More Deer Hunting with Manitoba's Whitetail Outfitters
Making It Happen
 Editor’s Note: One of the greatest adventures in the world is a wilderness hunt with Whitetail Outfitters of Manitoba. Traversing beaver swamps, rivers and creeks, hunters go into total wilderness, where they never see another footprint other than their own and the guides who direct them to their stands. Monster-sized deer, timber wolves and adventures of a lifetime await those who venture where few other hunters go. This week, we’ll learn more about the men who face the wilderness in search of monster deer. Steve Broderick of Old Tappan, New Jersey, was on his stand before daylight, when he had the adventure of a lifetime.
On Friday morning, when I woke up, I saw that we’d had 3 to 4 inches of fresh snow. As I walked into my stand that morning, I spotted quite a few tracks in the fresh snow, which gave me a lot of confidence in my chosen stand site. I was in my stand and settled about 30 minutes before daylight. When I had enough light to see, I spotted a deer moving through the pines below me. I couldn’t determine whether the deer was a buck or a doe, but when there was finally enough light to see, I could tell the deer was actually a doe feeding below me. I felt this was a good sign because I knew the bucks were looking for does at this time of year. About 7:35 am, I looked to my left and spotted another doe standing on a ridge. She put her tail up in the air and ran behind my stand. As I quickly looked behind her, I spotted a buck with his nose on the ground, coming in behind the doe and pushing her. When he finally raised his head, I could see that he was a small 6 pointer.
In a few minutes, I spotted a second buck coming in with his nose in the ground. I thought he had a pretty-nice rack, but I hadn’t gotten a clear look at him. The buck came in quickly and got about 50 yards behind my stand. I grunted at this buck with a nice rack, and he stood up for a brief second. I already had my Thompson/Center rifle shouldered with my scope on him. As he started moving away, I knew I wouldn’t get a shot if I didn’t take it. So, I lead the buck a little and squeezed the trigger. To my surprise, the buck didn’t flinch. He kept walking off the trail away from me. I thought to myself, “Oh, no, I’ve missed him.” I reloaded my blackpowder rifle. When the nice buck was out about 100 to 120 yards, I was able to get off a second shot off. After I made the second shot, I saw the buck go on top of the ridge and then fall over. I knew I had him.
I took this buck on Friday morning, and we had to leave on Saturday. So, when I saw the buck and knew he had good mass on his antlers, I decided to take him.
When I walked up to the buck, I was a little disappointed with his rack. I thought to myself, “This buck is nice, and you’ve gotten a wolf at the first of the week. You’ve finished your week out well. This is a very respectable buck, and to be able to take a wolf and a buck on the same hunt is unbelievable.” Lenny came out to help me get my deer, and when I returned to the buck the second time, he seemed to have grown. I was really proud of the deer and happy I’d harvested him. I’d been hunting with Whitetail Outfitters for 8 or 10 years, and this is my fifth or sixth trip with them. The outfitters and the guides are great, and they seem to always do the right thing for their hunters. The guides are very accommodating, and we have good food, great company and big deer to hunt.
For more information about hunting with Manitoba's Whitetail Outfitters, write Box 70, Stonewall, Manitoba, R0C 2Z0, call (888) 398-3459, visit
www.whitetailoutfitters.ca, or email hunt@whitetailoutfitters.ca.
Tomorrow: A Hunter’s First Remote Hunt
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