I thought the Longhunter record book listed a .54 caliber next to some of your entries so I'm assuming it's the same gun? Man that's ALOT of shooting to shoot a gun out that you need to have it re-bored! Awesome looking rifle!
AK Blacktails -Fantasy Island
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
I thought the Longhunter record book listed a .54 caliber next to some of your entries so I'm assuming it's the same gun? Man that's ALOT of shooting to shoot a gun out that you need to have it re-bored! Awesome looking rifle!
havgunwilltravel
Active member
Great effort guys, certainly a wonderful hunt with by the sounds of it a good keen local hunter. Loved the pics and write up.
LCH
Well-known member
Super cool. I bet that puts a wallop on those blacktails.
AKBlacktail
New member
Yes those entries were from the same Hawken as a .54 cal. I have 3 such Hawkens...one .54, my tried and true now at .58 cal, and one with three interchangeable barrels, a .58 cal., a .62 cal and a .72 cal.
Realizing we had a pretty narrow weather window for the plane to pick us on the beach, Jim suggested that we get camp rolled up and start down the slope by noon. Given his information was dead-on for every part of the trip so far, I was not about to voice any dissension.
While we were packing, fog was rolling in off the ocean, making me wonder if the weather window was tighter than we thought. Not that spending a few days on the beach waiting for weather to clear would be the end of the world, but Tyler had another hunt to get to later in the week and my stack of projects at the office could use a few extra days of work applied toward them.
A bit after noon, we were loaded. Jim had a better idea for a trail to descend; parallel to the route we took up here, but a bit lower, hopefully avoiding the crevasses and other obstacles the rock formations caused. He thought that with out heavy loads, it would be another 5-7 hours down, depending upon how blown in his old route would be.
Before heading down, he told us of a story from the last trip in here six years ago. The guy with him questioned Jim's choice of route. Seems the guy thought Jim had represented that a trail existed here. Jim reminded his buddy that it was a "route," not a trail. Jim took the few minutes to relay that story and it rung true to us; there are not trails here, only "routes."
No matter what I do to try explain the struggles of this descent, it will not adequately describe what it entailed. I've been on slopes this steep with heavy loads. I've been in patches of brush that were as thick as this was, but only for a small distance, not for the entire course. I've hunted thick stuff in other parts of the country; Alaska takes that to a new level and I knew it from past hunts there, but I think my mind had blocked it from memory. I've been on snot-slippery slopes with wet vegetation, but only for a small distance before a firmer footing was found.
Never have I been over six hours on such steep slopes that traversed such thick brush and blowdown for their entire length on soils and vegetation that were as unstable and slick as what I traveled on this path. My legs look like someone took a hammer to them, full of bruises from falling and stumbling into invisible deadfalls, or worse yet, having to stick your leg out to slow/stop the gravity-induced slide you and your heavy pack have started down.`
Since I drive a desk for a living, I know some are thinking this is just a fat-assed CPA sniveling about some tough sledding. Probably, so I provide some additional insight to what this entailed.
Tyler Johnerson has been my camera man for most of the last year and will be for most of this year. He is high on the list of backcountry badasses; probably in the Top 10 backcountry badasses you would find in Montana. All he could do is shake his head when it became obvious this descent was going to take six hours to go one mile to the beach. Afterwards, much of what Tyler talked about was how frustrating the country is to try navigate. If it is a humpbuster for Tyler, then I don't worry that I got a bit frustrated by the time we got to the bottom third, the place where steepness lessened and thickness became the frustration of the day.
About an hour of daylight remained when Jim looked at me and said, "I apologize in advance, but I'm getting out of this (*&*( #$Q#& (@#^%# God-forsaken jungle, only to disappear into the green abyss. I could not see him, but I could hear him. I benefited from some of the brush he broke, but in most instances, as he passed, the brush would rebound to its original position and reach to swallow the next fool willing to push through it.
Yeah, we got to the beach in one piece. I learned a few new cuss words and I think I created a couple of my own that heretofor had no been part of my considerable vocabulary of such words. Nobody talked too much while we set tents, filtered water, and tried to reorganize out disheveled selves.
With the relief of reaching our beach camp and no significant injury, I figured it would be a great time to break out the bag of marinade I had carried in optimistic anticipation of this moment. I tossed three tenderloins and a bunch of backstraps in the marinade and let it work, while Tyler and Jim got serious about a prime beach fire for cooking them.
Inserting food into the discussion instantly had us back in high spirits, almost forgetting what the last six hours had inflicted on our bodies. Nothing like fresh venison on a stick to make hungry bodies appreciate why we do what we do and the way it connects us to the landscape.
The fog lifted as we started our way into the jungle. The last open country we would see between now and the beach.
1,400' of this takes a toll on the body, mind, and equipment. Our path requires we navigate down this steepness with 100#+ loads in our packs.
Climbing out of a creek while crawling through a tunnel in the Devil's Club.
Some of the best venison I have ever tasted. It has an excellent flavor, quite distinct from other deer meat I've tried.
The plane came as scheduled and we were thankful. Much later and we would have been socked in at the beach for a couple more days.
A proven combination that took some serious abuse on this hunt.
At the beach, happy to have this load resting on something other than my back. The new Mystery Ranch Marshall is great.
Gerber Vital, the best replaceable blade knife I have found. I would suggest those who are afraid of losing a finger when changing blades on other brands would find this to be an excellent choice.
Some will ask about equipment performance. A few things impressed the hell out of me.
First is the rain gear I used. Alaskans swear by HH or other impervious rain gear, and with good reason. I took Sitka's Stormfront series raingear, both jacket and pants. This raingear took all that abuse, not a single leak or failure, and looks almost new after being washed this morning.
Mystery Ranch sent me the new Marshall pack to try on this hunt. It is 6,700 cubic inches. It is an extremely smart design, with great adaptability for a multi-day pack to compress to a day pack and meat hauler. Tyler is making is request to MR for one of these, seeing the many new features it has that are great for a hunt like this.
Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots. Some comment that their Kenetreks leak. I figured no place to test that theory than the wetness of SE Alaska. Before leaving, I reapplied the boot wax that Kenetrek provides with every pair of boots. I do this every couple hunts during the season. My feet stayed dry this entire trip, even with all the rain, the crossing of creeks, walking through bogs, and the general atmospheric humidity that hovers closer to 100% than 50%. Terrain like this requires great ankle support and these boots provided just that.
Katadyn Base Camp Pro 10L water filter. This is the slickest thing I've found for filtering water when you have even a small water source nearby. It weighs no more than a pump model, and by using gravity, can filter way more water than a pump model will.
Gerber Gator Premium fixed blade knife. Like I mentioned in the Alaska black bear thread, I have been using these knives this year, both for hunting and the nuisance critters I trap. These are scary sharp and so far, the one I am using has handled a black bear, three beaver, and most of a Sitka blacktail. Still razor sharp. Nice to finally discover a fixed blade knife that is razor-sharp and stays that way.
While we were packing, fog was rolling in off the ocean, making me wonder if the weather window was tighter than we thought. Not that spending a few days on the beach waiting for weather to clear would be the end of the world, but Tyler had another hunt to get to later in the week and my stack of projects at the office could use a few extra days of work applied toward them.
A bit after noon, we were loaded. Jim had a better idea for a trail to descend; parallel to the route we took up here, but a bit lower, hopefully avoiding the crevasses and other obstacles the rock formations caused. He thought that with out heavy loads, it would be another 5-7 hours down, depending upon how blown in his old route would be.
Before heading down, he told us of a story from the last trip in here six years ago. The guy with him questioned Jim's choice of route. Seems the guy thought Jim had represented that a trail existed here. Jim reminded his buddy that it was a "route," not a trail. Jim took the few minutes to relay that story and it rung true to us; there are not trails here, only "routes."
No matter what I do to try explain the struggles of this descent, it will not adequately describe what it entailed. I've been on slopes this steep with heavy loads. I've been in patches of brush that were as thick as this was, but only for a small distance, not for the entire course. I've hunted thick stuff in other parts of the country; Alaska takes that to a new level and I knew it from past hunts there, but I think my mind had blocked it from memory. I've been on snot-slippery slopes with wet vegetation, but only for a small distance before a firmer footing was found.
Never have I been over six hours on such steep slopes that traversed such thick brush and blowdown for their entire length on soils and vegetation that were as unstable and slick as what I traveled on this path. My legs look like someone took a hammer to them, full of bruises from falling and stumbling into invisible deadfalls, or worse yet, having to stick your leg out to slow/stop the gravity-induced slide you and your heavy pack have started down.`
Since I drive a desk for a living, I know some are thinking this is just a fat-assed CPA sniveling about some tough sledding. Probably, so I provide some additional insight to what this entailed.
Tyler Johnerson has been my camera man for most of the last year and will be for most of this year. He is high on the list of backcountry badasses; probably in the Top 10 backcountry badasses you would find in Montana. All he could do is shake his head when it became obvious this descent was going to take six hours to go one mile to the beach. Afterwards, much of what Tyler talked about was how frustrating the country is to try navigate. If it is a humpbuster for Tyler, then I don't worry that I got a bit frustrated by the time we got to the bottom third, the place where steepness lessened and thickness became the frustration of the day.
About an hour of daylight remained when Jim looked at me and said, "I apologize in advance, but I'm getting out of this (*&*( #$Q#& (@#^%# God-forsaken jungle, only to disappear into the green abyss. I could not see him, but I could hear him. I benefited from some of the brush he broke, but in most instances, as he passed, the brush would rebound to its original position and reach to swallow the next fool willing to push through it.
Yeah, we got to the beach in one piece. I learned a few new cuss words and I think I created a couple of my own that heretofor had no been part of my considerable vocabulary of such words. Nobody talked too much while we set tents, filtered water, and tried to reorganize out disheveled selves.
With the relief of reaching our beach camp and no significant injury, I figured it would be a great time to break out the bag of marinade I had carried in optimistic anticipation of this moment. I tossed three tenderloins and a bunch of backstraps in the marinade and let it work, while Tyler and Jim got serious about a prime beach fire for cooking them.
Inserting food into the discussion instantly had us back in high spirits, almost forgetting what the last six hours had inflicted on our bodies. Nothing like fresh venison on a stick to make hungry bodies appreciate why we do what we do and the way it connects us to the landscape.
The fog lifted as we started our way into the jungle. The last open country we would see between now and the beach.
1,400' of this takes a toll on the body, mind, and equipment. Our path requires we navigate down this steepness with 100#+ loads in our packs.
Climbing out of a creek while crawling through a tunnel in the Devil's Club.
Some of the best venison I have ever tasted. It has an excellent flavor, quite distinct from other deer meat I've tried.
The plane came as scheduled and we were thankful. Much later and we would have been socked in at the beach for a couple more days.
A proven combination that took some serious abuse on this hunt.
At the beach, happy to have this load resting on something other than my back. The new Mystery Ranch Marshall is great.
Gerber Vital, the best replaceable blade knife I have found. I would suggest those who are afraid of losing a finger when changing blades on other brands would find this to be an excellent choice.
Some will ask about equipment performance. A few things impressed the hell out of me.
First is the rain gear I used. Alaskans swear by HH or other impervious rain gear, and with good reason. I took Sitka's Stormfront series raingear, both jacket and pants. This raingear took all that abuse, not a single leak or failure, and looks almost new after being washed this morning.
Mystery Ranch sent me the new Marshall pack to try on this hunt. It is 6,700 cubic inches. It is an extremely smart design, with great adaptability for a multi-day pack to compress to a day pack and meat hauler. Tyler is making is request to MR for one of these, seeing the many new features it has that are great for a hunt like this.
Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots. Some comment that their Kenetreks leak. I figured no place to test that theory than the wetness of SE Alaska. Before leaving, I reapplied the boot wax that Kenetrek provides with every pair of boots. I do this every couple hunts during the season. My feet stayed dry this entire trip, even with all the rain, the crossing of creeks, walking through bogs, and the general atmospheric humidity that hovers closer to 100% than 50%. Terrain like this requires great ankle support and these boots provided just that.
Katadyn Base Camp Pro 10L water filter. This is the slickest thing I've found for filtering water when you have even a small water source nearby. It weighs no more than a pump model, and by using gravity, can filter way more water than a pump model will.
Gerber Gator Premium fixed blade knife. Like I mentioned in the Alaska black bear thread, I have been using these knives this year, both for hunting and the nuisance critters I trap. These are scary sharp and so far, the one I am using has handled a black bear, three beaver, and most of a Sitka blacktail. Still razor sharp. Nice to finally discover a fixed blade knife that is razor-sharp and stays that way.
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Seems only fitting to wrap up this hunt with some thoughts of this hunt, now having had a few days to reflect.
Every once in a while you get to hunt with someone who is a master of his craft. In this case, Jim is just that. Not just from the standpoint of purposefully using a short-range firearm and his immense knowledge of blacktail deer, but in large part of his intuitive approach to how he looks at the landscape he is hunting and traversing. I can honestly say that Jim will forget more about blacktail deer while having coffee this morning than I will probably learn in my life.
Jim's approach to hunting and the way he views landscapes is heavily influenced by his geologist training. I'm not sure if he even realizes how he goes about it, as to him it is probably instinctual and logical. As Tyler and I watched him, it became obvious to us that he has a different approach; an approach that you start to realize gives him a serious advantage over other hunters tackling the challenge of alpine blacktails in SE Alaska.
Jim and I have known each other for quite a few years, thanks to a mutual acquaintance. That Jim would trust me enough that he would invite me to such an amazing spot, is flattering. Even more so that he would allow me to bring a camera man to this place and capture the imagery it exudes in amazing details.
This is a special place; special to Jim, special to the deer, special to Alaska, and now, special to me and Tyler. Why Jim so graciously offered to ask me to join him, I'm not certain. I am struggling for the right words to explain this, so I hope I do it justice when we air this episode.
I know how long it must have taken Jim to find this spot, and the other similar locations that have allowed him to have such remarkable success. And now, watching Jim interact with that landscape, you could easily see what it means to him. It is part of what motivates him to do all his research and volunteerism for blacktail deer; what moves him to be an advocate for an incredible species living on a fragile landscape.
He may not even realize it, but I hope it comes across well in video. When he talks of these places, his excellent story-telling only adds intrigue to the minds of those who can relate to special places. Not only this spot, but others Jim talked about, have my mind dreaming of what they must be like. Are they as enchanting as this little corner of his island? Are they as robust and productive for deer? Do they hold the same connection of humans to the land?
Jim told me more history of the indigenous people than I could gather in a month of reading and research. He showed me how they built fish traps from rocks, where their camps and temporary villages were built to follow the food sources; mostly fish and deer. He showed me caves and fossils. All of this in some way was wrapped up in his approach to his deer hunting.
I can only hope that this place remains special. That the other places Jim has found in his decades of hunting blacktails, remain special. Flying over this and other islands, a week with Jim has formed my minds eye to look for the same thing. Thankfully, I can see where replicas of this place can be found, untouched by the hand of man, and if touched, could do nothing to improve upon what is already there.
I have logged over a dozen hunts in the islands of SE Alaska, with this being my first for Sitka blacktails. I can say that this will not be my last. The intrigue, the landscapes, the setting, the sense of connection to a different time and era are so strong as to have me already planning the next time I will sit above the alpine and watch these special animals do their thing in an undisturbed manner that is so hard to find in today's world.
Thanks so much, Jim. Your friendship has created another advocate for these deer and the lands that sustain them. If we do our job, hopefully we can do the same for the viewer and readers who get to read and watch what will be one of our greatest hunts ever put on film.
Every once in a while you get to hunt with someone who is a master of his craft. In this case, Jim is just that. Not just from the standpoint of purposefully using a short-range firearm and his immense knowledge of blacktail deer, but in large part of his intuitive approach to how he looks at the landscape he is hunting and traversing. I can honestly say that Jim will forget more about blacktail deer while having coffee this morning than I will probably learn in my life.
Jim's approach to hunting and the way he views landscapes is heavily influenced by his geologist training. I'm not sure if he even realizes how he goes about it, as to him it is probably instinctual and logical. As Tyler and I watched him, it became obvious to us that he has a different approach; an approach that you start to realize gives him a serious advantage over other hunters tackling the challenge of alpine blacktails in SE Alaska.
Jim and I have known each other for quite a few years, thanks to a mutual acquaintance. That Jim would trust me enough that he would invite me to such an amazing spot, is flattering. Even more so that he would allow me to bring a camera man to this place and capture the imagery it exudes in amazing details.
This is a special place; special to Jim, special to the deer, special to Alaska, and now, special to me and Tyler. Why Jim so graciously offered to ask me to join him, I'm not certain. I am struggling for the right words to explain this, so I hope I do it justice when we air this episode.
I know how long it must have taken Jim to find this spot, and the other similar locations that have allowed him to have such remarkable success. And now, watching Jim interact with that landscape, you could easily see what it means to him. It is part of what motivates him to do all his research and volunteerism for blacktail deer; what moves him to be an advocate for an incredible species living on a fragile landscape.
He may not even realize it, but I hope it comes across well in video. When he talks of these places, his excellent story-telling only adds intrigue to the minds of those who can relate to special places. Not only this spot, but others Jim talked about, have my mind dreaming of what they must be like. Are they as enchanting as this little corner of his island? Are they as robust and productive for deer? Do they hold the same connection of humans to the land?
Jim told me more history of the indigenous people than I could gather in a month of reading and research. He showed me how they built fish traps from rocks, where their camps and temporary villages were built to follow the food sources; mostly fish and deer. He showed me caves and fossils. All of this in some way was wrapped up in his approach to his deer hunting.
I can only hope that this place remains special. That the other places Jim has found in his decades of hunting blacktails, remain special. Flying over this and other islands, a week with Jim has formed my minds eye to look for the same thing. Thankfully, I can see where replicas of this place can be found, untouched by the hand of man, and if touched, could do nothing to improve upon what is already there.
I have logged over a dozen hunts in the islands of SE Alaska, with this being my first for Sitka blacktails. I can say that this will not be my last. The intrigue, the landscapes, the setting, the sense of connection to a different time and era are so strong as to have me already planning the next time I will sit above the alpine and watch these special animals do their thing in an undisturbed manner that is so hard to find in today's world.
Thanks so much, Jim. Your friendship has created another advocate for these deer and the lands that sustain them. If we do our job, hopefully we can do the same for the viewer and readers who get to read and watch what will be one of our greatest hunts ever put on film.
Lv2hnt
Well-known member
The word awesome might be a bit inadequate on this one ...
passinthru
Active member
Thank you for taking us on an amazing adventure.
Alaska is a special place and your story reflects that well.
Congratulations to you both!
Alaska is a special place and your story reflects that well.
Congratulations to you both!
TheJason
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2024
- Messages
- 18,561
Wow, what a great story and some great bucks! Having spent a summer in SE Alaska working for the Forest Service while I was in college, I can empathize with and laugh at your descriptions of the terrain and vegetation. I distinctly remember looking at an alpine basin and choosing a route based on my lower 48 experience. Hours later, I was ready to jump off of a cliff and be done with it.
Did you guys see many bears? I remember how amazed I was at the number of black bears we saw in the basins we camped at while fishing. Oodles of bears, and a couple of good bucks also.
Can't wait to see this episode!
Did you guys see many bears? I remember how amazed I was at the number of black bears we saw in the basins we camped at while fishing. Oodles of bears, and a couple of good bucks also.
Can't wait to see this episode!
ashersdad
Well-known member
That is some of the most beautiful country and photos I've ever seen. What a great adventure! As always, thank you for taking us a long.
treedagain
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2011
- Messages
- 536
that is a pig of a blacktail. I am stunned by him
Hope you were able to catch Part 1 of this two-episode hunt when it aired tonight. Part 2 is next Wednesday.
Dan O
Well-known member
Hi Randy I caught the show tonight. I enjoyed it and finally a real muzzleloader was used. LOL I really think that hunt was totally awesome. That was some real tough country and beautiful. I'm looking forward to part 2.
Dan
Dan
devon deer
Well-known member
Stunning place, great friend to have, tough cameraman, and not bad for an accountant
Superb deer and great write up, shame i can't see the film.
The story is enough for me though, i know my limitations as a flat lander, too much of a tough hunt for me to ever consider, it would quite possibly kill me!
Congrats.
Cheers
Richard
Superb deer and great write up, shame i can't see the film.
The story is enough for me though, i know my limitations as a flat lander, too much of a tough hunt for me to ever consider, it would quite possibly kill me!
Congrats.
Cheers
Richard
All I can say is "bad ass". Everything about it.
There was another post with the article about the black bear biting the sheep hunter. Folks read some of the associated anti-hunting comments with disgust as I did....if those uneducated morons would read the collection of posts by Big Fin regarding this hunt, I have to believe some would change their attitude towards hunting.
Big Fin's honesty and humility are refreshing. Keep up the great work!!!!
There was another post with the article about the black bear biting the sheep hunter. Folks read some of the associated anti-hunting comments with disgust as I did....if those uneducated morons would read the collection of posts by Big Fin regarding this hunt, I have to believe some would change their attitude towards hunting.
Big Fin's honesty and humility are refreshing. Keep up the great work!!!!
