Chambered For The Wild

Grand Prairie, Alberta

Beautiful scenery and big bucks, the foothills of the Canadian Rockies offer some of the best whitetail hunting in the world. I booked with Alpine Outfitters, based out of Grand Prairie, Alberta for a late October/ early November hunt. The rut was at its prime and the bucks were on the move.
After a short quad drive, I trekked through about 300 yards of brush to reach my blind. It was situated in an opening in the forest on the convergence of two cut-lines. The cut-lines formed a natural converging point for deer moving to feed on open farmland a few miles away. The outfitter had been using a hidden trail camera to monitor the deer movement in the area and was confident there were some good quality bucks traveling the corridor. As I made my way up to the blind, I also noticed some fresh scrapes and rubs; the bucks were in here laying down scent.
 
The blind location was excellent and the blind itself was comfortable and i insulated – that makes a huge difference when the temperature dips to -10º. There was an abundance of wildlife moving through the clearing: many does; some good quality 120 – 130 class bucks. However, I was holding out for a 150-class buck the outfitter told me was in the area. I sat from before sunrise to after sundown; the northern lights illuminating my way back to camp.
 

The next morning I had the thrill of seeing 6 elk bust out of the bush about 40 yards in front of me. They stood staring at me, then one by one wandered back into the trees. A little while later, 3 whitetail does meandered by.
 
Suddenly, another doe raced into the clearing with this heavy, tall 10-point buck hot on her heels. I knew right away this was a shooter buck! But he was moving fast after the doe and was slipping in and out of sight behind cover. The doe went diving into thick bush and I was sure the buck was going to follow her before I could take a shot. But the buck must have lost sight of the doe too because he froze at the edge of the woods and stood there staring off after her. I instantly took advantage of the opportunity he had given me. I pulled the trigger on my Sako 300 Win Mag and the buck leapt into the trees. In two quick bounds, he was out of sight. Did I hit him? I was confident my aim was true and, sure enough, when I reached the spot where the buck had halted, there was a good blood trail leading into the bush. Then I saw him. He had only gone about 20 yards before going down for good. What a buck!

In 2006 I returned again for one of the best hunts I have ever been on!