Alberta Archery Mule Deer
Shooting a muley with my bow has been a dream of mine since 2014 after my first archery mule deer hunt in Nebraska. Hunting mule deer has sent me all over the United States and Canada and on a total of 6 separate hunts…all being unsuccessful until the very last afternoon of my most recent adventure. We took it down to the wire!
At the end of July 2021, the opportunity arose for me to head back to Alberta for an archery mule deer hunt. This time with Jeff Lander of Primitive Outfitting. Jeff has been guiding since 1996 and hosts hunters for black bear, moose, and mule deer. A quick google search of Jeff and his operation that he and his wife, Lana, run, I was fired up and making plans to head north.
My trip dates were October 17-24, and literally a few days before I was set to take off, my dad got the option to tag along. Talk about making an already exciting trip even better! We love going on hunting trips together and I knew regardless of filling tags, the memories we’d make together would make this trip amazing.
As expected, the entire week was awesome. Sharing a hunting camp with other hunters from all over, telling stories, enjoying meals together, are all things that make hunting so fun and important to me. Everyone was seeing great deer, going on stalks, and having a wonderful time. Check out my Instagram Story Highlights “Alberta Muley” for more of a behind the scenes look at our week! Including all about a stalk into 18 yards on a stud literally in the wide open and a 5 hour sit on a different buck that never stood up and offered a shot.
I’m ready to jump into the story of my first mule deer!
I do my best to keep a positive attitude during hunting trips and hunt just as hard the last day as we did the first. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling the pressure on Saturday, day 6, with no tag filled. I’m not really one of those “hunting really isn’t about the kill” type of people. Sure filling tags isn’t the ONLY thing I care about, but I set out on these trips on a mission….to fill my tag, and not doing so is a bummer for me.
That morning, Jeff Lander (outfitter and guide), Mike Barrett (fellow hunter in camp who already tagged out..this dude is an incredible hunter and outdoorsman), and myself set out in hopes of glassing up a buck to put a stalk on. In a familiar patch of red brush where we had stalked and seen deer earlier in the week, Jeff spotted a buck at about 9:30 am. One look through my Leupold 15x56’s , and I knew we were all in agreement this was a buck we were going to make a move on. Jeff’s expert advice gained after years and years of bowhunting these creatures was to leave him completely alone for a few hours. He wanted to make sure he was going to stay bedded in that patch and to wait for the wind to settle in a steady direction. I shot my dad the “found a shooter” text, and we headed back into town to chill for a while. I am not naturally a very patient person, but I totally trusted Jeff’s judgement making the call to wait.
This photo was taken after an unsuccessful stalk earlier in the week, but in the exact same location.
After a little nap and a cup of cream of chicken tortellini soup at the local cafe, we made our way back to the red brush, hoping my buck would still be posted up relaxing. And, praise the Lord, he was! We quickly made a game plan. Jeff and I would head out and try to position ourselves at the bottom side of the brush the buck was bedded in, and Mike would watch through the spotter and communicate to us any updates we might not be able to see from where we were. We made our way into position. (See photo for reference!) We were positioned on the downhill side of the buck and the thick brush and bushes created a perfect wall concealing us from the bucks point of view. I was sure to range what I could see of his rack with my Leupold RX-Fulldraw 4, and he was a mere 30 yards away! By this time it was 2:30pm. Jeff and I were both prepared for to sit on him for a couple hours. To pass the time, I laid as still as I could visualising what could happen at any moment. I was going through every step in my mind; get to my knees, crouch and draw as smooth as possible, anchor, raise slowly, bury the pin, squeeze the trigger. Just like I had practiced. We lost service, so we didn’t have Mikes’ guidance at this point.
Rough look at our setup. It might look deceiving, but the buck was bedded 30 yards in front of us.
I’ll never forget when I looked up at Jeff anxious for any sort of update, he said “you realize we’re about to kill this buck, don’t you?” Just as calm and matter-of-fact as could be. I said “you’re right, we’re about to kill this deer.” Jeff is an extremely accomplished hunter and I could tell he totally believed in me, which means more to me than I can explain! At about 3:15, Jeff said he thought it was going to happen soon. The buck would stand to stretch and hopefully start feeding. And I’m tellin’ ya, it wasn’t 10 minutes later….I heard “he’s up.”
I slowly and as calmly as possible came to my knees but staying bent over and clipped on my release. Jeff slid right behind me and began giving a play-by-play of the bucks movements. “He’s looking around. His head is down. He’s looking up again. Is he looking at us? Don’t move.” Suddenly he whispered “Okay DRAW!” Just as I had played through in my mind, I went through my drawing sequence. As I rose up I remember thinking his body looked huge. He stood well above the brush he was just buried in. I settled my pin and squeezed the trigger. I heard a THWACK and we saw him mule kick. Instantly I knew I hit him. As he ran over the hill, we could tell my arrow was a little low and a little back. Definitely less than ideal, but the terrain we were in was wide-open, we would find him. After a quick celebration, we raced to the top of the hill to call Mike, who low and behold, had eyes on him. He was hurt. Bad. The shot was definitely fatal.
With tons of coyotes in the area, and only 2 hours until dark, I worried about having to leave him overnight and risk losing him to them. I hated to think about him suffering, losing the meat, and the cape. We waited about 20 minutes or so and Jeff and I made another move to find him. Much to our surprise, we watched as the buck entered a lake and began to make his way across. What wasn’t a good situation in the first place, just got worse. “What if he doesn’t make it across? What if he goes under and we aren’t able to recover him?” My mind was racing! Jeff and Mike were totally cool, calm, and collected, having confidence this was going to end quickly. The buck made his way across the water and to the other side, where he laid and expired. I felt a wave of emotions at this time. First and foremost, I was incredibly relieved it was over. And I was incredibly happy I had just filled my tag on my first archery mule deer! The three of us made our way over to him where I laid my hands on him for the first time.
Tracey and Marylin Kakuno who were also in camp hunting were close by and they came to see the action. Sharing this experience with new friends made it so special. After what seemed like forever, my dad and his guide Cliff Prather arrived. I could tell my dad was so proud and happy for us. My success is his, and I was so glad he was there for a few pictures. We loaded him up, we grabbed a quick family picture, and we headed back into town, and made it in time for supper at the same cafe we had eaten lunch at.
This was a huge accomplishment for me as a bow hunter, and to get it done on the last day, in the last few hours of my 6th mule deer hunt feels pretty damn amazing. I have got to throw a huge thank you to Mike Barnett of Kentucky for his help after he tagged out. He is incredible behind the glass and contributed to my hunt in more ways than I can mention. It was an honor to hunt with him! And Jeff Lander runs a great operation. I learned so much from hunting with him over the week, and I left Alberta a better hunter because of him. Things he taught me will be applied to every hunt I go on in the future! I may have pulled the trigger, but this deer is as much theirs as it is mine. It truly was a team effort. Thank you both so much from the bottom of my heart!
My dad and I
Gear Breakdown
Optics
Leupold BX-5 Santiam HD 15x56mm
Used when glassing from truck or stationary position
Leupold BX-5 Santiam HD 10x50mm
Carried on my chest in a bino harness when on a stalk or hiking in to glass
SITKA Gear
Boots
Sized down 1/2 size
Tools
Carried in bino harness on my chest at all times
Carried in my pack at all times. Great for any adjustments needed on my bow sight
Bow
Easton Axis arrows
Rage Hypodermic broadheads
Spot Hog Tommy 5 pin sight
Scott release
