Stopped in to Wapiti meats to pick up our meat. The game is definitely not coming in like it normally does. Between the wet roads and soaking wet bush along with the unseasonably hot weather, game harvest is WAY off this year. Normally they intake, cut and deliver meat 7 days a week; from Sept to end of Dec. This year they are cutting on Fridays and Mondays only and intaking 7 days a week. It is taking all week to get enough animals in to cut on Friday.
We spent almost 3 weeks hunting in three different areas, put on lots of miles on the boots and quads. We sat stands for hours on end on favourite spots from years past. There is lots of game still around but seeing them during the legal shooting hours was very rare. Seeing shootable game from a vehicle, aside from a few deer, never happened once. Lots moving around well after dark.
We got lucky and filled some tags but we worked our butts off doing it. Hope it freezes down and stays cold for the guys hunting later this month. Best of luck.
So be my son and I and our hunting this year. One trip into my normal Northern wmu in mid October with 4 inches of snow and we wont be going back. Horrible sign as far as tracks and no live sightings.
Hit a few of our old haunts to the west already when the roads allowed.
The good thing is we are seeing good sign once we get away from the roads. Rechecked a couple backwoods clearings along the Athabasca river that i haven't been to for years and they are still full of moose, deer and elk sign.
Hope the rut will get some bucks moving.
2 full weeks of November left and work isnt too busy. Still optimistic and hoping for his first harvest.
Sounds like hunting cow elk all winter to reduce the numbers is working. The mule deer haven't recovered from the SRD supported slaughter that happened about 8 years ago. The white tails still haven't came back from the tough back to back to back winters we had about 5 years ago.
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We talk so much about leaving a better planet to our kids, that we forget to leave better kids to our planet.
By this time last year me and the neighbours had already processed 7 animals - 6 elk and 1 WT, this year so far only 2 WT's. Not because we haven't been trying.
Weather, weather, weather, and finding legal animals during legal light definitely been a challenge..... just the way it is this year I guess.
Cutting back on the antlered moose draws doesn't help either. I know of at least two groups of guys from around here who set up a monthly camp, but with no moose draws they said screw it, we are not setting up for deer.
It has been a very tough hunting year with enormous water in bush, almost impassable rutted roads and warm weather with no tracking snow. It should help recover ungulate populations if wolves do not eat them all this winter.
Too warm, and in some areas an increase in the predator crowd (wolves, bears, etc) doesn't help. Hopin some of our trapping friends or those predator hunters will help thin those numbers down!
Hunting in the North REALLY slow
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