sitka blacktail in pws

[jrchambers]

ive been hunting the islands in price william sound.  most of the time its strictly a meat hunt with guns. but i have tried to get one with the bow.  this teritory and deer seem to not work with a bow, very broken steep terain and covered with the thickest stuff. hard to move a 60" bow with a 30" arow sticking out,  it is rare to catch a deer in any kind of openings that is standing still.  ive been in moderate range 45yrds.  i must say the times ive bow hunted them, i saw many more deer within 100yrds than i ever have with the rifle.
   have any of you hunted deer in alaska and the pws islands?

[snag]

Have you tried rattling for them?

[Quill Flinger]

Blacktails can hide in a radish patch! You'll likely have to slog silently & slowly thru the thick stuff to get a whack at 'em. You can sometimes pattern 'em & set up an ambush as well.

I've whacked 'em (Columbian BTs)on this little island as well as on Vancouver Island. Good news is they're small & easy to drag out!...LOL

[AkDan]

Jason,

I have but not to the extent as some of the other guys up here.  

At the time I was shooting a 60" bob lee curve with a 29.5" arrow and had no problems, other then loosing the only deer I shot to a bear.  That's a hair raising experience unto itself.

I have tried half heartedly with the longbow a couple of times with no luck.   Actually havent even found deer since I made the switch.   Was planning a trip south this fall as a back up to a moose hunt trip but couldn't find a partner in time.  Hopefully next year.

Have you tried getting into alpine early in the year?  I ran that edge due to time on my trips I wasnt able to hunt more then a day or two here or there, but this is where I found the deer, earlier in the season and they were quite stalkable.

[jrchambers]

i cant go early due to fishing seasons.  as far as rattling them ive asked about it but no one i know has ever had a response.  the doe bleat works sometimes.  there is alot of devils club and thick willows and alders. this stuff is so thick i could hardly get the bow through it let alone with a arow nocked.  the bucks are a different story. they usualy are beded down on the cliffs. its quite hard to stalk within 200 due to the vertical thick terain.  patterning them is tough. they are roamers. one day you will see doe after doe. the next day you will find the same group on the other side of the island.  akdan i take it you hunted afognak. my father lost his only one to a bear there as well.

[AkDan]

Jason,

I've hunted Baranof.

I'm the same as you, can't go early due to fish guiding obligations, though next summer might be a change in pace, we'll see.  Loose most of my sheep season due to it also, ugg.

[Mark Maves]

I have hunted several island out in PWS, mostly out of Whittier.  Not much luck until the snow pushes them down to the beaches and clearings.   I hope to be heading out in the next few weeks, weather permitting...Mark

[The Ursus]

We mostly hunt Admiralty.  Calling is far superior to any other method I've found.  Get them to come to you.  I've called lots of deer out of that thick stuff.  When they come to the call, they will come to your EXACT location so be ready.  We deal with bears as well but I, fortunately, havn't had a run in with one while deer hunting.  November is prime time for calling.

[jrchambers]

ill be going out of cordova, probably on hawkins island, as many times as the weather will let me the next two months.