Avery® Hunting Journal Entries Southern Saskatchewan 2003
 Decision Time!South East Saskatchewan, Saturday, November 29, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer DATE: Saturday November 29, 2003 LOCATION: South East Saskatchewan SUNRISE/SUNSET: 8:26 A.M./ 4:51 P.M. WEATHER: Unseasonably warm, high winds and slightly over cast TEMPERATURE: High of 3 C and low of minus 9, Windchills in the minus 20 range WIND: 30 - 40 kilometers per hour EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Polypropelene Underwear, Avery Heat Pouch, Avery AllDay Pack, Avery Pro Camera Bag, Avery Speed Saw, Avery Ankle Garters, Motorola Radio with Avery Neoprene Cover, Blaze orange pants and jacket, Winchester Model 70 XTR 30-06 rifle, Winchester .30-06 Supreme 180gn Power Point Bullets, Bausch and Lomb Elite 3200 4 - 12 X Scope, Bushnell Trophy Binoculars and Lieca 1200 Range Finder. HUNTERS: Pat McKenzie and Mike Hungle  JOURNAL NOTES: The past two weeks have made for extremely difficult whitetail deer hunting. Daytime highs have topped the freezing mark or hovered very near to the freezing mark. The extreme temperatures of two weeks ago that prevailed during my mule deer hunt are long gone. This change of weather has drastically reduced daytime deer movement. Rutting activity has been nonexistent and appears to be taking place at night under the cover of darkness. The deer seem to be bedding down well before sunrise and often not moving until after sunset. (Especially the big bucks) To complicate matters, there's been days with heavy fog and the deer have not been responding to antler rattling, grunting or doe estrus calls. I picked up my buddy Pat at 6:00 am and we headed for the southeast corner of the province to hunt the famous "Pipe Stone Valley". When we were almost at our hunting location, we spotted four deer milling around in a stubble field. Even in the low light conditions, we could see that they were 3 bucks and a doe. Every time the doe moved, her suitors would follow. The deer slowly ambled over a hill and disappeared from our sight. One buck had wide antlers and looked good, so Pat and I had a decision to make. Do we carry on for our intended hunting spot or stay and try for the wide racked buck in the field in front of us? Since legal shooting time was only a few minutes away and we were zeroed in on some lovesick bucks, we elected to stay put, take our chances and hope things would get interesting. By the time we got our rifles out and our gear on, it was legal shooting time. Pat went south and then east with the intentions of stalking in on the deer. I headed north and then cut east to intercept the deer. The deer were wise to what was going on and were already heading north east of where I was going to cut them off. As a result, I watched them with my binos as they slipped into a distant bluff of trees. When I was confident the deer were going to stay put, I radioed Pat to meet back at the truck. We decided to give the deer some time to bed down and relax, before doing a mini deer drive. While doing so, we flipped a coin. I won the toss and elected to go on point as opposed still hunting/pushing through the bluff. I got on point and immediately took a number of "reference" distance readings on surrounding objects. I used my Avery AllDay pack as backrest and settled in to watch the bush for fleeing deer. Even with mild temperatures, sitting on point, with a raging wind ripping wasn't much fun. While my body was warm, the wind-chill caused my face and hands to get cold. At times I would get the shivers and wish I were the one still-hunting the bush. However, each time that happened, I shoved my hands into my Avery Heat Pouch and refocused my attention on the escape routes I was watching. Finally after what seemed like forever (maybe 40 minutes max) I caught some motion in the bush. A doe broke from the cover and trotted out of the trees. She stopped and scanned the area in front of her. When she saw me, the hair on her body stood on end. She leaped forward several feet but then stopped again. When she did, she briefly looked back over her shoulder. She then looked at me again and bolted away. The combination of the doe pausing and looking back over her shoulder really got my heart racing. I anticipated at least one of the bucks was trailing her and would soon be out of the trees. Thirty seconds later all three bucks came charging out! I quickly singled out the biggest buck. He looked to be a fairly wide with at least 4 tines per side, including good brow tines. I had only a few seconds to make up my mind. The mini-drive had worked perfectly, the long-range forecast was for continued warm weather and the buck was quickly putting distance between him and I. My gun roared and my 2003 whitetail deer season was over!  Cold Weather Hunting and Big Mule Deer!South East Saskatchewan, November 3-4, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer DATE: Monday and Tuesday, November 3-4, 2003 LOCATION: Great Sand Hills Region (Western Saskatchewan) SUNRISE/SUNSET: 8:12 A.M./ 5:47 P.M. WEATHER: Overcast, Cloudy with Occasional Snow Flurries. A fresh 2 - 3 inch blanket of white powdery snow covered the ground from the previous evening, making total snow accumulation approximately 8 inches. TEMPERATURE: Low Minus 25 Celsius - High Minus 15 Celsius WIND: Calm in the morning, increasing throughout the day from the North-to-North West. Wind speed 15 - 25 MPH. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Polypropylene Underwear, Avery Ankle Garters, Blaze orange pants and jacket, Winchester Model 70 XTR 30-06 rifle, Winchester .30-06 Supreme 180gn Power Point Bullets, Bausch and Lomb Elite 3200 4 - 12 X Scope, Bausch and Lomb Elite 8X42 Binoculars, Lieca 1200 Range Finder, Motorola Two Way Radios, Magellan Sportrak GPS and Cabela's Super Mag Hauler. HUNTERS: Mike Hungle, Pat McKenzie, Don Ryhorchuk and Brian Phillips  JOURNAL NOTES: For the past few days, I've been in the middle of Saskatchewan's Great Sandhills. This unique region is located in southwestern Saskatchewan and is one of the roughest most unforgiving areas of the province. It is a vast area of sand dunes, rugged hills and steep ravines. The landscape consists of short prairie grasses, cacti, sagebrush, junipers and scattered bluffs of willows and poplar trees. There are very few roads and trails in the area and the terrain looks so similar that if you don't pay attention to where you're going, it's very easy to get lost or twisted. It is here where ranchers try to scratch out a living and where mule deer thrive. This is one of the Saskatchewan's most sought after zones for a special draw mule deer tag. In fact, it usually takes a minimum of four years to get drawn between hunts. On two previous occasions, I had been drawn to hunt the area. The first time was in 1987 and I came home with a 30 inch wide 187 non-typical. The second time was in 1999 and I harvested a 150-class 5X4 buck. Thus in mid July, when I received the news I had been drawn, I was very excited. Today was the third day of my hunt. Day one was spent securing access permission, scouting and getting reacquainted with the lay of the land. On day two, my buddies Brian Phillips and Pat McKenzie each shot a buck. Brian's was a 4X3 that had exploded in front of me at point blank range as I crested a hill and then attempted to double back between Brian and myself. Pat's deer was a beautiful 160-class 4X4 buck that came out of small strip of bush that I slowly worked towards him. This morning, Pat and I went one way and Don and Brian another. Pat and I saw several groups of deer in the first couple hours of the day and I turned down 8 different bucks. We then took a short breather on top of a hill. While catching our breath, we glassed the surrounding area. In the distance, we could see all kinds of deer funneling through a small ravine. The forty plus does didn't excite me, but the four bucks carrying up the rear sure did. Instantly, Pat and I started hiking towards a vantage point ¾ of a mile away, so that we could get a better look. Once we reached the vantage point, Pat and I could see three bucks milling around on the far side of the ravine. Two looked very good from a 1,000 plus yards and one was average. The deer were north east of us and headed east. Since the wind was from the north, the game was on. The stalk went smoothly for the first 500 yards. Then suddenly, we busted half a dozen bedded does. They scattered in every direction and set our hearts pounding. After letting things settle down for a few minutes, we continued stalking east. Out of nowhere, a buck stood watching us from a distant hillside. We froze. While I glassed the buck, Pat laser ranged him. He was a medium sized 4X4 and 300 yards out. As we knelt watching the buck, a second buck appeared on the hillside several yards to the right of the first buck. He was a little smaller than the first deer and also stood and stared in our direction. Moments later, a third buck walked out and stood beside the second buck. He was a good 4X4 and much bigger than the other two deer. He was standing head on with his head up high. Seconds later a fourth buck stepped out and stood beside the second and third bucks. He was broadside but was looking directly my way. From what I could see, his antlers were extremely high and narrow. However, I couldn't see what he had for tines and forks. After what seemed like an eternity, the big buck turned his head. I could see 8 long tines and knew instantly that he was a shooter. I slowly raised my rifle, flicked off the safety, compensated for the wind and leveled the cross hairs with the buck's back. The moment I pulled the trigger, there was a solid thud and the buck slowly dropped. He then rolled off the backside of the hill and disappeared from sight.  I wish I could say the buck was lying at the bottom of the hill when I walked over to where I had last seen him. Unfortunately, he wasn't. However, after some follow up tracking and some teamwork with Pat, Brian and Don, we got close enough for me to put the buck down for good. This was an extremely demanding hunt. Temperatures/wind-chills were bordering on extreme and at times almost unbearable. Yet we walked 8 - 10 miles a day. When it was time to retrieve a downed deer and get it back to the truck, the work really kicked in. Don and Brian pulled Brian's deer over a mile, while Pat and I pulled his deer ¾ of mile and mine almost a mile. Even with the aid of a deer cart, this task was very demanding; especially with the snow, cold temperatures, rough terrain and massive body sizes of these mature bucks. At the same time, the hunt was also very exciting. I saw countless does and fawns and turned down 24 different bucks before pulling the trigger on my buck. By the time I get to go again, I will have long forgotten the cold temperatures, aching muscles and exhaustion. The only problem now is that I have a long wait ahead of me! A Truly Amazing Morning!South East Saskatchewan, October 25, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer DATE: Saturday, October 25, 2003 LOCATION: North East of Regina, Saskatchewan SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:37 A.M./ 5:48 P.M. WEATHER: Cloudy and misty. TEMPERATURE: 27 degrees and about 20 degrees with wind-chill WIND: North to North West 15 miles per hour. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Power Hunter, Avery Blind Bag, Avery polypropylene Underwear and Undershirt, Avery Fleece Pull Over, Avery Neoprene Ankle Garters, MAX- 4 Camo Bibs and Jacket, 24 G&H Super Mag Canadas, 12 G&H Mirage Canadas, 48 Real Geese Silhouette Canadas, 1 Roboduk, 1 Lucky Duck, RNT QuackHead Duck Call, RNT Acrylic Kelley Powers Goose Call, Flagman T-flag, Benelli 12 gauge, Winchester Supreme 3 inch BB's and 4's. HUNTERS: Mike Hungle, Pat McKenzie and a father and son duo.  JOURNAL NOTES: If I had to summarize the past three weeks of hunting, I'd say, "tough slugging!" Over the past three weeks, I've concentrated my hunting efforts on waterfowl. I've been to western Manitoba and in north central Saskatchewan. Hot temperatures (70 degrees plus) and no wind have made hunting for geese and ducks extremely difficult. Sure there have been some decent days in the past little while, however, I've also had some single digit group outings and a couple of bust days. On Wednesday October 23rd, the weatherman was forecasting high winds, rain and possibly some snow for Friday and Saturday. I had some commitments on Friday, which kept me from getting afield. However, Saturday was wide open. So on Thursday afternoon, I headed east of Regina to prescout, while my buddy Pat McKenzie headed north to do the same thing. The plan was to find a few fields, compare notes and then zero in on Friday afternoon with intentions of having a good shoot Saturday. I found a small shoot with 150 giant Canadas and a second shoot with 600 plus giant Canadas less than 10 minutes from my house. Some other hunters were already watching the 600 birds and were going to hunt the field in the morning, so I headed home to compare notes with Pat. When I called Pat, he told me of a field he found with a couple hundred Canadas and a few thousand ducks. Since Pat's shoot had both ducks and geese, Friday afternoon found us overlooking a wheat stubble field north of Regina. The weatherman was bang on as the wind howled and a combination of rain, sleet and snow dropped from the sky. Canadas stacked into the north end of the field and some snow geese grazed the south end of the field. Ducks traded back and forth between the two groups of geese. Once the majority of birds had landed, we zipped over to the landowner's house, got permission and returned to put the birds to "bed". While the birds headed back to the roost, we were laughing as the farmer told us we'd be the only guys hunting the field. Saturday morning found us in our chosen location well before shooting time. The ground was covered with a light skiff of snow. However, it was not enough to warrant any snow spray on the blinds. The strong north wind made it very simple to know how to set up. With collars up and gloves on, we quickly set up our decoys in a big U shape with the two rotating winged decoys in the landing zone. Fifteen minutes before legal shooting time a truck pulled right up to our spread. It was a father and son duo who told us they had been granted permission by the landowner several weeks prior to hunt any of his property. Since we were already set up where the dark geese had been, they indicated they were going to go a few hundred yards down wind of our set where the white geese had been and "would take their chances". Knowing exactly what would happen if they were set up down wind of us and that much closer to the roost, Pat and I bit the bullet and invited them to hunt with us and stay in our spread. Legal shooting time arrived, but there were no birds in the air. Forty-five minutes passed, before the ducks started coming and when they did, they came with a vengeance. It was one of those rare magical mornings. The ducks worked our set perfectly. Most flocks came straight at us, without even circling! Those that circled only swung by once. Every flock simply twisted, turned and dipsy-doodled and then dropped from the sky at point blank range right in between the two rotating winged decoys. It was incredible action! Then suddenly, a big flock of snow geese approached. They were low and on the deck! They slowly battled into the wind and when they were just short of the foot of my Power Hunter, I called the shot. Seven snows hit the ground. The ducks continued working us and in very short order we had our limit of 32 mallards on the ground. A few flocks of Canadas flew by us, but most wanted nothing to do with our wheat field and headed for a distant pea field. We did manage sucker a couple singles and a pair into shooting range. All the while, ducks continued to mob us. On several occasions, we had large flocks of ducks light all around us. At one point, I had a drake and hen so close, that I could have reached out from my blind and grabbed their feet. The ducks continued to swirl all around us as we took some photos and picked up decoys. The only regret I have about this outing is that we didn't have a video camera with us to capture this exciting duck footage. Nevertheless, the images of big old mallards with wings cupped, orange feet extended and necks stretched out will remain in my memory forever. Opening Day for Pheasants in SaskatchewanSouth East Saskatchewan, October 6, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer  DATE: October 6, 2003LOCATION: South East Saskatchewan SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:06 A.M./ 6:27 P.M. WEATHER: Clear Skies TEMPERATURE: Low 3 C - High 31 C WIND: Calm - Non-Existent EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Strap Vest, Avery Floating Gun Case, 12 gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle, Winchester Supreme High Velocity 3 inch # 6 lead Shot. HUNTERS: Pat McKenzie, Chris Martin, Blair Swystun and myself. JOURNAL NOTES: Opening day of pheasants. How exciting! Up at 4:00 am, out the door at 4:30 and on the road for two hours. The only downside was that this was going to be a much different opening day than previous years hunts. Unfortunately, Chris's two dogs had to be retired from hunting just prior to the season opener and we were heading afield dogless. We weren't sure what was going to happen. To off set the absence of four legged partners, we changed strategies. We set up pushes with blockers, pinched sections of cover and worked small patches of cover. I filled my three-bird limit shortly after 11:00 am. By the time the day was over, we had 10 roosters to our credit, four sharptailed grouse and half a dozen partridges. Tough Conditions in North Central Saskatchewan!North Central Saskatchewan, October 4, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer DATE: October 4, 2003 LOCATION: North Central Saskatchewan SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:03 A.M./ 6:31 P.M. WEATHER: Clear Skies TEMPERATURE: Low 1 C - High 31 C WIND: Calm - Non-Existent EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Power Hunter, Avery Blind Bag, Avery Floating Gun Case, 12 gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle, Winchester Supreme High Velocity 3 inch and 3 ½ inch steel BB's, Knight & Hale E-caller, 700 Prairie Wind Wind Sock Decoys, 48 full body snows and stuffers, 2 - Mojo Mallards dressed in white and a Cabela's Vortex machine altered to spin a pair of flying wind socks. HUNTERS: Mike Hungle, Pat McKenzie, Jim Jones of Prairie Wind Decoys and Howard Ewart. JOURNAL NOTES: Since there were so many birds in the area we decided the night before to leave our decoys set up and return the next morning. When we got up at 4:30, it was cool and crisp. Unfortunately, the skies were clear and there wasn't a breath of wind. Around sunrise, the snow geese started coming off their roost. They came in large flocks and were sky high. Several groups hovered over our decoys, but for the most part remained out of range. A few groups did work our set and we shot seven snows (four eagle heads) and a beautiful speckle-bellied goose. 125 Geese in North Central Saskatchewan!North Central Saskatchewan, October 3, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer DATE: October 3, 2003 LOCATION: North Central Saskatchewan SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:02 A.M./ 6:33 P.M. WEATHER: Clear Skies TEMPERATURE: Low 3 C - High 31 C WIND: Calm, North West 5 miles per hour. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Power Hunter, Avery Blind Bag, Avery Floating Gun Case, 12 gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle, Winchester Supreme High Velocity 3 inch and 3 ½ inch steel BB's, Knight & Hale E-caller, 700 Prairie Wind Wind Sock Decoys, 48 full body snows and stuffers, 2 - Mojo Mallards dressed in white and a Cabela's Vortex machine altered to spin a pair of flying wind socks. HUNTERS: Mike Hungle, Pat McKenzie, Jim Jones of Prairie Wind Decoys, Jim's friends Howard, Greg and Randy and landowner Dennis. JOURNAL NOTES: We got up at 3:30 and were on the road by 4:15. We arrived at our swathed but uncombined barley field at 5:15. At that point, the work began. Jim started his four-wheeler and hooked up a sled with three large tubs of his windsocks. Within an hour, we set up a long narrow spread that was 30 yards wide and 300 yards long. The full bodies and stuffers were furthest down wind, then came the blinds and wind socks with heads. Further upwind were headless windsocks, with the occasional headed model. A mojo was set up twenty-five yards up and down wind of the blinds. The Vortex machine was deployed 50 yards upwind of the blinds. We were set up and ready to go a few minutes before legal shooting time. Shooting time arrived, but the birds were nowhere to be seen. Normally snow geese are hitting the decoys well before legal light, so I was a little concerned. My concern was short lived as flock after flock of snow geese stormed our set. Our morning hunt lasted a little over an hour. We then took a break, checked out the roost, had lunch and a rest and then returned for the afternoon shoot. The geese co-operated again and the action was non-stop. When the day was done, we had 125 birds on the ground, many of which were mature adults including lots of big old eagle heads. As an added bonus, we got two banded birds. One was a mature snow with a partially worn band. The other was a big old Ross. Partridge Hunting in Southern Saskatchewan!Southern Saskatchewan, September 27, 2003 By Mike Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer DATE: September 27, 2003 LOCATION: South of Regina, Saskatchewan SUNRISE/SUNSET: 6:52 A.M./6:46 P.M. WEATHER: Partially cloudy skies with sunny breaks. TEMPERATURE: Mid 60's WIND: Calm in morning, twenty-five MPH in the afternoon. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery Strap Vest, Avery Floating Gun Case, 12 gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle, Winchester Supreme High Velocity 3 inch # 6 and 7 ½ lead Shot. HUNTERS: Mike Hungle, Kyle Hungle, Pat McKenzie and Chris Martin  JOURNAL NOTES: My son Kyle is seven years old and loves to be outdoors. He has been fishing with me for years and had been on a few hunting/scouting trips in previous seasons. I woke Kyle up at 7:00 and we were out the door by 7:30. (It always amazes me how fast he can get ready when he's excited about going somewhere)It was shortly after 8:30 when we arrived at our hunting spot. We spotted some partridges feeding in an open field. They spotted us and scattered into an old farmyard. We followed up and they flushed into a series of hedgerows. The plan was for Kyle and I to walk one side, while Pat and Chris walked the other side. As Kyle and I walked through the tall grass in the old farmyard, a straggler partridge jumped up in front of us. As it did, Kyle yelled out, "there's one" and I shouldered my shotgun. Seconds later, the bird tumbled to the ground and Kyle started cheering "Way to go Dad!" Even though he was very excited, he asked if it was safe to retrieve the bird and when I gave him the nod, he was gone. We walked several series of hedgerows. The day was full of lots of fun, smiles and flushes. Kyle had a hoot. He laughed, got teased and got in some good jabs of his own. He cheered our shooting successes, (18 partridges and 6 sharp-tailed grouse) jeered our misses and brought a real element of fun to the day. Let me tell you, it was a thrill to get my son afield. We both had a great time, as did Pat and Chris. Kyle was wonderful at listening to instructions, always walked behind me, never bolted in front of the gun, always made sure it was OK to retrieve birds and asked a ton of questions. If you have some kids in your life, get them afield. You'll be glad you did! Greetings from Saskatchewan!Regina, Saskatchewan By Michael Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer  Greetings from Saskatchewan! Hunting season is in full swing, opportunities abound and time is at a premium. Right now, the toughest decision is what species to hunt! There are ducks, geese, upland game birds, elk and archery deer. Very soon muzzleloader season and pheasants will be added to the mix and before I know it, it will be time to go whitetail hunting with the rifle. [FULL STORY]Be Prepared - A Suggested Clothing List For CanadaRegina, Saskatchewan By Michael Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer  I see it all too often. First time waterfowl hunters visiting the Canadian
prairies and discovering that the temperatures are much colder than
anticipated. As they sit shivering between incoming flights of birds, they
chatter, " in the pictures I've seen of Canada, things look so sunny and
warm." Looks can be deceiving. Even though the sun often shines during the
fall and the skies are a nice bright blue color, the temperatures are
usually in the crisp and cool range (if you're lucky) and can often be down
right cold and miserable. [FULL STORY]Cracking Crows:Hunting from a Power Hunter Regina, Saskatchewan By Michael Hungle, Director of Canadian Field Operations Avery® Outdoors, Inc.  My mid summers afternoon daydream of geese coming into the decoys was shattered by the loud ringing of the telephone. I picked up the phone on the second ring and the voice on the other end boomed, "Mike I need your help! The crows in our farmyard are driving us crazy. They fire up at 4:30 - 5:00 o'clock every morning. They're so dang cagey, we've tried everything to get near them and all they do is fly away unharmed, then return later in the day to haunt us with their annoying calls." [FULL STORY]AVERY® SPECIAL REPORT:DUCK NUMBERS EXPECTED TO EXPLODE! Regina, Saskatchewan By Michael Hungle, Director of Canadian Field Operations Avery® Outdoors, Inc.  Good news! From what I am seeing and hearing, the outlook for duck numbers coming off the Canadian and United States prairies this year is not the doom and gloom that frustrated waterfowlers have been anticipating and talking about. After the last couple of years of poor production and the ensuing negativity, I am excited to say that production is a pleasant surprise this year. The high production of ducklings should increase the chances of your duck season and bag limits remaining status quo. [FULL STORY]Greetings from Saskatchewan:Late Season Ice Fishing Regina, Saskatchewan, April 11, 2003 By Michael Hungle, Avery® Pro-Staffer  While many of you are busy chasing wild turkeys, hunting spring snow geese or thinking about getting the boat onto the water for some spring bass fishing, we’re still icefishing here in Saskatchewan. The fishing season runs until the end of March (except for the northern regions, where the season stays open until April 15). Fishing during the last part of the season, represents some of the best ice fishing action for the year. [FULL STORY] |
Links of Interest
for Hunters:
Copyright 1997-2003 Avery® Outdoors, Inc. Memphis TN
Comments? Questions? Contact Avery® Outdoors, Inc.
Comments? Questions? Contact Avery® Outdoors, Inc.