Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Alberta Hunter Host hunt

A friend in Alberta and I have been talking about a Hunter Host hunt, and this year we are going to do it. Yea!

We are looking at mule deer hunts around the Peace Region right now.

Has anybody done one of these? Any items to watch that aren't evident?

I am thinking of a whitetail license as a back-up to the mule deer.

thanks...jim

ps. I have a Canada PAL and have hunted Sask before.

Jim - Be advised that the best mule zones around Peace River are on a draw basis so you cannot just put your name in for the hunter host then come up and buy a tag. As a rule you get drawn every second year but I know of some guys that did not get drawn last year which was their second. Have your friend check out the zones you want to hunt in. They may be a general zone where you can buy a tag over the counter but I doubt it. A whitetail tag is no problem, those you can buy over the counter but remember you must have your names in for it by the end of August I think, it might even be the end of July. In Alberta you need to get what is a WIN card (wildlife identification number) before you can buy any sort of a license. It is no big deal but your friend has to have it before he can put your name in for the hunter host thing. He just has to have name , address and birth date and he can apply for it for you. You don't have to be present. Hope this helps.

www.srd.gov.ab.ca has all the info you need regarding a Hunter Host trip. Just go to the Hunter Information sect and follow the links. That is Alberta govt website for Sustainable Resource Development. It is a simple process. Biggest thing to watch are your dates. They are different depending upon OTC tags or draw tags. I'm assumming that your friend is an Alberta resident as one must be to be a Hunter Host.
Most Mule deer in Alberta is on a draw as noted above. IIRC there are some OTC elk WMU's in the Peace country though. The website also has links to last years stats on draws, WMU's and how many points each required. It is beautiful country, I hunted moose up there 2 years ago, now have enough draw points to go again this year but will likely have to wait a year due to a new job that will keep me much closer to home this fall. That and I should have an antelope tag this fall that has been long awaited. Hope this helps, that site has most everything req.

I live in the Peace Country. As mentioned, the link to the SRD website will give you all the info for you and your HUnter Host buddy. Apply for your WIN card now. I know you both have to have sworn statements and tag applications in by begininng of August I believe.

There are WMU's near Peace River that have general OTC Mule deer tags. Whitetail tags in the Peace area are a general tag. Depending on the time a year, black bear tags are another option. As mentioned there are OTC general bull elk tags too (3 point+)

Good luck

Guys, thank you for the advice.

My buddy is an Alberta resident, and is "up" on the regs. We are working on the WIN just now, he is sending me the application to fill out. Too bad you can't do that one over the Internet with Alberta's contractor.

I am a mule deer fanatic, so Alberta has always been on my radar. The last time I was hunting WT in Sask, I drove through southern Alberta. I stopped to glass deer along the way, which made the trip a bit longer. We figure I can get a mule deer tag in a non-draw area, and also a WT tag "just in case".

We have another friend who is on the Board of the Alberta Conservation Association, so we have been looking at their Conservation Sites.

again, thank you!

jim

Man what a small world. I sit on the ACA BOD too. I am the Public at Large member representing Southern Alberta. Who is your friend on the BOD? The Conservation sites being posted on the ACA website is a new addition, very useful.

troutfly,

PM sent...jim

I have done the Alberta Hunter Host hunt with my Canadian bud twice... near Peace River. All the zones we hunt are draw only for mulie which means just about everywhere we went, there were cranker mulies.

Whitetail, elk, and bear are all readily available in that area as well. Enjoy and good luck!

You have to go for OTC tags, a Non Resident Alien's (US citizen) can not put in for draws.

Razkul,

Were you hunting on a drawn license or along for the ride as it were?

thanks...jim

Jim,

I actually elected to hunt whitetail and elk on my licenses and went "along for the ride" with my host to fill his mule deer tag. Portsider is right, no draw for US aliens

Awesome opportunity, which I am fortunate to do every three years...

Mark

Portsider284 A PM sent cheers NC

My hunting buddy sent me the WIN Application, and I mailed it back yesterday. So the paper part of the exercise is in progress.

jim

And my renewed PAL arrived today: that was a nine month exercise, sort of like having a child.

jim

Getting that and your WIN are half the battle. 9 months seems long but it is the govt.......
Does having the PAL help with border crossings or just make it easier to buy ammo in Canada? Of couse, if need be, you can buy a gun here and leave with your partner or jump through the hoops to take it to the US. Good option for frequent travel from US to Canada.
Jeff

Jeff,

I got the PAL when I was going to Saskatchewan yearly looking for a really big whitetail buck. The PAL definitely made the entry easier, both flying and driving. Of course driving up is not in the same league of rigamarole as flying anyway. It expired last summer, and I decided to renew it because I still have hunts I want to do North.

I figure to drive to Alberta this fall, I pretty much don't fly commercial anymore.

jim

I have been checking potential WMUs from the Alberta regs open to non-residents, my hunter host has hunted some. Two of interest he has not hunted yet, those are WMU 520 (Cadotte Lakes-Otter Lakes) and 525 (Clear Hills).

I checked the 2006 stats from SRD, and they are "interesting".

Anybody hunted them?

thanks...jim

Hi Jim,
Funny you should mention WMU 525. I hunted it two years ago for moose with my buddy. We each had a tag, his was filled, mine made tag stew. Life goes on. We saw a few moose, I just couldn't get one to step far enough out of the bush. Was toward the end of the rut and they had been pressured for sometime. Lots of deer but we weren't hunting them. Tons of grouse as well. Fair amount of bear sign but we didn't see any, must have been due to my bear tag lol. Blacks mostly but potentially some griz.
We hunted the east end of the WMU, lots of oil road access, but it is easy to get away from the roads with a bit of walking. Lots of good random camping sites but there is also a nice campground at Sulpher Lake park. We stayed there till we had an animal down then moved to random camp. There is a rather significant Wildlife Corridor on the east access road that runs 20 miles. No hunting is allowed along this road but it was well identified. Lots of cutlines/cutblocks and well heads in there too. There were several outfitter camps around plus natives. Not real crowded but some folks. We are planning a return there next year, would like to go this year but I've got Cypress Hills Elk points I'm going cash in this year. 525 is a 14 hour drive vice 45 mins for the CH elk. I can send you more info in a day or two with more info wrt to maps etc. (Need to dig them out)
Jeff

Jeff,

Thanks for that information. We are trying to sort areas by expected experience: should we hunt Northern Borreal (520 or 525) or look for a more open area in the Foothills (339 or 340).

I knew there were outfitter camps from the power of google.com (searched for Alberta WMU 525). It looks like a good moose area, and 2006 SRD estimated mule deer stats were 157 hunters took 62 bucks.

I will be driving up from San Diego, and I expect to coordinate this hunt with a hunt with my cousin in Montana -- so that should break up some of the driving.

thanks again...

jim

I use to hunt the 525 zone for moose but it got hit hard and now its got lots of oil/gas activity in there too. Bonus is it opened up roads but more people just road jockey for moose there.

I would say best bet to hunt mulies would be WMU 525 and just drive the logging and oilfield roads in the area. There is more fringe land between agricultural and bush where the boundary is between WMU 525 and I believe its 526. There is a Provincial Grazing Lease in WMU 525 west of Dixonville on the road to Sulphur Lake. Some of the lease is in a draw zone but majority of it is in WMU 525.

As for Cadotte Lake (WMU 520) same thing. All bush land with First Nations lands too. Lots of driving the oil roads. Part of the Three Creeks Provincial Grazing Lease is in WMU 520 and it backs onto the Peace River waterway with lots of other drainages. Should be a good spot for mulies and there will be whitetails, bears and elk as they opened elk last year in WMU 520 but cant remeber if it was just cow elk or bulls too. I have hunted this lease lots over the years as its in my home area. Just got to make sure you are in the 520 portion of the lease-back north west area. Your friend should be able to get a map of the Provincial leases off the web to show the boundaries.

If you hunt the WMU 520 one, make sure to follow guidelines for firearms while travelling on the DMI Haul Road as the F&W do lots of routine checks and if your firearm is not packed away in its case or the bolt removed from the rifle, you will get ticket as the DMI Haul Road is a Wildlife Sanctuary with a buffer of 400m from centreline of the road on both sides.

Good luck
MP