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01-05-2018, 03:03 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Devon, AB
Posts: 572
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17/18 Bison hunt recap
Back in 2012 I was lucky enough to draw the bison tag and even luckier in killing a great bull. The deal with my two friends was if either of them were to draw again we would accompany. Didn't take much convincing as the hunt is a blast.
2017 draw results were out and sure enough Jared (pictured) drew the tag and so the planning began. We quickly assembled a team that would accompany us on the journey with numerous other offers. We discussed the hunt numerous times throughout the year and started meeting up weekly a month before the hunt.
After all the gear was accounted for we isolated a bay in his shop strictly for the trip and items quickly accumulated. A few nights before our departure many nights were spent in the shop triple checking all our gear ensuring our items were ready for the north.
We departed on the 27th and after a short 9 hour drive we had arrived with high spirits despite the weather.
Day 1: We drove to all our old "honey holes" via truck. Our idea was to pound as much gravel as possible and either spot a herd or find some fresh sign. We spoke with numerous operators and locals and the consensus was the same "haven't seen em in a while" or "they're usually here in the summer". Bad news but it didn't slow us down.
Day 2: Woke up and thermometer read -46, windchill had the day and -51... we decided it wouldn't be wise to head out in this temperature and the day was spent watching the world juniors, drinking banquets and discussing the next day in the hot tub, a well deserved maintenance day....
Day 3:We had initially decided to spend the day on the sleds and cover more ground. Our idea was to split up into teams of 2. One sled wouldn't start and the second sleds steering was seized. We swapped between 2 guys sledding and 2 guys in the trucks covering lease roads. Similar outcome, lots of old sign...
Day 4: We headed north of town as this was the freshest sign we had. Covered a lot of ground with no leads. Split up again with two guys on sleds and two guys in the truck. Similar outcome, lots of old sign. TONS of wolf sign.
We stopped at canadian tire and bough extension chords and unit heaters. We plugged them in at night and had them sitting under our sleds in hopes of keeping them functioning. At this point we didn't have one day above -30.
Day 5: One hunter, not as dedicated as the rest of us had to return to work and caught a flight out of high level. Our unit heater idea worked and the one sled with seized handle bards loosened up enough to be drive able. We were down to three guys but each had a sled now. We decided to keep trying new areas in hopes of cutting fresh tracks. This process reminded me of hunting cats.
Around 1 PM we accessed the lake and split up meeting back up every so often to recap. We eventually cut a single fresh track and figured it was a lone bull, worth tracking. We followed him a few KMs which led us to a meadow. There was an area about 200 yards deep by 600 yards wide that wasn't touched by tracks. We knew we had found the herd, but were unsure of the size.
After some more tracking we found the herd and snuck up on them very patiently as to not spook them. This was our last day to hunt before having to return home , we were starting to feel the pressure. We crouched and analyzed every bison but couldn't locate a mature bull. Lots of healthy looking cows and calves but were after a bull or bust.
After an hour of watching them the cows started leaving the meadow to bed down we assumed. They left single file which was best case as they left one by one we could analyze them and confirm there weren't any bulls. Within 15 minutes about 30 cows and calves left the meadow... We were running out of bison but could still see another 20-30 bedded down or grazing through the meadow. After continuously glassing I located a bison bedded and without seeing "proof" i knew for sure he was a bull. His body was substantially bigger then the rest and the base of his horns dwarfed the rest.
He had a calf infront of him so we got ready for the shot and slowed our breathing once we confirmed he was a bull. As the calf vacated the first shot was taken, the bull soaked it up and showed some discomfort, a second shot echoed right through the should. By this time the herd was flustered and all the bedded bison shot up. A third shot was sent as the bull turned and quartered away.
60 bison took off running to some thick willows. Snow was flying and steam was rising we couldn't locate the bull but knew he wasn't in good shape. As the herd cleared the area 1 bison was left in the open meadow. The bull ran about 10 yards and was dead before we reached him.
We had to return and gather all our requirements and started skinning him, then quartering him and eventually packing him out. Entire process took about 4 hours in the dark. We had a nice fire to keep us warm along with fireball as the moon lit the scene up. Like out of a movie scene the wolves howled behind us as we skinned the bull waiting for us to leave their supper scene.
The hunt is a pile of fun and I recommend everyone to try and draw for it. I strongly believe you get out of what you put into this hunt as we passed up close to 40 bison over 5 days waiting for the right one. The hunt is a long process, planning dates, accumulating all the gear, finding others to accompany but its all worth it.
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Go oilers
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01-05-2018, 03:10 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,240
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beauty bull and story, thanks for sharing.
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01-05-2018, 03:20 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: The North
Posts: 1,312
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Great story we sure enjoyed our time in the area last winter. Cant wait till the day I actually draw my tag...
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01-05-2018, 03:21 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 1,912
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Great write up and pictures. Congratulations and thanks for posting the detail and pictures.
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01-05-2018, 03:24 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Provost
Posts: 5,006
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Thanks for the pics and the story....enjoyed it .
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01-06-2018, 04:24 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Near Edmonton
Posts: 14,972
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Good write up. Thanks for sharing.
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01-06-2018, 06:56 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 71
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Great story! Sound like an awesome hunt and nice to see one on the ground.
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01-06-2018, 07:02 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Stony plain
Posts: 453
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Excellent story ... good for you guys ..shop beers and hard work always pays off ..lol ohh I hope I get drawn one day
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01-06-2018, 07:22 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 275
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bison
Congrats! Thanks for sharing the story
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01-06-2018, 08:26 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,507
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Congrats on your success!
We were so lucky it was warm when we were there years ago. We had the gear for the cottage or but were fortunate that we hit a weather window.
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Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.
Aim Small = Miss Small
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01-06-2018, 08:30 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,502
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Very well done, brought back memories of our hunt, man they are big!
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Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
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01-06-2018, 08:50 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 948
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Great job all around.
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01-15-2018, 08:52 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 21
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Congrats!!! Definitely an amazing experience
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01-15-2018, 10:53 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 9,650
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Awesome hunt. Congrats. It's a draw myself and a couple friends hope to start trying for real soon.
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01-15-2018, 11:36 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 511
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Good looking bull! Did you need snowmobiles to find them?
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01-15-2018, 12:25 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Devon, AB
Posts: 572
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elk396
Good looking bull! Did you need snowmobiles to find them?
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Yes, we were about 15 kms away from the nearest road
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Go oilers
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01-15-2018, 12:29 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: A bit North o' Center...
Posts: 11,116
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That is awesome! Congratulations!
I liked your comment about the wolves. Had a similar situation after packing out a critter many years ago. Pretty interesting, for sure!
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01-15-2018, 12:41 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 20
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Great read, congrats on your bull!
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01-15-2018, 01:09 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,827
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Con grates on the harvest.
Don
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01-15-2018, 01:45 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 511
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bonecollector10
Yes, we were about 15 kms away from the nearest road
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I see, so without them, pretty much no point applying? I guess a guy could rent a sled?
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01-15-2018, 01:52 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Devon, AB
Posts: 572
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elk396
I see, so without them, pretty much no point applying? I guess a guy could rent a sled?
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There was a time when your odds of getting one from a road were good. However with the decline of oil activity only the main roads were cleared limiting truck access.
As well, if you're after a mature animal anything not within 100 yards of the road would be a nightmare to get back to the vehicle.
Im not going to say its impossible because I've done it before, but you severely limit your chances.
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Go oilers
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01-15-2018, 04:24 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 511
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Is there any testing required before you consume the meat?
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01-15-2018, 05:06 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Devon, AB
Posts: 572
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elk396
Is there any testing required before you consume the meat?
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I know there was some paperwork and what not with F&W but I wasn't on that end of it. I don't think so though.
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Go oilers
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01-15-2018, 05:17 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 511
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ok thanks, just was wondering about TB
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01-15-2018, 05:34 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: red deer
Posts: 830
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No mandatory testing for TB.
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01-15-2018, 07:45 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 511
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ok, thanks
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01-15-2018, 07:52 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Calgary
Posts: 784
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Great hunt! Thank you for taking the time to write it up.
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