Advice for a Prince Of Wales Sitka Deer Hunt

[Mustangs Rule]

Any thoughts about hunting early up high, long shots or late fall along the coast, closer shots.

What rifle caliber, scopes worked for you. I would take my Sako SS Finnlight carbine in 308 with a simple scope

Any butchering freezer services you can recommend.

I would probably lean more towards late season and kayak hunt. Anyone try that, camping along the shoreline. When do mosquitoes end

Thank you

 

[44hunter45]

You don't need to kayak to find deer late. When the high feed is used up, they will come down. They can be hunted off the road system.
If you plan to hunt early in the alpine, you need to understand the Federal Subsistence regulations. As a NR, your season dates will be different. There are thread here about that.

These are small deer. .308 is more than enough.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

You don't need to kayak to find deer late. When the high feed is used up, they will come down. They can be hunted off the road system.
If you plan to hunt early in the alpine, you need to understand the Federal Subsistence regulations. As a NR, your season dates will be different. There are thread here about that.

These are small deer. .308 is more than enough.

Thank you, A great beginning. My goal however craves more adventure than shooting a deer off of the road system. I have grown up canoe hunting, actually like that more that a kayak.

Provided it is safe, the idea of renting a canoe and camping hunting from it appeals to me.

Any thoughts about that. and butchering, freezing meat services.?

 

[Packout1]

Calling deer in the rain is pretty cool, I would highly recommend a rut hunt.

A couple tips that I learned:
The deer are tiny. You can easily quarter and pack one out solo. Any rifle would work, since the deer are tiny.

I was able to fit all of the quarters, antlers and extra meat into a reasonably sized cooler, at 87lbs for Alaska airlines. Yellow top totes also work great. Take it home and butcher it yourself, it’ll save a ton of money, and the deer are again, tiny.

The airport in Ketchikan has a place where you can freeze your meat.

Finding muskegs where you can link them up like a chain and call in progression as you go through is a good way to go.

Leaving flagging tape is a decent idea to get back where you came from. OnX satellite and inreach have big time issues under the rainforest canopy, and won’t work at all to send messages and show you where you are.

You’re thinking along the right lines with using some kind of boat. I like a packraft for this kind of thing. You’ll definitely have competition on the road system, so anything to get into untouched muskegs is key. Not sure if there is anyone that rents canoes. I much prefer the stability and packability of the Alpacka rafts.

Mosquitoes shouldn’t be a problem if you go during the rut.

 

[44hunter45]

Thank you, A great beginning. My goal however craves more adventure than shooting a deer off of the road system. I have grown up canoe hunting, actually like that more that a kayak.

Provided it is safe, the idea of renting a canoe and camping hunting from it appeals to me.

Any thoughts about that. and butchering, freezing meat services.?

A couple things.

You can usually get a meat cutting area and freezer space from your lodging host, but it is already late to be trying to book lodging for fall 2026.

I have never done anything offshore on POW. I've been told the currents and tides can be hazardous to those with no experience. Many rentals come with available motor skiff if you want to go that route.

"Off the Road system" does not mean road hunting, although many locals do that late in the year. It means you can drive to a trailhead and hunt the muskeg. Calling works very well all year.