I have an opportunity to hunt whitetails (for the first time) in Sask this fall and was reading the rut thread from earlier this year. Much talk of winter kill. Any updates on the impact of the deep snows?

Winterkill was moderate to severe depending on the region. Definitely a hard winter, two or more weeks longer than normal on both ends and snow was deep. We lost a lot of whitetails in the forest fringe of central Sask. but there are still huntable populations, just thinned out.

I live in northern Alberta about twenty miles from the Sask border and we had a long long winter with plenty of snow. The deer this spring were in real rough shape and I would think we lost a lot of our big bucks as they are often the hardest hit with a tough one like we had this winter. On a brighter note I'm certain a doe had a fawn along my driveway as I've been seeing her a couple or three times a day for about a week!

I'll bet the winter kill wasn't nearly as bad in cattle country. The fad of the year was swath grazing. A bunch of neighbours in central Alberta aren't doing it next year, mostly because the amount the deer ate. Glad they picked a long winter to try it.

Dean

wtnut..do you reside in the Cold Lake area of Alberta?...I have a chance to hunt a area west of there..just north-east of Lac La bich..just wondering how the winter/snow/winter kill was in that area..thanks

Antlers,
From what I have heard in some areas as much as 50% kill and that is a lot of the big bucks. This is mainly in the north where non Canadians can hunt.
Some of the southern farmland was not hit quite so bad. I would put it off several years If I were you

Oldguns Sorry for not getting back sooner. I live about 20 miles west of the Cold lake area and 80 miles southeast of Lac la Biche area. I talked to a few guys from over there and they expect a fairly bad winterkill. The area NE of Lac la Biche got considerably more snow than what we got. That being said, not that many deer carcasses were found while shedhunting by myself or by people I know.

Oldguns I believe a 190 class I've been hunting for two years made the winter as I saw him after season in January and his tracks were back in his old haunts last week. Had two young bucks try to make it to the garden last week but the yelling and banging on the window by the wife foiled their plans! Hopefully the winterkill isn't as bad as I originally thought but won't know till next fall.

If you haven't booked yet; I would recommend that you wait.

I live in deer country, own a fair chunk of it and have a regular drive that winds through 10-12 hours worth of primo Sask/Alberta habitat.(Saskatoon- Battleford-Paradisehill-Bonneville-Lac La Biche then up 881 past Conclin, through Fort Mac and a couple hours into the bush from there. From what I've seen, the population has been brutalized. Where I've seen hundreds in the past (and about as many run over ones) now its just a few. Some places you're lucky to see any. I haven't seen it so bad since the 70's.

wtnut..thanks for the reply..doesn't sound too good for the upcoming season..I do think Ive hunted in your backyard more than a few times..lol....I do wish you luck with that 190 class you've been hunting..and am glad he made it through he winter...thanks again for the reply

Down in Zone 21 and 22 the winter kill was effing horrendous. Dead deer everywhere. There was so much snow the deer got pasted. The only good thing is that the population was quite strong before hand so hopefully the herd is still healthy.

Thanks for the intel, guys! For the record, I did not book - I appreciate the help.

I hunted for about 30 days this year in NE Alberta. Saw quite a few bucks but most were 2.5 to 3.5 years of age. Saw a few really good bucks but their numbers as well as 1.5 year olds were way down. Our local fish and game club has a big buck night and I've measured there for 20+ years. It was on Friday night and this year was by far the lowest # of big bucks ever. From what I hear other areas are as bad or worse. Went hunting south of Peace River for 4 days, I passed up a 155 class 5x5, my buddy messed up on a giant but his son got a really heavy 4x4 that grosses 158. Mule deer numbers seemed way down there though.

wtnut..thanks for the report..I had to cancel my Alberta hunt this year because of family matters.

I actually managed to get paid to spend a day bouncing around central Alberta with a D.U.C. biologist yesterday. He is of the opinion that winter kill there was not too bad this year. Given the amount of deer I've seen this spring, I'm inclined to agree. We had a long (3 week) chinook period in January which may have been a great help. Like always it will be a bit hit and miss I suppose, but it looks better than I'd hoped out by our place.

Dean

Thanks for the update.