Canada

We got back from Saskatchewan Canada last week where we had a great time whitetail hunting. We were hunting with Great Grey Outfitters. They are one of the most professional outfitters that I have ever had the opportunity to hunt with. From the food to the accommodations and the hunting, everything really was first class. We were hunting with rifles, which is not really my weapon of choice but can be a good change from bowhunting sometimes. It actually has been two years since I have even hunted with a rifle. We started hunting on Monday and the temperatures were unseasonably warm. The highs were in the mid 30s, which is pretty cold for us southerners. In Canada, you are required to wear all white or red on your upper body. We wore white and looked like a couple of giant marshmallows because of all the clothes we had on. The hunting was slow for the first few days but my Dad was able to take a nice buck on the 3rd day.

By the 5th day we had passed on plenty of 140-150 class bucks and were dying to see a 160+. Sitting in that blind all day in freezing temps can really take a toll on you. It was Thursday and they put us in a blind they call "The Penthouse". It was really nice and comfortable. Before we could hardly see outside of the blind there were already deer in front of us. It was too dark to see what they were but with all the activity and the freezing temps we knew it could be a good day. At about 8:30 we had a 140 class 8 point walk 40 yards from the blind. He had ice sickles hanging from his chin, it was really cool to see. An hour went by and I noticed a big bodied deer step out way down shooting lane at about 175 yards away. When I put the scope up on him I knew he was a shooter immediately. He was a 10 point that I guessed to be in the upper 160s and would definitely be the biggest deer I had ever shot. It didn't take long for him to turn broadside and when Sarah let me know she was on him with the camera, I squeezed off the shot. It felt like a good hit and he ran off like he was hit hard but I still wanted to take a look at the tape. After reviewing the footage, we realized that I had actually hit the deer low. I had a sickening feeling in my stomach, one that I'm sure most hunters have felt at some point in their hunting careers. Our guide actually heard the shot and came to check on us soon after. We knew it was not a very good hit but followed the blood trail for a while anyway. After looking for about 30 minutes we decided to give him some more time. We waited for a few hours and decided to head back out. We picked up the blood trail quickly and followed it in the snow for a long ways. After a while we knew that if we had any chance to find that buck it would have to be the next day. After a sleepless night, we went back out and tracked for about 4-5 hours. We never found the buck. It really does make me sick and I had a long ride home to beat myself up over it. I can't stand the thought wounding a deer, but it is reality and it does happen. Our guide went back out the day after we left to give it one more try but came back empty handed. At least I had a little bit of comfort knowing that we had done everything that we could to try and recover the animal. I had a great time on the hunt other than shooting and not finding my buck. Every time I head into the woods I try to learn something new and take something positive away from my hunts. Even though this hunt did not turn out the way that I had hoped it would, I did learn a lot and will try to take something positive from this unfortunate experience.