From Bucks to Bears to Ducks, Saskatchewan Is a Hunter's Heaven

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While the trophies in waterfowl hunting aren’t measured or weighed, they can be found in the sheer volume of birds winging their way south as the transition from summer to winter occurs. I found that out several years ago hunting with Charlie Holder, owner of the Sure-Shot Game Calls company down on the Gulf Coast in Groves, Texas.

After heading north from the Northway Outfitters lodge where we were staying, we were rewarded with non-stop early morning action as clouds and clouds of ducks and geese worked the vast decoy spread that our small hunting crew had put out before dawn.

On this particular morning, as thousands of snow geese filled the air along with plenty of Canada geese and mallards, a small wad of specklebelly geese cupped their wings and headed towards our hidden position.

When our pit boss named Wally cried out “Take ‘em!”, I settled my shotgun on a pair of snow geese working the edge while Holder knocked down a specklebelly double. Hustling out into the spread, we retrieved the downed birds, hastily retreated to the makeshift blind, and started calling at the next bunch working the decoys.

A short while later, we took a closer look at Holder’s two specklebellies and discovered that these two birds were trophy specimens in their own right — two big geese that are now mounted together in the call maker’s office. Why were they trophies for a dedicated waterfowler? Because the pair of geese each wore silver leg bands put on years earlier by biologists who were hoping to track their autumn movements and eventual harvest by hunters.

With a Texas-sized grin, Holder looked at me and the others and put the whole experience of hunting in Saskatchewan into proper perspective.

“Gentlemen, I believe we’ve come to the right place!”

Indeed. Because whether the goal is a trophy whitetail buck, a big springtime black bear or the autumn waterfowl hunting memory of a lifetime, when hunting in Saskatchewan there’s never been a truer statement made.

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