I hunted Saskatchewan in 2022 with Buck Country Outfitters in Goodsoil SK, they are a very good outfitter and have a really nice lodge set up. My one hesitation with Saskatchewan was the hunt just seemed too easy to me and I got my buck on the first morning of the hunt and then left camp early to head home although I could have stayed all week if I wanted to hang around. They usually have 6-8 hunters per week and although I didn't know anyone else they were all nice folks. The hunting in Saskatchewan is by using a baited blind setup. They run a large number of blinds all season and have game cameras up to monitor the bucks coming into the setup. They will put you in a blind with good bucks frequenting the area and give you an idea of ones to watch for during the week. They will put out peas / oats and some hay at the blind and refresh it as necessary, if you aren't getting the expected bucks coming in they will switch you to another blind if you want. The north woods up there are so thick that about the only way to see deer consistently is by baiting which is legal in Saskatchewan. While I got my buck on day one I heard that some of the others didn't get there buck until much later in the week. They have some big deer, check out their website and instagram page for lots of big deer pics.
Here is a pic of the buck I took in 2022, he scored just under 150". He is a 6x6 and very heavy horned but when you see him straight on he is narrow and not beyond his ears. If he was wider and main beams then a little longer he would have scored above 160", nice buck though and I was happy to get him, he was the target buck they had on camera and another hunter had sat in the same blind the week before and never saw him so when he came in first morning around noon I didn't hesitate. His body was massive, estimated at over 300 lbs. When we had the carcass hanging after removing head, hide, legs etc the carcass still weighed 215 lbs.
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Regarding Alberta, I just did a whitetail hunt there this year on Nov 8-14th with Scott Carter of Carter Outfitting. This is a hunt I bought at an Eastern Chapter of Wild Sheep Foundation banquet. I researched the outfitter online before bidding and got the hunt for a decent price so figured why not give it a try. After Saskatchewan I wanted to hunt Alberta since baiting isn't allowed in Alberta and it is more of a traditional hunt like I grew up doing in blinds and tree stands over ag fields and timbered areas.
Bottom line is I came home empty handed from Alberta and never fired a shot for a number of factors. I had numerous bucks I could have taken but I told myself going in that I would not shoot anything under 160+" and just never got that opportunity. Lots of bucks in the 100-120" class but I can shoot them all day long out of my yard here in MT and didn't go to Alberta for a 2-3 year old deer. The biggest issue we faced was that it was just too warm for November and the rut was slow in starting so the bigger bucks were nocturnal and just not moving around yet chasing does. I had one other hunter in camp with me and he shot a buck about 140-145" on the last evening of the hunt 20 minutes before dark. It was the biggest buck he had seen all week as well. We sat in ground blinds 10 hours a day for 7 straight days and saw lots of deer, just not the one. Carter Outfitting is primarily a bighorn sheep operation and he does some hunts for whitetail at his home base, I think most of them are auctioon hunt donations he does with SCI, DSC, WSF etc. I saw he has a deer hunt in the DSC Wednesday auction this coming year in Atlanta. There were 3 more hunters coming in the week after I was there and it looked like the rut was just starting to kick off when my week was done so not sure how the others did that followed. The outfitter seemed to feel bad that I didn't get a shot at anything and offered to have me come back up over Thanksgiving week to hunt more but I had family commitments. I was OK with not taking anything since I'm headed to Iowa for late season muzzleloader in a couple of weeks and hope to have a shot there at a big one.
I guess I would say I'm neutral on Carter Outfitting in Alberta, they have some good property and there were lots of deer around just not the one I wanted to see during my time there. The outfitters communication prior to the hunt was horrible and it took me a long time to get in touch with him to schedule a date and get information later on. It seemed like a pretty easy gig for the outfitter, all he did was take us out to a blind before sunrise and then come get us after dark. Food was good all week. I may give Alberta another try in the future but may look for another outfit.
@Scott CWO and I have been trading PMs about my hunt as he had been watching some of Carter Outfittings auction hunt offerings so he may have more to comment.
Pat
