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The past few years I have enjoyed many a good e-mail with my friend Northern Whitetails ( Mike Borle )of Alberta. He had e-mailed me a week or so ago and sent some pics. In the hussle and bussle of running the website I lost the photo's but ran into this post on another site.
I know he wouldn't mind if I shared his thoughts and photo's...
"I thought that I'd let all of you in on the fact that I ended the season without cashing in my Alberta whitetail tag. But, it wasn't for lack of trying!
I spent the first week of November rifle hunting near my home in north-eastern Alberta, in an area I know well. I saw a 190 class non-typical there last season, and I have a shed from a 175 typical from the same 1/4 section, from last spring. I watched a harvested oats field for the first few days, and what a time it was! On the first day I saw 3 bucks over 130, including a 140-145 typical at over 500 yards. He was a mature whitetail, possibly on the way down. He was 22-24 inches inside spread but short tined, the longest probably under 10 inches. As I watched him through the spotting scope I decided that I'd like a closer look, he was definitely big bodied! I wouldn't have had a shot anyway, I was surrounded by over 20 does and fawns and couldn't move a muscle!
It was 2 days later when I got the closer look I was asking for. I spooked a cow and calf moose in an open area of brush and they jumped the buck from his bed as they ran by. He stood up at 150 yards, oblivious of me staring at him through my riflescope. I decided my estimate of 140-145 typical was pretty close, he had short or possibly broken brow tines about 2-3 inches long. I told my friend Terry Street that I would have taken him if he had 6 inch brow tines or sticker points. He was right on the borderline but I passed.
After that I rattled in a few small bucks and kept watching the oats field, it was a great week in God's Country.
During the second week of November, I bowhunted in the Edmonton Bow Zone, it was full of rattling action and sightings of great whitetails, in fact I rattled in 5 different bucks on November 12th, my best day ever banging the horns together. I saw some great whitetails, but as bowhunters know it's not an easy game. I passed up some nice Pope and Young class whitetails with no regrets.
The third week was spent guiding in the Edmonton Bow Zone for my friend Jeff Lander, it was a great time and my hunters went 1 for 2. Here is a picture of the successful part of the equation. This is J.W. Sims from Cottage Grove, Wisconsin with his long-tined typical taken on November 21, 2001."
All in all Jeff's camp went 2/4 for the week on Pope and Young whitetails. The 2 hunters who did not tag out also both had shot opportunities at mature bucks. Here is a picture of the other successful hunter. Jesse Hurley, also from Wisconsin, connected on this great looking, heavy horned 5x5, taken on the first day of his hunt. Obviously it snowed between Jesse's and J.W.'s bucks being taken!
During the 2 weeks that I spent in the Bow Zone, I also took some of my best footage of mature whitetails with my video camera. At one point I taped a pair of big whitetails squaring off for battle. They never did fight, but postured and snort-wheezed at each other until the order of dominance was clear. I got excellent close-range footage of them as they walked back to the aspen bush an hour or more after sunrise.
Then, it was back to rifle hunting with my good friend Terry Street, from British Columbia. To make a long story short, we passed up a number of bucks and didn't connect. Terry saw a legitimate Boone and Crockett contender at close range on the second last day, but there was no opportunity for a shot. Terry estimated him at 25 inches wide and very high, possibly 180+ typical. An interesting note is that this was once again on the same property that the 190 non-typical and 175 non-typical are known to live. That makes 3 book or close to book deer on the same 320 acres. This is big bush country, and obviously these bucks are travelling, but that's why I love Alberta! Anything can happen!
It was another great year, full of great experiences. I wouldn't trade my time chasing whitetails for anything! I would have liked nothing better than to take a mature whitetail, but once again what I got instead was an education in whitetail survival. It never ceases to amaze me how mature bucks can live to tell the tale year after year.
Congratulations to those of you who filled your tags this season, and stay tuned for news of some outstanding whitetails from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Mark my words, it will turn out to be a record-breaking year with several 190+ typicals and 250+ non-typicals!
I know he wouldn't mind if I shared his thoughts and photo's...
"I thought that I'd let all of you in on the fact that I ended the season without cashing in my Alberta whitetail tag. But, it wasn't for lack of trying!
I spent the first week of November rifle hunting near my home in north-eastern Alberta, in an area I know well. I saw a 190 class non-typical there last season, and I have a shed from a 175 typical from the same 1/4 section, from last spring. I watched a harvested oats field for the first few days, and what a time it was! On the first day I saw 3 bucks over 130, including a 140-145 typical at over 500 yards. He was a mature whitetail, possibly on the way down. He was 22-24 inches inside spread but short tined, the longest probably under 10 inches. As I watched him through the spotting scope I decided that I'd like a closer look, he was definitely big bodied! I wouldn't have had a shot anyway, I was surrounded by over 20 does and fawns and couldn't move a muscle!
It was 2 days later when I got the closer look I was asking for. I spooked a cow and calf moose in an open area of brush and they jumped the buck from his bed as they ran by. He stood up at 150 yards, oblivious of me staring at him through my riflescope. I decided my estimate of 140-145 typical was pretty close, he had short or possibly broken brow tines about 2-3 inches long. I told my friend Terry Street that I would have taken him if he had 6 inch brow tines or sticker points. He was right on the borderline but I passed.
After that I rattled in a few small bucks and kept watching the oats field, it was a great week in God's Country.
During the second week of November, I bowhunted in the Edmonton Bow Zone, it was full of rattling action and sightings of great whitetails, in fact I rattled in 5 different bucks on November 12th, my best day ever banging the horns together. I saw some great whitetails, but as bowhunters know it's not an easy game. I passed up some nice Pope and Young class whitetails with no regrets.
The third week was spent guiding in the Edmonton Bow Zone for my friend Jeff Lander, it was a great time and my hunters went 1 for 2. Here is a picture of the successful part of the equation. This is J.W. Sims from Cottage Grove, Wisconsin with his long-tined typical taken on November 21, 2001."
All in all Jeff's camp went 2/4 for the week on Pope and Young whitetails. The 2 hunters who did not tag out also both had shot opportunities at mature bucks. Here is a picture of the other successful hunter. Jesse Hurley, also from Wisconsin, connected on this great looking, heavy horned 5x5, taken on the first day of his hunt. Obviously it snowed between Jesse's and J.W.'s bucks being taken!
During the 2 weeks that I spent in the Bow Zone, I also took some of my best footage of mature whitetails with my video camera. At one point I taped a pair of big whitetails squaring off for battle. They never did fight, but postured and snort-wheezed at each other until the order of dominance was clear. I got excellent close-range footage of them as they walked back to the aspen bush an hour or more after sunrise.
Then, it was back to rifle hunting with my good friend Terry Street, from British Columbia. To make a long story short, we passed up a number of bucks and didn't connect. Terry saw a legitimate Boone and Crockett contender at close range on the second last day, but there was no opportunity for a shot. Terry estimated him at 25 inches wide and very high, possibly 180+ typical. An interesting note is that this was once again on the same property that the 190 non-typical and 175 non-typical are known to live. That makes 3 book or close to book deer on the same 320 acres. This is big bush country, and obviously these bucks are travelling, but that's why I love Alberta! Anything can happen!
It was another great year, full of great experiences. I wouldn't trade my time chasing whitetails for anything! I would have liked nothing better than to take a mature whitetail, but once again what I got instead was an education in whitetail survival. It never ceases to amaze me how mature bucks can live to tell the tale year after year.
Congratulations to those of you who filled your tags this season, and stay tuned for news of some outstanding whitetails from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Mark my words, it will turn out to be a record-breaking year with several 190+ typicals and 250+ non-typicals!