HuntGuide.Com Visits Branch Lake Outfitters

It was the third day of my hunt. This day began much like the previous days. Weather conditions were fantastic, with fresh snow blanketing the ground and temperatures around 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The deer were moving, with the rut beginning to pick up pace. I couldn't think of a better place to be than northern Saskatchewan during the third week of November.

As I sat in my blind watching several doe, I thought about how excited Marty French was the first day when he recounted his tale of the beautiful 10 point, 138 B&C class buck he harvested. It was 3:00 pm , and Marty had already passed on four smaller class bucks. He noticed several doe looking into the woods and before long, a majestic 10 point walked into the open. One well-placed shot and he had harvested the second best buck of his life.

My morning was progressing like the previous two days. I had already watched twenty doe pass through the area and had watched six young bucks throughout the morning. As I began eating my lunch, I thought about the nice 10 point my hunting partner and Huntguide.com co-owner, Denny Latsha, harvested the second day of the hunt. What impressed me the most about his buck, besides the gross B&C score of 141 & 3/8 th , was the body size of his deer. Our outfitter estimated the live weight of his deer to be in excess of 270 lbs. Although deer grow even larger in Saskatchewan , this was clearly the largest deer I had ever seen. In the two days Denny spent on the stand with a rifle, he had passed up eighteen buck. Of those buck, eight of them were 8 point or better.

After finishing my lunch, I watched an unusual 6 point pass through the area. He had a third main beam growing out the right side of his head. I had been watching him for about 15 minutes when a much larger buck emerged from the thick birch forest chasing a doe. To be honest, it caught me off guard. As quickly as he appeared, he disappeared back into the forest.

I grabbed my rifle anticipating that he might re-appear. In the short time I saw the buck, he was running directly away from me, and he appeared to have a nice spread with high tines. After several minutes, a doe came sprinting back out of the forest about 270 yards away, and within seconds, the buck followed. He stopped broadside and looked directly toward my stand. I knew I had only seconds to make a decision. My shot was true and the buck dropped where he stood.

I must admit, this being my first trip to Canada for Whitetail, it is much easier scoring deer on video than watching them in real life from a deer stand. My deer had a gross score of 123 & 4/8 th . Even though I'm sure I could have taken a better scoring buck had I been more patient, I was pleased with the beautiful 8 point I had harvested.

I grabbed my rifle anticipating that he might re-appear. In the short time I saw the buck, he was running directly away from me, and he appeared to have a nice spread with high tines. After several minutes, a doe came sprinting back out of the forest about 270 yards away, and within seconds, the buck followed. He stopped broadside and looked directly toward my stand. I knew I had only seconds to make a decision. My shot was true and the buck dropped where he stood.

I must admit, this being my first trip to Canada for Whitetail, it is much easier scoring deer on video than watching them in real life from a deer stand. My deer had a gross score of 123 & 4/8 th . Even though I'm sure I could have taken a better scoring buck had I been more patient, I was pleased with the beautiful 8 point I had harvested.

Lyle Prosser, owner and operator of Branch Lake Outfitters, has been offering trophy Whitetail hunts in Saskatchewan since 1995. Hunts with Branch Lake Outfitters are booked exclusively through Cabela's Outdoor Adventures. Branch Lake Outfitters has exclusive access to over 9000 acres of prime territory which consists of both forest and farm land. As an outfitter who is serious about managing his property for quality whitetails, he only accepts 16 hunters per year for the November rifle season. As a testament to the quality of his services, Lyle has a client repeat rate of almost 75% each year. In fact, the HuntGuide.Com Prostaff has re-booked for 2004 and is looking forward to returning.

At the present time, Lyle has 16 different stands throughout his property. Due to the limited number of hunters he accepts, there are typically several stands each year that never get hunted. Each stand has three to four shooting lanes, and provides shooting distances which are tailored to the abilities of each hunter. One notable tidbit regarding the location of the stands in relation to the hunting camp is that it only takes 10 to 15 minutes each morning to drive to the hunting location. In Saskatchewan , providing feed for deer during hunting season is legal, with certain restrictions. Lyle maintains a strong deer herd on his property by consistently feeding deer beginning in September and continuing throughout the winter on a daily basis.

The quantity of deer I saw throughout the week was astounding. From the stand that I hunted, I typically saw 30 to 40 doe each day, and anywhere from 3 to 6 buck a day. The amazing aspect to me was that I saw deer almost constantly throughout the day. In fact, Lyle stated that almost 50% of the bucks are harvested during the mid-day. Even after the three of us had finished our hunt, we continued to sit on the stand the remainder of the week. We saw everything from young 4 points to mature 8 and 10 point bucks. For the week, Denny saw an average of twenty doe per day, with a low of four buck in one day to a high of eleven buck in one day. Near the end of the week, he saw a buck that would have scored in the 150 to 160 class category. As for Marty, he saw a 120 class buck every day. Throughout the week, he saw three 140 class bucks and he video taped one buck that easily went in the 150 class category.

As for myself, I saw several 120 class bucks throughout the week. In addition, I saw three 130 class bucks later in the week after shooting my buck on Wednesday. I saw my largest buck on Friday afternoon on my way back for lunch. Lyle and I were surprised when the buck bolted out of the woods chasing a doe. He was at least a 10 point, possibly a 12 point, with huge mass and well developed tines. Lyle estimated the buck to be at least a 150 class buck. The sight of that huge buck chasing the doe is still etched in my mind.

The accommodations, food, and travel arrangements for this trip were excellent. I'm sure I speak for all three of us when I compliment Lyle's wife, Karen, on the outstanding meals she prepared each night. You will not go away from the dinner table hungry. Branch Lake Outfitters is truly a family run business, with Lyle's father, Ken, also helping to facilitate the day to day operations. The Prosser family goes out of their way to make you feel at home. Booking the hunt through Cabela's Outdoor Adventures, they provided detailed information on all aspects of our hunt agenda. We also booked our travel arrangements through Cabela's Travel Service, which made airline, rental car and airport hotel reservations a breeze.

In addition to the November rifle season, Branch Lake Outfitters offers several other hunts. For Muzzleloader hunters, they offer an early season deer and bear combination hunt during October. If you're looking for a spring bear hunt, they take up to six hunters each year. The average bear weighs 400 to 500 pounds and approximately 35 to 40% are color phase bears. Hunters can use their weapon of choice, rifle or bow.

If you're interested in booking a trophy Whitetail hunt with Branch Lake Outfitters or you're interested in one of their other hunts, give Ed Beattie of Cabela's Outdoor Adventures a call at 1-800-346-8747. Remember, these hunts fill up fast, so contact Ed early to reserve your spot for the next season.

 

Shawn Klinger

HuntGuide.com Prostaff