October Rut Recap
Short video of the weekend Abby and I doubled on Sitka Blacktail deer the last weekend of October. Abby’s came to the call late Saturday morning and mine was early Sunday but we weren’t organized to get any footage so the video edit is focused on Abby’s buck.
The weather was cold and calm so we were able to take our skiff to a remote cove that was one of the rare spots that didn’t already have a boat anchored. I nosed in, dropped off the stuff, cruised out, anchored, then rowed in on our Alpacka raft. The inflatable raft is ideal because it doesn’t take up the space of a kayak.
This buck came to the call and stopped on the other side of the muskeg once it picked up my motion. I called from inside the transition between the timber and muskeg, looked and listened, then eased to the edge where I’d have an open shot. Abby was on my left and had a shot that wasn’t as tight. She hit lung and liver which allowed the buck to make it into the brush and a little more difficult to find than we would have liked but the deer did not go far.
It was the first weekend in the Seek Outside Redcliff which was every bit as great as we expected. It will forever be difficult to find a large, flat enough area in the timber or dry enough space in muskeg, but strategic placement makes a hot tent not just possible, but a recommended way to camp while hunting in Southeast Alaska. Even on mostly dry weekends, spending all day walking on a wet sponge will get boots and feet wet, so being able to dry out over night is key to hunting hard and enjoying it. We bought the Redcliff light with a large standard stove and paid the extra few bucks to have them seal the seams. We used moss that covered rotting logs to stuff gaps between the tent and the ground and avoid drafts and rapid heat loss. It’s best to bring a solid amount of starter wood because unlike the lower 48 where dry wood is readily available, Southern Southeast Alaska gets from 100-160 inches of rain per year. Everything is saturated or rotting and even the thin Old Man’s Beard moss can pout and smoke rather than burn.
This buck came in the next morning and we had our double. We used the same tactic of calling as we entered the transition. It can be so incredibly loud, the thought is that the call will evoke curiosity or a stick around instinct rather than spook a deer in the area. Hidden by the brush, we listen and look for maybe ten minutes, then slowly and quietly ease to the edge of the muskeg itself. Crashing through the brush on the way to the muskeg seems like a surefire way to reveal yourself and spook a buck. The disadvantage would be that if something immediately responds to the call and I am too far back in the brush for an open shot, I may have corked myself. But it’s a tactic that has worked for me and if nothing else, slows me down. Even if I’m super caffeinated.
My shot was almost identical to Abby’s, and just like hers, the lung/liver shot didn’t drop the buck and though the buck didn’t make it far, it did go far enough that finding it took a little time.
