While spending time in nature can be its own reward, especially when whitetail hunting in Saskatchewan – there’s nothing like the feeling of spotting a potential trophy buck, taking your shot and watching it drop, knowing all your preparation and patience has paid off.
But what happens next?
There’s a lot that goes into ensuring a successful hunt from start to finish, and much of that work happens after your harvest. When you join a guided trip with an outfitter, their team will tackle most of the details – but it’s still helpful to know what to expect to ensure that your hard-earned success is handled with care and respect.
In this article, we’ll walk you through what a trip with Elusive looks like after you’ve secured your trophy, so you can go into the experience with peace of mind, knowing everything is in good hands.
Immediately After You Bag Your Trophy
Once you’ve taken the shot and you verify that you’ve secured your trophy, you’ll start by contacting your guide. Depending on your location and service availability, you’ll reach out via your cell phone or a supplied radio to inform them of your success.
The guide will then head out to retrieve your trophy, typically using one of our resident side-by-side vehicles for the transport to make the process faster and more convenient, since the terrain can be quite rugged.
Once your guide reaches you and your trophy, they’ll attach the required tag to the animal make sure it’s properly identified and meets local hunting regulations in Saskatchewan. Then, they’ll load the animal onto the vehicle and head back to camp, being cautious about transporting it safely and respectfully.
Commemorating The Moment
Taking trophy pictures is an important part of the hunt! You’ll definitely want to capture the moment and preserve the memories of your hard-earned success to show your friends and family.
Once you’re settled back at camp, your guide will help you establish the perfect photo. They’ll make sure you position the animal in a way that showcases its size and beauty and
carefully consider the lighting and background so that your pictures truly highlight the effort it took for this achievement. Typically, we’ll set you up with your back to the beautiful Green Lake, so that you have a stunning backdrop and can have a visual reminder of the incredible natural setting. Curious what our trophy pictures look like at Elusive? Visit our gallery to see the achievements of past hunters who’ve visited our camp.
Spending Your Time After You Harvest Your Trophy
Once you’ve bagged your trophy, the hunting part of the trip may be over, but that doesn’t mean your day or week is finished.
Hunters at Elusive have plenty of options for spending their time. You can hang out with our guides and assist them with the baiting program, sourcing firewood for our beautiful cabin, or other critical tasks. They can teach you new skills and show you what’s involved in contributing to a successful camp!
If you’re up for it, you can wind down from the excitement and head out on a rejuvenating nature walk to explore the incredible grounds where we’re located and witness more of the local wildlife and ecosystem. Or for those who prefer a more relaxed day, you can enjoy the comforts of our cozy accommodations. Stay inside and kick back and indulge in some delicious home-cooked meals prepared by the camp chef Diane.
The rest of your time is yours to shape, and the guides are happy to accommodate whatever you’d like to do!
Preparing Your Whitetail Deer to Take Home
Since you worked so hard to get your trophy, you want to make sure that it’s prepared adequately to journey home safely.
The Taxidermy Process
Your guide will carefully skin your deer, taking extra care in preserving the face and antlers, and preparing the cape so you can mount it proudly in your home. Typically, hunters opt for a shoulder mount so our team will save enough for a taxidermist to work with. Your guide will work meticulously to keep your trophy in prime condition and ensure a final result that is as realistic and detailed as possible. After skinning, the guide also disinfects the hide to prevent you from transferring any diseases.
While many hunters prefer to have their trophies mounted at home, we can also recommend you local taxidermy services in Saskatchewan for those who want to start the process while still in the area.
Next, your guide will pack the deer into a tote, frozen to maintain freshness, and ready for transport with the necessary permit numbers attached. You can simply check it as an additional bag on your flight and it will stay frozen for several days, giving you ample time to get it back home.
Preserving deer meat
Guests are welcome to take all their meat home to enjoy in a good meal! For those who drive, transporting it in coolers is a viable option, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. However, it can be challenging to do so via airplane due to weight restrictions. If preferred, some hunters choose to donate the meat to local community members to ensure nothing goes to waste.
The Benefits of Having an Outfitter to Process Your Trophy
Many people choose to work with an outfitter for their hunts because of the access to prime whitetail hunting locations. But joining forces with experts has another advantage – you can tap into their expertise when it comes to processing your trophy!
Many hunters aren’t familiar with the proper techniques for caping, which is an essential skill when preparing a trophy for taxidermy. A professional guide has the knowledge and experience to manage this delicate task. You won’t have to worry about making mistakes that could damage your animal or spoil the mount’s quality!
It’s also a really tedious, time-consuming and messy endeavour that you can push onto someone else – no need to deal with the unappealing parts of skinning and disinfecting yourself! By leaving the hard work to the experts, you can focus on enjoying the rest of your experience and simply relax and appreciate the memories of your hunt.
Your Trophy Hunt Simplified with Elusive Outfitters
After you’ve bagged your trophy and felt that unforgettable rush of excitement, the work isn’t over! Yet with a guided hunt, the heavy lifting is made easy. Your guide will handle everything with skill and respect, from retrieving your trophy to preparing it for transport.
You can simply focus on enjoying the beauty of Saskatchewan’s remote wilderness and sharing stories with fellow hunters!
At Elusive, we believe that you deserve an opportunity for whitetail hunting where you can live life to the fullest. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or new to hunting, you can still rely on our team to ensure your time is both fun and simple! There’s no need to expend on energy on the mundane details when you can channel your focus on the exciting parts of the process.
So, why not offload the hard work to us? Contact us to book your guided hunt with Elusive Outfitters today!
