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Author Topic: sitka bucks  (Read 3962 times)

Offline Ridgerunner

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sitka bucks
« on: April 17, 2008, 12:16:05 PM »
Who posted the sitka bucks in the gallery?  We need to hear some more details on those northern blacktails.  One of them looks to be a pretty darn nice buck.

Offline archery288

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2008, 12:21:11 PM »
 :yeah:  agreed! let's hear em'!

Offline coastalghost

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2008, 01:11:54 PM »
Im not sure if you were referring to these but I will post em anyway.  This was last August/early Sept. on POW island.  Story told by pard on a different website.....

It started with a quest by us both to find trophy Sitka deer and to experience wilderness at its finest. I had a few years experience hunting SE Alaska and Nels has a wealth of experience and knowlege hunting all over the Pacific Northwest. So onto the photos and story.

I won't be too specific about location but will say that as Americans we are all very blessed with great swaths of wilderness and god willing we'll always be blessed with great places to roam and hunt. So just for fun I'll call it Noseeum ridge and Blackfly lake if you catch my drift.

So after six months of planing we flew out of Ketchikan from WA state to Blackfly lake with a mound of gear and two very nice folding boats. The goal was to climb mountains and hunt the salmon streams looking for anything with a black tail (bears included).

The first day started out great with excellent weather to set up camp, complete with large blue tarp. We assembled boats and got right to exploring. There were salmon jumping everywhere on the lake and streams. The streams had Sockeye, Pinks, and Coho. The first evening gave us a glimps of a smallish bear and we woke confident and ready to explore the mountains. The area had no trails, no logging roads and we were committed to finding a good route deep into the woods. The pilot said we might as well shove sticks into both eyes and up our a$$ and call it quits. Well that just wasn't in the cards, at least the calling it quits part. It took us a full day of brush bustin, cliff climbing, creek stompin, rain forest thrashin to even get a glimps of alpine. The next moring it was game on. Within the first couple of hours it was like someone turned on the deer faucet. We had the rare opportunity to watch Sitka deer at their absolute finest. They frolicked in the small lakes. They bounded across snow fields testing small antlers, They layed out like beach loving sun worshipers. In the first bowl we came to there had to be roughly 35 deer. Nels and I just sat and watched looking for a dandy. I spotted one after enjoying the activities from on top a large table top rock.  I offered Nels a shot knowing it was a shooter and he graciously offered me the shot. I layed down at a good distance and steadied for the shot and dispatched a real fine buck from the rocks above the lake.
 

 



While I worked on the deer Nels continued glassing and found a great bachlor group way up the hillside. He announced his intentions to climb up to them and I followed suit with a very heavy pack. That was a very very large blacktail especially going up. The bachlor group had Nels busted so he set off on a stalk as I lay in wait below. It was great watching his 4x4 buck comanding that whole bachlor group. Nels performed a flawless flanking stalk and positioned himself right above this great symetrical an fully mature Sitka.




 
I climbed up to help with the work and we made camp up the high mountain and sunk the meat deep in a snow bank, perfect!!!!!

The view of the lake


It had been a great day and after that it can only get worse. Doning heavy packs we made a two day trek off the mountain in the fog and rain. I don't have photos of that because I'll just forget about it. I'll just say you better have good mountaining skills to navigate Alaksan wilderness in a rain and fog. Sometimes the only thing we saw was a compass needle.

We arrived back at camp and it was time to change focus, BEARS!

The stream had a huge run of fish and the bears were there. We watched the mouth for sometime and eventually decided that the big boys were deep. It was time for an inner creek assault. With waders, knifes and guns we dug deeper in the dense forest choked stream. The sign got really good and we settled into a log jam to wait out evening activity. The bugs were horrible. It was like I got a sudden case of Turrets they had me so messed up. Evening aproached and someone turned on the bear dinner bell. They started showing and Nels and I each shot large boars within 100yds of each other. I was skinning mine when his walked out. Amazing and only in Alaska.



 

To all those that helped, Thanks!

Gear highlights: Wiggys sleeping bag, Danner boots
Kershaw knifes, Arcterex Bora Pack, Feathercraft Kayak
Gear failures: Cabelas Bow and Rifle pack, Cabelas rain pants, Deet, Cabelas breathable waders, Sitka Gear 90% jacket and pant
Vegetarians?..Vegetarians are cool.  All I eat are vegetarians....except for the occasional mtn. lion steak.

Offline 257 Wby Mag

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2008, 01:28:48 PM »
Awesome critters Nels, can't wait.. Before the PM's start flying, I have dibs on Nels, Aug of 09.grin.... I hear that guy named BIG STICK guides for em? Laffin...
Tod Riechert fan club.

Offline coastalghost

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2008, 01:37:15 PM »
Yah...we pack him up there in a baby carrier as he cant get over the logs by himself....but he can spot em from a mile away...at least....LOL.  09' penciled in 257...cant wait.
Vegetarians?..Vegetarians are cool.  All I eat are vegetarians....except for the occasional mtn. lion steak.

Offline boneaddict

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2008, 01:40:41 PM »
Very nice Sitkas. 

Offline Ridgerunner

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2008, 02:13:33 PM »
Sweet story, sounds like one heck of an adventure, those were the bucks I Was referring to. 

Offline Bearhunter

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2008, 02:37:11 PM »
Loved the story and pictures.  Thanks.  Im heading to Prince of Wales May30 for fishing and possibly bearhunting, if not hunting it will a least be a scouting trip for later in the year or next spring.  Keep the pictures coming
Go in Lite come out Heavy!

Offline coastalghost

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2008, 02:44:22 PM »
Better get your spring bear hunting in while you can there.......heresay of putting the whole island on a permit only based system.  The say it WILL happen..just dont know when.
Vegetarians?..Vegetarians are cool.  All I eat are vegetarians....except for the occasional mtn. lion steak.

Offline bucklucky

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2008, 09:58:11 AM »
Sweet Sitkas!! I gota do that some day! Nice! :drool:

Offline andrew_12gauge

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2008, 06:23:57 PM »
was that a do it yourself hunt, if so how much did each of you guys sink into tags and travel that looks like a ton of fun

Offline coastalghost

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2008, 06:28:57 PM »
It was DIY andrew...alot of planning involved, research etc.  Minus taxidermy you could get by with about 1,500 apiece low end.  Float plane alone was around 850 bucks, so 425 apiece round trip. 
Vegetarians?..Vegetarians are cool.  All I eat are vegetarians....except for the occasional mtn. lion steak.

Offline andrew_12gauge

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2008, 11:11:50 PM »
way to go from what ive seen they dont make too many sitkas like either of those and to do it with no guide is awesome. ill have to look into that in the next coupla years are those tags over the counter

Offline coastalghost

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2008, 12:44:55 AM »
Yah no prob with tags andrew....out of state license and tag around 3 hundy.
Vegetarians?..Vegetarians are cool.  All I eat are vegetarians....except for the occasional mtn. lion steak.

Offline Muleyslyr

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Re: sitka bucks
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2008, 02:23:17 PM »
Man....what an awesome trip.  I've been fortunate to go on some pretty adventurous hunts myself, but not that one!  Definitely a must do for me.  Sounds like you guys did it exactly the way I would want to do it.  Great pics and story.....

 


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