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Back from Canada (Pics)

We just got back from Canada over the weekend, visiting & hunting with our good friends Dan & Jill Schafer. My wife Casi & I have had this trip planned now for close to a year & we definitely had a fantastic time. Dan & Jill were a blast to hang out with & are just a great couple. If you’ve seen Rut Junkie’s “All Racked Up” DVD, then you’ll know they’re also a coupleof hunters who love the outdoors just aboutas much as anyone.

The hunting was completely different than anything I’ve ever done. We were hunting the remote Big Woods. The typical day included taking a boat or ATV several miles back, and then hiking a ways further into some secluded areas… areas which nobody else was at and in one case has never been hunted before. The deer movement though was slow mostly because of the odd weather and the stress that the wolves seem to keep on the deer. But I would’ve done it again in a heartbeat. We were hunting DIY style hunt in some beautiful country.

Here is a picture of where we parked our boat after going about 5 miles back, by way of the lake. From this marsh we hiked another 2 miles inland, using a small trail…. and a long ways away from anything

This is a typical trail we used to navigate through the thick Canadian Bush. Some were old logging trails and others were cut by Dan. The GPS came in handy several times navigating through the thick stuff.

Here’s a picture from on top of a hill overlooking one of the many small lakes in the area. The leaves were turning color making from some amazing scenery. This was one of the few sunny days.

One day on a hike into one of our stands along a logging road Casi & I spotted a pack of wolves close to our stand. They saw us and scattered. So I went ahead and put the camera stand up and started getting everything else ready. Right as we were putting our safety harnesses on, we heard something coming through the bush towards us. So I quickly put a primer into the Muzzleloader and saw 3 wolves at about 60 yards. I took aim at one which was standing on a tree stump and fired. The wolf immediately growled, but stopped after about 10 seconds. I felt confident I hit the wolf & quickly loaded again. I could hear the rest of the pack moving all around us & surprisingly they didn’t scatter too far.

As soon as I was loaded up, I started slowly walking towards the wolf and that’s when the other wolves started howling. They were maybe 100 yards from us in the tree’s and hearing something like that, that close, made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I’ve heard wolves howling at miles away, but never this close. Fortunately they stayed in the trees and sure enough the wolf I shot at, dropped on the spot. I was excited to say the least. This was my 1st experience with a timber wolf & one I’ll never forget. It was a mature female, and I was happy to put my wolf tag on her.

Here’s a picture of a wolf track with Casi’s hand for comparison. I still can’t get over how much bigger these animals are than a coyote, like I’m used to. The feet & legs are a lot bigger in proportion to their bodies. This track was probably made by a mature male. We actually saw quite a few tracks almost everywhere we went.

During one evening sit, we heard a pack of wolves about ½ mile away. They were growling and fighting as if they just brought something down. Not 30 seconds later, a mature doe came running from the same direction and under our stand. Chances are the wolves brought down a yearling deer. When the wolves are hunting in a pack with some of them possibly being bigger than the deer itself, I can understand how easily it’d be for them to put a big dent in the deer population.

Here’s a picture with me messing around with my Rino GPS…. After driving a few miles through winding curvy trails, they all start to look the same.

We ended the hunt without any shot opportunities at shooter bucks… but that’s all part of the hunt. The deer were there, but just weren’t moving much. But having a blast with friends, family and experiencing what the Big Woods of the North offers, made it all worthwhile. We can’t wait to do it again next year.

Now i'm back in Kansas with the bow at hand. The weather is supposed to start clearing up today so I can get out.