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The
author didn't score during his autumn 2000 trip into northern
Alberta, Canada, but many other hunters in camp harvested
impressive bucks.
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I've
had an Alberta whitetail hunt on my mind for the past fifteen years.
But I never went because I kept hearing horror stories about outlaw
outfitters who did nothing but road hunt and were not real particular
whose land they happened to be on. I didn't want any part of those
shenanigans. Then last summer my buddy Jim Riley, who books hunts
for Cabela's Outdoor Adventures (1-877-346-8747) called and asked
if I would be interested in joining him on an Alberta whitetail
hunt. I've booked hunts with several outfitters using Cabela's services
and I have never been disappointed, so I quickly said yes to Jim's
invitation. Bruce and Linda McKenzie, owner/operators of McKenzie
Brothers Outfitters, met us at the Nisku Inn in Edmonton on November
12th. We drove a couple hundred miles north, seeing a few deer along
the way and arrived late that afternoon at the ranch of Ed and Dorothy
Gallatin, who each fall turn their comfortable home into a hunting
camp and then set about the business of making each guest feel like
one of the family. I must warn you now however, if you go, forget
all about trying to watch your weight. Dorothy is a magician in
the kitchen and seconds followed by dessert are not optional, they
are mandatory!
Guides
are required for non-resident aliens (that's us) to hunt any big
game in Alberta and that evening, I met my guide, a young, local
rancher and oil field worker with a passion for hunting. As soon
as we met I knew that Todd Marsh and I were going to hit it off.
Todd picked me up the next morning, well before first light and
we drove to the unit in which I would be hunting. All of Alberta
is divided up into hunting units and a tag is good only for a
selected unit. There are basically two types of units, one being
agricultural units, where there are fields and pastures carved
out of the bush and the other being "bush units", which
as the name implies are solid bush. "Bush" I should explain is
the Canadian term for the millions of acres of forest, swamp,
rivers, lakes and streams which blanket much of northern Canada.
Hunting
the bush is an experience. Because there is no agriculture to
help carry the deer through a tough winter or to supplement their
diet even during good times, the carrying capacity of the bush
is low. When you throw in the fact that timber wolves and coyotes,
both of which are plentiful, are as fond of venison as am I, you
can see how densities of four or five deer per square mile are
common in the bush. So why would anyone want to hunt the bush?
Because the bush is where the very biggest bucks in Canada are
born, live and die, most of them without a shot ever being fired
at them. Now don't get me wrong, as the photos with this column
show, there are some dandy bucks calling the agricultural units
home as well, but the real giants, those bucks with bases as big
around as your wrists and points as thick as sausages are found
back in the bush. In neighboring Saskatchewan, where baiting is
allowed and commonly practiced, it is possible to see a dozen
or more deer per day on stand while hunting the bush. But Alberta
does not allow baiting. You must rely on natural deer movement
or your ability to coax a buck within sight with calling and rattling.
Hunter's who get antsy when they don't see a deer for an hour
or two, will go crazy hunting the bush, where it is not uncommon
to hunt all day without seeing a deer. But for me and for others
who dream of an encounter with a real giant of a whitetail, the
bush beckons. God willing I will return again.
Most
of the hunting in the bush is confined to cut lines. These are
straight swaths cut through the bush by oil companies searching
for the black gold which is Alberta's major export. Sometimes
you catch deer crossing the cut lines and at other times they
will feed on the grass growing on the cut lines. I like to set
up and rattle along cut lines. The first day I saw only a single
doe and found very few tracks in the week old snow. The next day
we tried a different cut line with only slightly better success.
Then we moved to another unit where I hunted a 50 yard swath carved
through the bush for a gas pipeline. The pipeline right-of-way
had been seeded down to grass and from the looks of the tracks,
the deer were finding the grass to their liking. Deer also have
certain places where they cross the cut lines and these are good
places to sit and wait for a buck. When the rut is on, as it was
when I was in Alberta, bucks will cruise across the cut line in
their search for does. Because shots of several hundred yards
are not uncommon, a flat shooting caliber which you can sight
in for dead on at 100 yards and still hold on the top of the back
out to 300 yards is the best option. A .270, 30-06, 7MM or any
of the .30 caliber magnums would be excellent calibers. I was
hunting with my well-traveled .50 caliber muzzleloader, but that
was my personal choice.
With
the rut in progress, I spent a lot of time rattling and of the
twelve bucks I saw during my hunt, ten of them came to the horns.
If you make a trip to Alberta, pack a set of rattling antlers
with you, or ask your outfitter if he has a set in camp which
you can use. Bucks in Alberta are very susceptible to rattling
because competition for does is high.
Ironically,
there were two times on my trip when two bucks responded to the
rattling on the same set and in each case the smaller buck managed
to goof up my chance for a good shot at the big buck. What are
the odds of rattling in two bucks at once in an area with a buck
density as low as that found in the bush? Then what are the odds
of having one of the bucks be a real bruiser in both instances
? And then how astronomical are the odds of having the smaller
buck blow your chances for a good crack at Mr. Big? Sometimes
the stars are just out of alignment I guess.
Would
I go back? In a heartbeat! In fact, hopefully, I'll make a return
trip next fall. Why would I want to return to a place where I
saw relatively few numbers of deer for the hours hunted? Because,
I understand that when you travel to the far northern reaches
of the whitetail's range in search of what for most of us would
be the buck of a lifetime, that you had better be able to come
home without an unpunched tag or don't even bother going.
Bruce
McKenzie runs a good outfit in every way. If he did not, I would
not be recommending his services to you. There are only 20 whitetail
tags available each year, so if you are interested in what I would
call a quality hunt for top-end bucks, contact Jim Riley at 1-877-
346-8747.
For
more information on hunting opportunities in Alberta contact the
Alberta Wildlife Management Division at (403) 427-5185.
The
Alberta Professional Outfitters Society at (780) 414-0249, e-mail:
info@apos.ab.ca or Web site:
www.apos.ab.ca is another
excellent source for anyone checking out an Alberta hunt. This
association does an excellent job of policing it's own ranks and
I would encourage you to check out your outfitter with the association
before booking a hunt.
Fax:
780-987-0106