Southern Alberta Mule Deer Success

[fuzzybiscuit]

I'm a transplanted BC'r who has been living in Northern Alberta for some time now. Like most who came to Alberta from another province, I brought my family here looking for a better life and I must say that Alberta has been very good to us.

Along with my family I also brought a passion for hunting; specifically deer. My father was always big into hunting Blacktails so I was fortunate as a kid to spend many a day following him around while still-hunting for the Grey Ghosts in the timber on Vancouver Island. I was able to turn the skills that he taught me into a pretty good Blacktail hunting career, filling the freezer each year and being able to harvest some pretty nice animals in the process.

So far I've done fairly well at adapting my Blacktail hunting tecniques to Whitetails, and in the last 4 years I've harvested some nice Whitetail Bucks in the Fort McMurray region. While I have ran into a few Mule Deer in the area, I have not been able to turn those opportunities into any kind of success so far. With the limited numbers in the area it also makes it hard to target them.

So, this year I decided that if the goal was going to be to shoot a decent Mule Deer then I would have to travel to an area where there was a real possibility of getting one. Not knowing the province particularly well, I spent a lot of time on here researching the topic and whenever I met up with someone from the Southern part of the province I never missed an opportunity to pick their brain. A co-worker of mine put me onto an area in the South-Eastern corner of the province. He had hunted the area with his father in the past, and had always had success in finding some deer. With that limited info, I decided that 118 would be the area that I used my priority points on this year in hopes of getting a draw.

When the draw results came out I was very excited to learn that I had been awarded an Altlered Mule Deer licence. Now the planning started and it was time to get serious about not only making the hunt happen, but trying to set myself up so that I would have an idea on where to go when I got there. Being that I work a mon-fri job and live 1000 Kms away, actually going to the area to scout and gain access to land in person was not going to be possible or economically feesable. I was fortunate to have a couple members on here and on HuntingBC reach out to me in the way of PM's offering advice on areas to hunt so that I would have a starting point. With that, I got a landowners map and started making cold-calls. I soon learned that getting permission to hunt a specific track of land would not be the hard part; actually getting someone to answer the phone would be. I called every landowner I could find contact information for and in the end I did not manage to get in contact with anyone. Although not the way I like to do things, I decided that I would just travel down a few days early and start knocking on doors. I figured that since I was hunting solo and traveling such a distance someone would probably show pity on me and give me access to hunt their land on foot.

With that, I set out on October 31st for the November 2nd start of rifle season.

[fuzzybiscuit]

I left Fort Mcmurray on Oct 31st at 6:00 am thinking that with a stop at Cabelas in Edmonton I'd make it to Manyberries by 7:00 pm. I only made it 50 Kms south of town when I lost power steering and all the lights on my dash lit up. A quick check under the hood revealed that one of my idler pullies grenaded causing the surpentine belt to go slack and catch on a rad hose clamp. The belt was shredded in a million pieces and most were wrapped around the fan shaft. Bugger.

Instead of having it towed I called Napa and as luck would have it they had the parts that I would need in town. A second call had me waking my wife up so that she could pick them up and run them out to me. What a good woman. Waiting for the parts took a lot longer than the actual repair. By 10:00 I was back on the road.

The rest of the trip south was uneventful, with me arriving at the Southern Ranchman's Inn around 2 in the morning.

Day two had me driving around trying to locate a few landowners and get permission to hunt a few tracks of land. I spotted several good Muley's during the day but by late afternoon I still hadn't managed to track one rancher down and I was starting to worry that I wouldn't have anywhere to hunt for the opener the next morning. As luck would have it I finally received permission to hunt a 1/4 section late in the day. I hit it off with the lady of the ranch and she gave me cell phone numbers for several other ranchers. A few calls that evening had me getting permission to hunt enough land that I wouldn't have to worry about hunting the same place twice for the rest of the trip.

Con't...

[fuzzybiscuit]

Day one of the hunt...

For the first morning I planned to drive out to where I had spotted a shooter the day before. I had marked the spot on my GPS that I figured would be a good place to park the truck for first light. I noticed while driving out there that there was quite a bit more traffic on the road than the previous day. Sitting with the truck parked waiting for first light I must have had 30 vehicles drive by. I left the truck a bit before light wanting to get most the way up the hillside for first light. At one point I could see a dozen sets of tail lights on a short section of road.

As it got light I could immediately see deer in my binoculars. I could also see that there were trucks parked about every mile down the road. It seemed that a lot of other hunters had the same idea that I had. Surprise. Within the first hour of light most deer had filtered into the hills. I had spotted several decent bucks but nothing worth pulling the trigger on considering it was opening day and I had spotted a couple better bucks the day before. Google Earth revealed that a few miles to the East above the hillside that I was on there were farm houses so instead of continuing up the hill I decided to go to a secondary spot that had miles upon miles of country beyond it.

Once I got to my next spot I loaded up my day pack with the plan of not coming back to the truck until dark. That would give me about 8 hours to wonder around. I parked in the ranch yard and let the rancher know my plans. I gave him all my contact information and he said that he'd send out the dogs for me if I didn't return a few hours after dark. Great guy.

I walked from the ranch yard through a field with about 50 head of cattle in it. The back fence and beginning of the hillside was probably 700 yards away from where I left off. Half way across the field I look back and almost every cow was following in single line behind me. Spooky. So much for being stealthy. When I got about 50 yards from the fence line I notice a Whitetail moving in a thicket on the other side of it. I had both an antlered and antlerless Whitetail tag but getting either was a secondary thought to getting the antlered Muley. I figured that I knew where the deer would come out so I raced to the fence line to get a rest.

When I got to the fence line no fewer than 6 Whitetail bucks in a bachelor group made a break for it. They made it about 75 yards up to the fist knoll on the hillside and then stopped to have a look back. The best of the group was a nice 5x5 in the 145-150 class range. As this was day one I let him walk. Plus, I could always find a Whitetail buck back up in Fort McMurray.

Con't...

[Bear Chaser]

Good so far.....

[fuzzybiscuit]

The hillside was a few hundred yards high. As I was making my way up it I saw several deer from each vantage point looking into the deep coulees. Once I cleared the top I was looking at land for as far as I could see with nobody and nothing on it. Perfect. The first thing I spotted was two cow moose about 600 yards away. Here is the best picture I could manage with a cheap digital camera looking through my Swarovski scope on 25 power.

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/r747/arthurjlarsen/DSCN0928_zpspnuhjtsq.jpg (http://s1365.photobucket.com/user/arthurjlarsen/media/DSCN0928_zpspnuhjtsq.jpg.html)

I covered a lot of ground over the next several hours spotting several bucks but no shooters. Around 4 in the afternoon I came around a little knoll to see a cow elk. I backed up and made my way to the top of the knoll. From just below the top I belly-crawled to have a look over the other side. I was surprised to find over a 100 elk grazing on the other side of a coulee about a 150 yards away.

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/r747/arthurjlarsen/DSCN0952_zpsvnuscpt8.jpg (http://s1365.photobucket.com/user/arthurjlarsen/media/DSCN0952_zpsvnuscpt8.jpg.html)

About 25 of them were bulls with the best of them being a decent 7x7. Several others were ok 6x6's. They had no idea that I was there so I watched them for over a hour. There is a draw that is open for the area right now so if someone can show me that they have the draw I'll give them the GPS coordinates for the hill that they were on last Wednesday (8 days ago), not that that helps a lot as they could be 100 miles away by now.

I arrived back at the truck just before dark. I had travelled a total of 18 Kms on foot by the GPS that day. Although I did see probably close to 50 deer on the second hike none were what I had come for. I was incouraged by the fact that I hadn't spotted another hunter while I was walking despite the fact the area was full of people.

I went to bed that night with high hopes that the next day would present an opportunity at what I was looking for.

Con't...

[fuzzybiscuit]

Day two of the hunt...

The morning found me on a wild goose chase looking for a buck that had been spotted by a fellow hunter staying at the Inn the previous day. He had a draw for 102 but spotted a decent buck just inside 118 where the two boarder. I ended up locating the herd of Mule Deer that he had described after looking for several hours but the biggest buck was probably a 155 class animal. Again not quite what I was looking for.

Late morning found me in another area closer to where I was the day before. Again Google Earth showed a vast expanse of land dotted with coulees just on the other side of the hillside that the road was on. I also had intell from a member on HuntingBC that he had hunted the coulees only a few miles south of this area a few years previous with good luck. I didn't have permission to hunt that track of land so I picked the next closest place I did have permission for.

I loaded up my day pack and I was off once again. My legs felt a little heavier that day due to all the hiking I did the previous day. I figured with all the pressure close to any road any deer worth shooting that hadn't fallen in the last 24 hours would probably head for whatever secluded spots that they could find.

The day had me spotting over 40 Mule deer in total with the best being one that might go 160. By late afternoon I had found my way back north and I was now at the top of a ridge looking out over a few miles and several coulees. At over a 1000 yards I spotted with my bare eyes a very large Mule deer. Through the binoculars I could see that he had a decent rack. On 25 power through my scope I could see that he was bigger than anything I had spotted the previous day and was probably as good or better than anything I had spotted thus far on my trip.

Game on.

Con't...

[fuzzybiscuit]

Directly to the west of the ridge that I spotted the buck from was a large ravine that ran north to south. On the other side of the ravine about 600 yards away were coulees that ran east to west every few hundred yards. I quickly made my way down the ravine and up the other side into the coulee that I thought was directly north of the one that I had spotted the buck in. The wind was blowing south to north so my plan was to go up the coulee and then crawl up over the top to the south and be slightly above the buck to the north. When I got to the other side I quickly learned that I hadn't taken good enough bearings when I was on the other side. I checked the first coulee to the south of the one I went up...nothing. Then the next...nothing. I started to worry that the buck had spotted me and moved. I also worried about going too far south and then having the buck wind me. Also, nothing looked as I remembered it from the other side a kilometre away. As the day was getting on and I only had a couple hours of light left I decided to make my way back to where I had first spotted the buck.

20 minutes later I was back to my original spot and sure enough the buck was still there. I went up a coulee that was three to the north of the one the buck was in. Back I went but this time I knew exactly which one I needed to go up. When I reached the spot in the coulee that I thought would put me directly north of the buck I slowly made my way up over the top. As I cleared the top I was spotted by a doe that I hadn't seen from the other side. Then another doe...and another. I was crouching down as I was clearing the top and I knew the does would make a break for it and second, taking the buck with them, so I decided to stand up in hopes of getting a look at the buck. As I stood up I could see the buck. It only took a second to decide that he was a shooter. Up came my rifle and the cross hairs settled on his shoulder. It was still quite some distance but it was now or never....boom!

A split second after the shot I heard a solid whack and the buck folded. I quickly chambered another round but it was all over. He never got up.

I quickly took some photos on a 10 second delay and then got to work. I caped him out first and then gutted him. By the time I was done the sun was starting to go down. I decided to pack the head and cape out that night and come back for the rest in the morning. My truck was directly east of the buck 3 1/2 Kms away. I pulled the body a hundred feet away from the gut sack and laid my jacket over it. I also stuck my shooting stick in the ground with a sweaty pair of socks and some blue paper towels tied to it in hopes that it would keep the Coyotes away until I could get back at first light.

By the time I made it back to where I had originally spotted the buck the sun had set and it was starting to get dark. I took one last picture and then carried on.

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/r747/arthurjlarsen/IMG_0476_zpsfwhajl1z.jpg (http://s1365.photobucket.com/user/arthurjlarsen/media/IMG_0476_zpsfwhajl1z.jpg.html)

I stopped by the Rancher's place on the way back to town to let him know that I would be making a couple trips the next day to get the meat out. He suggested that I take his quad in the morning instead and make one easy trip out of it. Great idea and an offer that I couldn't turn down.

When I got back the next morning all was as I left it the previous evening. Two Coyote's were on the gut sack but they had left the carcass alone. I would have given the Coyotes something to think about but I had to leave my rifle at the truck as quads in 118 can't be used for hunting before noon.

That afternoon after hanging the carcass in cold storage I made the trip into Lethbridge (Colhurst) to drop the head and cape off at Coyote Flats Taxidermy. While I've never been one who had to have everything mounted I figured it would make a great addition to the man cave and something to look at to relive the hunt down the road.

In closing, I want to give a shout out to forum members Blacktail and Rackmastr for their help and direction. Their PM's helped greatly by putting me in the general area that I need to be in, thus saving me a lot of time learning the country.

Also, to the rancher that not only gave me permission to hunt his land but also went above and beyond by lending me his quad so that I could make short work out of getting the meat out. If you read this you'll know who you are. I'm very appreciative and thanks again.

[dougan]

Great buck ! And even better story thanks for sharing!! Congratulations

[srupp]

Hmmm great story indeed, great buck...and the 2 gents who helped you out are top drawer guys.
All the ranchers in Alberta so far have been exceptionally generous so the atv offer fits my experiences to a T...
Congrads ..

Cheers
Steven

[Ovis17]

Good write up and great buck! Thanks for sharing.

[Bear Chaser]

Great story and pics. I especially liked the one at sunset.

[Wild one]

Congrats this post makes me miss Alberta

Careful leaving deer over night in southern Alberta we had bad luck with coyotes. On ranches would would rather work all night with a spotlight. Glad it turned out for you just giving a heads up. It could have been coyotes really hated us from the amount we shot and trapped lol

[Rackmastr]

Congrats again, great buck and effort put in. I love that country and mule deer hunting in it is a great experience.

[Blainer]

Fantastic Share!

[fuzzybiscuit]

Careful leaving deer over night in southern Alberta we had bad luck with coyotes. On ranches would would rather work all night with a spotlight. Glad it turned out for you just giving a heads up. It could have been coyotes really hated us from the amount we shot and trapped lol


Definitely not my preferred plan but in this case I had no other option. I think leaving my sweaty clothes on the carcass and setting up my shooting stick with a bunch of rags tied to it to blow in the wind must have been what made the difference in this case, as they were in the immediate area.

I've since been told by a few land owners that if I was to bring my quad next time I would be allowed to use it to extract any downed animal, just not hunt off of it.

[Wild one]

Definitely not my preferred plan but in this case I had no other option. I think leaving my sweaty clothes on the carcass and setting up my shooting stick with a bunch of rags tied to it to blow in the wind must have been what made the difference in this case, as they were in the immediate area.

I've since been told by a few land owners that if I was to bring my quad next time I would be allowed to use it to extract any downed animal, just not hunt off of it.

Sometimes you have to risk it and agree all the things you did before you left probably helped. Keep good relations with landowners is always a benefit. We had 1 that would load the deer up in his tractor and haul it to our truck for us. His wife hated the deer because they ate her flowers lol. We were always welcome because we were respectful

just passing it on worst part is they hit the hind 1/4 first.

If the NDP is voted out and economy improves I want to move back to Alberta. As long as the NDP is in power I will settle for northern BC lol

[SMOLT333]

Great buck and story, thanks for sharing.

[BCHunterFSJ]

Thanks for the great story, and that's a real nice buck.
Used to be some nice mulies up here in the North Peace but they have all but disappeared.
I am seriously thinking about going on a mule deer hunt to Alberta!

[Rattler]

Solid buck there...congrats and thanks for sharing.

[smallfry14]

Sweet buck!! Just set up my WIN, this spring will be my first year of 999'ing. Excited to hunt Alberta muleys :D

[adriaticum]

Good job fuzzy!

[kennyj]

Great buck and great story!
Thanks for sharing your hunt.
kenny

[IronNoggin]

Excellent! http://bigshotsbc.ca/images/smilies/Pozitive.gif

Just returned from Southern Alberta myself and seeing your report and pix.
Beauty Buck!!
Nice Work Fuzzy!!

Cheers,
Nog

[fuzzybiscuit]

Excellent! http://bigshotsbc.ca/images/smilies/Pozitive.gif

Just returned from Southern Alberta myself and seeing your report and pix.
Beauty Buck!!
Nice Work Fuzzy!!
Cheers,
Nog


Is there a story to tell?

[Getbent]

Great read man, congrats big time.
very sweet buck!

[IronNoggin]

Is there a story to tell?

Yup. ;-)

Be a spell in the making though methinks.
Have a LOT on the catch up Honey Do List, blacktails still in rut here (headed out within an hour or two) and a late archery season to get through. Will get to the tellin'... eventually...

Might be worth the wait for some...

Cheers,
Nog

[srupp]

Hmmm anytime Matt goes to Alberta it's a rodeo wreck...eventually we will find out..?
Hope your probation officer is glad to have you Home..
Steven

[IronNoggin]

Hope your probation officer is glad to have you Home..

http://forum.flybc.ca/style_emoticons/default/rotflmao.gif http://forum.flybc.ca/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif http://forum.flybc.ca/style_emoticons/default/rotflmao.gif

Actually Steven, SHE considers hunting to be VERY "Therapeutic" for my current condition.
So although fairly happy to see me return, I'm already being sent out for more of the same on the local front...

And Yeah, y'all will eventually find out about the run... errrr... wreck... errrr... hunt... whatever... http://forum.flybc.ca/style_emoticons/default/smokin.gif

Apologies for the unintended hi-jack Fuzzy...

Cheers,
Nog

[.264winmag]

Sounds like a exciting hunt, nice country and a stud of a mulie! Congrats, great job and thanks for posting.

[Glslickshooter]

Great story! Nice work man!

[wideopenthrottle]

nice story and congrats on your success

[anotherkiwi]

That's a great mulie!

[fuzzybiscuit]

That's a great mulie!


Thanks. I'm looking forward to getting it back...

[Salty]

Awesome :mrgreen: I really like that kind of country my FIL showed me around Drumheller some years back he was raised there. I was salivating wishing I could head out back with a rifle, similar country to your pics. Thanks for the great pics and write up fuzzy

[Weatherby Fan]

Wow that's a dandy buck, great story and pictures, thanks for sharing
Hats off to those that helped you out
WF

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

This is it right here!

Great Deer, beauty Mulie and a well told tale. Fine thread indeed...

Congratulations and Thanks!

[bcwave]

Great story and great pics! I'd love to hunt that open country where you can see for miles. The Alberta ranchers sound like salt of the earth.