The leader of us all, is my father Pat Wylie. With 68 years experience in hunting waterfowl and upland game he has passed down a wealth of experience.  Born in 1930, he started hunting with his father, Jack Wylie, at the age of 12. He spent many days afield hunting Ducks and Geese around Buttermilk (Ibsen) Lake and surrounding creeks. They were also after Pheasants, Sharptail Grouse and Hungarian Partidge. Dad was a bird hunter and did not care much for big game. I can remember dad going every year on a week long hunting trip with his hunting pal's, the Cardiffs. They would leave on a Sunday and head down to McCord Sask and spend 2 days hunting Pheasants, Sharptails and Hungarian Partidge. Then head north to Govan Sask to hunt Ducks and Geese for 2 or 3 days. We always had a freezer filled with game and mom sure knew how to cook it.

As for myself, Jack Wylie, I started hunting with dad at the age of 6. Until the age of 12, I was dad's faithful retriever and I loved every minute of it. I think, fetch, was a popular term during those years . Having learned a lot as a retriever, at the age of 12, dad handed me his Savage 12 gauge and away we went bird hunting. I soon developed a great passion for hunting birds and looked forward to every opportunity to be in the field with dad, his buddies and my hunting friends. I spent many a weekend afield hunting birds with dad, his hunting partners and my hunting partners. At the age of 32, I was introduced to big game hunting by my close friend, Ken Mitchell. Ken was born and raised in the heart of Mule and Whitetail Deer country and he really knew his stuff. He talked me into applying for the Mule Deer Draw that year with him, his dad and brother. We were successful in the draw and headed to South Saskatchewan with the hope of putting some venison in the freezer. Using an old Enfield 303 with peep sights, I shot my first deer and have been addicted to big game hunting ever since.

I am very proud of my hunting heritage. I have spent over 40 years afield hunting waterfowl, upland game and big game. Over those 40 years, I have been blessed, to have hunted with many great men and continue to look forward to pass on the knowledge I have received to my son's and hopefully their children. To me, hunting is not about the kill of another of god's creations. It is about spending time afield with friends and family, trying to outsmart the wildlife, which are much smarter than we are. At the end of the day, if I am able to put something in the freezer, I am blessed. If nothing has made it's way to the freezer, then I am still blessed, as I have spent a day with family and friends in our great outdoors. That is something to be cherished for a lifetime.

My oldest son Kyle, started tagging along with me at the age of 6. His first time out deer hunting, he strongly encouraged me not to shoot Bambi or any member of his family. He started shooting at the age of 12 and now all he cares about is home made sausage to fill the freezer.  He is an avid deer hunter and loves hunting Coyotes.

Brett, my youngest, was a bit of a concern growing up. He came along hunting, but until he turned 18, his biggest concern was making sure he drank all our coffee, ate all the lunch and got to sleep in the blind. Suddenly, at the age of 18 he came out of his shell and hunting became a passion. He is always ready to go hunting and is constantly asking me  to make him some "special" loads for his rifle.