CANADA'S BEST DEER HUNTING

James Muise's Freight Train Buck

Editor's Note: At the first of November 2003, I went to Manitoba, Canada, to hunt with John Nixon and Doug Grantham of Whitetail Outfitters, headquartered in Stonewall. On this my second trip to hunt with Whitetail Outfitters in the deserted Interlake area near Winnipeg, I had just as much fun as I did the first time. During my first trip a couple of years ago, I saw more monster bucks and met more people who had taken the biggest bucks of their lifetimes than I'd ever met before. I also saw some unbelievably big bucks on my return trip in November of 2003. I interviewed the sportsmen who had braved this wilderness area so far removed from civilization that in a week's time you wouldn't even see an airplane fly over.

James Muise of Walden, New York, bagged a buck that had a B&C score of 132 points. "The first six days I hunted with Whitetail Outfitters, I hunted out of the same stand. During those six days, I had a buck that drove me nuts because he kept skirting my stand just out of shooting range, staying in thick cover close to my stand or coming by my stand at night. Finally, on the last day of my hunt, the buck spotted me when I moved and ran into the bushes. I'd had enough of that buck, so I changed stands and hunted another buck. My buddy, Steve Broderick, had scouted this area and already had taken his buck. He found a good trail with a lot of scrapes and rubs on it and hung a tree stand for me. I went to my stand before daylight. At 7:15 a.m., I saw a doe and a yearling come down one of the trails close to my stand to a certain scrape on the trail. At 9:00 a.m., I heard loud grunting and spotted a buck about 600-yards away as he came over a hill headed down the trail. The buck grunted with every step and grunted louder and harder than I'd ever heard a deer grunt. He sounded like a freight train coming toward me.

"When the buck couldn't see me, I prepared for the shot and pointed my gun toward the scrape where the does had been. I couldn't get off a shot when he came to the scrape because there was a large pine tree between us. After he left the scrape, he came straight toward me with his head down. I aimed right between his shoulders. When I fired my gun, the buck dropped and never even twitched. I was really excited after I saw how big this buck was. Last year, I took a huge 9-point buck here. Although the buck had only 9 points, he scored about 143 on the B&C scale and weighed about 340 pounds. But, I took my biggest buck while hunting with Whitetail Outfitters in 1998."

Why James Muise Hunts With Whitetail Outfitters:
"I love the solitude of the wilderness," Weise explains. "I'm excited about the possibility of taking monster bucks on every trip, and I plan to return here each year. I enjoy the wilderness experience with no phones, no television, no radio and no people. I like being with my friends at camp, and I really enjoy seeing and taking big deer. The camp life, the good food and the great guides all make this hunt so great, and I've learned to dress for the weather, so it doesn't bother me too much."

For more information on hunting the buck of your lifetime under extreme conditions, contact Doug Grantham or John Nixon at Whitetail Outfitters, Box 70, Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada ROC 2Z0, phone toll-free (888) 398-3459, e-mail hunt@whitetailoutfitters.ca, or visit the Web site www.whitetailoutfitters.ca.

TOMORROW: STEVE BRODERICK'S BUCK OF A LIFETIME AND ANTHONY MESSINA'S BIGGEST BUCK EVER