Last winter was a rough one on our deer, with big patches of country hit by much-above-normal snow with long stretches of cold, followed by a late spring. Pretty much the worst-case scenario. Winterkill was generally higher than normal in many, but not all, locales (I've heard up to 50% in some places). Both mule deer and whitetails got it, with whitetails generally faring worse. I don't know about all of Saskatchewan, but I believe the northwest corner and the far southern parts were hit hard. Of the whitetail herd, I think it's reasonable to think that fawns and mature bucks had the highest mortality rates, going into the winter as smaller deer or with depleted reserves. I found a lot of skeletal remains this fall.
I agree that outfitters should be more transparent about such things, but would be really surprised if they were. For folks looking up here for a big northern buck, I'd cool the jets and wait 2-3 years while the youngsters get older.
