Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada deer hunting Dryden Ont.

Back in early October I was very much in scouting mode. I was running trail camera's on my own property but I was also reaching out onto crown land areas. Armed with bait and trail camera's I would rotate camera's in some areas that I had history with and a few new areas I was curious about. It was during this process that I found a really great buck. We later called him Kapi for reasons that will soon become apparent.

It was around mid October when I went to a new area to pick up my camera and move on. I had captured picures of a couple younger bucks the last check and it was time to try a new area. When I got home to check the cards I found I had two nights of pictures of a buck with really long tines and awesome beams that were about 18-19" inside and still almost touched at the tips.



We had a target buck. The original spot had the perfect tree nearby as I always do when I scout just in case and I set up a climber and rearmed the area with a camera. We also set up another camera and bait on rock tops with a ground blind so we had two options. Things are looking up, we have a great buck in sight.

I decided not to bowhunt, I didn't want to blow this and besides, it would give both me and Deb a chance at him.

The opener.

Only heard one shot fired in first 2 hours. A heavy frost on grasses and bush just crackled when you moved at all. I had the perfect wind. I got settled and enjoyed the sunrise. Fog was moving in and out. I was debating making a grunt but decided to take this hunt slow. Then I hear a quad. It stops about 200 yards or so distant, close to where Deb is settled in her ground blind. Sure enough, 5 minutes later here comes an orange blob. O.K. I'm thinking this is crown land, hopefully he will leave once I anounce myself, worst case scenario he walks by then turns around, not the end of the world. I whistle to him when he get's directly in front of me, he is looking around but I am really high and well hidden in the spruce. I say "hey there". He just stares at me for awhile then dip his head and keeps walking. I then say excuse me but I'm hunting here? He continues his silence and keeps walking, so I watch. He leave's the trail and is heading towards my bait site. I still have a camera there too...lol. He stops at some trees about 20 yards away and he is fidgeting around the trees and the wind is wrong for him and he is stinking up my area. After about 10 minutes of fighting with his pack, his gun and god knows what else I see him sit into something, ahhhh. A climber, one that faces the tree, he goes up about 8 feet and faces the bait. That's it. We stay that way in silence for about 2 hours. He didn't have bino's and I was covering all entrances to the area. I was fighting a war of attrition in my mind, he will leave. I am first here, this should be my spot for today at least. I figured his stand was set up the day before and he is likely the guy with the camper down the road. If so, he has about 20 other spots he hunts as well. I checked the entrance to this area the day before and seen a fresh set of quad tracks, I knew the danger but I didn't think the worst could happen. I finally gave up, I couldn't enjoy the hunt. I spent the next few hours cleaning up the bait site, every last drop, and pulled my camera, he wasn't leaving. I got pictures of Kapi 3 hours before opening bell and with some new side views I could see he had huge mass as well......170+?





I later talked to the older hunter and his family who are camped a few miles away. He has been hunting the area for 26 years he says, last season was the first time he had not hunted there, he was from Kapuskasing. I tore a stip off him that morning and later apologized but still feel like he was wrong that morning. I figure it is better to work with these people than against them, I will be hunting in that area again I am sure.

After I pulled out on the opener I was checking on the area constantly and noticed no more traffic and went in to check/stillhunt. He had pulled out as well and was hunting other crown land spots he had set up. So I started hunting in there again and rebaited the area. I had some good sits but only seen a young 8 and flattops.

Saturday, Nov 5th. This day me and Deb have the right wind and we both are in there hunting and stayed till around noon then left to go for lunch and let the dogs out to play for awhile. We go back around 1:30. I see a truck parked there and I walk in. Right off the bat I see an orange blob on the trail. I chat with him explaining I have been hunting here all week. He doesn't say too much but says they just got in from Hearst or Timmons. I walk by two more hunters and the last is sitting in the same tree the old fella was in on the opener right near my bait. They aren't leaving. Here we go again. The last hunter told me there were 7 of them and that they would be in there all week. He also said they have hunted there for 15 years. I tried pleading with the last guy and said why not take the first half of the trail and let me and my wife continue our hunt but no. He drove 15 hours and was not moving. Go find another place to hunt.

So I pull my climber and intend to come back after dark to pull camera's and ground blind and bait. Wrong move there. Should have pulled out the bait and camera that afternoon, may not have changed anything but then again it may have. When we get there that night we start filling up bags with bait. Something about baiting for others that bothers me. Anyway, while doing this Deb says, hey there is a gut pile here. Sure enough, a gut pile. Oh and a set of balls too. Damn. Could Kapi be gone? I figured at the time that it wasn't likely, probably that pesky 8 pointer but just the same, there was a chance.

Of course I was monitoring the area and noticed quickly that they did not return at all. Hmmmm. Not good. Maybe they got the big guy and don't want to break the news to me and Deb. I started hunting there again but in different areas off the trail, twice bitten and all that. I brought in 4 trail camera's and put one on every major scrape in the area. During this period I seen that 8 pointer twice and a young 10 point both I knew were in the area and I got only those two bucks on the scrapes. After our first skiff of snow I scoured the area and located huge rubs, biggest I've ever seen and kind of figured out Kapi's core area and I have come to the conclusion that he was taken under my stand on the 5th. I was so close to getting this buck. Had I stayed in stand, or even if I sat regardless of the other hunter I think I would have had him as my stand covers the area so much better and all approaches.

Anyway, that is enough wine and cheese. Just thought I would share some of my interesting moments. A lot of discussion could be made about how to deal with this situation but in the end it is what it is. It is crown land and you have to deal with this type of situation.

There is a slight chance he is still alive and I will revisit the area but for now we are done hunting for this buck.