It's been hovering around 90 degrees almost everyday for over a month now, it's hard to focus on all things hunting when you step out the door and the humidity hits you in the face. Much has happened over the last few days. On a whim I asked one of my hunting buddies Jim if he is up for a Canada Whitetail hunt in 2011, to which he replied via text message: "YES"!!! I then pinged my other hunting buddy Rich and his response was similar in nature: "Absolutely". And so it goes, the plans have begun and the sleepless nights once again have entered into my home.
It takes some effort on my part to get to Canada, I'm not what you would refer to as a "man of means". I have to save and save and then try to save to make it a trip worthwhile, so save I will! Within minutes of committing to a Canada trip the haunts of today set in, Nanny and Poppy still aren't settled, my wife remains a homemaker and caregiver to her parents where she needs to be and having a single income makes it harder to justify a $6000 trip to the great north woods.
Albeit a short jaunt of depression several things came to mind that gave me a way out of my darkness and into a 747 headed to Saskatoon! In the same week that we discussed Canada I was lucky enough to be led to an outfitter in Iowa that has some real good setups for traditional archery. The more we talked the more I liked him and the more my mind began to change. I couldn't wait to call Rich and tell him about my new found opportunity and suddenly the sleepless nights are back! Having settled in with a definite maybe on either Saskatchewan or Iowa I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a business colleague of mine who told me that his family owns two large farms in Iowa and would probably let us hunt there. Okay, now imagine my dismay!
I went from an expensive Canada hunt to a less expensive and exciting Iowa hunt to a non-outfitter cheaper than dirt Iowa opportunity in a flash! Man is Rich getting tired of my emails.
The point of this post is in the Love of the Sport. There are great things to say about any hunt and Canada and Iowa alike are producing massive antlered deer. Either one of those opportunities would do for most of us, but it's Canada for me. In an earlier post I talked you through a Canadian Hunt from inception to conclusion and so it will be again, I'm off to the great north woods in 2011!
Although Canada is as close as you can come to a guaranteed harvest there's so much more to a trip there than can be explained. My outfitter and friend has over 350 square miles of great north timberland. Most will tell you that the really big bucks are south of the Saskatchewan Mason-Dixon line known as Meadow Lake however there are no shortage of bucks 60 miles north of there and nothing like the feeling of being on stand knowing that there's not another human being within miles of you. the sheer excitement of seeing a wolf or moose wonder through without any regard to you is nothing short of amazing. Seeing 10 to 20 shooter bucks a day doesn't hurt either!
Is it worth going up there for what it costs? Let's just say that I'm on the brink of saving my pennies, selling some guns and alienating my wife to go, so I'd say so!
This time of year I should be focused on golf, work, lawn and the lack of rain and yet somehow I find time to let my mind wander into hunting. I have two fishing trips planned this year and still I see antlers when I close my eyes at night.
With my Nebraska trip planned and settled for this fall and the potential for a Canada hunt in 2011 I'll be a mess for another 15 months or so! I think sometimes that it's all things hunting that keep me sane and yet it's also what makes me crazy.
Today I built an Oak rack for my longbows (shown above) and tomorrow I head out for central Pennsylvania for a two day golf outing and I'll probably no doubt spend much of the time talking about hunting. I can't help it: as Ursala says in the Little Mermaid-It's what I do, it's what I live for!
So off to bed for yet another night of tossing and turning, the kind that a commitment to Canada brings.
Albeit a short jaunt of depression several things came to mind that gave me a way out of my darkness and into a 747 headed to Saskatoon! In the same week that we discussed Canada I was lucky enough to be led to an outfitter in Iowa that has some real good setups for traditional archery. The more we talked the more I liked him and the more my mind began to change. I couldn't wait to call Rich and tell him about my new found opportunity and suddenly the sleepless nights are back! Having settled in with a definite maybe on either Saskatchewan or Iowa I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a business colleague of mine who told me that his family owns two large farms in Iowa and would probably let us hunt there. Okay, now imagine my dismay!
I went from an expensive Canada hunt to a less expensive and exciting Iowa hunt to a non-outfitter cheaper than dirt Iowa opportunity in a flash! Man is Rich getting tired of my emails.
The point of this post is in the Love of the Sport. There are great things to say about any hunt and Canada and Iowa alike are producing massive antlered deer. Either one of those opportunities would do for most of us, but it's Canada for me. In an earlier post I talked you through a Canadian Hunt from inception to conclusion and so it will be again, I'm off to the great north woods in 2011!
Although Canada is as close as you can come to a guaranteed harvest there's so much more to a trip there than can be explained. My outfitter and friend has over 350 square miles of great north timberland. Most will tell you that the really big bucks are south of the Saskatchewan Mason-Dixon line known as Meadow Lake however there are no shortage of bucks 60 miles north of there and nothing like the feeling of being on stand knowing that there's not another human being within miles of you. the sheer excitement of seeing a wolf or moose wonder through without any regard to you is nothing short of amazing. Seeing 10 to 20 shooter bucks a day doesn't hurt either!
Is it worth going up there for what it costs? Let's just say that I'm on the brink of saving my pennies, selling some guns and alienating my wife to go, so I'd say so!
This time of year I should be focused on golf, work, lawn and the lack of rain and yet somehow I find time to let my mind wander into hunting. I have two fishing trips planned this year and still I see antlers when I close my eyes at night.
With my Nebraska trip planned and settled for this fall and the potential for a Canada hunt in 2011 I'll be a mess for another 15 months or so! I think sometimes that it's all things hunting that keep me sane and yet it's also what makes me crazy.
Today I built an Oak rack for my longbows (shown above) and tomorrow I head out for central Pennsylvania for a two day golf outing and I'll probably no doubt spend much of the time talking about hunting. I can't help it: as Ursala says in the Little Mermaid-It's what I do, it's what I live for!
So off to bed for yet another night of tossing and turning, the kind that a commitment to Canada brings.
