- Medalist Anchorage Bibs and Coat
- Medalist Heavyweight Base Layers
- LaCrosse Alph Brown Iceman Pac Boots
- Toe Warmers, Foot Warmers and Hand Warmers (Lots and Lots)
- Parker Hale 30-06 Rifle
My dad and I preparing to sight in his gun after the long flight.
As I get older, I find myself becoming more philosophical, where it isn't all about me killing a deer, or catching a fish, but more about the memory that you take with you. In today's world we are so rushed with so many things in life, that at some point, you have to slow down and make memories happen. When I say make memories happen, I mean literally put yourself in a position to experience events that you want to remember for the rest of your life. Whether it is taking your kids fishing, spending a day in a blind with a handicap child, or taking your wife hunting for the first time, all I can say is, make it happen. I know that most of the memories I want to have don't even include me with a gun on my back or a fishing pole in my hand, but more importantly, seeing the ones I love have success in the field.
Interior View of the Lodge
I have been blessed that the Sportsmen Portal is doing well, which offers me the opportunity to hunt in some fantastic places across the US and Canada. Recently, I was presented with the chance to go hunt with Percival McKinnon Alberta Whitetail Outfitters near Edmonton, Canada. This is a world class whitetail hunting operation with 150 inch minimums and 160 plus deer are common.
The Lodge Fireplace
Growing up in a family of modest means and by all accounts a very modest man, my father, would never consider lavishly spending thousands of dollars on himself to go hunting. So he has hunted in PA his entire life, shooting a few nice bucks over the years, but never experiencing an out of state hunt. My father also served his country in Vietnam and now suffers from a rare condition called Neuropathy, which they believe stems from his exposure to Agent Orange. This disease affects the fine motor skills, ability to walk and other nervous system conditions. Each year I watch it get a little harder for Dad to do certain things and I know the days of him being able to go on a trip like this with very cold hunting conditions are numbered.
Dad eating some grub on the first day of the hunt
So when I was presented with this opportunity, it was a no brainier, I asked Dad if he would like to go. Even though I had a tag also, I would sit with him in the stand until he shot his deer. I didn't just want to go and stay in the same lodge and then go our separate ways to different stands but I wanted to experience the entire event and hopefully be there when he laid his hands on his own giant Alberta whitetail.
It was interesting at hunting camp, like most camps, it usually takes a while for guys to get to know each other and warm up and I think it was hard for a lot of guys to understand, why I wasn't hunting too, but by the end of the week, I think they all got it. This wasn't a trip about me laying my hands on my buck of a lifetime, or the real possibility of me shooting a world class whitetail, this trip was all about the memories that I wanted to take back. There wasn't a guy in camp that wasn't cheering for dad everyday to get his buck of a lifetime.
This was the first big buck we had an encounter with on the first day by 9:30 am. Sorry for the quality of the photo but it was taken with actual video footage and this guy is at 350 yards.
So on the first day of the hunt, our guide Riley Hunter, went out of his way to set up a double tripod stand with a great view. You know with a name like Riley Hunter as a guide, he must know what he is doing! One thing about hunting Alberta is, you usually have about 4 seconds to make up your mind if you are going to shoot or not. The main method of hunting is setting up stands on clear cuts that may only be 40 or 50 yards across to the next woodline. Riley did a good job scouting out a stand that gave us good visibility, maybe too much visibility.
We were perched high on a hilltop and could see for at least 700 yards. Riley explained that there was a very good trail about 70 yards in front of us. As luck would have it, we had three moose come right down the path he was talking about at 9:00 on the first day. We saw our first small buck chasing a doe at approximately 9:15 and then at 9:30 am the bruiser stepped out at 350 yards.
I was running a camera and it was difficult to see in my little viewfinder, but even at 350 yards, I was able to say "Dad, that is a good buck!" Unfortunately when I stopped him in the clearing, he was behind a tree from dad's viewpoint and we had to wait. I stopped him again, and of course he was directly behind a tree again. I was able to stop him a third time and dad fired.
The buck made a movement like he had been fatally hit. After reviewing the footage, the buck reacted like he was hit in the front shoulder, so I told dad to wait in the stand and I went to see if I could find any blood. After searching for about half an hour I was finally able to locate two pindrops of blood. I knew this wasn't good, but I was hopeful that we could recover this giant. I have been on tracks before, where very little blood didn't necessarily mean it wasn't a good hit.
I immediately backed out and called our guide Riley. He and Don Ott, fellow field staffer, came in and looked at the footage on the small viewfinder and thought the same thing that I did, that it reacted like it was hit in the front shoulder. We loaded up the quad and made the trek down to where I had found blood. We tracked the deer for approximately 300 yards and found a total of 15 pindrops of blood. He never laid down or even slowed down the entire 300 yards. We knew that this deer wasn't fatally shot and were anxious to review the footage on the big screen.
After reviewing the footage, we could see that the bullet had shrapneled and hit him in his back right leg. It was a long shot and there was some brush in front of the buck. It is really hard to tell for sure, but after watching the footage we don't think this buck was hurt at all, I think we just made him mad. I know dad was upset and really questioning himself, but I have seen him make that shot many times. When you miss one like that, you just have to move on, we have all been there and it is tough. That being said, I am sure it didn't make it any easier for him to sleep that night.
Giant Alberta Wolf taken by a hunter from Louisiana the first night
I would be remiss if I didn't mention this wolf that was hanging when we got back from the first day's hunt. This really made me reconsider some earlier decisions I had made that day. We listened to wolves howling all day and we often commented on how cool it was to be sitting there listening to something that we had never heard before. When the hunt was over, our guide came in to pick up dad first, so I said that I would just start walking to save some time off the second trip back in. Riley agreed and I started hoofing it, not thinking anything about it. All went well and about 30 minutes later Riley was back in to pick me up. Well let me tell you when I saw this massive wolf hanging in camp, I told Riley that I would no longer be leaving my stand at any point and time, much less walking in the dark!
This giant as taken by Scott from Pennsylvania on the second night. He was a giant and his body was absolutely massive!
Like I said to dad that day in the stand, even if we don't see another deer the entire trip, the outfitter did their job and put us on a shooter buck the first day. That being said, we were both very hopeful to get another crack! We saw several bucks the next two days but no shooters.
Two more unlucky wolves taken the same day
I have to mention that dad was an absolute trooper the entire trip. These hunts are not easy, as you sit from dark to dark on a tripod stand completely exposed to the elements. We had a day of 25 mile hour winds directly in our face the entire day, a day of -1 degrees and dad never once complained and never once whined. Not that I expected him to, he has always been one of the toughest guys I know. I am not real sure what happened to me, because I am not near as tough as dad, I whined all day.
Three more giants taken by Pete from New Jersey, Keith from New Jersey and Scott from PA
Action was relatively uneventful until the 4th day, when Riley put us in a new stand that Don and he had scouted out the previous day. We were in our stand until about 10 am and saw a couple of deer, when Riley called me and said we are moving you guys. I said, "What?". Riley explained that they had seen this shooter buck in the same area for the last two days so they were moving us. I said, "Ok, you are the guide." Riley explained when hunting in Canada that these big bucks have a core area, and the fact that they saw this buck in the same place the last two days so he was obviously hanging around this area.
This giant came barreling out of the woods chasing these does
We were up and settled in the new stand by about 11:30 am and not five minutes after Riley left we had deer moving. Seemed like we were seeing deer the rest of the afternoon when around 3:30 pm we saw three does come barreling out of the woods and looking behind them. We just knew there was a good buck coming. Sure enough this giant 12 point comes out chasing these three does. We knew that this must be the buck that Riley was talking about.
Very nice 12 point with a massive body.
He was chasing the does right down a powerline towards us. I was talking to dad the whole time asking him if this was the buck he wanted and he emphatically said , "Yes!" They were out in the open and we had ranged all the distance to the power lines so we knew that his buck was now at 250 to 270 yards away. He came and stood perfectly broadside and I said to Dad, "Whenever you are ready, just take your time." Now again, 250 yards is a poke, but it is a shot that I am 100% confident and seen dad make many times.
Wouldn't mind running into this guy next year!
He told me he was going to shoot and I could barely stand the wait, it seemed like an eternity. He pulled the trigger and I could see that the bullet went right over his back. The buck would have stayed there, because he either didn't know what just happened or he didn't care, but the does took off and he was right behind them with his nose to the ground and dad made the right choice of not shooting at this giant while he was moving. I was very proud of him for holding off and not shooting while he was moving.
I know Dad was very discouraged and I asked him what happened and the jist of the story is, he was thinking about his miss at 350 yards when the shot was low, so he aimed over the deer's back. It is a shame, but any one can see how hunting giants like these can get into your head.
I would have given anything to walk down with my dad and watch him light up when he put his hands on this giant, but it just wasn't meant to be. I wouldn't trade my week with dad in Alberta for anything in the world. We spent time just talking, reminiscing and just enjoying each other. Sure, I could have split up, had Don, our other cameraman go film dad and I could have filmed myself and we would have doubled our chances, but that wasn't what it was about. I wanted to spend the week with my dad in a place where neither of us had ever been and make memories that will last me a lifetime.
The entire crew, Don Ott, Me,Carl Say (Dad), and Riley Hunter
I think it was summed up best on the way home from the airport when Dad looked at me and said, "I want to thank you Jason for taking me on that trip" and I said, "No Dad, I want to thank you for taking me hunting when I was a little boy." I think we all know that we could give our parents millions of dollars, but that still won't compare with what they did when they introduced us to the outdoors.
You probably read that this entire hunt was filmed with great footage and you will all be able to see it soon. We have a big announcement coming up this year so stay tuned.
Thank you for reading and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
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