Manitoba whitetail hunting

[BiG Boar]

Don't get excited about this post. There is nothing dead yet. I'm here in southern Manitoba sitting in a tree stand near north Dakota boarder waiting patiently for a big buck to walk by. It's pretty cool being able to go on hunting Bc while I'm out hunting. Got my arrow in the whisker buiscut ready to go and it's 6 pm. It's been a wet past few days and I have only had one crack at a small buck. I passed him up as I have seen a few of the deer on the trail cam and the racks that made the wall. Hopefully something dies in the next couple days. Better run I just heard a crack of a twig in the Forrest! Hopefully you all make it out hunting real soon!

Posted on the iPhone, somewhere in the woods.

[Brew]

Dave I am getting on a plane to Winnipeg right now

[BiG Boar]

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/e00879f4.jpg

It was only this little fella and mom who showed up. Taken moments ago under stand.

[Brew]

Get a big one buddy. Sue and her family are from there and her dad has some monsters

[BiG Boar]

My question is what pin do I hold for on a 1 yard shot? Never even thought about that.

[BiG Boar]

Dave I am getting on a plane to Winnipeg right now

You just stay focused on your once in two lifetimes draw! And get your goat legs ready!

[knighthunter]

Head about 400 miles north and you'll be tripping over wall hangers.LOL. My old stomping grounds.

[MB_Boy]

Head about 400 miles north and you'll be tripping over wall hangers.LOL. My old stomping grounds.

Me too!! :wink: And you don't even have to go 400 miles. :mrgreen:

[Blainer]

Looks like a great way to spend a day!
Keep us posted on your progress and good luck!

[Brew]

You just stay focused on your once in two lifetimes draw! And get your goat legs ready!

Goat legs are ready. Doing cardio everyday and doing lots of leg pressing and squats in the gym. I'll be even better after my cortisone shot next week. Enjoy your trip. Sitting in calgary waiting to board to Manitoba.

[GoatGuy]

Will be in the peg in 2 hours - no invite?

[Brew]

Just landed in peg where are you again?

[GoatGuy]

Here as well, can't wait to get out of the sh*thole.

[BiG Boar]

I'm south. Near Deloraine. Of course you're all welcome to come out. You don't even need a hunter host here! Just lots of permission to ask.

Btw. Buck down. Pics to Follow

[cmfic1]

bigbore14, you have a PM

[Brambles]

Geez if I had half your money.....I'd Burn all mine.:mrgreen:

And YES your damn right thats jelousy talking:wink:

[Blainer]

Buck down. Pics to FollowGood on ya buddy!
Look forward to the pictures.

[BiG Boar]

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0639.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0641.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0642.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0646.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0649.jpg

[BiG Boar]

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0651.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0658.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn5/bigbore14/IMG_0663.jpg

[springpin]

Nice shot, and nice deer. Congrats

[BiG Boar]

The story went something like this....

I friend of mine from MTBA invited me out and said its up to you, muzzle, bow, or rifle season, take your pick. I chose to go with bow because he said if I didnt get one in bow I could come out for muzzle or rifle still.

So off we flew, the warden and I, to MTBA. We stayed at his cabin and each morning and evening we drove 20 minutes to areas he had permission on and some areas that were public land. There doesnt seem to be a lot of people there who do the bow season. However you are allowed one bow deer, one muzzle and one rifle.

Each morning started at 4:30am and we would get up and drive 20 minutes to a different stand he had set up, based on the wind direction that morning. If you only have one stand, you can move it each day, but this guy had about 20. Most of them left there year round. He had trail cams set up and had chosen the stands we would hunt, based on wind mainly, but only in areas he had photographed big bucks.

Well the first night I got there we drove the areas and he showed me 5 different bucks out in the fields. Biggest was 150 class, but there were several in 130 plus category.

Now, getting them to come to your stand is all based on luck. Weather for the first 3 days was terrible. In fact we didnt hunt the first two mornings. Rain and wind, two of white tailed deers worst nightmares. However I did sit in wind and rain several evenings. At times I did think to myself, what the heck am I doing out here. This is awful. But after seeing a few deer, and knowing the areas were holding big bucks, I just had to keep going.

In total I sat 4 hours per morning and 4 hours per evening for 5 1/2 days. 44 hours on different stands. In that time I had two bucks walk by (several does), the first one was a knott head, the next one is in the pictures above. Normally he said you will see 6or7 doe's and 1 shooter buck every 4 times you sit. So it was unusually slow. Mainly weather issues, but there was a lot of coyotes in the area which he said do move the deer. Its also hunting, and as much as we all like our excuses, sometimes big bucks just dont happen.

What you do know is that the deer move to and from the food source. Depending on the time of year its different fields. Sometimes its alphalpha, sometimes its flax, sometimes its canola, sometimes its peas. If you know what they eat at what time of year, then you should know which stands should be hot, when. They feed all night in these fields, so position your stand in the trees and walk into your stands, dont drive in. In the morning they will move from the fields back to the trees to bed, and in the evenings they will do the oposite. If you know which direction the wind is blowing, you will know which stand to use which morning or evening. If they get your wind, you'll hear them blow. Or if they cross the trail you walked in on, so avoid approaching your stand from the same direction you will see them coming. Probably a million other things to think about, but that is what I learned about whitetail hunting from a tree stand.

In the end the shot was 20 yards. He did hear me draw but they cant figure out what you are if they dont smell you. He just stood there and looked at me up in the tree.

Also, your stand doesnt need to be too high, unless youre in an area where everyone hunts from stands and the deer know youre up there. Our stands were between 12 and 15 feet. They only seem to look at the ground level. The other advantage of being that low is your shot is easier to take with less of an angle to think about. Also, resulting in less wounded deer.

The tracking job was a tough one. I did hit both lungs but right at the very back, and I did liver him. After 1 hour we tracked him down to a creek, and at about 10 yards we jumped him. There was a lot of blood but we gave him 2 more hours and then after breakfast came back to track him. In the end he ended up 200 yards from the shot. I think next time I need to shoot a tad closer to the shoulder. I was about 2 inches behind the leg and 1/3rd up the body. Just didnt get quite enough lung.

Well thats about it. Now its off to chase grizzly and moose with the wifey. Hopefully we can do it. I know this much, it aint going to be a walk in the park.

[killman]

Interesting, when I had seen your pic I thought "nice shot" I would have thought it to be near perfect.

[srupp]

PERFECT shot Dave,,great photos..would have been better with Corey posing with the deer..:mrgreen:..

And GREAT buck..any deer harvested with string and stick..aka sliver slingers gets my admiration..well beyond my abilities..

great job Bro.

get er done..got er done..

cheers Ste:mrgreen:ven

[Sitkaspruce]

Great Job Dave!!!!!

Bet he will taste great!!!

Good luck on the moose/grizz hunt.

Did I send you everything you needed for that??? I seem to have lost count of who I was helping with info.....

If you need anything, let me know.....

Cheers

SS

[d6dan]

Good shooting Dave!. So are you getting him mounting or what?.:mrgreen:. JK, He should be a great eater buck..Good story and pics, thanks for posting..

[whitetailsheds]

Good job BBore...thanks for the ride....

[BimmerBob]

Nice job Dave! Thanks for keeping us posted on progress, good luck on the GB and Moose, hope you have some more success on them!

[BiG Boar]

here is before and after videos. Sorry about my stomach gurgling. I was rather hungry for something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9rURttSkuQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzmhDLEA_W4

[BigBanger]

Cool videos man , thanks.

[Brew]

Good videos. I love watching people with that much excitement. Hopefully in a week and a half I get my turn.
Wow! you really were hungary.