Use Your Binoculars

Hunting Sitka Black-tailed Deer

on Raspberry and Southwest Afognak Islands can be a genuine pleasure. Each day begins with a review of conditions — weather, wind, and the previous day’s observations shared around the lodge the night before — guiding the selection of access points throughout Raspberry Strait.
 
At first light, we step aboard our transport boat and move deliberately to those locations.  From the beach, hunters move into the country they’ve chosen, often gaining elevation to reach ridgelines where travel improves and the landscape opens. Below, alder, salmonberry thickets, and wet ground can slow progress; higher on the mountain, the hunt becomes one of observation as much as movement.
 
The rhythm is simple: climb, glass, and move. Deer are rarely obvious, more often appearing as fragments—a line or movement that demands a second look. Time is spent as much behind binoculars as it is covering ground, and often the deer you’re looking for is already within view.
 
Deer rely heavily on scent, and even small mistakes can alert mature bucks from afar. Hunting into the wind is essential, though it shifts with terrain and time of day.
 
As the season progresses, deer adjust. Early fall often finds them higher on the mountain. During the November rut, movement increases. With winter conditions, deer favor lower, more protected ground.
 
When a deer is found, movement becomes deliberate. Using terrain and wind, the goal is to close distance and create a clean, confident shot. Field care and pack-out follow, shaped by the same steep, wet ground.
 
Over time, the country becomes familiar, movement more efficient, and decisions more informed. In the end, the experience is defined not only by the harvest, but by the process—moving through wild country, guided by your own instincts and experience, truly hunting, but returning to a comfortable lodge and warm cabin at day’s end.