Bone Quest Outfitters

Saskatchewan has always been on the map when it comes to some of the largest whitetails ever harvested world wide.  The popularity of hunting this ungulate is largely driven because whitetails are the widest spread species of the deer family, living throughout much of Canada, United States, Mexico, Central America, South America and even being introduced into some European country's as well.   The buck featured at the top of the page is the Elburn Kohler Buck.  Harvested in 1957 and registered in the town of White Fox Saskatchewan.  This beast of a whitetail holds the number one spot for non velvet non typical whitetails ever harvested in the province measuring out at a whopping 257 3/8". This next buck is the largest Non Typical/ velvet whitetail ever harvested in Saskatchewan.  Harvested by Dallas Heinrichs from Loydminister in 2012 and scoring an incredible 271 0/8.    You can't have a list of Saskatchewan's top whitetails without incl...

Fall is in the air and the forest has come alive.  Heards of elk have made themselves at home around some of the deer stands, well bears continue to be a problem.  Not a problem in the way of being aggressive towards the whitetails, but more so in the means of destroying blinds. The bears are extremely active right now appearing on nearly every deer bait, eating the grain well the whitetails don't appear to be bothered showing up sometimes just minutes after the bears have wondered off.   The whitetails are active as well.   More and more bucks are showing up daily.   This is a great sign for what should be ahead of us this fall when the big mature bucks start to expand their range coming into late October and into November when we'll do everything in our power to connect with some of these northern giants.     www.bonequestoutfitters.com

Saskatchewan has and will continue to produce monster whitetails year after year.  But there are some main factors that can control how many giants are roaming the forests and prairies of this vast province. How deer manage through the winter months is the biggest factor affecting their survival rate.  Following another relatively easy winter we should see a high rate of twins as well as a healthy population of bucks that survived their post rut winter months.  Now what is even more exciting is this will follow our 3rd easy winter in a row.  The population is in full recovery mode from the 2012/13 winter.  Numbers of deer have increased dramatically as well as numbers of mature bucks to go along with it.  Every year just keeps getting better and hopefully with another average- above average winter we will continue to grow and mature. If you have or have not hunted Saskatchewan whitetails before, it is a great time to consider doing so.  There are s...

  Running a trapline would be the farthest from the mind for most young lady's, but not Jackie.  A trapline which was handed down from her father and will now continue to be a big part of her life.  A gal who is not afraid to get her hands dirty in the skinning shed.  We want to salute Jackie Tourand for her hard work taking care of predators, and say we are very proud to have her on our guide staff at Bone Quest Outfitters.    www.BoneQuestOutfitters.com

Although the temperatures are above normal here, the deer are active like this buck which was caught on a scrape cam 20 yards behind a bait, but in plain view of the blind.  Not interested in eating but rather just making his rounds.  Heavy rut action is starting and will only pick up from here on in.  www.BONEQUESTOUTFITTERS.com

September baiting typically shows mostly does and fawns as well as the occasional buck.  This is due to them being very local to their home area at this time.   As the season progresses into October the bucks begin to move farther and test their dominance with sparring matches. With their increased movements we are seeing more bucks new to the camera everytime we are into the baits.  From here on in things get interesting, as the anticipation for those Monster Saskatchewan Bucks to show up .     WWW.BONEQUESTOUTFITTERS.COM

Almost all first time Saskatchewan hunters are blown away by the body size of these northern whitetails.  Here is a whitetail that is still living proof of that potential.  The freak genetic comparable with that of a defensive lineman who is only thrown into the game on a goal line stand. bonequestoutfitters.com

bonequestoutfitters.com  The whitetails have to deal with the predators, which range from coyotes, bears, wolves, and cougars.  But perhaps the hardest factor is the possibility of a extremely cold winter with a heavy snowfall.  We have a young deer population following the harsh 2012-13  and 2013-14 winters.  The 2014-15 winter favoured the whitetails and we saw a tremendous improvement in the overall size of our deer.  The 2015-16 winter has started out extremely well.  Warm temperatures and a lack of snow should provide our deer population with the opportunity to mature another year and with that should bring a healthy crop of fawns and of course some bruiser whitetails cruising the stands.  Our plan is to not over harvest our deer population.  We spread out our stands and although we have the legal capability to take 25 hunters we plan on only taking 12 hunters for the 2016 deer season in order to increase the chances that every hun...

bonequestoutfitters.com     Jim Collins 2015 Whitetail (Pro Guide Jackie Tourand left)2015 is going down as a season to remember.  As all avid deer hunters know and have experienced the ups and downs that go along with chasing wild and largely unpredictable whitetail deer, us to battled through adversity in tough conditions to provide our clients with the best opportunity at harvesting a great animal.  The season was one of the warmest seasons on record.  Never mind there being no snow until November 18, there was still lots of green forage in the woods at that point and very mild temperatures.  This stacked the odds in the deers favour making them less reliable on the baits and more unpredictable than ever.  Nice deer were taken and opportunities were to be had. Montana hunter Brock Lohman won't soon forget the opportunity he had when a muzzleloader misfired on a 160" Whitetail only to let him jam 3 more primers in to have nothing but a glorified ...

This is the first of what I'm sure will be an everyday occurance for the next little while, when we are checking trail camera's.  In case your not sure that is a button buck and he's a little green when it comes to his directions as well as that he is trying to keep it in the family.  It is no wonder why Momma will kick him to the curb and continue on her own through the rest of her cycle. bonequestoutfitters.com

November is here and although this pic somehow slipped through the cracks on October 31.  When reviewing and drooling over photo's before bed last night I noticed that this in fact was not the buck I thought he was.  Truth is when going through upwards of 18,000 pictures from a day of baiting I somehow assumed this buck was a 5x5 that has been taking his share of camera time on the same bait.  Both bucks have the identical crooked brow tine but this beast of a Saskatchewan whitetail has an extra tine on each side.   This rare 6x6 will hopefully end up making a mistake that will cost him, but it is fair chase hunting and you never know what will happen.  So far nocturnal but with the rut just around the bend patterns can change with the blink of an eye.   bonequestoutfitters.com

bonequestoutfitters.com Although I have yet to see a scrape line this season the bucks are starting to rub hard.  With more beat up trees being found daily.  Notice the tamarak tree to the right of this 4x4.  I'd imagine he took a swipe at it, and if not him it could be one of the other 5 bucks caught on camera so far at this location.

bonequestoutfitters.com Normally by this point in the season the Black Bear population would of given up from being caught on camera on the active deer baits.  This season however has been a gorgeous fall if your an angler or perhaps even a cyclist,  but for a deer hunter we would love to see a little more chill in the air.  Although I believe the bears are starting to relate to their dens the warm days have kept them from fading into a winter slumber.  In Saskatchewan the eventual colder temperatures are unavoidable but for now the above normal temperatures have brought a few visitors of the wrong species in a couple of the locations.  Even with the warmer temperature's new bucks continue to show themselves daily or nightly for now,  although the bucks seam less interested in eating at this point come the peak of the rut and the healthy number of does who are frequenting the baits daily will surely grab their attention.

We are back to full-baiting action already. It is quite early in the season but it never hurts to get a head start! So far the trail cameras are showing several does at every site; with the majority of the does having at least two fawns with them. The winter was nice to the does and fawns and we are extremely confident that the bucks fared just as well. It is now just a matter of time before the big boys start doing their own scouting!!! bonequestoutfitters.com

Being a guide and outfitter I know the excitement that anticipating a Saskatchewan deer season entails.  Although my excitement is not in harvesting a giant whitetail myself but rather scouting and waiting to hear that a valued customer was successful in harvesting a beast of a Saskatchewan whitetail.  When scouting I don't have to combat buck fever or control my breathing to ensure the perfect shot placement, but I do still get that fealing that only us hunters understand when everything lines up and a magnificient Saskatchewan whitetail is on the ground.  Talking to long time customer "Skip" Terres today and hearing the excitement we both share for it is something that I feal very fortunate to be able to share with all of our clients.  Here is a photo of Skip with one of his Trophy Saskatchewan Whitetails.