2 of us hunted a river bottom next to a alfalfa field . I turned down several 150 class deer the first day and took pictures of 2 hog mulies that fed in the field . Day 2 I had a huge 8 pt feed through but could not get a clean shot . Our partners were hunting a transition area that had rolling hills to their backside and a huge grainfield in front of them . On day 1 a road hunter a 1/2 mile away shot a buck that ran all the way to my buddies tree and died right under it . The second day they saw more moose and elk than deer . On the third day a storm moved in that ruined the hunt . 4 days of rain driven by 30 to 60 mph winds . The locals called it the worst sept. storm in 100 years < figures > . We continued to hunt in the brutal conditions , coming in twice a day to dry out . On the 4th day my buddie took a 35 yard shot at a great 10 pt and the wind blew the arrow 2 feet in front of the deer . From that point on we spent more time playing poker than hunting . Which ain't all bad , these Canadians think they know how to play poker but don't : }. By the way, lose ten lbs before you go on this hunt , you will gain it back .
Yes , this was opening week of the 2006 archery season and I was really excited about getting it started because of the quality of bucks that were spotted . Unfortunately , these hunters did run into some very bad luck with the weather, which is rare that time of year . In September the temps can usually range from the 40's to the 80's . Usually t-shirt weather in the mid day and cooling in the evenings . The deal with the road hunter was extreme bad luck because we hardly have any archery hunters in this area . Archery hunting is just starting to get popular up here . We still do not have an archery shop . I'm glad these hunters understood the meaning of "hunting" and will be back in 2007 for another shot at a big Alberta whitetail . We are expecting another good crop of bucks this year so I'm looking forward to the fall . Ruger was after a huge eight point that should still be alive so I hope he can connect this year . We have been really lucky with big eights the last couple of seasons , killing a 170 and a 162 -- both huge eight points .
High winds and heavy rain that changed to snow on the last day . Normally its in the 40,s to 60,s and pleasant .
