2017 CFB Camp Wainwright Hunt and Information

[NickyLongDraw]

A hunting partner of mine won the opportunity to hunt Camp Wainwright Deer on the December 7-9, 2017 rifle hunt. I tagged along to offer my support and I figured it would be an interesting experience. Neither of us had done it before and we went in with next to no information or plan. I figured I would make this post summarizing what we learnt to make it easier for the next person.

There are several special licenses (draws) that a hunter can apply for to hunt Camp Wainwright. Each special license takes a certain amount of priority points outlined below:

2017 Draw Summaries as per Alberta RELM

Camp Wainwright Either Sex Deer x2 Tags (WMU 728 & 730)

1. Primitive Weapon - muzzle loader and bow and arrow: Nov 30 2017-Dec 02 2017 (Quota 150)
Priority 5 65.48%
Priority 6+ 100%
811 total applicants

2. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 04 2017-Dec 06 2017 (Quota 150)
Priority 7 95.83%
Priority 8+ 100%
1841 total applicants

3. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 07 2017-Dec 09 2017 (Quota 150)
Priority 3 26.19%
Priority 4+ 100%
942 total applicants

4. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 11 2017-Dec 13 2017 (Quota 150)
Priority 2 88.52%
Priority 3+ 100%
666 total applicants

5. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 14 2017-Dec 16 2017 (Quota 150)
Priority 1 26.52%
Priority 2+ 100%
632 total applicants

Camp Wainwright Either Sex Elk (WMU 728 & 730)

1. Muzzle loader, bow and arrow: Nov 30 2017-Dec 02 2017 & Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 04 2017-Dec 16 2017 (Quota 45)
Priority 1 10.81%
Priority 2+ 100%
185 total applicants

Camp Wainwright Antlerless Moose (WMU 728 & 730)

1. Muzzle loader, bow and arrow: Nov 30 2017-Dec 02 2017 (Quota 40)
Priority 1 21.88%
Priority 2+ 100%
90 total applicants

2. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 04 2017-Dec 09 2017 (Quota 45)
Priority 2 51.43%
Priority 3+ 100%
216 total applicants

3. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 11 2017-Dec 16 2017 (Quota 45)
Priority 1 32.76%
Priority 2+ 100%
166 total applicants

Camp Wainwright Antlered Moose (WMU 728 & 730)

1. Muzzle loader, bow and arrow: Nov 30 2017-Dec 02 2017 (Quota 20)
Priority 5 0%
Priority 6+ 100%
71 total applicants

2. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 04 2017-Dec 09 2017 (Quota 20)
Priority 10 46.67%
Priority 11+ 100%
144 total applicants

3. Rifle or other legal weapon: Dec 11 2017-Dec 16 2017 (Quota 20)
Priority 7 91.67%
Priority 8+ 100%
80 total applicants

The deer hunts are unique as you get two tags and are able to harvest either sex whitetail or mule deer. This is on top of any other whitetail or mule deer you already hunted in the general hunting season. Unlike the elk or moose tags, the either-sex Camp Wainwright deer tags are a separate set of priority points. This is great “bonus” hunting opportunity that does not come and the expense of spending your valuable priority points that you may rather use elsewhere.



Unfortunately for us, we were not able to attend the first day (Thursday) of our hunt. We drove to Wainwright very early on the second day and met at the Hunter’s Check in Station which is easily found on Google Maps as Wainwright Field Airport. They also had several orange signs with deer on them directing the hunters in the right direction.

They opened the doors at 6am and the briefing was at 7am.

We very quickly checked in signed the applicable liability waivers and received our map. We were required to stay for the mandatory daily briefing as well as an orientation briefing. The daily briefing only took about 5 minutes as they only covered the weather forecast and any daily closures on the base. The orientation briefing took around 30 minutes. It was a PowerPoint presentation that covered all the rules and restrictions. Some things of note were:

• No hunting of any animals other that what your tag(s) is for, including grouse, coyotes and wolves.
• No picking up and keeping anything off the base including antler sheds.
• Blaze orange must be worn at all times except when hunting in the bow only zone. (I would still wear orange as there are lots of truck hunters who may not realize where the bow zone is.)
• No ATVs, snowmobiles, or horses are allowed on the base.
• Speed limits must be strictly followed. The base speed limit is 60 km/h if not otherwise posted.
• You cannot leave the base without signing in or out. A daily window permit is provided. It is a different color each day.
• No overnight camping, no alcohol, no open fires.
• Non-hunters may accompany hunters into the camp, but must also check in, attend briefings, wear orange and must remain with the hunter.
• There are roads/trails throughout the base that are marked on the map. Each road is named after a color and are signed at intersections. These roads vary in condition. We found that the trails in WMU 730 were far worse.
• There are large areas of the base that are considered out-of-bounds. You can travel on the roads through these areas, but you cannot hunt or leave the road. There were some road closers in these areas.
• In WMU 728 you can take your vehicle off road almost everywhere except in the out-of-bounds area, and the small walk in only area.
• All of WMU 730 (The Annex) is a walk in area. You can access the area by vehicle only on the marked trails. You are required to park just off the trail leaving enough space for another vehicle to pass. However, you are allowed to leave the trail and take your vehicle off road to retrieve your harvested game. There must be proof (blood or dead animal) in order to do so. You are required to retrieve your game in a way that will minimize interrupting the hunts of any fellow hunters in the area. WMU 730 is intended to be a sanctuary away from all the other truck hunters.
• In order to access WMU 730 (The Annex) you must cross highway 41. You are not allowed to leave. You are only allowed to cross.
• You are allowed to leave the base during the day, but must check in and out at the Hunter’s Check Station at the Wainwright Field Airport.
• At the end of the day, you are required to check back in within one hour after end of legal shooting. It is not an issue if you will be late, just call and let them know. They understand that if you harvest and animal or are on a long hike away from your vehicle that you will take longer.
  Range Control: 780-842-1363 ext. 1610
  Hunter Check Station: 780-842-1363 ext. 5018
• All ungulates harvested on the base are required to be tested for Chronic Wastings Disease. They have biologists on site and are able to test the animal in a way that still preserves the trophy.

Alberta Government Hunting Information Report - Camp Wainwright Ungulate Hunt

At the Hunter Check Station, they had several maps posted. Some showed where specific animals were harvested this year and previous years. This was useful as we could see where the most successful areas were. This would be especially useful to the Elk hunters as the elk are quite scarce.











After the morning briefing, it was a mad rush as all the hunters raced to their vehicles hoping to be first to their desired spot. As we had no real plan, we decided to drive to the norther walk-in only area next to the airfield. On the way, we saw two cow moose, a muley doe, a nice muley buck and a small bull moose rubbing on a tree. We then did a short hike circling around behind where we saw the buck go into the woods. No success. We spent most of that day driving around exploring the area. We had lunch atop of a large hill overlooking the river. We spent some time glassing the area, but found that there were too many trucks and orange hunters in the area. We then drove into WMU 730 to spend the rest of our afternoon. We hiked in and on our way to our evening spot we saw two very large bull moose. Without a tag we only watched as they crossed our field 150 yards away. I took some photos through my binoculars and then we sat down in the tree line and waited for the rest evening. We saw nothing.











We returned back to the Check Station to check-out for the night. There were got to see some of the animals harvested that day. The following morning we attended the briefing, then drove into WMU 730. We saw several deer in the dark on our drive in. We went on a long hike in the loud crunchy snow. We saw an abundance of deer sign but saw no animals other than a few grouse. We came across an old blood trail from a successful hunter. For our hike, we could have defiantly used snow shoes. Walking through the icy snow was loud, slow and slightly more difficult than it could have been. I attribute our lack of animal sightings to this.

We returned to the river valley and had lunch again atop another tall hill. It was quite windy so we did not spend any time glassing other than spotting all the other orange hunters in the valley. We spent our evening hunt near where we saw the buck the previous day. That evening, a small 2x2 muley buck came out and quickly crossed a fence onto a restricted area.

This CFB Camp Wainwright hunt was a very different from what I am used to. There were many road hunters (up to 150) but the base is quite large so all the hunters quickly spread out. We found that the West side of the base by the river was very busy. The Annex was significantly less busy and most people in that area were on foot. We were lucky and had very mild weather with the snow being not too deep. I expect some years with more snow and cold, it would encourage a lot more truck hunting compared to what we saw this year.

This was posted in the Check Station. It is a summary of animals harvested by day. It shows how desirable the primitive weapons hunt and the first rifle hunt are. This year (2017) 26 mule deer bucks were harvested on day one of the primitive weapon hunt and 17 mule deer bucks were taken on day one of the first rifle hunt. After that, the success rate drops significantly.




I plan put in for my own draw in 2018. With my 3 priority, I hope to be successful in the third or fourth deer hunt. Perhaps now we will be better prepared and will spend less time exploring aimlessly and more time hunting.

Also posted in the Check Station were these photos of this year’s biggest trophies.



I hope the information on this post helps and good luck hunting!