I have been wanting to hunt Reindeer out on the Aleutian Islands for some time now. Earlier this year I was the successful bidder of an SCI auction hunt Aleutian Adventures and was planned for the last hunt of the season this year, 11/3-11/10 with Bret Weaver. Sunday morning arrived and I was at the air charter service early along with the other hunter in camp named Stan. Stan and I had met on the flight up from Seattle and we were seated right next to one another and we quickly figured out we were on the same hunt.
The flight to Nikolski was delayed a few hours due to fog in Anchorage but we were off by noon and we found out the other hunters had to back out so me and Stan had the place to ourselves. The flight out was long due to strong head winds and the landing was a bit rough but the pilot was a retired C130 pilot and and knew what he was doing. The hunters in camp who were leaving were all heading out with big smiles on their faces from a great week of hunting.
Umnak is barren with just grass. There are a lot of rolling hills and some volcano's with the main lodge close to the bearing sea. The lodge was excellent, food over the top and guides as good as they come. We each had a guide and a scout for our trip and they were sending me 26 miles from the lodge to a spike camp on the Pacific Ocean side. The island sports around 8000 heads of cattle, 7500 heads of reindeer, red foxes, and a small population of wild horses.
We sighted in our guns early Monday morning in winds blowing from 30-50mph. We were good to go and took off for the other side. Reindeer were everywhere and we probably saw 300-400 animals a day. The problem is finding a big bull still intact from all the fighting that was going on. The first day we found 1 shooter bull at the end of the day but Josh, my guide, had me hold off as he wanted to check for a larger bull 20 miles down the coast.
It was a blast riding the razer on the beach and being on the Pacific side were we were shielded from the wind and had perfect weather. Once we ventured to the end it was like a light switch with the wind as we were no longer behind the volcano. We took our time checking each drainage looking for a large Reindeer and we found one but he was broken up. So we headed back to the area where the shooter from the day before was and found him. Unfortunately he had gotten in a fight that evening after we saw him and had a broken bez and shovel so he was off the hit list.
We stayed at a cabin that had 4 bunk beds, a nice out house, wood stove and plenty of great food. The food at the lodge was also over the top with homemade breads and just amazing meals. The stream behind the outpost had some Dolly Vardens that were caught and released at the end of the 2 days of hunting the Pacific side.
Without seeing any shooters the first 2 days we headed back towards camp glassing as we went. Again, seeing a lot of animals but no shooters. Josh saw one in the spotter that needed a closer look as it was probably 4 miles away. We had to ditch the razer for another quad that was left in a strategic location because the terrain was too ruff for the razer and we took off glassing along the way.
We found the bull and he was a shooter but on a steep hillside that we would need him to move up or down in order for a shot. Again, Josh had me wait as we drove back further behind the hill looking for a larger one. Unfortunately this day was the first day we fought some fog issues and it wasn't lifting. So we went back to get the larger bull on the hillside.
Josh took us right to the top of the hill above the small heard and fortunately they were moving up the hill. We got into an ambush area that we thought they would walk thru. The plan was for Danny Boy, our scout and Aleutian Native, to make his presence known once we were set up, to get them to move in our direction. We gave Danny the signal and he stood up but that didn't bother the reindeer. He threw rocks but that didn't phase them either. He finally rolled some larger bolders down the hill and that got their attention and they moved in our direction. They walked within 100 yards of our position and 1 shot from my .338RUM put the bull to bed.
He was an old bull with his teeth really warn down. He carried a lot of mass in his horns and had a double shovel with only a couple of the tips of one bez broken off. His tops were good and he was really wide, overall a great bull I couldn't be happier with.
He had an infection under his chin and a sore on the side of his mouth from fighting. The hide wasn't any good as the infection was making the hair fall out in large chunks above his neck. I'm not sure he would have made it another winter. We took pictures and made quick work of getting him cleaned up and up the hill. All while enjoying a beautiful view of the Bearing Sea.
The rest of the week we went sea duck hunting and I was able to shoot a pair of Harlequin Drakes. The big prize was running across slippery as all can be sea rocks when a Common Ider drake was spotted feeding next to the shoreline. We were able to close the distance each time he dove and were quickly set up behind a large rock. After a half dozen or more shells spent, with Josh backing me up, the Ider was done and retrieved to hand by Josh's black lab Kia.
Those sea ducks are no joke. I should have been shooting BB's instead of the #2's but we got the job done. There was also silver salmon still active in the lake and I did a fair amount of catching and releasing over a few days.
The plane flight off the island was delayed a day due to high winds but with the amazing lodge and excellent food from Tonya we couldn't be happier. Stan shot a nice bull the first day and also took an assortment of ducks over the week.
These guys run a top notch camp with great guides and gear. The remoteness of the hunt really added to the adventure and I'd love to go back some day to do it again. It's an easy hunt as the Reindeer are not skittish as there are no predators on the island. You ride around on quads glassing from high points where Reindeer were often found throughout the valleys.
Bret said his favorite hunts are the first and last. The last being that the Reindeer move from the North side to the South side closer to the lodge. And this did benefit us a lot as a number of new bulls had moved that were not there the previous week. This really gives you a better opportunity to be picky and find the one that you like the best. If you enjoy Caribou hunting you should look into this adventure. It's more expensive because of the remotness and having to fly to camp but it's just an excellent all around hunting adventure that not many people do.
On the way home a group of surfers came in to surf the Bearing Sea. A few of them did this a few years ago and they were back to do it again. There is a YouTube video (search on Nikolski Surfing) on this and looks very cold but they were catching some pretty large waves.
The flight to Nikolski was delayed a few hours due to fog in Anchorage but we were off by noon and we found out the other hunters had to back out so me and Stan had the place to ourselves. The flight out was long due to strong head winds and the landing was a bit rough but the pilot was a retired C130 pilot and and knew what he was doing. The hunters in camp who were leaving were all heading out with big smiles on their faces from a great week of hunting.
Umnak is barren with just grass. There are a lot of rolling hills and some volcano's with the main lodge close to the bearing sea. The lodge was excellent, food over the top and guides as good as they come. We each had a guide and a scout for our trip and they were sending me 26 miles from the lodge to a spike camp on the Pacific Ocean side. The island sports around 8000 heads of cattle, 7500 heads of reindeer, red foxes, and a small population of wild horses.
We sighted in our guns early Monday morning in winds blowing from 30-50mph. We were good to go and took off for the other side. Reindeer were everywhere and we probably saw 300-400 animals a day. The problem is finding a big bull still intact from all the fighting that was going on. The first day we found 1 shooter bull at the end of the day but Josh, my guide, had me hold off as he wanted to check for a larger bull 20 miles down the coast.
It was a blast riding the razer on the beach and being on the Pacific side were we were shielded from the wind and had perfect weather. Once we ventured to the end it was like a light switch with the wind as we were no longer behind the volcano. We took our time checking each drainage looking for a large Reindeer and we found one but he was broken up. So we headed back to the area where the shooter from the day before was and found him. Unfortunately he had gotten in a fight that evening after we saw him and had a broken bez and shovel so he was off the hit list.
We stayed at a cabin that had 4 bunk beds, a nice out house, wood stove and plenty of great food. The food at the lodge was also over the top with homemade breads and just amazing meals. The stream behind the outpost had some Dolly Vardens that were caught and released at the end of the 2 days of hunting the Pacific side.
Without seeing any shooters the first 2 days we headed back towards camp glassing as we went. Again, seeing a lot of animals but no shooters. Josh saw one in the spotter that needed a closer look as it was probably 4 miles away. We had to ditch the razer for another quad that was left in a strategic location because the terrain was too ruff for the razer and we took off glassing along the way.
We found the bull and he was a shooter but on a steep hillside that we would need him to move up or down in order for a shot. Again, Josh had me wait as we drove back further behind the hill looking for a larger one. Unfortunately this day was the first day we fought some fog issues and it wasn't lifting. So we went back to get the larger bull on the hillside.
Josh took us right to the top of the hill above the small heard and fortunately they were moving up the hill. We got into an ambush area that we thought they would walk thru. The plan was for Danny Boy, our scout and Aleutian Native, to make his presence known once we were set up, to get them to move in our direction. We gave Danny the signal and he stood up but that didn't bother the reindeer. He threw rocks but that didn't phase them either. He finally rolled some larger bolders down the hill and that got their attention and they moved in our direction. They walked within 100 yards of our position and 1 shot from my .338RUM put the bull to bed.
He was an old bull with his teeth really warn down. He carried a lot of mass in his horns and had a double shovel with only a couple of the tips of one bez broken off. His tops were good and he was really wide, overall a great bull I couldn't be happier with.
He had an infection under his chin and a sore on the side of his mouth from fighting. The hide wasn't any good as the infection was making the hair fall out in large chunks above his neck. I'm not sure he would have made it another winter. We took pictures and made quick work of getting him cleaned up and up the hill. All while enjoying a beautiful view of the Bearing Sea.
The rest of the week we went sea duck hunting and I was able to shoot a pair of Harlequin Drakes. The big prize was running across slippery as all can be sea rocks when a Common Ider drake was spotted feeding next to the shoreline. We were able to close the distance each time he dove and were quickly set up behind a large rock. After a half dozen or more shells spent, with Josh backing me up, the Ider was done and retrieved to hand by Josh's black lab Kia.
Those sea ducks are no joke. I should have been shooting BB's instead of the #2's but we got the job done. There was also silver salmon still active in the lake and I did a fair amount of catching and releasing over a few days.
The plane flight off the island was delayed a day due to high winds but with the amazing lodge and excellent food from Tonya we couldn't be happier. Stan shot a nice bull the first day and also took an assortment of ducks over the week.
These guys run a top notch camp with great guides and gear. The remoteness of the hunt really added to the adventure and I'd love to go back some day to do it again. It's an easy hunt as the Reindeer are not skittish as there are no predators on the island. You ride around on quads glassing from high points where Reindeer were often found throughout the valleys.
Bret said his favorite hunts are the first and last. The last being that the Reindeer move from the North side to the South side closer to the lodge. And this did benefit us a lot as a number of new bulls had moved that were not there the previous week. This really gives you a better opportunity to be picky and find the one that you like the best. If you enjoy Caribou hunting you should look into this adventure. It's more expensive because of the remotness and having to fly to camp but it's just an excellent all around hunting adventure that not many people do.
On the way home a group of surfers came in to surf the Bearing Sea. A few of them did this a few years ago and they were back to do it again. There is a YouTube video (search on Nikolski Surfing) on this and looks very cold but they were catching some pretty large waves.
