After all the questions answered, I thought I would share the results of my Saskatchewan deer hunt.

I hunted with Circle Lakes Angus Outfitting booked through Butch Manasse Outdoor Adventures.

The first day found me in box stand in heavy north winds and sideways snow. The morning temp was in the low 20's F. After six hours or so, my face was windburned and my eyes were hurting from the constant pelting from the snow. Although the temp was relatively warm, I was uncomfortable the rest of the day. I saw three smaller bucks, numerous does, numerous coyotes, and amazingly a number of elk and two wolves. I expected to see a low number of deer, but other than a three hour stretch, there were deer present almost constantly.

The second morning found the temp at 9°F but clear with light winds out of the south. I was actually quite comfortable this morning. The deer pictured was shot at ~9am this morning, He was the first sizable buck seen. I debated shooting or not, knowing that much larger deer are possible. In the end, the weather forecast was not promising and I am very happy with him, although he is probably a very average deer for the area.

I did not score him. They guessed ~140. The inside spread is dead on 20â€. He has 8 point with nice mass. The antlers are a beautiful dark coloration. We weighed him on a bale scale and he was 220 lbs on this scale. I was amazed with the body size. The does were bigger than the Louisiana bucks I grew up on.

The shot was at 280 yards, a bit further than I normally prefer to shoot. At the first shot, he stumbled and began turning in a circle. I shot again but pulled the shot. He was still standing, so I shot a third time. This seemed to knock one front leg out of commission. He stumbled at few yards and I saw him crash. It seems the first shot was forward on the shoulder. The third actually went below and hit the far leg. I was not happy with my shooting, something I am contantly trying to improve on. Surprisingly, other deer in the area seemed unaffected by all the racket and only spooked when the truck came to get me.

The outfitter was professional, courteous, and enjoyable company.

I guess a few comments on clothing would be appropriate. As a southern boy, I was quite concerned about being equipped for the weather. I used a Cabela's down parka and thinsulate/wool overalls. Both were lined wih gore-tex. Under, I layered with military surplus poly underwear and then layers of polertec fleece to adjust for weather. I had a wool/thinsulate/gore-tex watch cap and 1200 gr thinsulate/gore-tex boots. I also used a fleece/windstopper head/neck cover. The gore-tex and/or windstopper was essential in getting me through the first day. Both cut the wind. The gore-tex kept the clothes dry as accumulated snow melted. I was very uncomfortable in the portion of my face that was uncovered. My nose was blood red both days. I honestly think a facemask of some sort, as aggravating as they are, would have been the best addition to my outfit. Maybe clear safety glasses for the pelting snow. Boot blankets kept my always cold feet comfortable. Bring plenty of handwarmers. I think the Grabber Mycoal brand worked better and lasted as long as advertise. Two in the boot blankets almost made my feet hot. I wore Artic shield mitts over liner gloves. I was not impressed with the Artic Shield mitts as my hands still got cold. I wished I wore a windproof liner glove.

Another note, you have to get only half dressed then finish at the stand. Wearing enough to be comfortable siting still will have you sweating in 10 yards. It feels silly doing it, but it seems to be the only way to keep from being sweaty at the onset, which could make you very cold.

Despite all the concerns of traveling to Canada with a rifle, the importation process could not have been easier. Simply fill the forms out beforehand and pay the $25 Canadian while waiting for the baggage to come out by any credit card. The customs personnel in Saskatoon were very friendly and wished everyone a good hunt. My gun was not examined nor was my ammo. When one thinks about it, it is an amazingly easy process for turning a guy loose in your country with firearms. I expected more problems at the reentry back into the US. The customs at Minneapolis was again quite simple. I carried my antlers back and even this did not raise an eyebrow. It was a much different experience on my only other international hunt to RSA. At Atlanta customs coming back in, I had all my luggage examined and darn near thought I would be subjected to a prostate exam before they let me back through. Apparently, the US and Canada do not consider Americans going to Canada for a hunt to be a high priority risk. I wish our side would think similarly about Canadians wishing to hunt or transport through here

I flew with Northwest. I checked my baggage all the way through to Saskatoon, so I never had to collect my bags and recheck through a Canadian airline. The lady here wanted to charge me extra since my bag was 2 lbs over 50 lbs. The lady that checked me in at Saskatoon let my third bag (box with the antlers) slide through with no extra charge. I did book with Uniglobe Travel in Saskatoon as they had a better rate than I could find domestically. Apparently, they are a block wholesaler for NW.

Only problems in the trip was all the one way roads in Saskatoon and the inability to enter a hotel or restaurant from either direction

Hope my comments may help someone making a similar trips. Also thanks to the Canadians for the advise and for welcoming me as a guest in your country.

Nice buck!
I really like the thick bodies on those northern Whitetails. What rifle were you shooting?

Nice buck. Glad it all worked out for you. Sorry the weather wasnt so good, but you now know you earned that buck. Glad to hear you had luck with all aspects of your trip.

Thanks so much for posting. I leave Sunday to hunt near Hudson Bay SK all next week. It is suprising how little info is out on the web regarding SK deer...plently of outfitter's sites but little real time info. Based on your report, I think my clothing will be adequate but I'm going to try and find some better headgear...I only have wool facemasks right now. I'll also upgrade my gloves. Thanks again.
Regards,
Another Southern Boy (NC mountains) Excited about Big Deer but worried about freezing to death!

Congrats on your hunt and a nice deer.

I leave tomorrow for Saskatchewan as well. You mentioned the weather forcast being "not promising." Does that mean more snow and cold, or more warm? I've been following an internet weather site, and it seems temps have been floating around 0 C, with little snow and even warmer temps next week. My concern is that we won't have the weather to get the deer moving, at least the big ones.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Brian

I used my old 30-06 for the hunt. I handloaded 165 grain Nosler Accubonds. I was surprised at the deer's reaction, but the bullet achieved full penetration and devestating damage to the heart and lungs.

By not promising, the weather forcast for the next two days was at the time much warmer day time temperatures with even some rain likely. The temperature took a drastic drop the morning I shot and did appear to be the last of the cold, clear weather until the weekend. However, the weather these is quite variable and who knows what could have happened.

quote:

Originally posted by btglfer:
Congrats on your hunt and a nice deer.

I leave tomorrow for Saskatchewan as well. You mentioned the weather forcast being "not promising." Does that mean more snow and cold, or more warm? I've been following an internet weather site, and it seems temps have been floating around 0 C, with little snow and even warmer temps next week. My concern is that we won't have the weather to get the deer moving, at least the big ones.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Brian

Brian,
I'm going too! Northway up in Glaslyn is my destination.

I've been watching the weather and it's not a very good forecast. WAY too warm. I wish I was going the following week when it gets cold and there's some snow.

Anyway, it will be a great time and still good hope for bucks.

Pray for snow and cold.

Good luck,
Jimno

I often wonder why people want to hunt in the cold. I'd take a balmy day any day. That afternoon nap in the tall grass is a lot nicer when I aint freezing my arse off.

have fun and good luck

Calgarychef1,
Well I'll soon find out if warm weather has any effect on the deer movement. Last year is was cold and snowy and the deer were moving like crazy. I hope it's the same when it's warmer.

I don't want to freeze, but I will for a big'un.

Jim

when i went to newfoundland, they would only accept the gun fee in canadian dollars, no credit cards. that was a real pain to have to change money just for that. glade you enjoyed your hunt.

Metalman, congrats on a nice buck; last night I flew home from Calgary after a 6-day muley/whitey hunt, my experience was the same as yours from a customs and firearmn declaration standpoint. As I've posted previously, the customs officials have always been courteous and professional, and the process has been painless on all (4) of my trips to Canada. I was hunting in East-Central Alberta, and the weather was definitely warm with a relative lack of deer movement. I ended up with a mid 160's muley (huge 3-point), and passed on a mid-high 130's whitey on the second to last day, deer were starting to move a little more and we were on 2 different 160-class bucks (both of whom outsmarted us!). My guide indicated that the deer movement, or lack thereof, was about as bad as it gets. All in all, a great hunt in a great province/country, the people were all friendly and helpful, Alberta is great in my book... I'll be back next year,

Regards,
Craig Nolan

Thanks for the report. I leave on 11-24 to Bait Masters in Green Lake.

Great Post!

I'd love to hunt Canada one day; there is certainly the potential kill a monster.

What rifle, cartridge and ammo did you use? How did it perform?

Thank you for sharing your story.

Metalman,

Hunted with Circle Lakes/Kovach's in 2005 and 2006. Great hunt and a great family. Good to hear of your success. My father and I got a few bigguns out of there in the two years we hunted with them. I killed my largest whitetail to date at Circle Lakes. Those farm deer in that part of Saskatchewan are quite large.

Congratulations on your success!

Do you remember the name of the stand you hunted out of?

WTR