Kenauk Nature, a Quebec deer hunting tradition

White-tailed deer hunters everywhere are joining in the annual pursuit of North America’s most sought after big-game animal, and the province of Quebec has some of the most underrated deer hunting in existence.

Deer season is a special and sentimental time I have enjoyed immensely for the past 37 years. From my first deer hunt back in 1980 when my father brought me to the family hunt camp near Mont Tremblant, I was immediately hooked. Of course I lucked-out that year when a big eight-point buck ran straight out to me on opening morning. It was an exciting time for a green-horn hunter and I believe most hunters, young and old, still share this child-like enthusiasm for the deer season and Kenauk Nature has always been my favourite place to pursue whitetails.

 

Deer hunting at Kenauk’s 65,000 acre private paradise is time I look forward to year after year. The famous Montebello, Quebec Preserve is a true hunter’s paradise with its rolling hills, rugged terrain and the most majestic old growth stands of red oak I’ve ever seen.

 

Climbing the peaks each autumn in pursuit of a trophy whitetail buck is always exciting and I have been fortunate to take some truly magnificent whitetails at Kenauk over the years.

Getting out to enjoy Quebec’s crisp, cool fall air each fall is what I live for. Coming together as a team; strategizing and pouring over topographic maps and GPS co-ordinates with hopes of positioning ourselves for a chance at a deer. Many years our best planning does not translate into a sagging game pole and that is ok with me, there have been more than enough successful years to make up for it. One year in particular, I enjoyed the most exciting deer action in recent memory and Kenauk is where it all unfolded.

From the very start of the 2012 deer season I had a feeling I was in store for something marvelous…

First hunt of opening day and a dandy (but not legal) 4-point yearling strolled out to me at the end of a lake I was watching. (Kenauk practises QDM and has a 6-point or better rule) The scrappy little buck got to within 10 feet of where I was sitting and never even knew I was there. I knew this little guy well from photos I had on my trail cam, and I had no intention of raising my rifle on him even if he was legal.  I sat there quietly and enjoyed the sight of this young lad as he disappeared over the hill. As the days went on, my Kenauk deer sighting went sky-high. On one chase alone I had 8 deer coming to me including two bucks; one a spike and the other a forkhorn. I already had 3 bucks appear at close range and I still hadn’t raised the rifle.

By the final day of the season, I promised my then 81-year old father that HE would sit in the location where the 8 deer had appeared the day before.

As I watching the knoll in front of me with another watchful eye over in my father’s direction, my finger’s were crossed. Surely if the big buck which had been making all the rubs and scrapes was around, he should appear and practically run my father over in his hotspot. My poor Dad had seen but 1 whitetail all season and deserved this chance at a nice buck. But alas, as irony and my fate as deer magnet won out, I heard the rustling of leaves on the hill above me and the glimpse of antler caught my attention.  Sneaking down the ridge in front of me was one of the biggest set of ivory white antlers I’d ever laid eyes on!  

“How could this be?” I thought. “This isn’t the hotspot, the oldman is supposed to see this deer over there!!”

A small but persistent wave of guilt come over me. Finally, instinct took over as I picked out a semi-clear window in the brush I figured this majestic beast would step into. And as my continuous knack for doing everything right won out, the deer stopped into the very spot I had chosen; as if on cue. Within seconds it was all over and a marvelous 10-point king was mine.

As I walked up to this magnificent beast I knew this had to my destiny and I couldn’t fight fate any longer. This Kenauk deer was a very special animal indeed and not your run-of-the-mill whitetail. He sported an almost perfectly symmetrical 5X5 crown with long sweeping main beams and even showed signs of “piebald” pigmentation along his lower legs and hooves. Two hooves were half white and half brown almost like a pair of white slippers!

If a memorable whitetail hunt is what you’re looking for this fall, keep Kenauk Nature in mind or one of the other great Quebec Outfitters. For more information on deer hunting at Kenauk Nature: http://kenauk.com/activities/hunting/

If you’re considering the deer hunt of a lifetime this fall, visit the Québec Outfitters Federation: https://www.pourvoiries.com/en/hunting-quebec/species/white-tailed-deer/ for all the hunting and lodging information you will ever need.

Happy hunting and I hope to see you in La Belle Province!