Saskatchewan can be brutally cold in late November, but the rewards can be unbelievable. Jeff was hunting from a pop-up blind in bitter cold and heavy snow when this 16-point brute made an appearance.

Prior to the 2006 season, Jeff Rittenhouse of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, had spent 32 years chasing whitetails in southeastern Pennsylvania. He'd always dreamed of having an opportunity to shoot a true trophy buck, but as a family practitioner, his discretionary time was limited. Then, in November of the '06 season, he thought he might have blown his one big chance when he missed a shot at a P&Y buck in Delaware. Little did he know that three short weeks later he would kill one of the biggest non-typicals taken in 2006 by a non-resident in Saskatchewan!

Jeff was hunting on Indian reservation land near Jackfish Lake during the last week of November. This was his first guided whitetail hunt. The thought of shooting a massive Canadian whitetail was very exciting, but he knew the hunt would require great patience and great tolerance to extreme cold. Jeff set a realistic goal of killing a 140-class buck.

His Indian guide, Willard Swiftwolf, suggested that he hunt in a pop-up blind in the farmland where previously the guide had seen a 160-class buck.

BRUTAL COLD, HEAVY SNOW
Monday morning greeted Jeff with a minus-20-degree temperature reading and a wind chill of minus 35 degrees. Driving to the blind was difficult enough because of fresh, deep snow. But after getting his gear organized in the predawn darkness, Jeff wondered if he was wearing enough warm clothing to survive 10 grueling hours in the frozen landscape. As daylight approached, he surveyed his surroundings and mentally prepared for any potential shot scenario.

The stand faced south, where Jeff could see out across a deep coulee. A bait pile (legal in Saskatchewan) had been placed approximately 120 yards away. Snowfall affected his visibility, but in the dim morning light Jeff could see a deer at the bait. However, he could not determine its sex before it disappeared just at daylight.

Magpies kept Jeff entertained, but the weather was ruthless even though the pop-up blind offered some protection from the wind and snow. The lens of his binoculars and scope continually fogged up and iced over. By 2 p.m., the weather was so bad that Willard came back to get him. Although disappointed, Jeff had seen three small bucks and he felt victorious in enduring the cold. To add to his disappointment, that night he learned there would be no hunting on Tuesday because of worsening snowdrifts.

Wednesday morning found Jeff back in the same blind. Even though the temperature was still minus 20, he elected not to use any propane heat because of the noise and scent factor. At 9 a.m. Jeff saw a spike buck. At noon he saw a small 8-point. Trying to stay focused, he hoped for the best.

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