Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 29

Thread: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    The mighty peace
    Posts
    7,143

    2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    This season started out like most, not nearly enough time to scout, and barely enough time to hunt. I had been out one time for all of bow season and barely had enough time to check all my cams prior to that. Not good….The wolves were back and they brought their litter, not good either.
    I did not have any big animals on my cameras this year, so with the price of fuel and beef I decided it would be more about the freezer this year.

    Finally rifle season was here and I had 5 days off! Been working 13-14 hrs a day for weeks on end, so was so glad to be off but energy to do it right was going to be a challenge.

    Opening day was wet, man was it wet. It poured buckets and buckets of rain. The entire forest was flowing, it was so loud no chance of calling in anything as they wouldn't hear us. We started the day and rain gear but were soaked through everything within a few hours. We checked all the cams we could and yes It was confirmed. No BIG bull elk this year and the whitetail bucks were at best 3-4 year olds. We packed in it early in the afternoon for the first time ever for an opening day. I knew everything would be hunkered down but with the recently graduated son having the weekend off we had to try. Sunday the fog was so thick you could not see 40m, the wind picked up and it started to pour again. We had one bull bugle once but he would not engage. Another early day for us, home by mid afternoon to dry everything out, again.

    Monday morning, the 3 day I had off I woke to the house groaning to the wind, SOB. I looked at the forecast and rain was not on it but there was an extreme wind warning. I thought about going back to sleep as I was tired and pretty miffed about the weather that seemed to plague any rare day I had off. **** it, I wont get an elk from home and I have done great in the wind as they can’t hear very well.

    As luck would have it a walked right into a bull on an over grown seismic line on the way in, it was maybe 10mins into legal light. He was a mere 40 m from me and stared curiously at me, I don’t think he new what I was in the early grey light and like I said the line was overgrown so we were partly hidden from each other. I could make out a small branch antlered rack with at least 3 points to a side, It was hard to pull the trigger so early in the season and know that my solo time hunting elk would be over for the year but I said I was going to fill the freezer every chance I had and it had been years since I hunted with that intent. A quick frontal shot to the neck put him down on the spot, right on the trail. Turned out he was a 5x6 rag horn so I still havent ended my 6 point only streak. Lol
    He had a nice fat 2-3 year old body and very little smell to him. With my lack of energy I was happy he was on lighter side. I did the gutless on him and then took him out on the atv in two trips as I had the time for two trips and I felt bad for the atv last time I did the trip in 1 shot. I took the liver, heart and suit as I had learned they are super healthy for ones diet.

    More to follow when time.






    No sooner did I have the elk at the truck and I get a text from work, if you get an animal early please, please, please come back to work asap.
    Last edited by Husky7mm; 12-03-2022 at 11:11 AM.
    If the world is warming why are there so many new snowflakes?

    If we are all equal why do you demand special treatment?

    You can not comply your way out of tyranny.

    Fire them ALL!

  2. Site Sponsor

  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    region 9
    Posts
    11,488

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Satisfying indeed, looks like a fat tasty bull, congrats!

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    The Ville, B.C.
    Posts
    5,627

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Nicely done, Husky! Congrats on the winter food supply.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Peace Country
    Posts
    2,076

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Nice bull! Thanks for posting

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    BC
    Posts
    1,496

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Right on! Nice bull
    My Video Camera = Panasonic HDC-SD90

    My youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/markt308

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Vancouver Island
    Posts
    1,576

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Nice getting it done with limited time. Used to hate it when work interfered with hunting. Well done
    "Bullshit doesn't need to be countered by anything, just called out for what it is." Edward Teach

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Victoria,BC
    Posts
    6,398

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Nice bull! Great for the freezer.
    kenny
    I love it when the seasons change.
    Fishing to Hunting.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Victoria
    Posts
    14,096

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    Good job bud thanks for sharing

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    The mighty peace
    Posts
    7,143

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    The days off were only 9 days away for the annual moose trip, but first I had to go to Saskatchewan and work for 8 days. They kept me overly busy till the last day so I had no choice but to drive back after work, incognito. That gave me the day to get my gear in a row. Moose camp consists of hauling about a weeks worth of gear via atv and tub trailer into the middle of nowhere, just the way we like it, and who doesnt want to sit beside a fire every night and sleep in a wood stove heated wall tent? The 12 hr day followed by 850km drive was worth it.

    The forecast was poor but the dates were book so that was that. The first morning and the coldest and calmest of the trip the first moose we saw was a dandy Jim Schockey moose. Without a doubt a shooter. Unfortunately he was way out there and would not commit to coming our way. There must be a real cow in heat down there.
    We tried an interception as the wind picked up and the temperature rose but it was to no avail. After that it got really hot and really windy, like real relentlessly windy. My hunting partner with the draw passed on a few small bulls and after seeing that giant I don’t blame him as it would be hard to not try for the giant till the end. Experience taught us that anything could happen here.
    There were at least 3-4 grizzly spotted everyday which was not the usual for the area, one had a permanent residence about 700m from the camp. Lucky for him he never bothered us is all I have to say.
    We pulled out a day early as the forecast had a rainfall warning effect and gumbo hell takes the fun out of an already challenging week.


    Back to work but a few random days allowed me to hunt for whitetail, wolves and check the cams.

    The cams said the game was not up to their usual business and the wolves were pounding my honeyhole to death. Unfortunately, so far it seems I was either a day too early or late everytime out. I have 10 cams in the area so I have pretty good tabs on whats going on over about about a 10k area that has served us well.

    There was a lot of blown over trees from the recent storms and with the lack of game sign I wondered if the productivity was coming to an end. I had just walked a 9 km loop and was a bit miffed. ****ing wolves.
    I road the atv to were I had a commanding view to have a late lunch. No sooner did I pull up and I see a big mature buck staring at me. He didnt hear me approaching via atv because of the strong wind. A quick off hand shot at about 200m felt promising. There was good blood within about 10 m of the crime scene so I was getting pretty excited. Note to self, and I already learned this a bunch, anything can happen……

    The buck was bleeding all over the place for the first 100m and I really expected a dead buck any second but then the blood dried up. I slowed down and saw his rack upright sticking out of the underbrush in a forest of big aspen. He was still alive. I tried to slowly circle right to get an better angle on him but in 1 smooth motion he was up and gone.

    I gave him around 15 mins and took up the trail, but this time at a snails crawl. It took a bit to figure out the tracking as the blood was very spars. Again I see the tips of the rack sticking out of the underbrush. His head is wobbling and he keeps putting it down. I feel bad for the beautiful animal, but hate shooting them bedded as it can easily destroy shoulders, loins and such. Everything is all bunched up. I had no clear shot to the neck either. Again I tried to circle right to get a good angle on his neck. He seemed like he was just about gone but in the blink of an eye he was up and gone. ****. I tried to get him in the scope and let one go but it was a miss. I quickly reloaded and just swung the rifle like a shot gun and sent another as he ran behind a spruce. He piled right up. Hard to out run a bullet to the back of the head.

    I admired him and took some pictures. He was the biggest bodied WT I have ever shot. Right around 300 lbs I figured, not a bad rack, but what a body, and so fat. Too bad its all tallow. I cut a trail in and wrestled the atv in. I gutted him and kept the heart and liver again. It was all I could do to get him on the back rack, he was obese but In great shape with no stink. Its was oct 31.






    Last edited by Husky7mm; 12-03-2022 at 11:12 AM.
    If the world is warming why are there so many new snowflakes?

    If we are all equal why do you demand special treatment?

    You can not comply your way out of tyranny.

    Fire them ALL!

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    The mighty peace
    Posts
    7,143

    Re: 2022 satisfying northern Alberta season

    More to come when I have time.
    If the world is warming why are there so many new snowflakes?

    If we are all equal why do you demand special treatment?

    You can not comply your way out of tyranny.

    Fire them ALL!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •