This hunt takes place at the start of the rut when deer are very active and easy to find and stalk. Quite often, our brown bear or mountain goat hunters will choose to take a Sitka deer that they see during their hunt, or will spend an extra day or two after they harvest their primary animal, looking for a nice buck to go after.
Hunted on its own, this is a fantastic first Alaskan hunt that is much easier and more affordable than any other species in the state. They are also delicious to eat and worth bringing home for your freezer. A nice buck can usually be found on any given day, provided the weather is halfway decent, and a hunter can expect to get a nice buck in a few days at most if they are willing to hike around and cover the low alpine terrain that the big bucks favor.
Most of our deer hunts start out each day from the main camp. We will either hike directly behind the main camp or take one of the ocean skiffs to a bay, put to shore, and begin hiking, watching for deer as we go, and glassing from hills. Generally, we will run into deer as we walk. The larger bucks are up at higher elevations, in the alpine, where feed is best, and that is where we get most of the trophy animals. As the rut nears toward early November, bucks will be actively seeking females and can oftentimes be seen at lower elevations, and we frequently spot them from the skiff.
This hunt is a great way to experience Kodiak for the first time.
