Mica Man
Well-known member
Throwing this out to the HT community for any advice as I imagine I'm not the only one who has had issues with TSA when traveling for a hunt. I'm curious if anyone else has had similar issues and how they handled it.
Earlier this month I went on a trip to Kodiak with several friends to hunt Blacktail and do a little fishing. Been to SE Alaska several times but first time up to the "Rock" for me.
DAY 1
After arriving at our destination we were asked to present our license and tags for verification prior to hunting. I unlocked my guncase to retrieve my license and locking deer tag only to find that it was no longer there. Panic followed by second guessing myself as to if I had somehow forgotten it and left it at home. More searching with the same result. Not gonna lie. I was a bit pissed.
I was able to reprint my license and permits at the place we were staying, but was without the metal locking tag required to hunt deer. No license vender anywhere close to us and an hour's flight from the city of Kodiak from where we were staying.
None the less, we headed out for approx the last four hours of light for a quick hunt. We had split up in pairs since there were six of us as it made the most sense.
The leaves were off the brush and trees but it was still pretty thick with limited visibility. Kind of jungle like and similar to North Idaho brush but without the trees.
Not long into out hunt I spotted a nice looking buck. He was safe from me as I was not properly licensed and he melted into the brush before I could direct my buddy to where he was located. Very frustrating as I would have been more than happy to have put my tag on him if I had only had one.
Using a cedar deer call I had purchased from a resident of POW the previous fall seemed pretty effective. Every couple hundred yards or likely looking spot I would stop and blow on it. About 50% of the time within a few seconds a deer would materialize out of the grass and brush. Unfortunately all that responded to the call were does. However, I figured it was only a matter of time before a rutting buck would at least follow one of them into our setup.
One member of out party shot a forky buck the first evening but no other deer were harmed. We were checked by Alaska State troopers on our way back who happened to have boated into the area making their rounds. They were sympathetic to my situation but confirmed what I already knew that without the metal locking tag, I could pack a firearm around for "safety " or "defense" purposes on the island but not shoot a deer.
DAY 2
Different terrain on the second day and not as thick as what we experienced the day previous. Lot's of opportunities for glassing and a few deer spotted. Several does and only one spike buck spotted for the day between the six of us. I was still bummed about not having a tag but not as much, so if the country had been crawling with bucks and shooting was involved.
An uptick in the day was after returning to our cabin on the second evening and learning that the host we were staying with was able to pull some strings with the F&G office in Kodiak. They were able to print off a duplicate locking tag and then have it delivered to the airport and flown down to where we were staying.
Pretty awesome to say the least.
Day 3
We opted to fish as a group rather than hike the island looking for deer. It was one of the guys' birthday and we wanted to take advantageof the salt. We had a great day on the water.
Day 4
Weather sucked with high winds a rain. We spent the morning in the cabin moping as we knew going out in the boat would be pretty miserable. By mid morning the rain let up and the wind began to die down.
We grabbed our gear and headed out to a spot close to where we had hunted on day one. Thick cover with few glassing opportunities. I again used my deer call and things worked out as a lovesick buck followed in a couple does. My buddy made a 50 yard shot on this nice buck.
We boned it out and hunted our way back. I called in another nice buck but was unable to get a shot. Not bad for an abbreviated hunting day.
Day 5
More fishing and another birthday for a member of our party. We planned on fishing in the morning and then hoped to hunt in the afternoon. Fishing was great and we ended up staying out on the salt rather than come in early and hunt.
Day 6
It was a great trip and we flew out on a calm, clear, bluebird day for home. I enjoyed myself and the experience of a different part of Alaska. I had intended on both hunting and fishing on this trip but feel somewhat shorted due to only really being able to hunt for approx 1/3 of a day due to TSA.
Yes, I blame TSA as I know they removed my license and tags from my guncase. I know this because after returning home I filed a missing item report at the Spokane airport where the case was "checked" and then locked by TSA. I got a confirmation email a couple days ago from them stating that they have my "license and tags" and that I can pick them up or pay to have them shipped to me
So my question to the HT community. What would you do and what possible options might I be able to pursue for some sort of restitution?
I don't feel that TSA was purposly malicious when they removed my license and tag but come on. This trip was two years in the making and obviously entailed a bit more expense than a typical hunting trip for me.
Yes, I'm a whiner, but what would you do in my situation?
Earlier this month I went on a trip to Kodiak with several friends to hunt Blacktail and do a little fishing. Been to SE Alaska several times but first time up to the "Rock" for me.
DAY 1
After arriving at our destination we were asked to present our license and tags for verification prior to hunting. I unlocked my guncase to retrieve my license and locking deer tag only to find that it was no longer there. Panic followed by second guessing myself as to if I had somehow forgotten it and left it at home. More searching with the same result. Not gonna lie. I was a bit pissed.
I was able to reprint my license and permits at the place we were staying, but was without the metal locking tag required to hunt deer. No license vender anywhere close to us and an hour's flight from the city of Kodiak from where we were staying.
None the less, we headed out for approx the last four hours of light for a quick hunt. We had split up in pairs since there were six of us as it made the most sense.
The leaves were off the brush and trees but it was still pretty thick with limited visibility. Kind of jungle like and similar to North Idaho brush but without the trees.
Not long into out hunt I spotted a nice looking buck. He was safe from me as I was not properly licensed and he melted into the brush before I could direct my buddy to where he was located. Very frustrating as I would have been more than happy to have put my tag on him if I had only had one.
Using a cedar deer call I had purchased from a resident of POW the previous fall seemed pretty effective. Every couple hundred yards or likely looking spot I would stop and blow on it. About 50% of the time within a few seconds a deer would materialize out of the grass and brush. Unfortunately all that responded to the call were does. However, I figured it was only a matter of time before a rutting buck would at least follow one of them into our setup.
One member of out party shot a forky buck the first evening but no other deer were harmed. We were checked by Alaska State troopers on our way back who happened to have boated into the area making their rounds. They were sympathetic to my situation but confirmed what I already knew that without the metal locking tag, I could pack a firearm around for "safety " or "defense" purposes on the island but not shoot a deer.
DAY 2
Different terrain on the second day and not as thick as what we experienced the day previous. Lot's of opportunities for glassing and a few deer spotted. Several does and only one spike buck spotted for the day between the six of us. I was still bummed about not having a tag but not as much, so if the country had been crawling with bucks and shooting was involved.
An uptick in the day was after returning to our cabin on the second evening and learning that the host we were staying with was able to pull some strings with the F&G office in Kodiak. They were able to print off a duplicate locking tag and then have it delivered to the airport and flown down to where we were staying.
Pretty awesome to say the least.
Day 3
We opted to fish as a group rather than hike the island looking for deer. It was one of the guys' birthday and we wanted to take advantageof the salt. We had a great day on the water.
Day 4
Weather sucked with high winds a rain. We spent the morning in the cabin moping as we knew going out in the boat would be pretty miserable. By mid morning the rain let up and the wind began to die down.
We grabbed our gear and headed out to a spot close to where we had hunted on day one. Thick cover with few glassing opportunities. I again used my deer call and things worked out as a lovesick buck followed in a couple does. My buddy made a 50 yard shot on this nice buck.
We boned it out and hunted our way back. I called in another nice buck but was unable to get a shot. Not bad for an abbreviated hunting day.
Day 5
More fishing and another birthday for a member of our party. We planned on fishing in the morning and then hoped to hunt in the afternoon. Fishing was great and we ended up staying out on the salt rather than come in early and hunt.
Day 6
It was a great trip and we flew out on a calm, clear, bluebird day for home. I enjoyed myself and the experience of a different part of Alaska. I had intended on both hunting and fishing on this trip but feel somewhat shorted due to only really being able to hunt for approx 1/3 of a day due to TSA.
Yes, I blame TSA as I know they removed my license and tags from my guncase. I know this because after returning home I filed a missing item report at the Spokane airport where the case was "checked" and then locked by TSA. I got a confirmation email a couple days ago from them stating that they have my "license and tags" and that I can pick them up or pay to have them shipped to me
So my question to the HT community. What would you do and what possible options might I be able to pursue for some sort of restitution?
I don't feel that TSA was purposly malicious when they removed my license and tag but come on. This trip was two years in the making and obviously entailed a bit more expense than a typical hunting trip for me.
Yes, I'm a whiner, but what would you do in my situation?
