Hunter338,

First of all, Skeeter was bang on with the info he posted for Saskatchewan so I won't bother repeating it.

Alberta is a little bit different. The main thing being that baiting is not allowed in Alberta. Alberta is also less restrictive in regards to the species and areas a non-resident can hunt. The whole province is open to guided non-res hunts.

Non-residents (not canadian) must hunt with a licensed outfitter or guide. The only exception to this is if the non-residenthas a friendor relative in Alberta. If so, they can apply to be hunter hosted by the Alberta resident. It is my understanding that this can only happen once every three years and no money or payment can be accepted for the hosted hunt.

A substantial part of Alberta (50% or more) is crown (public) land. Outfitters can also hunt on private land with permission. Where you hunt matters little for you since you must be guided anyway. If I was pressed to recommend an area I would suggest the Borealand/or parklandzones north and west of Edmonton. From Lac La Biche clear across to Edson are all good zones, among others (personnal opinion only)

Since the whole province is open to non-residents, the style of hunts outfitters offer will vary. Typically hunts are 6 days with Sunday being a travel day. Most outfitters in the Forest and Parkland areas rely on stand hunting. The hunter is dropped off before legal light and remains on a stand all day while the guide scouts new areas and prepares alternate stands. Most stands are located near natural or manmade funnels and or feeding areas. The stereotypical northern alberta hunt involves sitting on a pipeline or seismic line and waiting for a buck to cross. While boring, this style works very well as the amount of cover eliminates most other methods. Most lines are not more than 10 yards across so a good rifle that you can get up and ready in a second or two is important because that may be all you have. Skeeter's recommendation on calible was pretty close.

Yes the deer are that damn big, one common problem that non-res hunters have is field judging northern deer. A 130inch rack looks a lot more impressiveon aTexas whitetail than a canadian one. The hunting here is as good or better than on TV. Just be sure to find a good outfitter, and check references. Most will advertise close to 100% opportunity, which is usually outfitter talk for (he saw at least one decent deer in 6 days). In reality, don't expect much higher that 50% success on 130 or better, at least in Alberta.

Themain thing you must prepare yourself for before coming to Alberta or Sask is the relatively low densities of deer. The climate traditionally keeps deer numbers low, but recent mild winters have resulted in skyrocketing populations in a lot of areas. While densities are still relatively low, the proportion of bucks that reach maturity is very high compared to most places. Still, don't expect to see 20-30 deer a day, 5-10(with one or two being bucks)is usually considered pretty good.

Prices for a guided alberta hunt would be similar to a Sask hunt. However, I know that with thestrong canadian dollar and higher fuel costs a lot of outfitters have raised their rates. Still $3500-4000 should be in the ball park. That does not include airfare, gratuity for the guide, any hotel time before or after the hunt, and I don't think tags are included either. In alberta a non-res whitetail tag will run you $184cdn(plus a service fee)or thereabouts, plus $8 for a WIN card.

Hope this helps. Sorry to be so long winded, It's a slow day at work

Saskabush.