Disappointed, I headed for home.

Upset with my day I drove along when something out of the corner of my eye moved. I slowed to a stop and looking out, I caught it again. “Ah it’s just birds flying around behind the hill,” I thought. When a doe came out, I waited. I watched her look back and then trot

around, when the next deer came out. I could see the drop tine and knew immediately which buck this was.

With my eyes glued to the binoculars I studied everything he had to offer. As he chased the doe around, he turned towards me and lifted his head. “Oh my god!”

I’m pretty sure I said out loud to myself. The pictures didn’t do this deer justice, he was my dream buck. As he disappeared behind the hill with the doe, I grabbed the rifle and my plan was in action. Wind in my face I hunched over, hoping I could get to the top of the hill where I had lost sight of him. As I crept to the top, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Out 200 yards was him and the doe and six or seven other does and a spike buck. I put him in the scope took my time and waited for the turn. I waited for what seemed like forever, then he turned broadside and I let the shot go. With the wind blowing in my face they moved maybe 20 feet and stopped again. Once again in the cross hairs I squeezed the trigger. Now they moved with him following into a creek system. With it being late in the day I decided to leave him be and come first thing in the morning. All night I replayed this in my head. I heard the smack. I’m sure I hit him. He tightened up. Or did he... One thing for certain is that morning couldn’t come fast enough.

At legal light I was back at the spot where it all took place. With no snow I looked for blood in the grass.

No blood, just tracks. I could not find anything, and everything was going bad quickly I thought. I walked in where I had thought they entered the trees. I walked and walked more. After two hours I had walked the whole thing. And no buck. Feeling sick to my stomach, I looked over the area again. “Where could he be? Did

I somehow get a bad shot? Did I miss?” I wondered.

This was turning into a nightmare. As the day went on, I did not give up, continuing to walk the next bush and then all the bushes for miles, but still no luck. As I sat at home that night a neighbor called to see how hunting was going. I told him the story as I had showed him the pics of this buck. We were both confused of where he could of went.

The next morning, I decided to hunt a different area 25 miles away from this. But I still couldn’t quit thinking about this ordeal. At around 9am my neighbor called to see how I was doing. Then he says you won’t believe this, but we just found your deer. Needless to say, I was shaking and was straight to him in no time. As I followed him in and we pulled up on him I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was him. The coyotes had found him before us but there he was. I am so happy to have such good friends and neighbors to help get closure. And at 202 4/8 gross he is something. He ended up netting 196 3/8 and he is a dream come true.

And thanks to Wade for finding and calling me. I also had a draw elk tag which I was able to fill after a long wait. It truly was a great year!

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TRITON, THE MYSTERY BUCK

By Dana Pace

The story of Triton began on August 19, 2019. A trail camera placed on the inside corner of a midsummer bean field caught a sequence of six pictures from a buck that we had no history with. year after year.

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“I drew my Elite Ritual, settled my single pin on his vitals as he came closer and stopped at 22 yards broadside.”

This particular buck was a buck that my daughter, Taylor, would later give the name Triton. Despite our best efforts, these six pictures would be the only pictures we would get from this mystery buck.

We assumed the buck was bedding on an adjoining property and had only been passing through.

After talking with one of our neighbors and sharing pictures, we confirmed our suspicions and had little doubt that he was staying on their property.

bow and range finder. If he was to stay on the path he was headed, I would have a 49 yard shot at him. As I was getting ready to dial my HHA Tetra to 49 yards, I looked up and he split off the trail and started heading up to the bedding area. I had to make something happen, and had to do it now. I picked up my grunt call and tried to give a few soft grunts, but it was froze up.

I gave one hard blow until the reed freed up and threw out four horrible sounding grunts.

Fast forward to November 13. My alarm went off at 3:45. I rolled over and pulled up the forecast on my phone. It called for morning temperatures in the single digits and wind gusts of 10-20 mph, increasing throughout the day. “It sounds like a good day to sleep in and head in to the stand a little late,” I thought to myself. My wife, on the other hand, wasn’t keen on being woken up twice and promptly kicked me out of bed. Once I was up, I was grateful for the added motivation.

He turned and started down the hill for me and it was then that I realized that it was Triton! He started running down the ridge straight for me, stopping at the creek and pausing for a brief second. He then leapt the creek, coming straight at me, in on a string. I drew my Elite Ritual, settled my single pin on his vitals as he came closer and stopped at 22 yards broadside. I slowly squeezed off the shot sending a shot through both lungs!

I quickly geared up and off I went! Conditions were great for the second week of November. There was a fresh inch of snow on the ground that covered my noise entering the stand along with a stiff SSW wind. The morning started off with some great action. Smaller bucks cruising , grunting, and chasing does all over the ditch bottom I was dug in to. The plan for the morning was to sit until 930 or so, head to town to grab a bite to eat and warm up a bit, then head back in to sit the rest of the day. Those plans didn’t stick long because the action didn’t stop all morning! There was no way I was leaving with so much going on. At 10:40, I caught movement on the opposite side of the ditch. At first sight it was a, “No Brainer”. “This buck is a shooter,” I thought confidently to myself. I quickly grabbed my

After the shot my emotions, and the cold, settled in instantly. I had to sit down and get my bearings. I made a few quick teeth chattering and blubbering phone calls to buddies and my wife. After sending some messages to my Working Class Bowhunter Podcast friends, I decided to get down and back out for a bit. I thought the shot was kind of high and Triton needed some time to expire. After giving him a couple hours, I headed back into track him down. Instead of heading straight back in towards the blood soaked arrow, I decided to sneak down the edge of the ditch, glassing where he had ran into instead of risking the wind if he was still alive. There were two drainages that lead to the creek where the deer like to bed, so I figured I’d give these two spots a quick look. The first drainage came up empty, so l moved another ten yards to check

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out the second. As I was working my way up the drainage with my binoculars, I made out the rump of a deer.

I rearranged myself to see around the tree and there he was, lying in his bed; and clearly expired! I ran straight across the ditch, knelt by his side and offered thanks.

The story of Triton was short lived, but there is no doubt that he lived up to expectations of a mystery buck!

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Part 1

GROWLER, JOKER AND THE KING

By Dylan Cadman

This season started just like every other season, setting up trail cameras in usual areas along with scouting some new areas.

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After a successful spring black bear season for our Boreal Pursuit team it was now time to put all our focus on the upcoming elk season.

Our goals were set high as we hoped to achieve getting Bryan his first elk and Shae and I had our hearts set on some big 6x6 bulls. The season started out packed with action. Shae had been getting plenty of bulls called in, but nothing was like the bull he had his hopes set on. Bryan set out to check his cameras and noticed he had a 6x6 bull coming into his area. As for me, I was getting a bit of a late start due to work, so on the evening of September 5th my family and I went out for the evening to try and locate some elk before my hunt in the morning.

My phone rang and it was Bryan. He had shot an elk!

He explained how the hunt had gone down. After driving out to an area he had been scouting he started to walk into the area when a couple of guys went flying past him on their ATV’s and with that Bryan figured that the area was now a bust, so with time fading, Bryan decided to head into his stand where the elk had been entering the field. With the wind being perfect, he slipped in and got settled for the last four hours of daylight. After an hour in his stand he could hear something walking in and then, out of nowhere, a cow elk appeared only 10 yards under his stand. The cow then proceeded to scent check the area going up and down the fence line all the way to where Bryan crossed the fence and she followed Bryan’s trail right to the bottom of the tree he was sitting in. The cow looked up at Bryan but must not have noticed anything. Twenty minutes of the cow scent checking the area she finally

felt safe and gave a soft chirp back to the herd and Bryan said that’s when the whole herd exploded into the field with the bull at the back. When the bull got to the shooting lane at 40 yards, Bryan gave a nervous grunt to stop the bull and sent a PX2 broadhead right through the boiler room. The bull went 60 yards into the field and fell over. With one tag filled only six days into the archery season, we were off to a great start.

I headed up to meet with Shae and Travis from Wapiti River Outdoors for a couple days to chase bulls. We had some great call-ins, but no shot opportunities and we were feeling good about how the elk rut was starting off. Shae and I had plans to go into the backcountry to scout a new area before our trip. After spotting a big bull on a hillside the first evening arriving to our base camp, we felt good about the new area. The next morning, we were up early and headed across the valley to where we spotted the big bull the evening before. After crossing a nearly vertical creek valley we spent the day doing calling set ups and scouting the new area. After calling in two young bulls that came in silent, we decided that the elk in that area weren’t quite ready and we didn’t want to push the elk out of the area. With Bryan coming up to run camera we decided to try an area that we used to hunt instead.

I put a camera in the area to have as a backup plan and what we found on that camera would change our plans immediately. A monster 6x6 bull had moved in. After looking at maps and discussing a plan of attack we decided that we would have to hike up to the top of the ridge in order to come down on the elk and have the wind and thermals in our favor. That evening we decided to scout around the edge of the

Bryan decided to head into his stand where the elk had been entering the field. With the wind being perfect, he slipped in and got settled for the last four hours of daylight.

area that we figured he would be living in. With the bulls in the area not being very vocal we didn’t want to go crashing right into his core area, so we figured if we sit on the edge and call like an advertising bull that may catch the big ones attention enough to come and check out the new bull in the area. As we were hunting that evening, we were finding a lot of larger rubs and with most of the rubs being on the edge of a bench overlooking the lower bench it was only fitting but to call this bull “The King”. It was a quiet evening as we expected. We would do some advertising setups, sending Shae and Bryan ahead 50 yards and I would stay back and start doing some light raking along with some chuckles as if I was inviting the King’s cows to come over.

After our third set up we decided to head further down and try on the edge of a thick creek valley where the elk like to bed. We were within a hundred yards of where we planned to do our last setup for the evening when one of us stepped on a twig letting out a loud crack and all of a sudden a bull lets out a gnarly aggressive bugle. Instantly, I tell Shae and Bryan to set up along the edge of the game trail, I tossed in my Wapiti River Outdoors Reaper reed and did a round up bugle back acting as if I had some cows and was telling them to come back. I went back up 80 yards and continued to be a bull talking to his cows. All of a sudden, I could see a very recognizable bull coming around a little hill. It was “The King” and I couldn’t believe this was happening as he was putting on quite the show raking, chuckling and advertising to the image of a bull with cows I had made him believe was present when all of a sudden I could feel the wind at the back of my neck. The thermals had changed with the cooling temperatures of the final hour of day light.

As quick as “The King” came in, he was now gone.

With the encounter being so close but yet so far, we knew that the hunt for “The King” would be action packed. With ”The King” coming in the way he did it taught me a lot about this bull, he was aggressive and would do almost anything to keep you away from his cows or steal your cows. That whole week consisted of the same plan set up on the edge of his core area and we would do advertising sequences. We never did

see “The King” that week, but we knew we were in the right area as we were calling in nice satellite bulls every day and seeing more rubs that only “The King” was big enough to make.

September 17th was the opening day of Northern Alberta’s rifle season, as well as my last day of holidays before going back to work. With Shae and Bryan gone home I asked an old friend I knew I could trust to come with me and run camera. While driving to my parking spot that morning I noticed three trucks parked in the area that “The King” called home and it was at that point I knew that if I wanted any chance at “The King” I would have to be very smart with my tactics. Thankfully for me I was learning everything about elk from what they are saying and how to respond to them from the elk guru Travis O’Shae, the owner of Wapiti River Outdoors. We left the truck that morning and hiked the one kilometer to the top of “The King’s” bedroom. I asked my friend if he was ready and to make sure the camera was rolling. I grabbed my Reaper reed and Rump shaker bugle tube and broke the silence of the crisp September morning with a nice location bugle. Instantly I was answered by a big 5x5 I call “The Joker” and he was always close to “The King”. I would end up calling in “The Joker” within 40 yards but with being a six-point zone “The Joker” got to live for another year. After bugling back and forth with “The Joker” for half an hour it was time to move on, so I went silent and “The Joker” went back down to where I believed “The King” was.

I waited ten minutes then followed “The Joker’s” trail and sure enough he would end up leading me right to “The King”! The whole time we were walking down we could hear four bulls screaming so we knew that there was a hot cow, but still didn’t hear the growly bugle of ”The King”. As we got on the big poplar bench with a chunk of thick ten-foot-high willows in the middle we could smell the noticeable smell of rutting elk. I let out an advertising bugle, knowing that if there was a hot cow near, she would be with “The King” and I was right.

Sure enough, in the middle of the thick willows he answered, and we were in the middle of a rut fest with

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bulls going nuts all around us. We set up right in the middle of all the satellite bulls on the edge of the open poplars and the battle was on. After a 45-minute screaming battle and “The King” not moving, I decided to make the gutsy move and move up to the edge of the thick willows to entice “The King” to come out to the edge where I had a small shooting lane. I told Hayden this will either work in our favor or it will be over. I raised my five-point shed antler I use for raking and pushed through the open poplars with Hayden staying back. I made it undetected and it was now or never. I started raking some willows and let out a gnarly advertising bugle and that was it. “The King” was on his way screaming at me mad that I was so close to him and his girlfriend. I could see his antlers through the willows, but it was so thick I couldn’t see anything else. He hung up at 40 yards and was staring through the willows looking for the intruder. By this time, the Joker circled around to my left about 50 yards away. As “The Joker” screamed, “The King”

growled and did some aggressive grunts so I grunted back accepting his challenge or so I thought. Without a single noise ”The King” was gone and the next bugle he did was 200 yards away. Feeling crushed with being so close and not getting an opportunity I was stuck wondering what went wrong? The wind was perfect, I didn’t move from the clump of willows I was beside I was enticed with why he decided to leave. It was a long-disappointed walk back to the truck.

Once I got home, I had to go through the footage and try to see what happened. There it was, “The Joker” screamed and “The King” did a soft nervous grunt followed with the growl and grunts. If only I would have heard the nervous grunt, we would have been packing meat instead of wondering what went wrong.

The worst part is that I had to go back to work the next night. Off to work I went for seven days. Shae was hunting hard, having lots of great encounters but nothing he wanted to shoot. I got off work the morning

of September 25th and it was super windy and there was no way my bugles would carry so I knew that if I had any chance, I would have to be close. I got halfway down to where I wanted to be and there was a break in the wind, so I took it as my chance. I let out a location bugle and instantly “The King” responded one bench below me. I hustled to the edge of the bench I was on and looked down and there he was bugling every 30 seconds I raised my vortex bino’s to make sure it was him and a legal 6x6. He was 80 yards away but offered no shot. Sitting there, taking it all in and watching “The King” rub trees and bugle, I stepped back out of his sight and let out a bugle. I crept back to the edge and he was coming straight in so when he was about to enter a shooting lane, I did a nervous grunt and he stopped with his neck in the shooting lane, I steadied my cross hairs on his neck and... BOOM!!

The Sako .270 wsm hit its mark and the bull dropped.

Overcome with excitement I turned around to grab my bugle tube and when I looked back, he was gone.

Confused on how he got up I started searching in the direction he was facing. No blood, no tracks. I thought maybe he turned around and went back the direction he came from but with it being so windy I couldn’t hear the bull take off, so I got back to where he was standing when I shot and there was no blood and no tracks anywhere. It was like he was a ghost, so I started my search going back to some big spruce timber and still nothing. I remember back to when an old friend shot an elk in the neck and hit the esophagus and there was no blood and the bull went roughly 300 yards.

With it being 9:30 am and the temperature being low I decided I would go home and have breakfast and give the bull some time.

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When I arrived at home, I quickly called Travis and explained to him what happened. We both agreed that backing out was the best idea and I was confident that I would find the bull. After a good breakfast and getting a babysitter arranged, my wife and I headed out to find “The King” and I had my Grandpa and Travis on standby for when we found him. We decided at first to walk in the direction the bull was facing searching in a grid pattern. We hiked down about 5

kilometers, and then decided to hike back up to the top and search where the bull came from. We got to some thick bush close to where I had stopped that morning and I said, “Why don’t we walk this trail to the other side and then grid search from there.” I was pushing through the thick bush when all of a sudden, I caught a glimpse of his tines through the trees. There he was, no more than 30 yards from where I had stopped that morning. I yelled in excitement rushing over to put my hands on the old warrior. After getting some quick photos we headed to the truck to call Travis and my Grandpa to give them the good news that we had found the bull. I sent Shae, Bryan and my dad a teaser picture of a tine from the bull. When my Grandpa and Travis showed up, we went back to take more pictures and break down the bull. I couldn’t be any happier that my wife was there to help me find the bull and to Travis who travelled two hours to come help with the bull and to the man who has taught me everything to do with the outdoors and hunting, my Grandpa.

Now that I had my bull down, we had one more to go and it was time for our trip into the Honey Bowl and with a fresh snow fall Shae and I knew that this trip was going to be special. We arrived at our camp and began to set up the tent and collect some firewood so that we were prepared for when we arrived back at camp later that night. We finished getting everything ready and we were off to the top of the Honey Bowl.

Standing at the top of the Honey Bowl, taking in all the beautiful scenery and remembering the experience we had last year I decided that it was time to break the silence. With the volume produced from the Rump Shaker carrying my location bugle all throughout the valley below us we were instantly answered, and it was game on. We quickly slid down the steep slopes into the Honey Bowl and headed south to get the wind in our favor. The whole time we were going down to the next open hill where we could see into the valley more bulls started to bugle and I joked to Shae, “Are you ready for another first day bull in here?”

We got to the top of the hill, glassing through the trees searching for elk, spotting a few cows we could hear the bull just east of us so Shae went to the east side

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of the hill and gave me the signal when he was ready and I started raking trees, advertising to the cows below. That made the bull mad and he was screaming with so much emotion. I quickly responded to the bull when all of a sudden way down in the spruce a bull that eluded us the year prior that we nicknamed “The Growler” let out a short growly bugle and all the elk shut up as if it was like a Dad telling his kids to settle down. I waited 10 minutes and let out another location bugle and the bull below us responded with a soft lazy bugle. I thought, “Great time to start the slow play.” We called back and forth for an hour while watching the bull rake trees and breaking them in half with his antlers. He chased off opponent bulls with fury, causing the bull we call “The Growler” to let out a ferocious bugle making the valley fall silent in his respect. We finally decided that if we were going to get this bull, we would have to move in on him. I sat 100 yards away keeping the bull vocal while Shae snuck down to the bull’s location. 30 minutes went by when I decided to start raking then the bull bugled and in the middle of his bugle, BOOM!!! Shae made his shot, not wanting the bull to run I bugled again and another shot. I knew at this point the bull was down. I gathered my pack and Shae’s pack, grabbed the camera and headed down to where Shae was. When I got down to where Shae was, he had a huge smile on his face, and I asked him “Is he big?” “He’s and average 6x6 I think.”

As we walked up to the bull, he got bigger and bigger the closer we got, and I remember saying to Shae “An average 6x6 hey, he’s a stud a lot bigger than your average 6x6.” Shae chuckled and said, “Yes, but I couldn’t ruin the surprise.”

After getting some video footage and pictures we began to break down the bull and noticed all the war wounds the bull had, one hole went right between two ribs and almost punctured through his vitals. We broke down the bull, loaded our packs and stashed the rest of the meat away from the carcass and headed back up to our camp. We had a kilometer and a half with 1100 feet elevation gain. It took us about three hours to hike out to camp and when we arrived we were happy that we took the time to set up camp earlier. We prepared

our mountain house meals and contacted our wives to let them know the good news along with trying to find someone to give us a hand the next day to get the bull out. Thankfully Shae’s friend Cody said that he would come and help us the next morning. That night we were happy to have Shae’s Seek Outside teepee tent with the wood stove as the temperature reached as low as -18 degrees Celsius.

The next morning, we got on the quads to head out and meet Cody and then head back in to retrieve the rest of Shae’s bull. We headed in and once we arrived at the bull, we were relieved that nothing had touched it.

We loaded our packs with the rest of the bull, and they were incredibly heavy. We knew it would be slow going as it took us two hours to go half a kilometer because of how steep it was. With only an hour of day light left we decided to stash some meat at the bottom of the last hill and headed out the rest of the way to camp.

With another cold night we decided to drive into town and spend the night at home. I remember waking up the next morning hardly being able to move and thinking this last pack out was going to be horrible. Shae and I headed back in to grab the last of the bull and we made quick work of the last trip. We took down camp and cleaned up our campsite and headed back out to the trucks. Once everything was loaded into the trucks, we couldn’t help but sit back and reflect on how our teams’ season has been so far. We are fortunate that we have been able to take three great bulls.

We would like to thank our families for the great support and to Travis O’Shea for passing down all the great elk knowledge along with making an outstanding elk reed line up and bugle tube.

We would also like to thank Blake with Blackwidow Innovations for the great support and pushing us to be our best.

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MY LUCKY SECOND WITH A BOW

By Ryan Carrier

I grew up on a family farm in eastern Canada, hunting with friends and family on our own farm. Sadly, in 2012, the family farm was sold, so my quest for big whitetails brought me to Saskatchewan and I have called this prairie province home since then.

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This story began two years prior, with a couple sheds off the buck that I would eventually tag. In both 2017, and 2018, I managed to find his sheds.

After finding the sheds and capturing many trail cameras pictures, I was fairly confident that this buck was at least 5 years old.

I had scouted the buck heavily through the summer, both in person and with trail cameras and had a really good pattern on him. A handful of trusted friends knew about the buck, but for the most part I put in all the time by myself and enjoyed every second of it. Although, I was worried that once the crops came off, then he would change his routine, which is very common with big deer. Thankfully for me, but frustrating for the farmers, it had rained almost every day for a couple weeks, so the crops were all still out in the field and my buck was still in his regular summer routine on opening day.

Luckily, opening day fell on a Sunday so I headed out nice and early, in the afternoon for the evening hunt.

It was dead calm, and hot and sunny for a change, so although I did not have super high hopes, he had been on camera in daylight once in a while, so I knew it was worth a shot. I went in very, very slowly, to try and stay cool and not break a sweat. It worked ok until I get settled into the blind. That is when I realized the hot sun was beating down directly onto the blind and I was basically in an oven. At one point, I actually took my shirt off and misted myself down with scent killer to try and stay cool.

I was confident in my setup, which I had put a lot of thought into, and it allowed me to sneak in and out of my blind quietly and out of sight. I had also been extremely careful throughout the summer not to contaminate the area with any scent. I always took precautions and played the wind to minimize the chances of spooking any deer in the area. It was a great spot, with a grassy opening between two crop fields where he liked to feed. As I settled in, it was not too long before a doe and a fawn came out. They did not stick around too long and were gone again. I did not have any action for quite some time but thankfully it

was starting to cool off a bit so I put my shirt back on with my fingers crossed that the evening hunt would pick up. Just after 7pm a lone doe came out for a few minutes.

It was 7:18 when I first spotted him. He wasted no time coming in, charging right in confidently, at a steady pace. Luckily for me, he came in broadside and stopped in exactly the right spot at a great angle, so just moments after seeing him, I was able to draw my bow and send a perfectly placed arrow through his vitals!

He ran off, but I was very confident that he would not go far. I called a handful of hunting buddies to help me retrieve it. It did not take long to locate him, and once we did, we were all in awe of the sheer size of the buck in person. He looked great in pictures, but in hand he was incredibly impressive. We managed to get him all cleaned up and headed back to my garage to celebrate.

This buck means a lot to me because I have hunted enough to know that no matter how much time and preparation, blood sweat and tears you put into hunting a specific animal, it still doesn’t guarantee success so it’s very rewarding when it all comes together, especially on a deer that puts you in the coveted 200 inch club!

In the end, he weighed 224 pounds field dressed. It’s my second deer with a bow , my first deer is a 165 5/8 clean typical 5x5 which I managed to take back in 2016. That year, it was the largest typical taken with archery tackle in Saskatchewan, but my 2019 buck definitely dwarfs that one and is a buck that will be difficult to top in the rest of my hunting career.

Buck Score: Officially 222 7/8 Date Harvested: September 15th, 2019 County/State: Saskatchewan Canada

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LUCKY

By Dylan Hunter

To start this story off, I should say that I have spent the last ten years in hopes of laying my eyes on a trophy non-typical buck while out hunting.

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My season started off middle of September pursuing elk in northern Alberta for two weeks with family and friends. That trip left me coming home empty handed, but was a trip with amazing experiences I’ll never forget.

We dealt with bugling bulls as close as 40 yards, bears stalking in on call setups, wolves howling all around us, and of course many moose encounters. It’s trips like this into the wilderness that the majority of people will never experience which really connect me with hunting.

The start of October my cousin and I set out to throw some trail cams up for whitetails, just checking to see exactly what was around the area. After a week went by, we headed out to see what was happening in the woods.

We found a few does, fawns, and a decent 4x4 on the camera. We knew a few bigger bucks would eventually show up during the rut like they usually do, so we weren’t discouraged at all. About 10 days passed and it was now oct 18th, so I headed in to check cameras again. As pictures were downloading my jaw dropped because all I saw was buck after buck after buck after buck on the camera, and all daylight photos at that!

There ended up being two nice 4x4’s, a nice 5x5 with a cool unicorn like point, and of course the big non-typical buck which was soon to be called “LUCKY”. Once I showed my cousin the photos, we both agreed that our best chance was going to be with a bow before the rifle opener on November 1st.

On Sunday October 20th, I checked the weather and knew the next day was going to be a perfect evening to sit, with a perfect wind and a storm rolling in the night.

I knew deer would move to feed. October 21st, and I got there around 12:30pm, grabbed the trail cam pictures and made my way up the tree about 30ft with the self-climbing stand. By 1pm I was all settled in, scrolling through the photos, and the past few days those three bucks traveled through morning and evenings in daylight, but lucky was nowhere to be seen. A little discouraged, I quickly reminded myself this is Alberta hunting and anything can happen at any moment.

Around 2pm I got a glimpse of two bucks coming

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through the poplars, and to no surprise it was the two 4x4’s I had on camera. They travelled a deer trail bouncing between 80-100 yards away, and after five minutes they were gone. An hour went by and at 3:00 I noticed a bigger buck traveling the same trail. He had his head down, and he never took a break for me to get a good look at him but he was definitely a shooter. 3:30 rolled along and I decided to try some light rattling, hoping to try and stump an old buck to come check out what was happening on his turf. Despite my best efforts, the only thing that was interested in that was the local squirrels.

“I was so excited I couldn’t focus on my peep and sights were just a blur” 4:00 pm hit and a slight rain rolled in, and some wind with it. I looked to my left and there was a spiker at 50 yards. I had no clue how he got there. After a few minutes, as I was watching him, a flash to his left caught my eyes, there he was! It was LUCKY, no further than 80 yards away with a big 5x5 right beside him! Buck fever set in and I had a million ideas running through my head. I stayed seated in the stand with my bow ready for action. They fed on the few green leaves left on the forest floor for 10 minutes while working beside me 60-70 yards away. LUCKY then bedded down just 60 yards away in plain sight. I can’t believe it. As I watched him I was just admiring how smart he was, bedded with his back to the wind so he could smell predators coming from behind, and watching downwind to catch any movement from below. An hour passed and I was praying that I looked like a dead branch in the tree. By now the spiker and 5x5 had went back to where they came from and are out of sight.

Lucky stood up out of his bed, and immediately I begin to rise in the tree stand as well, getting ready for a potential shot. He started heading back on the

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same trail he came in on, and I was thinking, “Do I doe bleat, do I grunt, do I rattle?” I decided to stay silent and leave my location unknown due to being in such a wide open bush with no cover. I was also just thankful to lay eyes on him and witness that he felt comfortable in this section of woods. He got to a deer trail intersection, looked left directly at me, then right directly down the trail. At this time, I already had a number of trees ranged from 20-50 yards, so I didn’t have to be fumbling a range finder during shooting time. To my surprise he chose left and he was coming towards me!

I go full draw right away, and I am shaking so bad the arrow was rattling off the rest. It sounded like teeth chattering in the winter cold, and I couldn’t believe he

didn’t hear it! In my head, as he was coming, I counted 40 yards, 30 yards. Then, in my head, “Okay he’s now at 20, easy shot but he’s still moving”. At 10 yards I finally stopped him with a doe bleat. I was so excited I couldn’t focus on my peep and sights were just a blur. I finally settled with the pin and peep in perfect spot and let an arrow fly! Smack was what I heard as I looked up to see him bolting away with blood pumping out both sides. I knew the shot was bang on the money. He toppled over just 40 yards away from the tree in plain sight. It was a memory that I will never forget.

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THE CRAZY FLYERS OF RICKY BOBBY

By Cauy Hultman

It all started back in 2015. That was when I first noticed a young buck who started showing up on the trail cameras.

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After that, he became a regular every year. In addition to getting trail camera pictures of him, I was also luck enough to pick up his sheds year after year.

From a big whitetail buck perspective, he was nothing special in the antler department. It was great to see him on camera and get his sheds, but after a few years I began to think this deer was going to be just another dud with limited genetics that would never amount to anything out of the ordinary.

blind for the buck with the crazy flyers that we named, “Ricky Bobby,” We named him after a 12.5 year old deer I killed back in 2018 that we named “Bob”.

Knowing Ricky Bobby was the only mature deer that was past his prime, and having those amazing flyers and mass meant that he was a buck I was comfortable targeting. Of course, having the fresh dark sheds from the year before didn’t hurt and made it that much more exciting to sit for the old Hoss!

Then, in February 2020 we scooped up his sheds in the middle of winter and noticed that he was developing a lot of character on his antlers. It looked like he was going to grow some junk in future years. This piqued my interest and I knew that he was definitely a buck to keep an eye on. Knowing he had been around for so long; he was now a fully mature buck and I had enough information to know that I should keep tabs on him.

Day 4 of sitting was an exciting day. Deer were moving early, and I literally had does sticking their head in my blind! Sitting pretty well motionless, without even blinking for two hours, bucks started to be on the move. One after another they paraded in front of me and they just kept getting bigger! All of a sudden, a new deer showed up had me at full draw three times! It was very nice typical in the mid-160s for sure but looking at him closer I decided he was too young and did not take the shots he presented.

Spring rolled along and he was on my trail cameras again right away. Sure enough, when June rolled around, the pictures showed that he started pushing out some goofy flyers out the back and had some serious mass! It was a tough call throughout the summer, with so many different bucks on camera, I was not sure which one to target once the season started. It was quite the predicament I had myself in, but a good problem to have. By the end of august there was five mature deer that were on the radar. I closely studied every picture I got of these five bucks, and after having a closer look at their features, three of them got canceled out of the hitlist because I thought they likely had a chance to get bigger, so they became prospects for years to come and on the safe list.

I set out to hunt a big typical I named “red line.” The season began and I hunted hard, but after hunting him for three weeks straight and not having a single sighting of this huge typical, I decided to start sitting in the

“Not long after watching him make his way in, I found myself at full draw and before I knew it, he had an arrow behind his front shoulder at 15 feet!”

It was not long after the young typical left when it came old grey haired Ricky Bobby, in for his Sunday supper. Not long after watching him make his way in, I found myself at full draw and before I knew it, he had an arrow behind his front shoulder at 15 feet!

“I decided to start sitting in the blind for the buck with the crazy flyers “Ricky Bobby,” 64

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Rob and his girlfriend Courtney took some great photos that really captured the beauty of this magnificent buck and for that I am so thankful as I can always look back at these pictures and share them with friends and family and relive that very day.

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After waiting for about an hour, I decided to get on the blood trail. Blood was good for a while. “Lung shot,� was y immediate thought and I optimistically thought that I would find him within 300 yards.

800 yards later I was still following pin drops! The night got cooler and the coyotes were howling like crazy in the dead of the night. I decided to leave him for the night. After not sleeping a wink all night and eating nothing in the morning, I set off at first light to get back on the blood. With only pin drops going for another 100 yards, I turned into a shed hunter, pounding the bush and pounding pasture, walking aimlessly and checking fence lines to see if he crossed.

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After about six hours of walking and having nothing to live on but half of a blue Gatorade that had been rolling around in my back seat for three months, I was ready to give up. I was feeling pretty bad that I killed a deer just for the birds and the coyotes to eat, but I had put in a huge effort to find him and was not ready to give up yet. Then, with one last hope, I noticed a magpie heading down low into the coulee. Thinking that was my last option, I went down and after about five minutes of walking, I came over a brush pile and saw him lying there! I jumped off the brush pile to run over to him and almost broke my leg because I was so pumped! What a day. What a deer.

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FRIDAY THE 13TH

By Colin Masko

After eight years of waiting for a draw elk tag in my zone, my persistence finally paid off and I received an either sex elk tag.

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Before the season I went out scouting to several different areas where I thought the elk might be at that time of year and found lots of elk sign. I was excited that I was able to locate the sign and it was a great way to start. The day before the early season I was out scouting and looking, and listening, for elk and decided which bulls I would go after while it was still calling season.

Opening morning arrived and I had a good plan. Right at first light, I went out with a couple of my buddies, Curtis and Trevor, and we went to where we had scouted the elk the day before. As soon as we arrived to our location and left the vehicle, the elk were screaming at us. We called and went towards them and played with a herd bull for hours until he finally came in within 50 yards of us. Just at the moment that it seemed like we were going to get a look at him, he winded us before even giving us one look. We thought we would leave him alone around noon and go to another area. We set up a pop-up blind where we believed elk were coming out to feed and we were only there until 3pm and the elk already were coming out as planned. Shortly after that, three bulls started calling and battling with each other.

“I spotted a very nice bull sneaking our way around the outside of the bush. This was a fourth bull and he was coming to battle.”

We waited patiently for hours until we determined the bulls were not going to show themselves then we decided to try a bull call. They all screamed back at once and we knew we had their attention immediately.

As we listened patiently to try and locate any of the three bulls’ positions, I spotted a very nice bull sneaking our way around the outside of the bush. This was

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a fourth bull and he was coming to battle. My friend Curtis Bilan, who had never shot an elk before, was getting very excited with anticipation and I think he was very surprised when I asked him if he was ready to shoot his first elk, because he thought I was going to shoot it as it was coming in from my side and I just found out I had to go to work the next day.

“Curtis fired off a shot when the elk came in and he shot his very nice first ever bull elk which scored 331 5/8 gross and 301 5/8 Net.” Curtis fired off a shot when the elk came in and he shot his very nice first ever bull elk which scored 331 5/8 gross and 301 5/8 Net. After dealing with that elk that night my early season was over as I had to go to work the next day.

I was out at work up until December 7th, which only gave me a few days to prepare and scout again for the elk in my zone. From December 10th until the 13th, I had put on 2400 km going from herd to herd that I had found trying to find the bachelor groups of bulls which had now broken away from the cows in this late season. I had seen so much sign it was really hard to miss where the elk are that time of year when there are hundreds together in a herd. I found several different herds and was asking landowners for permission in the areas as I knew the bulls would be close. The first few places I went to I couldn’t get permission to hunt on the properties, so I decided to go to another area and this really paid off for me as this was ultimately the area where I would get my bull.

A farmer who lived in this area decided to take me out and show me where the elk were coming onto his land where his crop was getting destroyed. He couldn’t

I have never considered myself an elk hunter. Maybe I didn’t know what I was missing, or didn’t want to put in the time, money and effort in to chase the big elusive bulls. But after years of listening to the stories my buddies would tell of the big screaming giants that call our Rockies home, I decided to buy a tag and give it a go.

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understand why anyone wouldn’t give permission with all the damage this many animals can do to a property. He had friends who were down in the early season and said they had seen a nice bull in the area and actually had some shed horns from a nice bull which he thought was still around. I ended up hunting about five miles away from his place but let him know how much it was appreciated that he did all this for me anyways.

Dec 13th I decided to go check out four different herds with three other buddies in my truck with me.

My friend Blair, Aaron and Andrew, who also had a tag and now permission also. After going to the first few places and finding nothing we decided to go to the last place for the morning. There was fresh sign everywhere and when we were pulling up to the bush we were going to go walking through when we suddenly spotted three bull elk running through a tall grassy area heading towards the big bush. We went further up the trail and parked the truck and started to go

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walking towards the bulls. One bull ran away from the rest across an opening into a sloughy area and stopped at a 150 yards and decided to look back at me. I set up my bog pod shooting sticks and lifted my gun and quickly glanced at this elk and immediately knew he was the one I was looking for. He was wide and very mature and I knew he wasn’t going to give me much time to look at him and he turned his head around to start heading away from me when I knew I had to take the shot now or never. I let the lead fly out of my Ruger 338 Mag and he dropped instantly. I knew elk are very strong animals with a great will to survive, so I waited to see if he was going to move again or not. He began to try to get up and was perfectly broadside now so I sent the next projectile through his vitals and he expired in only seconds.

It was at this moment that I had realized I had shot a very mature bull elk. His head was on the ground on his side and the horns were visible up above the three foot high slough grass. After crossing about

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50 dead fall trees and wiggling between the trees I walked up on my record bull elk. I was smiling from ear to ear as he was even better than I had first imagined. After taking some field pictures and tagging and cleaning him I decided to call another friend of mine to come with his bike, chainsaw and trailer and help me retrieve the beast. Cory Sawchuk, a friend of mine who loves this sort of thing, was there asap and willing to help and pulled my animal out of the bush for me. He was wiggling between the trees and cutting deadfalls to get close to my elk. At that time, I realized why the elk had went out into the opening, he couldn’t fit between the trees as his horns were over 61 inches wide outside spread and the trees were young and close together there!

It was a bull of a lifetime and I had good friends there to witness it all and help out and join in on the excitement. It was Friday the 13th and I was so happy to call my Dad on the way home from heart surgery and tell him this was not an unlucky day at all. He only wished he was there with me but his news was even better than mine. We hauled the elk home and finished cleaning it and put it away in the cooler and began celebrating one of the best hunting seasons of my life.

This majestic wide bull elk ended up scoring 376 5/8 Gross and 369 5/8 net non-typical. It even went 349 net typical also. I would like to thank all the landowners who granted me permission to hunt on their land this season, and making this all possible.

MULE DEER MEMORIES

By Dylan Kirzinger

Just like many great hunting stories, this one started in anticipation for the hunting draw.

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It had all started when I found out that my brothers and I had pulled either sex mule deer tag near my home. We were also very lucky in pulling either sex antelope tag in the south western part of my home province of Saskatchewan. Knowing that I was drawn for mule deer, I just didn’t want to just get a mule deer, but rather get a mule deer in velvet that would bring countless memories whenever I looked back.

It was early July one evening when my family and I went out scouting and started to look for mule deer we could pursue in the up and coming season, and same with the whitetail. We had seen deer that evening but nothing that we wanted to target. A week later we did the same thing, found a good whitetail but no mule deer. The next time we went, just as the sun had set, with the last of the light we had left, we had seen a bachelor group of mule deer bucks standing on the quarter line between a field of canola and soybeans, feeding their way into the bush. One of the bucks stood out among the others. It was hard to make out what he

was, but he stood much taller than all the other ones he was with and we knew this was one we should try and get a better look at. A few days later I set out during the middle of the afternoon to go and set up a trail camera to try and get some pictures of him. Walking through the bush in the middle of the afternoon, I didn’t expect to see any deer, but one of the little guys that we had seen earlier came out to feed and I was waiting to see all the other ones follow him. I waited and nothing, so I thought this was good practice to make a stalk on him and I got to 50 yards and decided to backout before he didn’t like what he saw. I had found a trail where the deer had always walked down and I set a trail camera five yards off the trail, hoping to catch that mule deer I saw the other evening. Weeks and weeks of scouting and checking the camera led to nothing, we hadn’t seen anything overly promising.

It was the night before opening day and my father and I went out to go look and see if we could find a deer to look for tomorrow morning. Nothing stood out to me because I had the tag and my father was helping me

try and find one. We woke up bright and early and set out on opening morning, we had seen deer, including a really nice 3x3 in full velvet but since it was the first day, I didn’t see the point of pursuing him since it was so early yet. An hour later we had a group of deer run out in front of us and a nice 150” dark velvet typical mule deer stood 50 yards away from me and my father asked me, “Does it work?” I replied, “It’s too early yet, only opening day, for that one.” We kept moving on in hopes of finding a good one. School started in a few days for me and with that came school sports which meant less hunting time, and being gone every weekend increased the pressure of me trying to get my velvet buck.

There were only a few minutes of legal light left but I had finally found a deer that I wanted to try and get.

It was the first Thursday in September when I drove by our pasture when I spotted something very big and dark in the field. There were only a few minutes of legal light left but I had finally found a deer that I wanted to try and get. He stood at a couple hundred yards just feeding away and I watched him and soon enough it got dark and I was on my way home to make a game plan for tomorrow. It was Friday and I was waiting for school to be over so I could go find this deer and put a stalk on him. Finally, I was on my way out to see if I could find him but he was not there. I checked a few other places and with an hour left of legal light, I went back to where I had seen him the night before, and he just suddenly appeared out of the barley. I parked the truck, checked the wind and grabbed all my stuff and went to make my first stalk.

I walked out to where I had last seen him and decided to go walk onto a little hill to try and pinpoint him, and suddenly I caught a movement in the corner of my eye

and he was at my side, around 80 yards away. I crept down the hill and started moving slowly but in the barley it was hard, every little step made a lot of sound.

I had seen the deer but he was still feeding south. He came and crested a hill downwind of me. I lied as low as I could and ranged him but he had his eyes locked onto me. I sat there and watched him flick his tail and hop away. I stood up and watched him hop away to land that I did not have permission for and that was that. I knew that once an animal was spooked, they were gone for good and that’s what happened.

I couldn’t find that deer for two weeks, thinking that some lucky hunter had already got him. It was opening weekend for muzzleloader and my father, younger brother and I went out. We were back at our pasture, at a crossing where the deer always went. A few mule deer does came out running and a smaller buck that I was focused on until I saw, through the trees, the one that disappeared back in September. He was trailing behind the does and I didn’t have much time. I grunted at him with hopes he would stop and he did at around roughly 100 yards. I held the gun up and pulled the trigger, smoke erupted but the deer didn’t move right away. Buck fever had kicked in and I missed at 100 yards, and again I watched him run away! He had been Lucky and that’s when I thought he deserved the name Lucky.

He disappeared again, another two weeks went by without him being seen. One weekend while I was at a volleyball tournament, my father texted me that my younger brother and him found that same deer again.

They sat at a crossing where the does crossed but this buck went a completely different way and outsmarted them. He had once again been lucky and disappeared.

It was now October 23rd. My father and I had been sitting at the one corner of our pasture right along a group of dead trees. Not far from us the deer had always walked to go into a thick piece of bush for the night. I heard some trees rusting like they were being thrashed around downwind of us. I faced downwind just incase whatever this was popped out. Nothing happened until the last half hour of legal light when I

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looked and seen a mule deer come walking out of the bush down wind of us and I instantly thought this was the one causing the ruckus. I didn’t even look right away at what deer it was, but at 180 yards it looked big and then I pulled up my binoculars and said, “That’s him! That’s Lucky!” He walked to the fence line when I thought he was gonna hop the fence.

“That’s him! That’s Lucky!” He walked to the fence line when I thought he was gonna hop the fence.

He came back walking towards me, 180 yards came to 150 and then suddenly to 120 yards where he stopped broadside and faced the fence line. I was ready, the deer looked my way and locked eyes onto me again, I cocked the muzzleloader and put the crosshairs behind the front shoulder and squeezed the trigger. “Boom!”

A cloud of smoke had erupted and I put the gun down and raised my binoculars to see he was hit and hit hard.

He ran 60 yards and slowed to a stop and faced to where he came from, his legs got weak and he started to stutter and he tipped over.

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I jumped up with excitement, knowing that I had finally got Lucky. Countless hours and countless days and it all finally paid off, my father and I walked up to him and he was more impressive in my hands than seeing him run away. I didn’t end up getting a velvet mule deer like I wanted, but the memories from this one will last forever.

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