Hunting in Medicine Hat

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Bratwurst

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Lower Mainland
Hi all

I may end up relocating to Medicine Hat

I was wondering if any local hunters would be happy to give me an idea of the lay of the land?

- Is there much crown land?
- How do deer behave there?
- What sort of land do they typically inhabit?

etc etc I've only bee doing this for one season in north BC so a very different hunting climate!

Brat
 
Better pick up bow hunting! All mulie hunting in the area is draw only for rifle and whitetails are November only for rifles. There is no big game hunting on sundays here.

Most land is private though there are some grazing leases. Either way you’ll need to start asking for permission for areas in the summer. Be respectful of their time and decision, never leave it to the last minute. Due to fires a few years ago, expect to walk until there’s snow on the ground.

You’ll find whitetails and mulies on the prairie and mulies in the coulees. As far as moose, elk and antelope, it’s all draw locally and takes quite a few years to get enough points. Around the rivers you have a chance of running into a cougar though there aren’t too many around.
 
Give me a Pm and when you get hear we can meet up and talk. I've lived here my whole life and I can fill you in on the area. Awesome Deer and Elk hunting within a 100km drive in a few directions of the Hat.
 
If you're into fishing there are a couple lakes within an hours drive as well with trophy walleye and pike. The south sask river is also great for sturgeon, biggest I've landed was a 88lb 73" long and 29" girth.
 
Antelope are the local thing, but you'll wait a long time before getting drawn. If you think Hell is hot, Medicine Hat is hotter in the summer. cold and miserable in the winter. :)

Grizz
 
FreedomIsn'tFree said:
Give me a Pm and when you get hear we can meet up and talk. I've lived here my whole life and I can fill you in on the area. Awesome Deer and Elk hunting within a 100km drive in a few directions of the Hat.
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You'd better mention, Elk and Mule Deer are on draw and you need a pretty good priority to get drawn. :(


Grizz
 
coyoteking said:
I did not know that. When I lived in Alberta I hunted a lot in the Vegreville area and I don’t recall Sunday’s being closed. What’s the reasoning for it in the south?
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Stronger religious communities in the south so the reason is Church.

The Hat is very warm in the summers but the rattlesnakes don’t mind.

SCG
 
Chronic Wasting Disease is a issue around Medicine Hat since it is near the Sask-Alta border, so heads have to be sent in for testing. Results come back sometime in Jan.
 
I remember no Sunday hunting as a kid but then it came back in the late 80s and early 90s. I have not looked it up but I assume that was recently reinstated?
 
Sh*t it's a Wednesday to Saturday affair hunting in Medicine Hat.
Good Bow hunting here though...they will pretty much sell you a Bow Ticket for Unicorns and Sasquatch.
Medicine Hat Rifle and Revolver is a great club though.
 
South of Medicine Hat you can rifle hunt mule + whitetail does plus whitetail bucks to your heart's content. On grazing lease land. I shot two muley does and a whitetail buck in three days of hunting. There are more doe tags than applicants. Coulda easily got a whitetail doe but I wanted to focus on getting my wife a whitetail buck. Which she did get.
 
rifleman762 said:
South of Medicine Hat you can rifle hunt mule + whitetail does plus whitetail bucks to your heart's content. On grazing lease land. I shot two muley does and a whitetail buck in three days of hunting. There are more doe tags than applicants. Coulda easily got a whitetail doe but I wanted to focus on getting my wife a whitetail buck. Which she did get.
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I'm confused. Some people are saying youneed to get really lucky on a draw to get a rifle tag and you're saying they can't get rid of them.

What's the deal?
 
Bratwurst said:
I'm confused. Some people are saying youneed to get really lucky on a draw to get a rifle tag and you're saying they can't get rid of them.

What's the deal?
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Mule deer bucks is the deal. Takes a few years to draw a tag. Lots of people just want a huge mule deer buck and that's what they think of when you mention deer hunting :). Whitetail bucks are general tags in most places. Does are draw tags but in the SE corner of AB you can get undersubscribed tags. In 118 and 102, at least, you get two tags with the mule deer doe license and one tag with the whitetail doe license. Not bad for about $20. Then another $40 for general whitetail and you've got 4 deer in the freezer for $80 worth of tags. Works for me.
 
And I think the reasoning behind the Wednesday to Saturday hunting is because it's almost all private and/or lease land. The ranchers get to relax for a few days without hunters all over the place. It can get pretty busy near the roads on Saturdays. I find it also lets the animals relax a bit; I see 3x the deer on a Wednesday as on a Saturday (after they've been spooked from one hiding spot to another for days).
 
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