Muley Crazy
Member
Great pics thanks for posting !!! Keep them coming !!!!!
The Rut-- 2010
- Thread starter Calvin
- Start date
Calvin
New member
He was a pretty one. I'm really kicking myself for not taking that cape. Was up high and running out of daylight and I did the turbo quarter.
Meindl Caulks are Meindl boots, sent off and caulked by Hoffman. Hoffman will cork pretty much any boot for you, my recommendation is to buy another pair of the hunting boots you normally wear, and either break them in and send them in, or send in your old pair.
http://www.hoffmanboots.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=15
Pretty much the preferred hunting footwear for SE Alaska.
As for the rest...
When and Where. The season is long, and the island is big. More than glad to help, but without a little more info.. all I can say is pick a mountain, climb up and look for deer. There are deer all over the island. You going to have transportation? Going guided? Tenting it? RV? Bowhunting? Rifle? Early season? Rut? No plans?
My favorite would be late August alpine hunting tenting it for as long as I can. I really enjoy being up in the alpine glassing for bucks and looking at bachelor groups. Coffman Cove or Thorne Bay are probably the most popular places to stay.
http://www.hoffmanboots.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=15
Pretty much the preferred hunting footwear for SE Alaska.
As for the rest...
When and Where. The season is long, and the island is big. More than glad to help, but without a little more info.. all I can say is pick a mountain, climb up and look for deer. There are deer all over the island. You going to have transportation? Going guided? Tenting it? RV? Bowhunting? Rifle? Early season? Rut? No plans?
My favorite would be late August alpine hunting tenting it for as long as I can. I really enjoy being up in the alpine glassing for bucks and looking at bachelor groups. Coffman Cove or Thorne Bay are probably the most popular places to stay.
Calvin
New member
Agreed that Aug alpine is fun. All the mountains have good bucks on them. Some are more pressured than others, but if you are smart about how you hunt them, you should be seeing good bucks. Not uncommon for me to pass up 20 or more bucks and go home empty handed. Big bucks are rare, but 95 inch 4x4's aren't too hard to find. My advice would be to be careful where you camp, watch your scent, don't skyline yourself, and don't be an idiot about movement. Most of the bucks are nocturnal. With the pressured bucks, you have an hour or two at first light, and about an hour at dark. During the day, it's like a ghost town up top, or just does and immature bucks. I've had people swear to me that their isn't any deer on a mountain because they were not there at first light or they camped in the wrong spot. The early bird gets the worm. Or, if you are just lucky, you'll walk up on a bedded buck during the middle of the day. Don't' count on it though.
As far as weather goes during August.. We call it fogust. Fog can really screw over the most carefully planned hunts. It can also rage in Aug. 40-50knt SE winds and driving rain can keep everybody off the mountains. It's a roll of the dice for the visiting hunter.
The Rut is the other key time to show up. The last week of Oct through Nov can be very good. Hard to beat the first few weeks of Nov. Most of the locals use a call to coax in bucks, or to get a doe to come in with a buck following. A call can be a blessing and curse. If you know what you are doing, you can do very well. If you suck at it, you are alerting the older, smarter bucks. If does and young bucks running towards you floats your boat, blow your call. My advice is that if you don't feel good about calling, don't do it, or do it very sparingly. Put me in the sparingly camp. I like to hunt as high as I can, and as far way from the roads as I can during the rut. The days are shorter, so you really don't have a bunch of time. I usually have enough time to bust ass up a mountain, get in a few hours of hunting before working my way down. Often times I see the bucks on the way up and on the way down. Working edges is what you want to do during the rut. Look for does. Glass a bunch. With all the thick cover on POW, realize that a trophy buck could be anywhere. The weather can suck beyond belief during the rut. Inches of rain in a day, 50mph plus winds. Be prepared for that. But, you can always hunt in the rain wind. My brother showed up last year for a week of rut hunting. It blew 40+ every day except the last.
And, if you feel like a wuss, drive roads and hunt clearcuts. That's what most of the guys do. You'll still see bucks. Some of the biggest bucks are killed standing on the side of the roads during the rut.
As far as weather goes during August.. We call it fogust. Fog can really screw over the most carefully planned hunts. It can also rage in Aug. 40-50knt SE winds and driving rain can keep everybody off the mountains. It's a roll of the dice for the visiting hunter.
The Rut is the other key time to show up. The last week of Oct through Nov can be very good. Hard to beat the first few weeks of Nov. Most of the locals use a call to coax in bucks, or to get a doe to come in with a buck following. A call can be a blessing and curse. If you know what you are doing, you can do very well. If you suck at it, you are alerting the older, smarter bucks. If does and young bucks running towards you floats your boat, blow your call. My advice is that if you don't feel good about calling, don't do it, or do it very sparingly. Put me in the sparingly camp. I like to hunt as high as I can, and as far way from the roads as I can during the rut. The days are shorter, so you really don't have a bunch of time. I usually have enough time to bust ass up a mountain, get in a few hours of hunting before working my way down. Often times I see the bucks on the way up and on the way down. Working edges is what you want to do during the rut. Look for does. Glass a bunch. With all the thick cover on POW, realize that a trophy buck could be anywhere. The weather can suck beyond belief during the rut. Inches of rain in a day, 50mph plus winds. Be prepared for that. But, you can always hunt in the rain wind. My brother showed up last year for a week of rut hunting. It blew 40+ every day except the last.
And, if you feel like a wuss, drive roads and hunt clearcuts. That's what most of the guys do. You'll still see bucks. Some of the biggest bucks are killed standing on the side of the roads during the rut.
august
We will there early to mid august. Our plans include driving, getting to the top and tenting 1 or 2 days then coming down.Is it worth flying to a lake? Got 2 weeks to pull it off. Is any part of the island better or worse? Thanks for the info......Ed
We will there early to mid august. Our plans include driving, getting to the top and tenting 1 or 2 days then coming down.Is it worth flying to a lake? Got 2 weeks to pull it off. Is any part of the island better or worse? Thanks for the info......Ed
Calvin
New member
You'd have to fly out of ketchikan, so it'll be pricey. If you drive up here, then I don't see the point in flying into a lake.
I don't think that any part of the island is better than another part. Bucks on every mountain. Just when I think an area doesn't have big bucks, somebody kills one there. Since you have time, plan several hunts and pick that hunt that'll have the wind in your favor. Longer you walk, the better your odds. Stay away from mountains that have a road that takes you near alpine, unless you like having company.
Grab a forest service map so you know what is federal and what is native corp land. Google earth is really good too. I'd be calling the forest service too, as they are closing some roads.
I don't think that any part of the island is better than another part. Bucks on every mountain. Just when I think an area doesn't have big bucks, somebody kills one there. Since you have time, plan several hunts and pick that hunt that'll have the wind in your favor. Longer you walk, the better your odds. Stay away from mountains that have a road that takes you near alpine, unless you like having company.
Grab a forest service map so you know what is federal and what is native corp land. Google earth is really good too. I'd be calling the forest service too, as they are closing some roads.
Calvin
New member
BTW,
Hunting on federal land for Sitka Blacktails does not open up for off island folks until Aug 16th. State land is Aug 1st. Not much state land to hunt though.
The AK State regs say Aug 1st, but that's only for State Land. That "star" in the regs indicates that their are federal restrictions. The restriction is that it don't open on fed land till the 16th. For island residents, it opens July 24th.
Hunting on federal land for Sitka Blacktails does not open up for off island folks until Aug 16th. State land is Aug 1st. Not much state land to hunt though.
The AK State regs say Aug 1st, but that's only for State Land. That "star" in the regs indicates that their are federal restrictions. The restriction is that it don't open on fed land till the 16th. For island residents, it opens July 24th.
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Calvin
New member
No hunting on the native corp land unless you are a shareholder.
