Released September 26, 2023
We asked Ryan Kohler, President of Wild TV Group of Companies, a series of questions about one of the most amazing Whitetail hunting grounds in the world, the Edmonton Bowzone.
What makes The Edmonton Bowzone the best place to hunt whitetails?
Ryan: The Edmonton Bowzone is a super special place. They only allow primitive weapons. So, no rifles or shotguns. They don't allow crossbows. It's archery only. It’s located in a parkland-type farming subdivision. It’s an area where whitetail deer can live without being hunted or pestered unless you're a bowhunter. So, in the winter months, they get fed by people that live in subdivisions. And in the summer and spring months, they're eating off of the top-end food sources, which are like oats and canola, and alfalfa. It’s a perfect mixture for giant whitetails to survive and live. It's in Canada, it's in Alberta, which is, you know, the number one place for those animals anyway. Now, what makes it even more special is that because of the location, it makes it hard to get permission to hunt. And you have extreme weather temperatures to deal with when you're hunting them. So, you've got a really challenging animal to hunt that has a perfect place to live. It’s a perfect mixture for huge whitetails. In fact, we've seen whitetails over 200 that have been shot and killed on broadcast now. And in the past years, there's many trophy whitetails that have come out of The Edmonton Bowzone, including the number two in Alberta, all-time typical whitetail, and many more. Huge whitetails - that's why it's a special place. At the end of the day, it's all about the animals.
What's the success rate in The Edmonton Bowzone?
Ryan: Success rates in The Bowzone will depend how good you are at bow hunting, and how much permission you can access. So, I would say the success rate for any bowhunter is probably in the teens. But as you get more efficient, and you get better permissions, then your success rates would go up. If you go with an outfitter, it's probably a little higher, say 35%.
So, there are outfitters that can take you into The Bowzone?
Ryan: Yeah, there's outfitters that can take you into The Bowzone, and your success rates might go up. If you live there, and you know the animals well, and you scout and hunt them properly, then your success rate goes way up. I'd say 70% success rate to get into Pope & Young animals. But if you just grab a bow and walk into The Bowzone, you're gonna get slammed. You're in the 15% percentile (chuckles).
When are you allowed to hunt Whitetails in The Bowzone?
Ryan: It follows the general whitetail season that starts September 1st in Alberta and goes to November 30th.
Can Americans hunt whitetails in The Bowzone, or is it just Canadians
Ryan: Yes, but they have to be with an outfitter.
Tell us about Bowzone Live. This is your 3rd season. What would you tell Wild TV+ subscribers that would make them want to stream Bowzone Live?
Ryan: You're watching the most challenging whitetail hunt in the world with the challenges of property access and with the weather. And so what we've done is we've collected some of the top bowhunters we know; some very seasoned, some new bowhunters, and some female bowhunters. We’ve been able to get this group to hunt on a daily basis, shoot video of their hunts, and create a really exciting TV series out of it all. What you're gonna see is wild Canadian whitetails rutting, hitting scrapes, rubbing trees and chasing does. You're going to see amazing whitetails that you would never see anywhere else. You’ll see a number of huge whitetails that will get captured on video but don’t get killed because it's very hard to kill them anyway. And you're gonna see a lot of really great characters - Canadian characters, trying to do that.
When you said extreme temperatures, in your experience, what's been the coldest it's been? And how long did you have to sit?
Ryan: You sit dark to dark for 10 days in the last 10 days of November, kind of regardless, if you haven't tagged out. And you have to sometimes sit in -25 temperatures, but that's about it. Like, after -25, it just gets wrong. We've had -40 temperatures in The Bowzone, but nobody sits in it, unless you go in a ground blind with the heater or something like that. So, you can sit in -20, -25. It's really hard, but you can do it.
So most hunt from treestands, though, in The Bowzone?
Ryan: Yeah, I would say 90% of Bowzone hunting is out of a treestand.
When do you start scouting in The Bowzone?
Ryan: September 1st. Certainly as soon as the season starts. But some hunters are scouting by October 15th, and they scout right through to November 30th. You’re always trying to get the upper hand on those deer and find a way to get one in bow range, and that means it's like a three, three-and-a-half-month passion. For some people it's a year round thing. Or they just never stop thinking about it. They're always trying to find a way.
What's been the biggest scoring whitetail that's come out of The Bowzone?
Ryan: The biggest whitetail - ever? That would be a guy by the name of Don McGarvey. He killed a 197⅛. Jim Hole had the second biggest typical whitetail at 192 0/8.
What was the biggest one taken during a Bowzone Live series?
Logan Johnson’s would have been the biggest one, in 2021. That was the biggest whitetail. In that year we took two 190s. Logan's was 200, 200 plus. Another 170” deer. We really killed more big deer than ever filmed in Canadian history. It will probably never be done again (laughs).
Are there a lot of whitetails in The Bowzone?
Ryan: No, The Bowzone actually has a low population density but they have a high-quality whitetail. So, you might go for two days and not even see a deer. You might go and not see deer for three days. But then you see a big buck and it comes in, and it's really big. And it's really special.