WMU 116-09

Well, The 2009 Hunting season has come to a close with its ups and downs. Some hunting plans for Moose were cancled, and the bow season was also a no go this season.

Needless to say, I had 10 days booked for hunting from Nov 13th through to the 22nd. Which in Southern Alberta means i have 5 days of solid, written in stone hunting, and 5 tags to fill. Antlered Whitetail, Antlered Muledeer and 3 doe tags )

This would be a great task, but it was one I was looking forward to completing.

And with rifle optic complications it was definately a task!

Good ol' Friday the 13th didnt hold back on its reputation of evil. Late in the evening i noticed while tring to focus my cross hairs on a Mulie Doe at 200yrds, that my scope was blurred, and out of focus. I soon realized that my scope had seen its last days and was no longer ethicly usable. So this forced me to head head to Wal-Mart ASAP and purchase a new scope. Needless to say, that day was spent at the rifle range to sight in my new scope.

On the 14th, I must admitt. I was flustered, and not confident. I missed 3 differant Mulie Does and fired 9 times. I was sure that my hunting season was not meant to be.

My third day in the prairie was on the 18th.

I decided to put as stock on once again another Mulie Doe, this time... I put the hammer down. Its amazing what a good shot placement and perfect conditions can do to your confidence!

The rest of that day was spend glassing the hills for a good size Mulie Buck. It was proving once again to be a task at hand. Late in the evening with approx 30mins of legal shooting time my opportunity came at a Nice Whitetail Buck. I only had time to get one shell in my gun, or he would have been running full tilt, tail up and gone. I put my cross hairs on em, and let er fly. Today, was my day! My dad and I had no idea he was this calibar of deer until we walked up to him, 120yrds away.

The most shocking thing about him, was that he was very far away from typical Whitetail territory, needless to say i am happy and blessed with the kill!

Another day would pass, and opportunities were there to take a decent deer, but not what i was looking for. On the 20th though, i knew i only had one more full day to fill 3 tags, and was willing to take the first decent animals that presented a good shot... And there it was, 100yrds away, on a side hill was a heavy antlered 4x4, with 3 does. I quickly got set up with my bi-pod fully extended, and waiting for the animal to turn broadside. My first shot, appeared to be a miss, although it sounded like a definate hit. He moved 15yrds and stopped. I shot again, dropping him at the top of the hill in his tracks. Once again, i was impressed to see the deer was bigger than i had thought him to be.

I did not fill my other 2 doe tags, as the meat was not needed. Though i did had many opportunities on the last day. During my hunts, my brother tagged 2 Mulie Does, and my dad also tagged 2 Mulie Does, 1 Whitetail Doe, and a very nice 3x3 Mulie.

The season was set to be a failure in the books, and ended up being quite a success.

I am blessed to have taken the animals i did, and will remember the 2009 Hunting season for a long time to come!