Yahooo! 5 weeks of Bliss

[fozzy]

I've been waiting for this for three years and it's finally here. 5 weeks off for hunting. Last year I took it easy on the game and abstained from shooting anything. My partners did well and I was present to watch them tag a few animals including getting a couple new hunters out. My wife shot her first animal (other than gophers and rabbits) :smile:earlier this month which was cool to be there for that. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=26779

Now it's my turn, a couple weeks of Mule deer hunting, a week in the Kettle for Whitetails and then a week in Sask for Whitetails. With any luck I'll have some pictures and stories to post up when I return. :biggrin:

[Big Daddy Ryan]

Wow 5 weeks off for hunting thats awesome! Best of luck and be sure to post some pics.

[TIKA 300]

Lucky SOB !!!!

5 weeks,thats great,good luck and BRING back a buck..

[Mr. Dean]

I bow to you. YOU DA MAN!
One year, I will do this. Mark my words!

[sawmill]

I bow to you. YOU DA MAN!
One year, I will do this. Mark my words!

Me too,some day when I`m 80 years old,retired .divorced and wealthy.:-P

[hunter1947]

Good luck on your weeks of hunting Wayne ,I'm sure you will put up some game pic of the animals that you get ,have a safe and wonderfully trip.

[kennyj]

Good luck Fossy! Hope you bring home some big racks for me to check out!
kenny

[mark]

Soooo jealous, I will probably have less time than usual for hunting this year and just the thought of it makes me sick!

[newhunterette]

fozzy - it couldnt get any better for you and I am so happy it is going to be so blissful a time out there in the wilderness - continued success for you my friend and will definitely look forward to your return with tales of triumph to share and photos for us to drool over :)

be safe on your journey

and from one hunterette to another (your dear wife) it is so amazing to have taken a first big critter for us ladies - the pride we share with our hubby's is an incredible feeling - congratulations again

Ali

[kayjayess]

Right on man. Good luck. That is a great stretch. Hey where are you headed for WT in Sask? My hunting partner moved out there and as we all know there are some hogs out there. Best of luck. You are going to have a great run. The hard part is coming back to the real world

[fozzy]

The weather turned warm for a couple days, around 12c during the day. I passed up this fellow the first day, a nice tall 4x3 at 175yrds. Had all the time in the world just couldn't do it. Too early in the trip and wanting something a bit bigger. The picture is a bit grainy after zooming in. The barometer was dropping hopefully the action will heat up some more. I saw one more small 4pt, almost ran him over on the way to the top of the mountain. He stuck around for a decent look as well but no picture.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/0023.JPG

[fozzy]

Right on man. Good luck. Hey where are you headed for WT in Sask? The hard part is coming back to the real world

Thanks Kayjayess :) I'll be around Cut Knife/Unity area, zone 46.

[fozzy]

Well I got back home early from my Mulie trip. I went a few days of not seeing very much. Where I first camped was 20k from where I was hunting. It didn't take long to get tired of riding the quad up and back each day, especially since it was a borrowed machine and I'd rather be on foot than riding. I packed up and went to a couple other spots as well as hunted last weekend with Doc. Late Sunday night I went back up and this time parked up top at 7000ft. I had left my chains at home and was a little worried about the steep roads and driving back down with tha camper and trailer if it snowed very much. I arrived up top at midnight and slept with one eye open as it was snowing. The morning came and I went for a short walk for a couple hours then back for some breakfast and a coffee. I then headed for the timber and walked in a big loop that would bring me back to the truck through a couple cut blocks. I saw nothing at all in the timber and was getting discouraged. At about 2:45 I spotted a group of Does cutting through a cut block and a 4x4 taking up the rear. I quickly ranged them at 260 yards. I lay prone and had a better look at the buck. I was using my 8.5-25 target scope so was able to count 4 on each side. After not seeing much for a few days my trigger finger did most of the thinking and I waited for a clear shot and placed a 180 grain tsx behind the shoulder. Game over. Now I'll be waiting for next year for a bigger one. :) In hind site I should have maybe taken the 4x3 and had Doc video the shot, it would have been a perfect opportunity for that.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Mule_deer_08.jpg

[boxhitch]

Good for holding out. If you'd shot early, what would the next days have been?
I'd trade a day of hunting for a week of staring at antlers on the wall.

[fozzy]

This little fellow had a few girlfriends with him and didn't mind posing for a picture.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/curiouse.jpg

[fozzy]

Well just like that my holidays are over and it's back to work and reality again. This was the longest stretch of hunting I've done, it was nice having the time off and traveling around the country side searching for animals. I'd maybe do it a little different next time. Hmm maybe next season? :)

After my trip to the Okanagan for Mulies I was home for a few days and prepared for a trip to the Kettle valley and Saskatchewan for Whitetails. The weather was, as many know pretty mild this year. In the Kettle valley one of the four guys in our cabin shot a buck on the first day, within about a 1/2 hour of arriving in the valley! The other three of us had a few chances at bucks but never sealed the deal.

Saturday Nov22nd I drove to Sask for the opening on the 24th for Canadian residents. Throughout the 5 days that we hunted there we saw lots of Whitetail deer. I had also purchased a Mule deer Doe tag for the CWD zone strickly for extra meat but didn't bother in the end to shoot one.
On Tuesday morning my Brother in Law with only three days to hunt tagged this little fellow, a 4x5. It had broken off the G4 on one side.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/2008_Sask_5x4.jpg

After a trip to the city to purchase my CWD Doe tag we only had a short time Tuesday afternoon to hunt on the way back home. We checked out some property that my brother in law owns and saw this fellow in a field with a doe. At first they were at 450 yards and we were able to close the distance to 200. The buck was standing facing me, I didn't get a point count but he seemed wide enough and tall enough. Since most of these flighty creatures would be off and running into the next province at the first sign of trouble and he gave me a nice opportunity I took the shot. One shot in the neck with my 300WM loaded with 180TSX's and it was lights out instantly.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/my_2008_Sask_Whitetail.jpg

With two deer down I still had my Mule doe tag to fill and my partner had Whitetail and Mule Buck tags in his pocket. We saw some smaller bucks wednesday and Thursday but really nothing to write home about. We did have this nice Moose come out of the bush past me and head straight for my brother in law. I nearly got them both in the same frame but the Moose slipped over the rise too soon, too bad that would have been a neat picture.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Don_t_run_me_over_.jpg

The total lack of snow and warm for November temps had woke up a couple of these guys and they were out sunning themselves.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Sask_in_November.jpg

Friday morning started out like normal. We headed out of town and made it to the area just as it's getting light enough to see. Some mornings we would see the deer heading out of the feilds and back to the safety of the bush. This was one such morning. I spotted a nice buck that we got a few glimpses of. At first Mike didn't think it was very big and I was thinking to myself I knew I tagged out too soon :) We got a glimps of it while it was standing on the other side of a Caragana bush. As it ran off Mike says "it's got a drop tine!" He said earlier in the week that he wanted a knarly non typical. Who doesn't? :) So it was game on. We made a plan to split up. I was to go back to the slough where we had last seen the buck and Mike would go past and see if it would come out past him. Just like clockwork our plan came together and Mike was able to tag his Non typical that he was hoping for. The drop tine measured 9 3/4 and he had a sticker point as well. I think the final point count was 9x10 if I recall.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/2008_beauty_NT.jpg

It was a great finish to a fabulous season, now back to target shooting and planning for next years adventures and dreaming about bigger bucks to get me through the winter.

[bruin]

Looks like a fantastic trip. Next year?

[hunter1947]

Wayne congrats to you and you hunting partners on a very successfully hunting trip ,you guys got some really nice animals to take home with you ,very ,very impressive trip http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif.

[sawmill]

Wow I love the NT!! One day I want to take a couple weeks to hunt around here,always have to work though.

[kennyj]

Congratulations Wayne.You guys got some great bucks.Awesome photos.Are you hunted out now?
kenny

[TIKA 300]

congrats on your success,nice bucks and great story...

[sneg]

congrats. nice trip. thanks for sharing the story and pics.

[fozzy]

Congratulations Wayne.You guys got some great bucks.Awesome photos.Are you hunted out now?
kenny
No I can always hunt more :) I always look forward to the next season. Taking up long range target shooting passes the time for me.