Hunting Alberta Whitetails

[Brez]

We've just had our longest winter in 40 years. Coyotes have been playing he!! with deer that are too weak to move.

Just saying...

Yeah, if it wasn't for the fact that we've been going for over 15 years and it's sort of tradition and visiting friends, I'd be taking the year off.

[1980skywalker]

All the comments are greatly appreciated, this is a new hunt, new species and new area for me so as much information as I can get is as good as money in the bank. So it seems the best way to hunt these critters is by sitting in a blind and waiting, and waiting, my question is how the hell do you stay warm? Sitting around all day is not my prefered type of hunting, but if it has to be done to be successful then so be it but late November you are dealing with temperatures that could be -30C or colder, how do you stay warm? Is it possible to get a heater in a groundblind? As far as the draw hunts go Brez I will definitely be putting in for mule deer and moose, this year my priority starts at zero, but it is a start and I will continue to put in until successful.

[Rackmastr]

Yep...heater in a ground blind and good clothes is the key to staying on stand.

[Brez]

Yep, you have to start somewhere and the sooner, the better.
I'm not a fan of blinds - never done it successfully for whiteys in Alberta. It would be OK if you knew where a good buck was hanging out and crossing (a big field). We just still hunt till we find some good sign and hang around there rattling and such. We have been guilty of not persevering when a good buck has been seen. If you see a good one, hunt it exclusively for your stay and you may get a crack at it. My favorite spot is a HIGH tree stand on a power line where there are numerous crossings within 400 yds. Now, that can get cold! Oh, and don't set your sights on the moon right off the bat. We passed up on lots of 160 class bucks while holding out for that 180 in the first years when they were around most corners. I have yet to take a 160 net whitey and have changed my philosophy. I will take the first buck that's bigger than anything I already have and hope to work my way up to that elusive 180.
Good luck. That is a good area with lots of access.

[bigwhiteys]

is by sitting in a blind and waiting, and waiting, my question is how the hell do you stay warm?

Best blind I've ever used is my F-150 pickup, lol... Warm, tunes, you can move around... Spend a couple days scouting and figuring out where the bucks are moving, then we'd park and wait (all day) for several days in the exact same place. Whiteys are creatures of habit and they would eventually trust the vehicle like it was meant to be there.... When a buck you wanted would finally pop out to coral his doe or feed, we'd hop out and BOOM!!!!! Our hours and hours and hours of patiently waiting always boiled down to about a 1 min window of opportunity.

I've got 3 beauty whitetails of my own and a dozen or so more between our hunting partners over the years using the same method, although sometimes we've substituted the Ford for a Chevy or even a Dodge has worked. Good Luck! Whitetail are definitely a challenging hunt if you want to kill a good buck. I miss those hunts. The motivating partner behind many of them passed away a few years ago.

[andrewscag]

Just so its not all bad news, just drove from fort McMurray back to Langley earlier this week. Saw about 30 in fields within an hour of Hinton. So that hint to look for some fields is maybe a good one.