Saskatchewan Live Hunt 2022
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Pat Lefemine
17-Oct-22
Pat Lefemine's Link
The other thread was from my 2021 hunt, this one is for 2022. We just posted day 1 and will be hunting through Saturday.
From: Zbone
18-Oct-22
Good Luck
From: Charlie Rehor
18-Oct-22
Good luck and say hello to Rob and Kent.
From: Nick Muche
18-Oct-22
Good luck Pat!!
From: Bowboy
18-Oct-22
Get a big one Pat’
From: bigbuck
18-Oct-22
Good Luck!!! Looking forward to updates!!!!
From: Bowfinatic
18-Oct-22
Always enjoy these update!
From: spike78
18-Oct-22
Pat are you still using the Slick Tricks?
From: njbuck
18-Oct-22
Good luck Pat. Any good ones showing on the cams?
From: BC
18-Oct-22
Go get em Pat. Keep us posted. And yes, what about those Slick Tricks?
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
18-Oct-22
Good luck pat! Can’t wait to follow along….is Kansas in the works again this year?
From: 12yards
18-Oct-22
Put a leak in a big one!
From: APauls
18-Oct-22
Good luck Pat! Are you getting the same cold we are getting a couple hours east? -10 in the mornings?
From: TMac
18-Oct-22
I always enjoy following this hunt. Good luck!
From: stealthycat
18-Oct-22
why use hay vs corn ??
just curious
From: Shug
18-Oct-22
Catch a big one
From: GhostBird
18-Oct-22
Good luck Pat... hope you let the air out of a stud.
From: Guardian hunter
18-Oct-22
Now that the vax requirement is dropped was it easy to enter Canada
From: Bou'bound
18-Oct-22
It was easy with the prior process once the test requirement to enter and exit ended earlier this spring. Last fall was a pain. This year simple
From: CTBobcat
18-Oct-22
Can I come shoot that 110"? Thanks.
From: JL
18-Oct-22
Kinda quiet....should be seeing a Pat post soon???
From: Bowhunter59
18-Oct-22
We are all looking forward to your hunt! Shoot straight.#——>
From: WhattheFOC
18-Oct-22
Shoulda shot that buck. I bet he’d go 160.
From: wildwilderness
19-Oct-22
Need to have rubber blunts to shoot the bears!!
From: Grunter
19-Oct-22
Good luck on seeing some big ones. Think I'd find a fresh stand after the bear encounter. No bear tags up there?
From: Bou'bound
19-Oct-22
Was not sure if you’d use bait on the edge of a wheat field but you answered that. Baits make things interesting as there is always something dropping by for a look-see.
From: Bou'bound
19-Oct-22
It was easy with the prior process once the test requirement ended earlier this year
From: Zbone
19-Oct-22
What, no bear tag??? I'm not into bear hunting nor know their open seasons, but that's a pretty chocolate and if in season would be looking for a place to buy a tag, especially with a cool story like that behind it...
From: Pat Lefemine
19-Oct-22
Bear season is over and Rob used all his bear tag allotment already. Too bad!
From: t-roy
19-Oct-22
What are your actual hunting dates for this year’s hunt? We just had a big blast of arctic air in a big portion of the Midwest and eastern US come through yesterday. Surprising that it’s still warm for you guys.
From: Bowboy
19-Oct-22
Yeah it’s been unseasonably warm here in WY. Looked at the weather and it’s suppose to cool down next week. Hope you get some cooler temps!
From: Rut Nut
19-Oct-22
Just curious what you consider “hot” up there? 40’s? 50’s?
From: Grey Ghost
19-Oct-22
So, if the bears are hitting the bait piles and spooking off the deer, has any consideration been given to hunting non-baited locations like travel corridors, pinch points, natural food sources, etc...?
Matt
From: Ambush
19-Oct-22
If you can imagine a 300 pound racoon, then you know what a problem bears are. Electricity is about the only non-lethal method that deters them and it works VERY well.
From: Fuzz
19-Oct-22
Offer the bear a blunt....(tip) in the rump
From: Bigfoot
19-Oct-22
Years ago, when we as Albertans could bowhunt in northern Sask without being drawn, my buddy Keith and I had the same problem. It was October and the bears were active. They were eating canola seed that had dropped in the fields or in some of the swaths still out. We saw them constantly. We did find a few good deer and put up some cameras to help understand their patterns. One day we walked in to check one and heard a high pitched noise as we got close. The whine got louder the closer we got and we realized it was the dying screams of a half eaten trail camera. Wasn't my camera, so I thought it was funny - Keith didn't! Day later, set up for the evening, a big brown phase bear walked up under my treestand and decided to take a nap under me...I could have jumped on him. Ticked me off as I spotted a good buck coming my way right then, but the bear showing up nudged him away. I didn't have a bear tag so shot a judo point 3 feet in front of his face to spook him, but he barely flinched. Had to get out of my stand and put the run on him from 10 feet. Even with me doing that, he really wasn't spooked, just annoyed. Keith bought a bear tag and shot him a few days later and it is still his biggest bear. Retrieving him after dark, in the back end of a field, we left the tailgate down as we took a sled in to skid him out of the timber. Came back and a different bear had climbed into the back and strewn our stuff all over! Took some time, searching in the dark with flashlights, to find it all.
Couple of days before the end of the trip Keith took a deer, so he continued to scout while I hunted. One evening he spotted a really big bear in the back end of a canola field - as it turned out, the same field that I shot a buck in that same evening, but at the opposite end. Another friend of ours had once described a big bear as looking like they were wearing two pairs of pants. This one was so big Keith called him four pants. Biggest bear he has ever seen. I bought a bear tag for the last evening and we set up for four pants. We had deer all around us that afternoon, but no sign of four pants. Having that many bears active on a deer hunt definitely made it harder to hunt deer, but it did make for a very memorable trip.
From: Blood
19-Oct-22
GG, that’s blasphemy. You’ll get booted off Bowsite for suggesting such a thing!!
From: Grey Ghost
19-Oct-22
"Ghost. Cmon. Kansas. Sask. Ohio. Seems like Bait is the only way.."
I guess if you live by the bait, you can also die by the bait. I'd sure be looking for alternative methods, if I were in Pat's shoes.
Matt
From: WhattheFOC
19-Oct-22
Any of you ever hunted on a game trail in northern sk? I have. Much different hunt - possibly days between deer sightings. Deer density isn’t the same as you might be used to in the lower 48. We have big deer, but not a lot of deer. I realize that baiting is a sensitive subject - Im not promoting one way or the other - just stating fact.
I’d be willing to bet that Nye is using grain in with the hay. Peas are a better choice especially when the bears are still awake.
From: Bowhunter59
19-Oct-22
We are all looking forward to your hunt! Shoot straight.#——>
From: Bowhunter59
19-Oct-22
Sounds Frustrating How many different stands does he have ?hopefully a lot to try to stay a step ahead of those bears! Keep the Faith where all pulling for you!
From: JL
19-Oct-22
Bait piles, bait plots, bait fields, oak flats or any other food source.....the deer will eventually show up to all of them. We're all hunting over or around them for same intent....hopefully seeing and shooting deer. There's nothing wrong with any legal method.
From: deerhunter72
19-Oct-22
Legal is legal, even if some don't like it. Too bad they can't shoot some bears up there.
From: Mad Trapper
19-Oct-22
I think that Rob has been doing this long enough to know what works best. Don't guide the guide/outfitter. Good luck guys!
From: Bowboy
19-Oct-22
You got any pictures of your buddy Matt’s buck you can post?
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
19-Oct-22
If some of you guys hate Bowsite and pats hunts so much you don’t have to sign on and complain like little girls. Jeeze. Reminds me of when I had social media. Exactly why I got rid of it all. Constant b*tching and complaining
From: rattling_junkie
19-Oct-22
That's wild the weather has been warm for you in Saskatchewan. Here in southern Manitoba it's been quite cool.
From: Bou'bound
20-Oct-22
Surprised the bear came back to the bait the second day you hunted it after having spent so much time there the day before.
From: Pat Lefemine
20-Oct-22
It’s been 65 degrees the last two afternoons. The group next week is going to hit it perfect. The day we leave will be 14 degrees. Doesn’t get above 40 for the high all next week.
That’s why we all need to drive electric vehicles. First thing I’m doing when I get home is sell my F350 diesel. I have to do my part so I never have another 65 degree Saskatchewan hunt ever again. Hopefully they make an EV pickup that can tow my excavator?
From: drycreek
20-Oct-22
Pat, you are losing your mind ! Charging bears, selling your F350, not hunting like GG wants you to, buying a heavy duty Tesla and an electric Tonka excavator………….:-)
From: t-roy
20-Oct-22
Did you explain to the bear how you deal with black mambas and charging grizzlies, and that it would be in his best interest to leave?
From: rattling_junkie
20-Oct-22
dry Creek...that was funny!
From: Mad Trapper
20-Oct-22
Pat I will make you a good deal on your tractors. I don't give a damn about the environment! ;^)
From: bigeasygator
20-Oct-22
Just curious what you consider “hot” up there? 40’s? 50’s?
For a little more context on the warm weather, my moose hunt took place essentially on the border of BC and the Yukon during the first week or so of October. We only had temps below freezing one morning, and it more or less warmed up to 55-60 degrees every day. The year before when Shug hunted the same camp on the same dates, I think the highs were in the 20s. Been a weird, warm fall season for a lot of continent.
From: KHNC
20-Oct-22
As usual , Ol Matt knows how to do it better. You would think he has multiple walls full of booners and has literally hunted EVERYWHERE there is. And thats on top of being an investment wizard, financial adviser, farmer and overall expert at everything. We can only aspire to be as good as GG.
From: WhattheFOC
20-Oct-22
I had bear move in on one of my baits last year. It was a write off. Had two decent bucks coming- but they vanished. Boo-boo spent 12 hours a day there and created a “no deer zone”. First time ever I’ve had this happen - must be global warming. I’m not using any grain this year - alfalfa with a sprinkle of peas. (Not) Sorry GG. Seems to be working - bears have checked out my baits but haven’t moved in.
From: Grey Ghost
20-Oct-22
Good grief. While it's no secret that I'm not a fan of baiting, I was very careful not to express that opinion on this thread. I simply suggested the obvious. If bears were ruining my deer hunt because they were coming to my bait piles, then I'd re-think my strategy. I certainly wouldn't continue hunting the same stand, hoping for a different result, especially since this bear clearly has a pattern of behavior.
But, as usual, whenever someone expresses anything but praise for one of Pat's hunts, he gets hammered by the fan boys. That's fine, too. I have thick skin.
Matt
From: Rut Nut
20-Oct-22
Wow! 65* in northern Sask?! I thought 60’s in Northern Pa was bad!
Pat- I hope you have your video camera on and pointed in your direction when you’re trying to run the bears off..................that way it will get good footage of you wrestling with one of them next time! ;-)
From: Pat Lefemine
20-Oct-22
Guys, I don’t mind that question from GG, it’s a fair one . I actually thought about it myself.
I’m in Matt’s stand now since he tagged out. Had a really good 10 here two weeks ago but he’s vanished. They’re not moving in this heat much but it’s a little overcast so hoping for the best.
From: Ambush
20-Oct-22
^^^^ "Pat- I hope you have your video camera on and pointed in your direction when you’re trying to run the bears off..................that way it will get good footage of you wrestling with one of them next time! ;-)"
Just remember bears ain't turkeys. Whole different ground game and eye gouging is a legit tactic. ;-)
But I would advise stripping of a couple thousand bucks worth of Sitka first.
From: Bou'bound
20-Oct-22
This thing is far from over. Only halfway done. The deer are in the woods. You are in the woods. You’ll meet up. Be ready. It will happen
From: APauls
20-Oct-22
Whatthefoc - I do find it humorous that you ask about hunting game trails in Northern Sask and how difficult that would be. Here in Manitoba our landscape is only MORE timbered than Sask. We have less deer, smaller deer, and no baiting. But we've got to find a way to get it done ;)
From: WhattheFOC
20-Oct-22
APauls - I find it humourous that you find it humourous.
I’m not ‘asking about hunting game trails in northern sk’. I live in northern SK - I hunt deer over bait and I also hunt them without. Ive Killed both ways and I have no emotional connection to either. My statement was meant for those who would question why Pat is hunting over bait - without fully understanding what the alternative is - that’s all. As we both know, deer densities in the boreal forest can make for some uneventful sits.
From: Pat Lefemine
20-Oct-22
I really can’t imagine bowhunting here without bait. There’s no pinch points, millions of acres of bush, thousands of acre’s of Ag fields everywhere.
I’m sure it’s possible but imagine you could sit an entire week and never see a doe.
In Kansas, I think it is possible to be a successful nonresident bowhunter without bait, but not here. If they outlawed baiting in Kansas I’d still go there every year, but I wouldn’t deer hunt Saskatchewan. Exercise in futility.
My 2c
From: Ambush
20-Oct-22
It's funny; in BC you can bait ungulates but not bears, in Alberta you can bait bears but not ungulates and in Sask you can bait both. And I'm sure they all figure they're doing it right.
Pat, if its the same bear and you want to sit that stand, I'd get real close and spray him. Or get Rob to borrow a taser from a local Mountie.
From: rattling_junkie
20-Oct-22
It's definitely possible to kill one in bigwoods without bait. I've only done it once, so who knows how often? Though I'd love to hunt Sask and over bait for the pure enjoyment of it. Good luck the rest of the week.
From: JL
20-Oct-22
FWIW..... I just rolled into Southeast Montana and it's 81°, hot, dry and windy.
From: Thornton
20-Oct-22
It is possible to be successful in KS without bait. We did it for decades before feeders and box stands showed up. Everyone I knew that hunted in the 70's and 80's with a recurve had at least one booner on the wall.
From: APauls
20-Oct-22
No disrespect intended WhattheFOC. It’s just those harsh conditions are what we deal with every day. I love reading articles about how to hunt deer. “Funnels, ridges, saddles, none of that stuff exists here. Just big bush and big fields if you’re lucky.
From: Grey Ghost
20-Oct-22
I have no experience with hunting whitetails in Sask, so take my questions with a grain of salt. Pat's pics look similar to many properties I've hunted in the lower 48...big timber on the edge of ag fields, What makes it so different that it requires bait to be successful? Is it just low deer densities, or....?
Matt
From: Bowboy
20-Oct-22
Pat your buddy’ Matt buck is very nice congrats to him!
From: Thornton
21-Oct-22
It is different up there. I hunted Manitoba and it had very few deer per square mile, with thousands of acres of poplar forest next to huge ag fields.
From: BC
21-Oct-22
Not to change the subject but what broadhead did you go with? I remember you had a bad batch of Slick Tricks last year.
From: Ambush
21-Oct-22
^^^^ "Tough hunting isn’t for everyone. Some people just aren’t cut out for it. Snowflakes aren’t always falling from the clouds"
Start a new thread with some of your "tough hunts"
From: WhattheFOC
21-Oct-22
Sometimes snowflakes are sitting dawn til dusk in a tree at -10F. Tough hunting comes in different flavours.
From: Bou'bound
21-Oct-22
Surprised the bear came back to the bait the second day you hunted it after having spent so much time there the day before.
From: bigswivle
21-Oct-22
WhattheFOC. Try and stay on topic, don’t go off the rails..
The topic is Pats deer hunt, you guys took it off the rails. Why can’t you just not post in the thread? Move on to something else
From: RK
21-Oct-22
None of it is that tough. Just long
From: Paul@thefort
21-Oct-22
Entertaining for sure. Pat the bear-buster. "Bear" with it.
From: WhattheFOC
22-Oct-22
NE wind tomorrow. With an 80% chance of bears :)
From: Bou'bound
22-Oct-22
Can’t fight nature it wins every time. Great attitude. Weird trip and situation. Get one the last day and enjoy it.
From: Guardian hunter
22-Oct-22
Pat, I just read day 5 post. I must say that I like the way you talk. In regards to the food you commented that your eating discipline has gone to s***. Made me smile. My wife looks at me funny when I talk like that. No wokeness there. Thanks, G
From: Bou'bound
22-Oct-22
Can’t fight nature it wins every time. Great attitude. Weird trip and situation. Get one the last day and enjoy it.
From: drycreek
22-Oct-22
Pat, you just ignited the “void” thread again ! Hit him above the lungs……
Hate you didn’t get a good shot at that buck.
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
22-Oct-22
Am I missing something drycreek? Haven’t seen anything about pat shooting…
From: Treefarm
23-Oct-22
Pat, is there ever issues with wolves in the area. I am assume the wolf population is controlled through trapping in Rob’s area.
Here in WI, wolves have really expanded and the deer have had a difficult time adjusting. Mature bucks are the first to stop and try to fight, but weakened from rut, they perish. Areas I used to do well in are devoid of deer and the deer population is far below carrying capacity. Until the Great Lake States are allowed to manage the wolf resource, deer populations will be challenging to locate.
From: Bou'bound
23-Oct-22
Worked hard on a great area. Hunting is not a video game where we are guaranteed action. It is real and raw and nature driven. You could not have done more.
Would you go back later in the future?
Kansas next?
From: standswittaknife
23-Oct-22
C
From: Grey Ghost
23-Oct-22
Pat, 66 hours in the stand in 6 days is a admirable feat in itself. I could never do it. Heck I can't do a single full day sit. Kudos for your effort.
Matt
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
23-Oct-22
GG x2. 66 hours is a lot
From: standswittaknife
23-Oct-22
Curious if Murray was still helping? Thoroughly enjoyed him last year. I had a blast with Rob and his outfit. Wished I could go back annually.
From: Paul@thefort
23-Oct-22
Final. Pat, good attitude for sure.
From: Steve Leffler
23-Oct-22
I always enjoy following Pat’s hunts as they are real. All of us who have hunted for a while have had tough hunts. Weather, conditions, travel, less than perfect shots, general screw ups, all happen on real hunts. Thank you for sharing the reality of hunting.
From: JL
23-Oct-22
How many deer stands does he run up there?
From: Ambush
23-Oct-22
Too bad. A bear dragging the buck off could have added a real twist to the Blood Trail Challenge.
From: Bou'bound
23-Oct-22
Worked hard on a great area. Hunting is not a video game where we are guaranteed action. It is real and raw and nature driven. You could not have done more. Kansas next?
From: Thornton
23-Oct-22
I would lose my mind sitting 66 hours.
From: WhattheFOC
23-Oct-22
So does this mean the next blood trail challenge starts in the parking lot at the Carrot River Tavern? Hint - the blood trail always ends right where the Mounties throw you in their car. Trust me…
From: APauls
24-Oct-22
OOOooooof. All those hours is a grind. Hat's off Pat. Not just for sticking it out I think the greatest thing that came through here on this one was your attitude and that of your comrades. Sounds like wonderful people to share camp with. Congrats on enjoying a great week out in Saskatchewan! Nearly had one!
We don't need to pay attention to anyone that is too Elite for this thread.
From: drycreek
24-Oct-22
It ain’t always about a dead deer. In fact, it shouldn’t be mostly about a dead animal. The hunt is more important than a dead animal, otherwise we would all hunt in a 100 acre pen, select our “trophy” and go play golf or tiddlywinks. Kudos to Pat for sticking it out to the bitter end !
From: WhattheFOC
24-Oct-22
Those dawn til dusk sits are enough to make a guys cheese slide off the cracker. Pat should go for a complete mental assessment when he gets home. #beendaredundat
From: Two Feathers
25-Oct-22
An anticlimactic finish - it happens. Lots of bear action. Interesting how they all ended up there due to the forest fires.
From: ultimag
08-Nov-22
you lost my interest at the mention of hunting over BAIT that's not hunting it's like shooting fish in a barrel no self respecting true HUNTER hunts over bait
From: FORESTBOWS
08-Nov-22
You know he didn't shoot a deer right?^^^^^^^^^
From: bigswivle
08-Nov-22
You know he didn't shoot a deer right?^^^^^^^^^
Forest, you’re dealing with miserable people with very small brains.
From: greg simon
08-Nov-22
I guess you could get skunked even on a barreled fish hunt???
From: WhattheFOC
08-Nov-22
I agree - Pat should be ashamed. An entire barrel teeming with fish and he couldn’t get one.
Great post Ultimag, brilliant.
From: WhattheFOC
08-Nov-22
^^^ for those unable to detect it, the previous post is dripping with sarcasm. It was typed with semi frozen thumbs, from a tree-stand in SK, over bait. This is day two at this barrel, and so-far no fish. :)
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
09-Nov-22
Hopefully a whale of a fish comes by Trevor!
From: WhattheFOC
09-Nov-22
My barrel froze over. Send ice auger.
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
Hunting picked up.
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: woodguy65
16-Nov-22
Nice deer Rob. Jeez those brow tines on the second one!!
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: standswittaknife
16-Nov-22
Love this place and can't wait to go back...
From: t-roy
16-Nov-22
Looks like that last buck got too close to major heat source, or something, Rob! Lookin kinda droopy ;-)
Love the double throat patch.
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Ironbow
16-Nov-22
That last one is a beaut! Double throat patch and pushed down main beams!
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Bou'bound
16-Nov-22
When the bears went to sleep the deer woke up. Great bucks
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
Got some cool pics of a buck totally goofed with a doe today
From: Rob Nye
16-Nov-22
From: Bou'bound
16-Nov-22
Pat hunts too early up there it looks like. Wow
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
16-Nov-22
Great bucks
From: Rob Nye
18-Nov-22
From: Rob Nye
18-Nov-22
