Glenn
Dunning is a member of New England Outdoor Writers Association
(NEOWA) and contributes monthly to Outdoors Magazine
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Outdoors Magazine, September 2007 issue, Traveling Outdoorsman col. Submitted by: Glenn Dunning |
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Ontario Outfitter Profile: Countrywide Whitetail Outfitters |
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| Some guys like hunting in December. Others consider chasing whitetails a fall sport and when the weather turns to winter they'd rather be watching football than a deer trail. But what Mark was watching on the morning of December 6th was the bristled gray hair on the back of the big doe as she stood directly below his stand. She had been there for several minutes, unaware of his perch, when suddenly she came to full alert and was peering back over her shoulder: another deer was working its way in…. Mark was on the third day of his late season Ontario whitetail hunt and at the moment would not have wanted to be anywhere else. Now, when most buck-hunters talk about hunting Ontario they are referring to the vast crown lands near the Manitoba border, at least a 20-plus hour drive from almost anywhere except Minnesota. So when Mark Chicoine and his uncle Jim heard about a place only 5 hours from their northern Vermont homes that included a lodge, preset stands on privately leased farms and cost less than $1500 a piece, they took interest. Countrywide Whitetail Outfitters is located in the heart of Southern Ontario's rich farm belt. Wooded rolling hills surround cultivated fields of corn, soybean and clover. This area on the northern plain of the Saint Lawrence River is only an hour from the Adirondack community of Malone. Owner, Stephane Lavigne, a lifelong resident, has hunted the surrounding farmlands since he was 14. As an adult he spends his time in the bush harvesting white cedar for landscapers and local mills. He has established relationships with landowners as a result of this business and it has enabled him to secure 2500 plus acres of primo leases. He does not accept single bookings preferring to book parties of 4 or maybe 5. His comfortable lodge is ideal for this size group. Clients bring their own food and take advantage of the fully equipped kitchen or sometimes stop in town for a meal. Stephane is also a professional 3D shooter sponsored by Mathews and shoots 30 plus tournaments a year. This obsession with archery makes him pretty picky about things like concealment and wind direction. His 42 elevated stands are set to take advantage of different weather and all are over apples. Like any good outfitter he wants his clients to have a chance to be successful so he stops in camp every night to check in on the day's events. And it was in camp where he now sat listening to the hunt report from Mark, Jim and the others. It was Monday evening December 4th and day one of their week's hunt was now history. All agreed that it was cold, in the single digits most of the day. Mark had, had a good day but he was one of only two guys who had not seen deer. His uncle Jim had seen a few doe and heard others go by out of sight but for Mark it had been a long, cold, deerless day. Stephane suggested they hunt the same farm in the morning and then try different set-ups for the afternoon. The strategy proved to be a good idea. Mark had climbed into his stand around 1 p.m. and within an hour had a six point chase a couple of does by him. Countrywide maintains an eight point antler restriction even so, it was only the second day and Mark's expectations were still high. Several more deer passed during his watch and as he climbed down in the dark, his thoughts were full of anticipation for what the morning's hunt might bring. The big doe and her fawns had showed up an hour or so after first light. She had been right under Mark's stand for so long that he had actually gotten pretty comfortable with her presence. Ten yards in front of him the fawns sparred; rearing up on their hind legs and then crashing into one another. It was quite a show but it all ended abruptly with the unmistakable chatter of approaching hoofs breaking through the shallow crust of the week old snow. The cedars were so thick that the first movement that Mark detected was a front leg which appeared through a slight opening just above the ground. He tried to find the rest of the deer in his scope as it cautiously moved parallel to his stand. When thru the maze of branches he made out a tine, he initially thought it was the six pointer from the previous afternoon. At that moment however, the big buck grunted a deep, authoritative and somewhat ominous announcement to the doe of his romantic intentions. She spooked out from under the stand and simultaneously one side of a huge main beam crossed into Mark's scope; that much bone meant shooter, for sure. Slowly panning the scope, the head, a thick neck, an opening … now exposed... BOOOM! (you gotta love the sound a Thompson Center makes on a December morning) The smoke seemed to take forever to clear; where was he? There; trying to raise his head, once; then again; then stillness…… With ramrod in hand preparing to reload, he stared at the huge beam arching up from the ground where the brute lay. He flushed and tried to collect himself. Reaching into his pack he grabbed his radio. "Hey Uncle Jim, wait 'til you see what I just did!" |
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