2025 Sask WT adventures

[Sask hunter]

Cold weather has had the deer really hitting good but all small bucks and does and moose

 

[vanish]

Seems like action has been slower than normal this year?

 

[Letthemgrow]

Been a grind but rain baits today. Season is come to a close in less then a week. Possible saw target buck 3 a mile from where I can hunt locked with a doe. Haven’t had pictures of the big 5x5 since November 18. Did check camera today that’s not cell cam and had pictures of target buck 2 in at noon yesterday. Seems to have shifted his area as my other spots haven’t had a picture of him since the 16. So will get a blind setup tomoroew and maybe I’ll get lucky.
Here is the one I’m setting up the new spot for
View attachment 394037

If you kill him I would love to see the hanging weight on a deer like that.
Good luck.

 

[Sask hunter]

Seems like action has been slower than normal this year?

It has been a tough year. More deer around then last but struggle to get mature deer in during daylight for sure

 

[Sask hunter]

If you kill him I would love to see the hanging weight on a deer like that.
Good luck.

Not sure what you refer to hanging weight but so far evey mature buck I have shot during our rifle season all dresses in the 140 range. When I say dress that’s gutted, skinned and legs off. Ready to start butchering

 

[Sask hunter]

Different view today. Up close about 40 yards to this bait

 

[Sask hunter]

Right at first light I hit up a different spot today. It’s just a field deer feed In at night and often all under the cover of darkness. But I was running a touch late so drove past it. Caught a nice mature buck and a doe locked down right off the trail about 100 yards. He wouldn’t have scored any good but a nice big framed mature buck 3x4 since he had broke a brow off. If the freezer wasn’t in such good shape from our Elk and moose from last year still he would have become sausge real quick.

But I’m holding on hope that this big boy slips up in the last few days of seaosn. Can’t tell but looks to be a big framed buck in behind the moose

 

[F250]

Not sure what you refer to hanging weight but so far evey mature buck I have shot during our rifle season all dresses in the 140 range. When I say dress that’s gutted, skinned and legs off. Ready to start butchering

In the east hanging weight refers to “ hog dressed”… or everything south of the diaphragm removed. Some will remove heart and lungs too.

 

[SaskHunter]

It's been very slow this year around here. The "war on antlerless elk 3.0" really threw a wrench in the mix the past week.

I've never seen it that bad before, EVERY FIELD WAS CONTINUOUSLY BEING DRIVEN ON. All deer on camera went nocturnal once the lazy truck hunting army hit the field on the 20th. Hoping things get back to normal now that the 2025 elk rampage is over.

Getting a big cold front and snow today, hopefully gets things going again.

 

[Sask hunter]

It's been very slow this year around here. The "war on antlerless elk 3.0" really threw a wrench in the mix the past week.

I've never seen it that bad before, EVERY FIELD WAS CONTINUOUSLY BEING DRIVEN ON. All deer on camera went nocturnal once the lazy truck hunting army hit the field on the 20th. Hoping things get back to normal now that the 2025 elk rampage is over.

Getting a big cold front and snow today, hopefully gets things going again.

Good luck! Busier then usual here too but that was before elk opened. Elk vacated my area in September. Deer numbers are finally creeping back up so I think everyone decided to chase them again

 

[Sask hunter]

It also doesn’t help the 3 bucks I’m after I don’t think I’m in their core range and they all seem to really wander so daylight is tough on them. Although I’m hoping my new spot works for the one big 4x4 as I had him in at noon on the 25th

 

[rogerthat]

It's been very slow this year around here. The "war on antlerless elk 3.0" really threw a wrench in the mix the past week.

I've never seen it that bad before, EVERY FIELD WAS CONTINUOUSLY BEING DRIVEN ON. All deer on camera went nocturnal once the lazy truck hunting army hit the field on the 20th. Hoping things get back to normal now that the 2025 elk rampage is over.

Getting a big cold front and snow today, hopefully gets things going again.

I’m not familiar with what is going on in Saskatchewan in regards to tags and game pops etc. did cow elk tags get raised significantly?

 

[Sask hunter]

I’m not familiar with what is going on in Saskatchewan in regards to tags and game pops etc. did cow elk tags get raised significantly?

In response to crop damage in certain areas they opened all of southern Sask to a one week OTC cow hunt. Like all
Govt they mess up everything they touch it seems. Some areas where tags were sold don’t even have elk. Would have been better if they targeted certain zones and limited quota so it would have been a bit controlled. I know up here it didn’t go well. The elk got to places that don’t allow hunting after about day one. And we are an area that could use extra cow tags. Could have also had our OTC season in September either sex. The elk are much more scattered then vs a few big herds so should have had better chances in September too

 

[SaskHunter]

I’m not familiar with what is going on in Saskatchewan in regards to tags and game pops etc. did cow elk tags get raised significantly?

Much like what other Sasky said, the gov't came out with a last minute antlerless elk hunt 20-27 Nov for zones 1 to 55, no quota (they did two localized similar last-minute seasons last fall too). Every resident could get a tag and go hunt whichever zone they picked. Of note, this came in after draw results were out and well into most established elk seasons. I was fortunate to fill my draw tag in the September season, but had I not, I'd be hunting the second part of the season in December. They put this season in-between draw seasons, some of which take 15+ years to draw and now the elk were pushed all around the Province, herded up and 100% changed their patterns and spooked bad ahead of the second part of the season.

Most of those zones have either no or very low draw quotas established by biologists, meaning most of those zones couldn't sustain any or very limited draw seasons. I say again, this free-for-all war on elk was approved because of insurance companies and landowners, and not supported by any wildlife organizations or biologists.

The gov't caved in to farmers complaining about crop damages and put on this outrageous hunt (confirmed in a letter I've received from the Minister of Environment after writing him). I've never seen such a gong-show in my life; trespassing, truck hunters shooting from their trucks, guys riding in the back of pick-ups shooting at running elk, etc. I'm sure a ton of elk were gut-shot or lost and know of 20+ cow elk that were shot in the Township I deer hunt in, which is a small portion of my elk zone (combined zones 22 and 30 which are big zones) with a quota of 45 elk total (either-sex and antlerless). It was absolute mayhem around Saskatoon and even called it quits after getting shot towards one evening.

Couldn't report trespassers and poachers as they were cruising through fields like bandits. In 20 years of hunting seasons, I have never seen anything like it. I used to praise our Ministry of Environment and how they managed herds, they used to do a good job for the most part, but in recent years it's become a joke.

Glad this gong-show is over and will get back to writing letters once season ends and I've cooled down a bit... End rant, back to deer hunting!

 

[rogerthat]

Thanks for the info! That does sound aweful. Sorry for the derail. Elk make rationale people lose their minds. I have seen it first hand!