Finally headed for Alberta whitetail

[Chief44]

Got to the lodge this afternoon. Checked weapons and got settled in. Six of us total in camp. Outfitter gave a great orientation about the hunt and had an absolute awesome home cooked meal. Hunt starts in the morning.

 

[poorhunter]

Used to waterfowl hunt in Saskatchewan back in the late 90's and I was always shocked at both the number and size of the deer up there. Best of luck to you!

 

[REM7]

So jealous. Good luck

 

[BARhunter]

Good luck!

 

[DoubleRidge]

Lodge looks nice.... appreciate you sharing your experience....keep those pics coming! And good luck hunting!

 

[buckbstr_1]

Man, I hope you have a heck of a hunt. That is my dream, to sneak up to Canada and do some hunting.

 

[cbhunter]

Good luck!

 

[Chief44]

First day is in the books. It was 29 degrees this morning and warmed up to about 38 by afternoon. A little warmer than I expected but looks like that is gonna change tomorrow. It's suppose to be 20 deg in the morning with temps falling during the day to the low teens with a NW wind. No deer were killed today but there were a few shooters seen. I'm hunting a cut line out of a tripod stand. There is a ground blind with heater approximately 150 yards up the cut that I can get in if I choose. I plan to stick with the stand unless it gets really cold. I saw 4 bucks. Two of them were chasing does and one was trailing a doe. The other just cruising. All appeared to be 2.5 year old bucks with the exception of one that was chasing that I couldn't get a good look at. He could have been older but I don't think he was a shooter. So far it's been a great hunt and the food has been exceptional. Maybe someone will hammer one tomorrow. Here's a couple of pics of the cut I'm hunting as well as a pic of a 2.5 year old 8 that was trailing a doe.

 

[batten_down]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing this. Good luck

 

[DoubleRidge]

Nice ...sounds like a great day hunting....seeing deer and seeing some chasing.... weather change with temp dropping....sounds perfect! Good luck!!

 

[cecil30-30]

Thanks for sharing. Keep the updates coming.

 

[fairchaser]

Best of luck Chief44. I suggest the heated blind once the temps drop. Be prepared to make a long shot with a solid rest and to stop the deer with a grunt or fawn bawl.

 

[batten_down]

Standing by for day 2 report. Also how many guys in camp, and how difficult was it to travel with your firearm. And what are you shooting?

 

[midtndeerhunter]

looks like a blast , can't wait for another update. Best of luck.

 

[Chief44]

Standing by for day 2 report. Also how many guys in camp, and how difficult was it to travel with your firearm. And what are you shooting?

There are 6 hunters in camp. Traveling with firearm was not difficult at all. I flew out of Nashville to Toronto. Airline checked rifle in Nashville and gave me a form to present to customs. Ammo had to be locked in a separate box inside check bag. Once arriving in Toronto, I got gun and took it to customs where I had my pre filled out unsigned firearms form and the form from Nashville. Just had to sign the form in front of them and pay $25 fee. Then take gun and have it checked back in for our flight to Edmonton. Once arriving at Edmonton, we just picked gun up with our other checked bag. I'm shooting a Christensen arms Mesa in 7mm mag. Report from today coming soon.

 

[batten_down]

There are 6 hunters in camp. Traveling with firearm was not difficult at all. I flew out of Nashville to Toronto. Airline checked rifle in Nashville and gave me a form to present to customs. Ammo had to be locked in a separate box inside check bag. Once arriving in Toronto, I got gun and took it to customs where I had my pre filled out unsigned firearms form and the form from Nashville. Just had to sign the form in front of them and pay $25 fee. Then take gun and have it checked back in for our flight to Edmonton. Once arriving at Edmonton, we just picked gun up with our other checked bag. I'm shooting a Christensen arms Mesa in 7mm mag. Report from today coming soon.

Good stuff. Thank you. I seem to remember guys discussing borrowing or renting a weapon from the outfitter on a similar trip into Canada. (Read it here, maybe last year) Because it was a big hassle. Possibly due to more stringent covid restrictions at the time. Glad to hear your experience was hassle free.

 

[Chief44]

Day 2 report:
It was cold this morning. Upper teens at daylight, dropping to about 12 by afternoon. Wind was N at 15. Wind finally died down about lunch and made for a good afternoon. I didn't see much today. Only 1 doe and a 2.5 year old 8 pt. One of the guys in camp did kill this afternoon. 6.5 year old 13 pt. Tomorrow's a new day. Gonna be 4 deg in morning.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Thanks for the update....old buck has some character...nice....4 degrees....brrrr....I'd have to move to the blind with a heater for an all day sit....good luck!!

 

[Chief44]

Day 3
It was cold this morning. 3 degrees with feel like temp of -5. One piece of advice I can give anyone planning a hunt somewhere cold is don't skimp on your clothing. You get what you pay for. I dropped some cash for my clothes but I'm glad I did. I haven't been cold yet. It would have been miserable last two days without the proper clothes. I saw 3 bucks today including one shooter but he was at 800 yards. A couple of other guys in camp saw shooters that were either out of range or no good shot. It's gonna be 17 deg in morning but gonna warm up to 40 by afternoon. Gonna feel like a heat wave. Maybe tomorrow is the day. Fingers crossed.

 

[BigRed1080]

After 3 years of waiting, looks like it's finally gonna happen. Buddy and I left Nashville earlier today. Setting in Toronto now waiting for my connecting flight to Edmonton where our guide will pick us up in the morning for a long awaited whitetail hunt. Already 15" of snow at the lodge. Sure hope it's a good week.

Sounds like a fun trip. Best of luck, fingers crossed for you to put down a stud.