Real Hunters Best Way to Get Started

[Donner1]

I live a few hours to the south and west in Washington state. Me and a buddy would like to do some waterfowl hunting in Alberta, but we are real hunters, not the pay $2400 for 3 days of pampered, catered, lodge hunting. We have our own gear, do our own hunting, and make our own way, always polite and responsible. We are doing the research on regulations, guns, licenses, and that sort of thing. What we can't do is scouting and getting land owner permission.

So two questions: Does anyone have tips or suggestions on making in-roads up there, getting permission, finding someone to scout for us, not being rude, etc?

And what are your thoughts on how crowded it is for waterfowl hunting? Are there lots of hunters competing over the same areas, or is there still plenty of space to go around? Will we find a lot of other waterfowlers angry that their south-of-the-border brothers are making things even harder or is there plenty to go around?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

[ishootbambi]

im not sure if you are even allowed to do that here in alberta, or saskatchewn for that matter either. but if you are, saskatchewan has waterfowl hunting at least 5 times better than albertas. they are in the heart of the flyway while alberta is on the fringe. the area near the south saskatchewan river from kindersley to swift current is about as good as it gets, and landowners there are very easy to get along with when it comes to bird hunters. if you check out regulations and it can be done, pm me and i can give you more specific details including some names and x's on a map.

[ganderblaster]

x2 on Saskatchewan.Especially if you are after ducks.And in Alberta the closer you get to the Sask. border the better the waterfowling is, I would say it would be worth the extra kms east

[nube]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

im not sure if you are even allowed to do that here in alberta, or saskatchewn for that matter either. but if you are, saskatchewan has waterfowl hunting at least 5 times better than albertas. they are in the heart of the flyway while alberta is on the fringe. the area near the south saskatchewan river from kindersley to swift current is about as good as it gets, and landowners there are very easy to get along with when it comes to bird hunters. if you check out regulations and it can be done, pm me and i can give you more specific details including some names and x's on a map.

Not sure why you say it is better. I have clients that have hunted both and prefer Alberta anyday. This includes Rod Haydel , Charles Snapp and Bill Saiff who are very well known in the industry and have filmed with me many times. Infact Rod has hunted with me for at least 12 years except the last 2.

They can only hunt geese in the morning there only which can make things a little difficult as well if you like to do a good pothole shoot in the morning and that is the only hunt you can do for the day.
You are right there are more birds but i think a lot depends on what type of hunt you want to do as each province has different things to offer.
Getting limits is the norm i find for us. None of the shooting of lesser geese. All big honkers.
I would love to hit Saskatchewan one of these seasons for some good snow goose shoots though as i think that is the place to go for them. But that is a whole different ball game

[Roughneck Country]

I dont really hunt birds that much and I never have been out for them here in Alberta, but I did go once by Estavan and it was like shooting fish in a barrel. No decoys, no camo and the birds were flying so low we were taking out 2 with one shot. We were just sitting in a rock pile. Needless to say we had our limit in no time of Canadas as well as snow geese. My understanding is that that area is on a major migration path. And for those of you who are wondering why no decoys or camo, it was because we were going for upland game and decided to get in a waterfowl shoot due to the numbers. Great ring necks in that area as well!

[Hunter Trav]

Originally Posted by nube

Not sure why you say it is better. I have clients that have hunted both and prefer Alberta anyday. This includes Rod Haydel , Charles Snapp and Bill Saiff who are very well known in the industry and have filmed with me many times. Infact Rod has hunted with me for at least 12 years except the last 2.

They can only hunt geese in the morning there only which can make things a little difficult as well if you like to do a good pothole shoot in the morning and that is the only hunt you can do for the day.
You are right there are more birds but i think a lot depends on what type of hunt you want to do as each province has different things to offer.
Getting limits is the norm i find for us. None of the shooting of lesser geese. All big honkers.
I would love to hit Saskatchewan one of these seasons for some good snow goose shoots though as i think that is the place to go for them. But that is a whole different ball game

Damnit Phil, don't be telling them how good the waterfowl action is over here. You boys go to Saskatchewan, way better hunting over there...

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by nube

Not sure why you say it is better. I have clients that have hunted both and prefer Alberta anyday. This includes Rod Haydel , Charles Snapp and Bill Saiff who are very well known in the industry and have filmed with me many times. Infact Rod has hunted with me for at least 12 years except the last 2.

They can only hunt geese in the morning there only which can make things a little difficult as well if you like to do a good pothole shoot in the morning and that is the only hunt you can do for the day.
You are right there are more birds but i think a lot depends on what type of hunt you want to do as each province has different things to offer.
Getting limits is the norm i find for us. None of the shooting of lesser geese. All big honkers.
I would love to hit Saskatchewan one of these seasons for some good snow goose shoots though as i think that is the place to go for them. But that is a whole different ball game

Phil,I did'nt know That you liked Hunting WaterFowl.Either Way One of the Best Duck hunting areas that I Know of is in Western Alberta,However Unlike My Old man i've never hunted SK For Birds,So I cant say what's better.

[Redfrog]

Donner 1 you are really missing the boat if you don't go to Saskatchewan.

Tons of birds, easy access and real hunters.

In Alberta the really good spots are taken by the guides.

[nube]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

Phil,I did'nt know That you liked Hunting WaterFowl.Either Way One of the Best Duck hunting areas that I Know of is in Western Alberta,However Unlike My Old man i've never hunted SK For Birds,So I cant say what's better.

Kill over 2000 birds a year. The first 500 or so are fun. After that it's for money as work.

[nube]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

Donner 1 you are really missing the boat if you don't go to Saskatchewan.

Tons of birds, easy access and real hunters.

In Alberta the really good spots are taken by the guides.

Yes , I do agree with you Redfrog. It gets Competitive here and unless you know the areas and farmers well it can be a tough game. Plain and simple outfitters and guides have more time to pend and are watching the birds everyday and know what is going on in the areas. Tough to compete with it.

[Redfrog]

Ya know Nube, people think the guides get huge paydays for driving a guy to a field and maybe giving him a jam sandwich.

They don't consider that the fees charged are for all the work during the hunt, accommodations etc, but also all the dekes, gear, spotting, scouting, land owner contacts and good will as well as the expertise only gathered by years of experience.

I've been there done that and can make more money running a cat in the patch.

The clients I had were "Real hunters" many of whom saved for a long time to have one memorable hunt, but didn't have a year to build contacts, get permission and scout the area.

I never met a bird guide who didn't earn every penny he worked for.

[nube]

Your right you sure don't make as much as some would think.
The only guys making money are the ones chasin coyotes though. All of the money from skinning them critters has got to make them rich eh!!

Originally Posted by Redfrog

Ya know Nube, people think the guides get huge paydays for driving a guy to a field and maybe giving him a jam sandwich.

They don't consider that the fees charged are for all the work during the hunt, accommodations etc, but also all the dekes, gear, spotting, scouting, land owner contacts and good will as well as the expertise only gathered by years of experience.

I've been there done that and can make more money running a cat in the patch.

The clients I had were "Real hunters" many of whom saved for a long time to have one memorable hunt, but didn't have a year to build contacts, get permission and scout the area.

I never met a bird guide who didn't earn every penny he worked for.

[Redfrog]

True Dat!!!

[Donner1]

I did not mean to disparage fully guided hunts too much. For me I consider all the efforts to be part of the hunt: gearing up, scouting, access, setup, calling, shooting, retrieving (working with the dog). The fewer of those I do, the more it seems to take away from the hunt. I can see where a guy with a tough job or career or family situation might not have the time or would just like to have a phenomenal shoot so they skip more of the up front "work". It's all good.

So the verdict seems to be split on Alberta vs. Saskatchewan. And it sounds like it can be somewhat competitive in Alberta with guides getting access and being able to scout more.

[nube]

In the end no matter what you do you will have a longer hunt doing it yourself at the same cost and kill the same amount of birds. Unless you know the area and have a lot of experience on how to track down birds.
It seems to me the average resident hunters here have trouble finding shoots. If I stick to the area I know I can find 2-5 in a day and get permision on about 80% of them. We usually watch them for 2-3 days to try and pattern them and sometimes the shoot goes sideways but our hunts run 3 days and you have to make sure it is a sure thing if you can that the birds will be there and do what you want them to do. We also try to watch the wind and will decide which shoot to do if we have a certain wind direction.
If you are doing it all on your own you will only be able to do one shoot a day as you need to spot in the morning or evening.
Either Saskatchewan or Alberta you will have fun. Both have different things that will be better than the other. It all depends on what you want to do. Have fun at it and take a lot of pictures.

[Cowtown guy]

One thing to think about for someone who doesn't live here in Canada. Saskatchewan has a little less land mass than Alberta. Not enough to be noticeable, but Alberta has 3 times the population. Hence the lesser amount of competition for the shoots. There is plenty of birds in both places but why compete with 3 times as many people for a hunt?
My .02.

[ishootbambi]

forget the people count...its the bird count thats the difference. you have to have seen it yourself to believe the difference. being in the thick of the flyway compared to albertas fringe is nowhere close. when you consider these guys will have less time to do what they are coming for, its a no brainer. i think everyone owes themself the chance to go to saskatchewan at least once. im not saying there is no good waterfowl hunting in alberta, but saskatchewan is just that much better.

[nube]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

forget the people count...its the bird count thats the difference. you have to have seen it yourself to believe the difference. being in the thick of the flyway compared to albertas fringe is nowhere close. when you consider these guys will have less time to do what they are coming for, its a no brainer. i think everyone owes themself the chance to go to saskatchewan at least once. im not saying there is no good waterfowl hunting in alberta, but saskatchewan is just that much better.

The bird numbers are a big difference between the 2 but you also have a huge number of snows and specks. Not into hunting them as much for me anyways.
I just don't like the fact you can only hunt geese in the mornings. Why is that anyways?
Another thing that Saskatchewan has is a good number of upland as well.

[Donner1]

We are looking for someone to do the scouting and gaining access for us. Of all aspects of the hunt, those are the two that we can't do. So I guess it would be a partially guided hunt as we expect to pay for the service.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Donner1

We are looking for someone to do the scouting and gaining access for us. Of all aspects of the hunt, those are the two that we can't do. So I guess it would be a partially guided hunt as we expect to pay for the service.

Before reading this last post, I was thinking that you were asking for someone who has never met you to do the grunt work for you.

A "partially guided hunt" does not exist in Alberta hunting law, you have to hire a legal outfitter for requested services. So be very careful as to how you approach this option to your hunt.

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by nube

Kill over 2000 birds a year. The first 500 or so are fun. After that it's for money as work.

Holy Moly Shooot!!!

[Take Em!]

I always get confused when people say they can't find bird hunts/get permission in Alberta. All that tells me is that they are not trying. I agree that if you are trying to get permission just outside the city limits of Calgary/Edmonton you are going to have some difficulty but if you are willing to get in your truck and drive 100 km it should be easy. I have been go hunting in Southern Alberta for 22 years now and I can't remember a weekend when I wasn't able to set up a hunt. And in those 22 years I would say I have been turned down for permission maybe 10 times, and only twice because an outfitter had the field. That is ten time is probably close to 700-1000 hunts (and of those hunts I would say only 100 of them took any skill in finding the birds. The others are just watch the water and feeding time and follow the suckers).

My only concern for the OP is that he is American and I have had landowners ask me before if I was American/hunting with Americans as they would not give me permission if that was the case (I assume stemming back to the mad cow fiasco). That being said even if you are batting .500 you should be able to make a hunt happen.
IMHO

[Cowtown guy]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

forget the people count...its the bird count thats the difference. you have to have seen it yourself to believe the difference. being in the thick of the flyway compared to albertas fringe is nowhere close. when you consider these guys will have less time to do what they are coming for, its a no brainer. i think everyone owes themself the chance to go to saskatchewan at least once. im not saying there is no good waterfowl hunting in alberta, but saskatchewan is just that much better.

I grew up there. Yes there are a pile of birds, but as Nube said, there are also a bunch of lessers, specs and snows. While the fields look like they may be moving at times, it can be frustrating hunting the big flocks. They can feed out a field in a few days and simply not show up when you get all lined up. Now on the other hand there is something to be said for getting it right, or lucky, and being underneath a flock of 2 or 3 thousand snows at once. It is deafening! When you finally pop up to shoot you can actually hear the echo of the report bouncing off the birds and back to the ground.

That being said, you still only have to compete with a third of the people. No matter who you are or where you hunt that is a huge contributing factor. Get there while harvest is still finishing and it's even less as the farmers don't take time to kill birds until the crops are off. (I guess that's kinda moot as it's the same here also)

I do agree that it's something to see. I think it should be on every waterfowler's bucket list to head out there at the beginning of October and watch the snows. Last fall I was coming back from my Granny's birthday and we passed 4 different fields that were completely white for the entire 1/4 section. If not for the 40 or so yards that they left alone by the side of the highway, you wouldn't have been able to tell it was pea fields.

Spectacular! I think I'll phone a few old buddies and get a hunt together this fall. Thanks for the reminder Dale. Much appreciated.