How things looking for Sask this fall

powdergun

powdergun

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So we had an absolutely brutal winter. Deer numbers were just starting to rebound then the winter from hell hits us. I am curious as to what you guys have been seeing this summer driving around the province.

So far I have been mildly surprised. I travel the number 11 PA to S'toon regularly and seems to be the odd deer running around. Also, seem to be seeing the odd one around the farm on a regular basis.
 
NE sask here
Took a drive Saturday around the farmland, didn’t see a damn thing
Spent 5 hours quadding thru fort la corne Sunday
Barely any deer,moose tracks, caught a few elk tracks down by the river, missus caught a glimpse of a cow elk.
Been 2 weeks since I’ve seen a moose.
Pretty quiet but it’s hot and humid around here
 
I hiked a million miles shed hunting this spring and was shocked by how few winter kill carcasses I found. I thought things would be way worse. Seeing good numbers of deer in my hunting area. I will be putting up cams soon. Hopefully the bucks I'm after survived.
 
North of Stoon here- populations seem on par with or higher than last year. My trail cams suggest things are great- I'd say well over half of the does in my spots have healthy twins at heel, and I've even seen a set of triplets with one. With the extra moisture this year, antler growth is healthy across the board. And for the first time ever I've been seeing elk around here too!

The new trespassing laws may throw a wrench into some folks' hunting though- I think the few places which offer permission to everyone are gonna be real crowded. Hoping to tag out in archery/muzzleloader and avoid getting shot at in the rifle season rodeo again...
 
I was wondering too how the new reg on trespassing is going to turn out. Overcrowded areas are not my thing for sure. Reminds me of the old days when they had a three day mule deer season. One thing I did notice is that the season looks longer which is a good thing. Last few years it was two weeks around here.

May have to stick to a couple of small properties I have permission on and play the waiting game. Crown land is going to be a zoo as always.

Perhaps some of the PFRA public pastures might be worth looking into.
 
powdergun said:
I was wondering too how the new reg on trespassing is going to turn out. Overcrowded areas are not my thing for sure. Reminds me of the old days when they had a three day mule deer season. One thing I did notice is that the season looks longer which is a good thing. Last few years it was two weeks around here.

May have to stick to a couple of small properties I have permission on and play the waiting game. Crown land is going to be a zoo as always.

Perhaps some of the PFRA public pastures might be worth looking into.
Click to expand...

Most of the city hunters I know are planning to head for community pastures- I fear that the PFRA's are going to be an absolute warzone. I suspect most farmers are going to get sick of being asked, and either post their land with "just hunt and don't bother me" signs, or else shut down hunting altogether.

Sadly I'm too close to the city already, even in previous years it's been like a shooting gallery on opening day. I can't imagine it being better now.
 
I am hoping like you to tag out with the muzzle loader. As for archery bad shoulders put an end to that sadly. Might have to see what the crossbow zone around PA has to offer.
 
I gave up hunting the farmland years ago. It's an absolute gong show most of the time. Wildlife lands and community pastures are usually ok as long as you hike off the trails a wee bit. Most people around here are truck hunters and don't venture more than a few feet from them ever. The big bush I hunt is void of human tracks for miles.
 
I found 4 winter kill deer. The elk and moose r all over. Some pretty big mule deer bucks on the way to work every morning. About average for out here. Bear numbers have increased again and wild boar decreased. No cougar sightings for a while but there's a lot of wolf sign not far from the house.
 
Lots of mulies SE of Lloyd in the Marsden area and lots of Moose too. Pronghorn numbers are way up from a few years ago too and seeing them as far north as Maidstone and between Luseland and Macklin Haven't seen them that far north in about 5 years or more.
 
Between Melville and the valley. Think wt numbers are normal, haven't seen a moose in 2 years. Saw 3 young bull elk about a month ago couple mi nw of me, but am coming to the conclusion the only time we see elk is when the off season pressure get's to great, then they change addresses and we see them for a couple days. See elk here at most once/yr.
Gradually seeing more mule deer, not here but S and NE about 15 mi.
 
This was one of the "winter" kills I found this spring. I doubt it was the winter so much that killed this old girl....
huZE9B.jpg
 
Hi guys I'm heading up to zone 62 just north of love and nipawin this year for whitetails how's the population there? And would it be better to hunt bordering the farmlands or to go deep into the bush to set up baits?
Thank you,
Elmer
 
Your best bet for a bait is private land. There's whitetail literally everywhere throughout the province. When you get up to the big bush you are possibly competing with outfitters. I would personally prefer a deer bait near mixed farmland than in the bush.
 
Hey Elmer, that area is familiar to me. Last winter was beyond brutal here but surprisingly there is a huntable deer population remaining.
The bigger issue is going to be getting landowner permission unless you’ve had it entrenched for years. New trespass laws have made it worse as the land owners who were indifferent now say yes to the first ask and no to everyone else.
I travel south for better deer hunting fwiw.
 
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Thanks guys for replying, yes I was hunting in zone 50 last year and the snow was brutal in some of farmlands we've been hunting at.
I got permission this year with a new land owner, and his quarters border 62 so I will be setting up baits on the border of his lands and 62. As far as outfitters (theres 4 in that area) that's what I explained to the land owner , that I didn't want to get into headaches with them lol.
Im staying in whitefox so its only a 20 min drive which is great for us.
And I can't wait to get there again this year as it's my 3rd year in a row I've been picked, been really lucky with the canadian resident draw, hope it continues this way.
Anyways good luck guys with your hunts this year!

Elmer
 
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