HUNTING THE ALBERTA SUPER BUCKS
Early in my career as a Whitetail hunting Guide & Outfitter in Alberta, Canada, the main goal that I had set for myself, essentially for practical reasons, was simply to put hunters onto quality ‘shooter’ class bucks that would be a decent representative of what a good Alberta buck was. Most hunters that were booking a hunt and travelling from the lower 48, were usually after a buck bigger than anything they could realistically hope for back home each hunting season. That ‘decent representative buck’ here was probably mature, with a rack having a minimum of 140” inches of growth on it.
As my career evolved, I created more and more ‘repeat’ clientele wanting to top their last buck taken here. For an increasing number of hunters, coming back for a bigger buck each year became a goal we both shared. The inches of antler started a steady rise upward for most guys that were able to take a good deer with me. Even though many of our hunters harvested bucks over numerous hunts that they were more than happy with, be it a 150”, 160”, or even a 180”+ Whitetail, the ‘top end’ of the antler range of 200” inches plus was always a quest, or even ‘the dream’ of my most serious hunters. When a particular client hears from their Outfitter, that during the pre-season scouting time, I had a sighting of such a Whopper buck in excess of 200” inches, the thought of a world class Whitetail being in the same area they are about to hunt, becomes impossible for them to not dream of possibly getting a look at, or even harvesting a buck of that class.
‘Big’ deer in general evoke strange thoughts and happenings in grown men that are serious about Whitetail hunting, but the true ‘Super Buck’ of 200”+ inches, can create an even more crazy ‘feel’ in a hunter or hunting camp. I’ve tallied my fair share of legitimate 200” plus deer in the almost 40 years of doing what I do. I’ve also put hunters onto bucks of that caliber on many occasions in my particular camp during that same period.
Those type of deer are not around every tree or are even tallied every season, nor are they very easy to see or keep tabs on. Quite the contrary. In fact, as most of you would imagine, they are few and far between in the wild deer woods, and as such are quite a special animal. But they do exist, and we both have them along with pursue them in our productive hunting areas most seasons.
I practice a ‘real’ hunting style – meaning my chosen hunting locations I scout and set, are in place to intercept natural movement of Whitetails, with no bait or supplements for the deer to be attracted to. This main approach has proven to be a very effective method of harvesting mature Bruiser Alberta Bucks, but it’s certainly not for everyone. By the same token, why should such a special animal as a true Super Buck be available to just anyone to see and harvest? A special Whitetail deserves to be hunted hard by an individual equal to the task. Long patient sits, in tough conditions such as -20 degree cold weather or worse for 10 hours a day for days on end, make the venture equally respectful to the top end buck.
Our ‘ambush’ style of hunting though – meaning ‘sitting in wait’ of an opportunity, is as natural as it can get, and as such you won’t have an animal predictably drawn-in to a particular spot for a shot, such as when sitting over a pile of bait. With natural movement real hunting, your opportunity can come fast, and can equally disappear fast as well. Sure, we’ve had guys over the years report seeing their deer and were able to watch them for sometimes up to a few minutes, but as in the case of hunting for the rare animal such as a 200” plus buck, you certainly shouldn’t count on one standing around very long. Even considering you were fortunate enough to even lay eyes on one.
A fitting member of the 200” Super Buck Club, is a dedicated hard core Whitetail hunter that I have known for almost 40 years now, and who has done over 18 weeks of hunting with me over the years. Among all of the great deer he has harvested with us over the years, he was able to take a tremendous buck with us a few years back, with a set of antlers one has to hold to truly appreciate. That particular buck taped out at 201 6/8, which is a true Whopper in its own right, but what is truly remarkable is the fact that this buck was not the largest buck Greg Walker had seen up here on his hunts with us.
Back in 2000, Greg was hunting his customary 12 day hunt here and had been seeing numerous deer during the week, but had not seen the Shooter buck yet that he’d be happy to end his hunt on. One day, he looked up to see a true Magnum Whitetail crossing a fence line where we had him set up. To this day he still says that Whitetail was the largest buck he’s ever laid eyes on! He felt he had time to get on the deer, but just as he levelled down onto the buck, he frustratingly caught the Mongo Whitetail disappear beneath a swale…with the vision forever burned into his memory!
Over the many years & hunts here, Greg has tallied numerous bucks that would easily top 185” to 195” inches. He still reminds me whenever the story comes up though, that the buck that he saw on that cold November day in 2000 would have been one for the ages if he was able to put it on the ground. If there is one ‘negative’ in having a hunter shoot a 200” plus Whitetail, is that their level or standard immediately ‘inches up’ in the process. After Greg took that tremendous 200” buck, he has had chances on numerous Magnums that many hunters would almost do anything for. A couple in particular that come to mind – that even Greg himself to this day admits were foolish decisions to let pass, were true trophy’s for any serious hunter’s wall & career.
On one occasion during his November hunt here, he had tallied a tremendous ‘Brute’ of a buck we ended up calling ‘Coffee Bean’, due to the dark black color of the mature buck’s rack. This buck was following a doe very closely and he got a very good look at him as he passed along the edge of a beaver bottom, he realized he was looking at the very minimum - a 180’s class buck. But what really got his attention, was a long ‘flyer’ sticking out straight off one of the bucks long G-2’s! In the post day de-brief, it was deemed he had let go a buck that would probably go well into the 190’s!
On another hunt, during his first week of his two week hunt, we had Greg sitting a long fence line that the deer have to cross in the course of their natural movement patterns. On day # 3, Greg caught a look at a tremendous buck that at first glance he deemed to be a good Shooter. In getting the scope on the deer, he noticed it had super long beams that were both gnarled up & had extreme palmation. It also had long tines & great mass, but being day # 3, he again let a ‘Whopper’ buck walk! About two hours later, he looked up to see the same buck again – this time about 200 yards closer & heading in the opposite direction. Again he got a great look…and again he lets him walk! To finish off an already incredible day of hunting Alberta, around 3:00pm later that afternoon, he again sees the same buck – this time down in the opposite direction from his stand! The buck now heading back in the opposite direction – obviously on a major scent checking quest for another receptive doe…and again decides to let this buck walk. It was apparent to all involved in the days end chat around camp, Greg had again let go a buck that easily would have taped out well into the high 180’s! As Greg has reminded me often though, he thinks about his Alberta hunt here us for 11 months of the year, while driving around the warm Florida highways & byways, so with getting into his gear and sitting one of our stands come November, he finds it is very difficult to pull the trigger on ‘any’ buck regardless of size, as he knows it will again end his hunt for another long year.
Another hunter that proved deserving of the opportunity on a world class ‘Super Buck’, is a dedicated patient hunter named Scott Gaebel from upstate New York. I say ‘deserving’ simply due to the fact that although he’s very unassuming, he has the hard core desire and a ‘stick to it attitude’ that is unteachable. He has what it takes for the long, often times boring sits. He also arrives in camp each year with an open mind to hunt where we need him to hunt, and he puts in his time while just enjoying being in Alberta and away from his work intensive business for his two weeks here on stand. He also has trust that I’m going to put him in a great area with high potential for a solid mature deer, along with knowing that I’ve done my homework for his hunt.
Scott actually shot this buck as a mid to high 160’s buck, so was pleasantly surprised when he finally realized he shot a 200” buck!
This patient, hard hunting attitude and approach of Scott’s helped him down a tremendous Whitetail during the 2010 season. I had a location set in an area we had previously seen incredible deer in before, and had planned to hunt Scott in for at the very least 8 to 10 days of ‘all day sits’ on his 12 day hunt. We had missed a buck two seasons previous by a veteran hunter of ours in that same area, a buck that we deemed to be in the 210” plus range. Also, in the same general area, I had gotten a very faint and foggy glimpse of a very large antlered Magnum buck on one of my late summer scouting trips. I had a great area prepped and scouted, paired with a very dedicated and patient hunter, so conditions were set in place for good things to maybe happen.
After a few diligent days on stand, Scott caught a quick glimpse of movement cutting through the woods heading toward his shooting lane. He had just been looking in that direction a few seconds earlier, and had quickly did a scan in the opposite direction. When he looked back in the opposite direction though, he saw a huge framed deer already halfway across the shooting lane he was watching! He reported ‘knowing immediately’ it was a shooter, as both frame and mass stood out without question! Knowing there was little time to waste on eyeing him up or getting set perfectly for his natural right handed shot off his tripod rest, he made the quick decision to swivel his tripod chair enough to level down and get the buck into his scope while getting ready to shoot the buck left handed!
He made good on his decision & shot, but I was not going to see the result until after dark. I had received a call towards the end of the day on my truck radio from Freddie, one of my Guides who had Scott that particular week. I told Freddie I’d be there as soon as I had picked up my hunter & headed over to where they were to pull the deer. All Freddie said on the radio was a cryptic message – “Dave, you’re gonna be pleased with this one”! He was right! When we got to the buck to pull him out on the sled, the beam of my headlamp flashed across the downed buck and I immediately noticed it’s dark, massive antlers. I mentioned to Freddie that we were looking at a deer that would go well into the high 180’s. As we realized later after the post dinner caping and taping session, I was a little low in my initial assessment. Scott’s buck taped out at a whopping 203” 5/8!!
That particular week, a longtime hunter of ours - Mark Bush, was in camp and had just taken a tremendous buck – a mature Bruiser of a deer in the mid 160’s. Mark just happened to be the hunter that was sitting that same location as Scott two years previous, and had missed a world class deer that year we had deemed 210” plus! Mark kept looking over and studying the antlers of Scott’s buck – and then looked over at me and said “that’s him Dave”. Disappointing for Mark, but a cool story for all involved and one that even Mark appreciated!
Both Greg and Scott are hunters that demonstrate a trust & belief in the fact that I do the homework necessary in preparation for their hunts, and they sit where we put them with patience and confidence. They both have come to understand what it takes to wait out a true ‘Alberta Super Buck’, along with how they should be hunted. As in business, life, and in hunting, you usually get the rewards that your efforts have earned.