I've had a good buddy bugging me to go to Sask to shoot a big buck with him. He's taken 5 between 150 and 168''. The deer are also huge and the country is really wild. It sounds appealing at times but I can't pull the trigger on going yet. What I want to do is go hunt the Adirondacks in the snow and have a go at one of those big bucks. Anyways here is my question, and I am NOT fishing for an argument or to get people arguing, just want to get a feel for if I'm in the minority. Also keep in mind that I really and truly feel one is not "better" than the other.

Which would you prefer?

Situation 1:
Fully guided, fully included Sask where there are potential upper level record book deer.
Meals prepared, stands ultra comfort and baited. See between 5-10 shooters per day with days seeing upwards of 20.
Guide collect deer once you shoot it, meat is donated locally and you go home with antlers.

Situation 2:
On your own wilderness hunt in snow. Accomodations local hotel, meals are whatever you find around town and a sack lunch. You may see a deer a day or not, no big chance to shoot record book buck. You cover miles tracking, but know that you may be tracking a mature buck and that it is you against him in a battle of wits. Lots of miles, good chance of no deer. If you do shoot it, you're packing or dragging it out.

I'm in for #2 at this point in my life, but wonder if I'm the only nutjob that would pick one over the other.


God Bless,

MM

Please list the name of the outfitter where this is happening.

FWIW, I like both for different reasons - and, there's no saying that you can't have/do both.

I'd go with option two and use all that money i saved to buy a new rifle... But that's just me, I love diy hunts and buying new guns...

For me its #2, though for sure there are reasons to choose one or the other.

I would sure rather look back at pics of one I earned on my own (trophy or no), than pics of one I was "put on", is just one of my reasons...

Ask me in 30 years and I might say #1....

Hunt on buddies land and make extra morgage payments.

Wife and 3 kids says different, one trip per year for this guy. If you're serious I'll give you the name of the outfitter.

MM

MM,

I've hunted a fair amount in Canada, and, numerous times in SK. I've not encountered a place that saw 5 to 6 or more trophy-class animals in a day, so, heck yes, I'd be interested in the outfitter name.

Has anyone here actually hunted deer like in scenario #2, I've tried on an 8 thousand acre tract of wilderness we have in PA and it was fun but I didn't get too far without spooking him a few times, and he was no big old smart buck even then.

MM

I would rather look at a doe mounted on the wall that I did every bit of work for than a B&C that I paid for or that someone "managed". You only have to please yourself, but I am in the 100% do it yourself camp.

Ah heck no you're not the only one! Even if I had unlimited resources $-wise, I'd take #2 over #1; I like to feel like I did the hunting vs just shooting.

#2, that's hunting. Not saying #1 wouldn't be nice, maybe once, but I'm all for doing it on my own or with the help of hunting buddies. Anything worth doing isn't easy usually.

i like the idea of 2 it would a lot of fun


but if i had the opportunity of 1 i think i would do it especially if there is a lot of snow

#2 is what I do. Snow is great when I can get it but here lately it cannot be counted on. I tent it instead of hotel and dehidrated or canned food is what there is to eat. The track of mature buck is unmistakable and I know instantly when I cut ones track.

I have no desire to hunt? in the manner that you describe in #1, I'd be boared to death and wouldn't feel as if it were sporting.

I HAVE hunted the Dacks in the past. Cousin and I use to go up every year for about 5 years from ages 17-22 or so.

We did see some nice bucks...also got lucky enough to get doe tags the first year the gave them for part of the area up there.

We got a doe that year up there...don't see many deer though, that's for sure.

However, I'd much rather do that (save money, and do my own hunting).

Personally, I'd go with #1. I live in Vermont and the hunting here is pretty much the same as in New York. I would jump at the chance to see 5-6 "shooters" in week, let alone a day. I DIY every year here. Just getting crosshairs on a legal buck is an accomplishment in the kind of terrain in scenario #2. I would like to try the other way.

-Z

Both have their good points I suppose, if you have never been....I have been to Sask plenty of times and it is no longer on my "places to go"list.I really don't enjoy the baited,structured,aspect of the hunt,the laws are draconian and your hunting activity is over-regulated.

You sit on a baited stand for a week and sometimes freeze your ass off...Gawd forbid you are an intrepid type who likes to hunt on his feet and gets out of the stand to stroll around.This could result in loss of license or whatever other arbitrary punishment the local fish cops decide to administer(unless laws have changed since I have been there).


Having been all these places, I will take Alberta and Maitoba over Sask in a heartbeat.

Yes Sask has the big bucks....it's a great place to go kill a 150 or 160 or so....but I would bet on Alberta for something substantially bigger.

I guess the Adirondacks are like Northern Maine,NH, or Vermont...not many deer and you will hunt hard to see one.But the satisfaction is in the hunt itself,using your own skill sets to try to get one,working hard,and learning to "hunt".

Me, I'd go to the Adirondacks and save the sheckles for an Alberta whitetail hunt another year instead....Manitoba as a second choice.

They can keep Saskatchewan.JMHO

#1 here. I've been on DIY hunts many times and been on guided hunts many times as well. I think everyone should experience many DIY hunts, but after seeing both sides, I prefer to see more game on private lands when out of state personally. I'd rather spend 5k for a free range hunt and see a bunch of animals with many trophy ops than spend 2500 and bust my rear for nothing or get a dink. I hunt from Oct 1 to Jan 31 every year in my home state and good deer are very hard to get, few and far between. I call that my DIY hunting as it's definitely a challenge. Funny thing is I probably spend over 5k a year doing that and may go 3 years before bumping into a really nice buck. I can spend a few grand and go on two out of state hunts every year and sometimes see more nice bucks in one day than 5 years of hunting at home. It's nice to do both every year and I'm not ashamed of it one bit. I'll also add that a 120-140 class buck(depending on the area) at home is far more rewarding than a 160 class buck out of state, regardless of guided or DIY. The thing is that 160 could be a 1 in a million lotto type win from the most brutal DIY out of state hunt you could imagine and the home buck would still mean far more. I personally can't visit a spot once every so often and feel the true reward of a trophy animal even if it was very difficult to get as much as I could of a trophy animal in a place I've hunted since I was a kid for weeks on end every year for decades. Everyone has their own opinions....

Sask is my dream hunt. Though not if you're seeing 5 shooters a day, cuz then it's not a hunt it's a shoot.

I'm all in for a real Sask hunt though.

I hunt the big woods of MN enough to know I'd like to see more than 2 deer in a season every once in a while.

Free range regardless of if tracking in snow, sitting a trail or glassing and stalking. Don't do well with baiting but don't hold it against those who do. I'd do #2 or a variant of it as often as possible.

mitchell-

How about # 2 first THEN #1 second OR

#1 first THEN #2 second.

I would prefer Alberta but.....

regardless there are LARGER bucks (body & antlers) than are generally found in the Southern States.

Both hunts sound good but I'm all about pitting myself against the elements and the wits of deer... I'd pick the DIY hunt because I always love a challenge and the only challenge in the guided hunt is "can you make a shot from a rest in a stand at a big buck"?

Antlers on the wall are nice but my best trophies are my accomplishments rather than something that someone else actually earned and I merely shot.

Just one man's opinion....

I would pick #2 hands down, far more rewarding to me.

I'll hunt anywhere so long as I don't have to sit in a frigging stand all day.

Thinking on it, I'd go with Option 3: A week of still hunting on Anticosti.

I hunted the Adirondacks several times when I was in college, stayed at a friend's camp. The place was truly rustic, it belonged to an old railroad man. He built it entirely from salvaged/scavenged materials. Never took a deer in the Adirondacks, changed locale after college and hunted northern Maine's Aroostook County. The second trip to Maine in '74 I harvested my biggest buck ever, a heavily palmated 11 pointer that field dressed 254#. It is the camp record to this day, during the week I hunted there was another 11 point 254# buck taken. I much prefer hunting the Adirondacks and northern Maine to paying the big bucks ($) and traveling so far to Saskatchawan. Their style of hunting holds no appeal for me.

#2. Without a doubt. There is nothing like hunting the adirondacks, no matter how big the rack is. If you get one, it's a trophy. I grew up in NY and I always dreamed of drilling a deer up north.

Looks like I'm not the only crazy one after all. I hunted elk that way this year in the San Juans. Hunted my butt off in less than perfect conditions and got into elk every day. Had one shot on a bull still hunting in the timber and I just couldn't get lined up fast enough. I have to say after that I was happy with how the hunt went, except I was hoping at least one of my buddies would shoot one and no dice. I'm seriously looking to go to the Adirondaks next season, with my job vacation is flexible and planning on waiting for it to snow and then taking off for a 4-5 day weekend. We'll see how it plays out, sometimes God has other plans for us.

God Bless,

MM

I would prefer to do both.

This is such a personal preference. I would choose Sask. I have done it twice and would love to go back. Baiting is not an issue for me and stand hunting is the deer hunting method I am used to. To each his own and good luck w/ which ever you choose.

It mostly depends on age, if young you would have more fun in situation #2.

If old enough, you probably could enjoy situation #1.

Just a tip, Sask had a hughe winter kill after the 2007 season, most of the very large bucks you see in an outfitter's brocure were probably killed prior to this.

Last time I looked you'd probably get 2 of those for 1 guided SK hunt too.

Oatmeal raisin...

Just got an email with photo attachment from a campfire member that's hunting in SK right now.

Bet he's happy with his choice.

Stoney?

Yep.

Years ago, I was with USAF in northern California. My buddy and I rented backpack gear and headed into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness in search of big mulies. We always came home with deer but never the monster mulies we dreamed about. Great times in the high country!

Sherwood

In Alberta you can hunt out of a warm truck.

Id opt for #2 grew up hunting both northern and southern zone
in NY. There are some monsters further north in St Lawrence County and it is alot flatter. Unfortunately no longer being a resident of NY hand gunning a white tail up there is out of the question.

I think every man should do both in their life. Nothing like roughin it on your own to create irreplaceable memories. But likewise you cant kill a big buck if they dont exist where you live/hunt.

This is a pic of the best buck I have taken to date in the Adirondacks. He weighed 180 lbs dressed and was aged at 3 1/2 yrs. I have been hunting the Adirondacks, mostly the High Peaks Wilderness area, hard for the past 6 seasons. Along with this buck I have also taken a 4 point and a 5 point. Last season after 12 full days of hunting hard I only saw 3 deer total. This season has been a little better, 8 days of hunting and 9 deer sighted, no bucks. Be prepared to walk a lot and not see many deer. You can not count on snow anymore during the deer season either. Don't get me wrong I love this type of hunting, but I find myself daydreaming of putting a big pile of corn out to lure these deer in. This is very big country and with a very low deer density you have to cover a lot of ground to be sucessful. Pm me if you would like any help on the logistics of an Adirondack hunt, I'll be happy to help. Bill.