Afognak Elk - Remainder - DE715 September Hunt

[PRSHunter]

Who here has hunted Afognak Roosevelt elk and lived to tell the tale?

I drew DE715 which allows for hunting the "remainder" of the island, which is basically the whole West side. I've learned there are tribal lands mixed in with state lands. Seems hunting tribal lands requires a permit, which I'm unsure of costs at this stage in the planning, but it had me wondering - is it worth applying for the permit? Or are there enough herd movements on the state/federal lands to just have the float plane drop you off there?

https://afognak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-Land-Use-Rules-Brochure-2.pdf

^^^ Here's a really tiny map of where the federal/state lands are vs tribal lands. I wish this blew up bigger.

 

[Beendare]

I’ve been on Afognak…bear hunting…..its miserable, and for that reason have never applied for that tag.
My guess is most guys applying for that tag have no idea what they are getting in to- good luck.

 

[PRSHunter]

I’ve been on Afognak…bear hunting…..its miserable, and for that reason have never applied for that tag.
My guess is most guys applying for that tag have no idea what they are getting in to- good luck.

Like me! LOL

Seriously this was my first time putting in for draw tags. I knew I wanted to hunt Roosevelt Elk, but didn't know a darn thing about Afognak. It's been quite a learning curve getting up to speed on everything I can get my hands on.

 

[Beendare]

Sorry to throw cold water on your plans but maybe this will help guys that think, “ oh that’s an easy draw.” Yeah, it’s easy for a reason, that hunt is brutal.

You can either get dropped off up high like everyone else or you can climb 1500 feet through the jungle which will take you essentially all day to go a mile and a half- its that bad.

If you have inside Intel on a potential trail as Jacobsen had, ( I use the term trail loosely) you may be able to do it a little bit faster.
My advice, get a good pair of heavy vinyl/rubber gloves.

 

[william schmaltz]

Not sure where the easy draw assumption came from. These tags are not an easy draw. It’s a 3% chance, more than half the elk tags offered have better odds to draw if that was a person’s strategy.

I prefer the old growth of Akognak over the alder choked mess on the bottom 2/3 of Kodiak or the Chugach. Stick to the old growth when possible and you’re typically walking on open tundra under the spruce canopies.

Where do you live? I have the October tag. I’d be lying if I claimed to be over the moon excited; I agree to put in b/c my hunting partner wants a Roosevelt very bad and I’m always down for an adventure. Expect it to suck a bit. Plan for delays and spending half the time in the tent. The bears are pricks so plan accordingly. A good friend had this tag a couple years ago. Shot a black tail and elk within the first few days. Spent most of the trip dealing with bears. Had to wait two weather days to fly out and even hanging meat and antlers way up in the old growth; he left the island with a single burger bag, a single back strap, and only the deer skull. It wasn’t for lack of effort when it came to trying to deter bears.

 

[elkbowhuntr]

Corey Jacobson ELK101 hunted Afognak, he ended up getting a descent bull but man he was spent when it was over. It looked brutal!