Alberta Mule deer Hunt 2020

[bonedogg]

I had two close friends that are brothers, get special draws for a wildlife management unit I am familiar with here in Alberta. It didn't take long for me to reply that I would take time off to help them out as I love this area and these are good friends. Mr. Winter sent us a blast in the middle of November to contend with and conditions were brutal to say the least. Day 1 Winds in excess of 60-70 KM per hour made stalks and just scoping deer difficult on the eyes.

 

[bonedogg]

We made many stalks to close the distance on deer to see if they made our hearts beat faster upon closer inspection.

 

[bonedogg]

We found this buck on day 2 and it was an easy decision for the one brother as he loved the extra point. The rut was starting to pick up a bit and we watched this buck disappear behind a knoll when he was chasing a herd of about 20 does. We made a stalk above them and down wind and his shot was true when the buck turned broadside at 275 yds and he dropped just out of our sight. High fives were in store and it was time to grab the sled. This buck's body weight was tremendous and with three of us, any incline back to the truck was met with some serious grunts. He later dressed out at the butcher on the hook, minus his legs below the knees, hide and head and still weighed 184lbs...wow

 

[bonedogg]

We hunted hard the next day to try and find a better buck. We did and on two occasions the hunter missed on shots that most wouldn't have, granted the wind was blowing again and some lessons learned. Our best chance was a moment when I knew what small secluded meander scar existed that they love to resort to when spooked. I said lets go and take a look. Like on cue when we reached the fence at the bottom of the coulee before sneaking around the corner, we met Big Hank again. This time we had him broadside at 250 yds and a fence post to lean on. He shot twice and missed high both times as the snow evidence later revealed. He was the best buck we had seen and would have been close to 190" typical. Tall, dark, clean with big backs and tall fronts to match. I just wanted to see what he looked like up close...... oh well, Lessons learned by them and he made the switch to bro's gun. Later that day we found our eventual buck we would find for him. We obtained permission via cell phone and made a two mile stalk through the snow and got busted by one lonely muley fork horn that blew out all the deer in the valley. We were physically exhausted and had to walk several miles back to the truck. We were so cocky we had him that we even drug the sled....... Tails tucked between our legs, we hauled back to town and got some rest for the morning. This buck also had an extra in-line point, but on the the other side.

 

[bonedogg]

We ended up finding our target buck the next morning about 1/2 mile away and after some strategic planning, out stalk was on. We snuck to within 300 yds of the herd and our buck was laying down in the middle. Older brother helped out by standing up behind us and getting the herd up for a shot. The buck stood up and his first shot was on its way and it was a swing and a miss!!!

He frantically rushed in another one into the pipe and took aim again as the buck trotted up the coulee a few feet and turned again to see what the noise was all about? Shot 2 rang through the air and this time his buck was down. As we made our way over to him, the buck did the most amazing thing. He got up and bounced out of the draw with 2 shots missing him closely. WTH!!!!!!

He had hit the buck hard in the front shoulders is what we thought so we were bewildered to say the least. Got to the top of the draw and watched him slink into another coulee chasing the does but with a severe limp and when stopped he would stretch out in a peculiar manner. When the herd dropped out of sight, we ran our butts off to the top and watched him try to escape via the train track traversed coulee. He broke his front leg on shot one and cart-wheeled him on the next as he ran away at 350 plus yards hitting him in the back of the neck. Shot that dropped him initially was low on the neck, above the shoulders and didn't touch any processes of the spine. Hence him dropping and also the fact it was a non-fatal wound that could have made the day very, very long indeed.

Both are super happy with their bucks and they just wish to not show their mugs to all and I respect that as well.

The train tracks made for some cool perspective shots IMO.

Great hunt and times with Friends during this Covid BS.

 

[bonedogg]

 

[appaloosa]

Man, I love those big-bodied, heavy-horned, Canadian bucks!

 

[bonedogg]

Man, I love those big-bodied, heavy-horned, Canadian bucks!

the one on the tracks weighed 50 lbs. less completely dressed out than the first buck and he's no slouch!

 

[Jape]

Pretty bucks. Fun to hunt areas with bucks like that!

 

[bigsky2]

8 shots by hunter #2?

 

[bonedogg]

ya, 5 with his gun.... it was lookin' like things were going sideways. Not everyone is equal when it comes to shooting and knowledge, it became evident to me after the few misses as we have not hunted much together in the past.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Very nice looking bucks.

 

[bonedogg]

end of trip pic

 

[MTLabrador]

I really want to hunt mule deer in Canada. Congrats!

 

[Sask hunter]

Congrats!

 

[Red Fox]

Both are very nice bucks

 

[JEL]

Awesome! Our farm is just south of Alberta right below the MT border. Once in a while we catch a glimpse of these bruisers cruising below the line looking for does. We had similar conditions hunting this fall. Never found the big guy though.

 

[Wildabeest]

Dang, now that’s the definition of a successful hunt! Great pics and scenery.