Mule Deer bliss

Well, we made our annual trip down to southern Alberta this past November to endeavor on our Mule deer hunt. Historically we've always done it in the early season - September and October so that we could target other non-game species. This year mother nature and other family priorities pushed our trip further into November, which we later realized was a blessing in disguise.

We've always pulled a holiday trailer down with us to set up camp in one of our landowners farm yard, something that we really enjoy doing. But this year one of our landowners opened their doors and hosted myself and Callum in their warm and cozy home. What wonderful hospitality from some southern Albertans.

As with any trip usually our first day consists of heading out to our areas where we've hunted and had success in the past, and this year it was no different. The majority of our deer were right in the same spot where we left off the previous November in 2021. A game plan was formulated, and at the end of the day before heading home we had our locations and deer picked out. The following morning came and we were excited to get into it. We arrived at our first location where Callum had seen a couple of bucks bedded with some does, it was cold near -30 below. There were deer bedded in the same area and a buck was there. Callum had harvested his first buck here about 1/4 mile away last year and he was ready to do it a 2nd time. We parked around the corner in a low spot, suited up and snuck in to take a shot. Low and behold my shooter forgot his gloves and so was about to be reminded how cold a -30 wind can be. We crawled over a 20 foot mound with the wind in our face to get a peek of his target. As we got to the top, we peered over inches to see the buck was still laying amongst some of the does. Callum readied himself, placed the rifle on the shooting stick, and placed his shot perfectly to take his 2022 Mule deer buck. By now, his hands were completely froze and another lesson just learned. He was super stoked and I was a proud dad, he just did it and I watched it all from the back. Now the work was to begin, and in a hurriedly fashion so as to not freeze we were loaded and cleaned up in no time. Later that afternoon we began to make a game plan to collect a couple or a few antlerless Mule deer. The following day I followed and watched Callum put a sneak on his two does to make two good shots. An amazing and successful trip with more memories for both of us.

Photo: Callum on day 3 bearing the cold after successfully placing the cross hairs on his 2nd antlerless Mule Deer.