308Nut Report post Posted February 22, 2016 Turned out about the same as the first. Only the return trip was forced to start out on the salt water. I drew the October 1st tag in 2013 but burned it for other hunting opportunities I drew tags for. Dang, no opportunities, or what? How many days were you after it with the rifle? That was the second rifle hunt, correct? How was the weather? Thanks for the information and I really appreciate you offering it up. I'm sure I'll message you once I really get into the planning!! Was out for 7 days. No opportunities. I had the Governor's permit and was able to hunt all of sep with archery and all of October with a rifle. I was there early sep and the first week of October. Weather was horrific both times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brademan76 Report post Posted February 22, 2016 Turned out about the same as the first. Only the return trip was forced to start out on the salt water. I drew the October 1st tag in 2013 but burned it for other hunting opportunities I drew tags for. Dang, no opportunities, or what? How many days were you after it with the rifle? That was the second rifle hunt, correct? How was the weather? Thanks for the information and I really appreciate you offering it up. I'm sure I'll message you once I really get into the planning!! Was out for 7 days. No opportunities. I had the Governor's permit and was able to hunt all of sep with archery and all of October with a rifle. I was there early sep and the first week of October. Weather was horrific both times. dang... that rally gives me some confidence haha! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
308Nut Report post Posted February 22, 2016 Turned out about the same as the first. Only the return trip was forced to start out on the salt water. I drew the October 1st tag in 2013 but burned it for other hunting opportunities I drew tags for. Dang, no opportunities, or what? How many days were you after it with the rifle? That was the second rifle hunt, correct? How was the weather? Thanks for the information and I really appreciate you offering it up. I'm sure I'll message you once I really get into the planning!! Was out for 7 days. No opportunities. I had the Governor's permit and was able to hunt all of sep with archery and all of October with a rifle. I was there early sep and the first week of October. Weather was horrific both times. dang... that rally gives me some confidence haha! Don't be discouraged. It's a tough hunt but not impossible. The more research you do, the more people you talk to and the better shape you are in, the higher your chances of success. Don't forget to call the Petersburg DFG office. Rich is the biologist and a wealth of info. Weather does play a large role. If I can offer you some advice, plan on arriving to your departure point early and plan on arriving to Etolin early. If the weather is bad, you wont be able to get to Etolin until it clears up which means you'll be stuck in a hotel room somewhere for a few days. That will eat into your hunting time AND after spending your time, energy and money to get there, you really do want to be on the island, find some elk if possible and have first crack. Like I said, when guns go bang, they disappear and you cant rely on calling though they can still be a bit vocal on October first. The rut has wound down quite a bit by October but they are still somewhat active. They just aren't as responsive as rocky mt elk. Who knows, where you elect to hunt may turn out to be not so tough and the weather might be good. With that in mind, if you desire to hunt the peaks and start out from the beach, you will have your work cut out for you. If you can get dropped a bit higher, it'll help though it'll still be work. Again, if you're in good shape, that will go a long way. Plan on the best rain gear possible. I recommend 3 layer GoreTex, Make sure you take gaiters and cramp-ons along with top grade boots. DO NOT TAKE COTTON products. If you'd like, I could scan my last topo map and email it to you. I'm sure a lot has changed since the last time I was there but every bit helps. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
218buck Report post Posted February 23, 2016 Good luck sounds like you got your work cut out for you should be exciting cant wait to here how you do 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cohofishing Report post Posted February 23, 2016 I grew up in Southeast Alaska and have hunted everything in Alaska but the elk. They were planted after I came south. Everything that 308nut said about the weather and conditions are very true. But honestly every fall is different and you will have a blast. Sadly , we never even spent much time hunting blacktail early October because the frost has already killed the vegetation in the alpine and everything has moved off into the deep timber. Pretty hard to hunt until there is some snow cover. I sure it is the same for the elk. Snow drives them closer to the beach and makes tracking awesome fun. One of the things that has kept me from doing any kind of "fly in type of hunt" is that my work schedule is not very forgiving and getting stuck because of weather for days is a real issue that time of year in southeast Alaska. One of the other tricks that helps is to hunt with logging cork boots. I have a pair of extratuff rubber boots with corks and they work great that time of year. You can get leather boots with them also. Good Luck Brent 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brademan76 Report post Posted February 23, 2016 I've heard about the corked boots... what is the advantage there? Stiffness, or shock-absorption? I contemplated this pair of meindl's because they were corked. http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabela-s-124-meindl-men-s-perfekt-8482-10-34-hunter-boots/748348.uts But, I ended up going with these instead based on the compatibility with crampons, the full rubber rand, and the super stiff soles. I've worn them in the AZ mountains a couple of times this winter "breaking them in" and plan to do more hiking with them this spring to continue making sure I am completely comfortable with them before entrusting them to a 7-10 day hunt in this terrain. http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabela-s-124-meindl-men-s-200-gram-alaskan-hunter-trade-boots/1995551.uts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
308Nut Report post Posted February 23, 2016 But, I ended up going with these instead based on the compatibility with crampons, the full rubber rand, and the super stiff soles. I've worn them in the AZ mountains a couple of times this winter "breaking them in" and plan to do more hiking with them this spring to continue making sure I am completely comfortable with them before entrusting them to a 7-10 day hunt in this terrain. http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabela-s-124-meindl-men-s-200-gram-alaskan-hunter-trade-boots/1995551.uts I think you made a good choice there if you're going to be heading up to the peaks. The lower land doesn't require anything special. Once you start up to the high ground, you'll need stiff soles and aggressive tread. Don't forget the gaiters! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cohofishing Report post Posted February 23, 2016 I meant logging boots with spikes. We called cork boots. Might be spelled differently. Kind of like golf shoes but way more aggressive. You can walk up the dead falls, etc. It is very wet and very slick. We hunted with those type of boots a lot. Obviously, it is what loggers were in that country while logging Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
