Bow-Stalking Big Alberta Mule Deer

I talked with Alberta outfitter Terry Scott yesterday about my first hunt of the year. I’ll fly into Calgary on September 1, scout the 2nd and then stalk big muleys with my bow for 4 days. The 180” to 200” giants, racks rimmed in velvet, will look even more ginormous on film. I’ll be hunting cool  country with differing habitats—desert-like prairies, hills, fields... It could be frosty in the mornings, and 85 in the afternoons. Terry says that in September, the bucks will let you close to 200 yards pretty easily, but inside that they get jittery. You have to be careful and smart and stalk your best; I look forward to the challenge. He asked if I had ever done this before. I responded that I have shot some good muleys with a rifle, but never with my bow. “Good, you will become obsessed with it,” he laughed, “it does that to people.” He said that if I mess up one stalk, we can usually try 1 or 2 more stalks a day, maybe even 3 depending on where the deer are bedded up. Terry asked how far I feel comfortable shooting. I said that like most whitetail hunters, I like it 30 yards and in. He said to practice out to 40 and a bit beyond—“these muleys are big animals, you can hit one.” I told him I would. He ended by saying he would send me this picture of a 200” 4x4 that a guy shot on the first day of his hunt last fall. Yes, that one would do :) I am going out to shoot my new bow, a 60# PSE X-Force Dream Season. I will do a review and tell you how I like it after I fling a few hundred arrows.