I went to Saskatchewan a few years ago just for the sake of trying something different and with the hope of the buck of a lifetime.
It was a great experience, and I'm glad I went, but.....
It is cold in a way that is hard to describe or imagine. The practice there is to sit in a blind from before daylight until after dark. No getting out to walk or stretch. The mornings started off at negative 25F and "warmed" up to around 0 to +10F. Coming from here going to that is a huge physical and mental adjustment. I now really appreciate what we have here.
To put that in perspective, a large garage type deep freeze is at 0F. It was 25 degrees colder than that, and it can go even colder.
Try to imagine sitting in a deep freeze for 10 hours without moving. It is as much a psychological challenge as a physical one.
As for realistic expectations, 5+ year old deer are uncommon as they will have an extra hard winter every few years that kill many of the deer. The few that can survive beyond that are the big bruisers.
Once I got to know the outfitter and he relaxed, we started talking about expectations. Most of the clients thought they could take 170+ deer just by writing checks. He tried to shake that idea from them before they signed up and he made clear that 140 was realistic. One client came for 13 years in a row and never cracked 160. A young man in his mid-teens came with his dad, sat in a blind by himself that was not chosen by any other guide or hunter and took 170's two years in a row. There truly is some luck for some, and not for others.
140 class deer should be the expectation, maybe a 150, and one or two guys will take a 170+ each season from a well run camp - much as it is here on large well run ranches.
The chance for a 180 is as high or higher here in Texas on a well managed large low fence ranch.
It is worth going once to try it. The bodies are huge. Does are in the 175 - 200# range and bucks can very realistically hit or exceed 300#. Being in a ground blind with a pack of wolves walking and howling less than 100 yards away is a memory that will stick with me for a long time - neat experience.
The outfitter I went with was Chaparral Hunting Adventures out of Turtle Lake on a trip booked through Cabela's. They have a nice lodge and camp house, not luxury, but clean, tidy, and comfortable. The hunt area is good, but with low deer densities which is typical for the forest there. Cabela's provided excellent service, had all of the paperwork in order with very clear instructions. Travelling into Canada with a firearm requires attention to detail, and even more attention to detail is required when returning into the US. The Canadians were friendly and wonderful to deal with. US Customs was professional, but chilly.
http://chaparralhuntingadventures.comAmericans are not allowed to hunt in the South Zone with lots of agriculture where Milo Hanson took his deer.
fwiw - we talked with a group at our hotel in Saskatoon that had hunted with Jim Shockey and they were extremely negative in their reviews. Just passing it on fwiw.
It's worth going, but keep expectations in check, and spend for top notch cold weather clothing. Cabela's warmest coverall set worked well, along with a box full of the tear open hand warmers. Also a muff to put hands into with the hand warmers was one of the best buys.
Go, and have fun, it is a true adventure.
![[Linked Image]](http://neoswarm.com/images/Bug_Crawling.gif)