Back in Kodiak
I stepped off the grip-tape covered pontoon attached to the DeHavilland Beaver we flew in on and my foot felt strangely at home. One quick hop from a slippery lake rock onto the crunchy, spongy tundra floor and I was officially back in the alpine backcountry of Kodiak Island Alaska after a 5-year absence. After months of planning and preparation, and a few anxious days in town gathering last minute gear items, pouring over OnX Hunt maps, stressing about the weather and which lake we would be able to make it to, we were finally there. All we had to do was set up camp and enjoy 9 days of hunting. The goals for this trip were simple, though not exactly easy. One, get my film-maker buddy from Virginia his first ever big game animal, help my camera-man Clint kill his first ever Blacktail, find a special buck for myself, something in that next level age class and size…oh yea end make a really cool film for my YouTube channel and TV Show.
This was a full circle hunt for me. Back in 2021, I went to Kodiak, very green, with a rented cam-corder and a used SDLR in my hands. I self-filmed a hunt with 2 buddies. It was my first every hunt film, my first successful western big game hunt and one of the most memorable hunts of my life. We ended up filling three tags (one of which a legit Boone & Crocket Sitka Blacktail), learning a ton, and making a really cool little hunt film which you can still find on my YouTube channel. That was the start of it all really.
On that trip, I was basically a camera-man and a western hunting novice; my friend, Ned, taught me a lot. On this trip after 6 years of western hating and production experience, it was my turn to take an apprentice hunter. I spent all summer training my buddy Zach to shoot and how to pack for his first ever backcountry hunt, in Alaska no less; trial by fire!
Personally, my goals (other than killing a big old buck) were to truly enjoy this experience. In the past I realized I have gotten so mission-focused that sometimes I forget to enjoy myself and I was determined on this hunt not to do that. It helped to have a good friend with millions of questions and an amazing, hard-working and fun-to-hunt-with camera guy like my friend Clint along for the ride. This was the first time in a long time I can remember truly being at peace with either shooting something I was really proud of or nothing at all; I had to learn that lesson the hard way, but I have finally learned it.
On the first full day of hunting Zach made a great shot on a yearling buck that walked right into 200 yards just over a mile and a half from camp; his first deer ever. The opportunity was too perfect and Zach decided to go for it. It was a great experience for all involved. 2 days later, Clint shot a cool, mature cactus buck that I gave the pass. I could see the excitement in his eyes when the buck walked in and bedded in easy rifle range after I gave it the pass. So, I handed over my rifle, grabbed his camera and we captured some magic.
The back half of the trip had us hiking a lot and searching high and low for a special buck. I passed 6 or 8 of those average basket-rack sized bucks that you see most guys kill on Kodiak. Giants do exist on Kodiak (minimum B&C score for a Sitka Blacktail is 100 inches, so giant is relative, as with any species), but it’s such a logistically tough hunt, most guys just shoot the first 2 1/2 year old buck they see, not me. Not this time. I have one of those in my office already, I was after something different or else I would just save the extra hassle and cash required for flying deer meat home.
On the second to last day, the wind was up and it was pretty slow. I still wanted it badly, don’t get me wrong, but I was resigned to going home empty handed; I had my opportunities and I stuck to my guns and had an amazing week with the guys, no regrets. Then, that evening I heard Clint ask for me to hand him the spotter… always a good sign. The deer was so far away we could not pick up any detail, but even at over two and a half miles, we could tell he was not your typical Kodiak basket-rack. Even where he was and his body language all pointed to the fact that this was a crusty old deer.
With not enough daylight to make the 3 hours trek to where he was, we made plans for the morning, our last morning, and made the long walk back to camp. The next morning during my coffee and quiet time, I “happened” to land on Psalm 18… look it up, pretty amazing. Fourth quarter and it was on; either go somewhere where we had seen multiple average bucks in the past or go all in on hoping this big buck would be back where he was the night before. We went all in and I started charging to the spot we agreed would be best.
Normally I would tea sit somewhat easy to ensure we didn’t get too far ahead of Zach, but this being our last morning, I dusted him. As we closed in, I waited for the guys to catch up and I looked at Zach and told him to be quiet and be ready, this was the zone. As we got to the end of a long bench that dove into tiger country, Clint raised his glass and spotted the deer on the same open face, this time much higher that he was the night before and only about 500 yards from us.
We could not believe it; God had come through for me and rewarded my patience… at least it seemed so at this point. We got into position and after a few hairy moments I watched the ancient old buck flip and flop all the way down the face, a few hundred feet and lay dead near the bottom of the canyon. Words cannot describe the joyful feeling. Waiting all week, passing so many average bucks, helping my friends fill their tags, all the while not stressing but truly enjoying the hunt and being rewarded with the oldest deer I have ever killed was a next level experience that words cannot do justice to. I am still waiting to score the deer but he is for sure the biggest and oldest deer we saw all week; he had almost no teeth left and had a regressed set of antlers.
Words truly fall so short of what in incredible week this was. To truly experience this whole hunt with us, I am producing a full, feature length film version of this hut for the Leupold Optics YouTube channel. That film will release early 2027. In the meantime, I have tons of amazing adventure on my YouTube channel from the past 5 years. If you have not done so yet, please head over to my YouTube channel by searching my name Hunter McWaters or The Hunter’s Quest and you can also follow along on Instagram @thehuntersquest to see photos of this buck and from this hunt.
Essential Alaska Clothing Items:
Alpha Grizzly Insulation Jacket
Nunavut Rain Jacket and Nunavut Rain Pants
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