Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Sask deer forecast?

What do the resident hunters say about the buck prospects for this season, after that terrible winter? Particularly in the non resident forest fringe areas?

Its brutal. The deer aren't completely wiped out of course, but in some areas I'm seeing one tenth of the deer as a couple years ago. I've got a fair amount of land in the forest fringe, and only see a fraction of before.

The big old bucks are the first to die in a hard winter, since they are already stressed by the rut.

What Model70Guy said pretty much sums it up. Sorry about that! Of course there will be pockets of survivors, and the West side of the province wasn't as hard hit as the East side, but our forest fringe areas have been getting hard winters for the last three years, and last winter was harder than the rest.

Beware, I'm coming anyway.

Have fun! I'm sure there will still be enough deer to make it an interesting hunt.

It still will be fun.

We didnt put in for a licence this year to hunt back on our farm since the winter was so bad...we will give them another year before venturing out

It's bad. I've had 3 cams out now for 5 weeks and the numbers are very low. Haven't seen a mature buck yet. I'm sure a few lucky ones made it but it's looking like the annual trip will be more of a camping/wolf killing trip than a deer killing trip. This is in central forest fringe region.
Going up to the bush to check the cams this weekend. But like always, the rut seems to bring out deer a person never knew were there.
Good luck all.

I'll be remembering this to help keep my mind positive.
Happy Hunting

Hope I get lucky. I'll be out west near St Walburg

All you need is 1 nice'en to show up! I'll be there also.

make sure youre texting from your stand stoney and one will show up, just like that doe last night

Unfortunately no service where I hunt in Sask. I'll have to text you from camp & hope your good luck will deliver in the field.

It will take lots of luck to see a bigun this years boys. The biguns are the first to winter kill. Snow started in October and stayed until late April. Here it is on March 19. For those who don't know SK is in the middle of the picture. "Worst winter in memory" is what I hear.

Bzik...great map of snow depth....Skane..keep your chin up.."anything" can happen up there!!

Yes u never know....they all didnt winter kill. There will be some biguns there just fewer is all....good luck!!!

Indeed. And while it might be a longish way to go when the herd is down, it still beats working that week.

I agree! Wish I was going but I wanted to save the $$$ for a trip to the Caribbean for the month of January.

Next year I will back hunting our farm and hope this winter is an easy one...

From the snow accumulation map it looks just as bad in the neighboring provinces to me.
May be some pockets of bucks where the wolves are not very numerous, or where there was food plots.

Just got back from a trip to the bush to visit my deer stands. I've had cams up for about 6 weeks now. The hunting season looks grim in my area. I had a total of about 1000 pics on 3 cams in 3 weeks. Not normal and not good. I hunt in an area not far from Prince Albert. Not one buck over 120 in. Yikes. Granted this stretch of time in early to late Oct usually shows slow deer movement. Not exactly sure why yet.
But time will tell.
Good luck all.

i heard western side of province wasnt as bad as east