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I will be taking my 15 year old daughter to Kodiak over Thanksgiving. She is stoked and looking forward to the possibility of getting a fox or two along with deer. I currently plan on bringing a .308 for her but am undecided for myself, possibly an encore pistol. It would be nice to also have something that is easy on fur and that is what I'm trying to decide on. Maybe a second barrel for the encore in a lighter caliber. If I bring the encore I would plan on .308 also for deer. What have you guys done in the past? She wants to fish and hunt ducks also. I don't think there will be time for ducks this go round. | ||
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Bob, If you reload you might work up a solid bullet load for the 308 as well as an expanding bullet load. I personally was never interested in the foxes when I hunted Kodiak but I must admit they were the biggest and heaviest furred foxes I ever saw. Do remember that the big bears can still be out in November so you might consider that when choosing your firearm. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Mark I do reload and did think of that. I have not had great luck with furred animals and solid bullets personally. Even with coyotes I've had lots of damage when hitting bone and smaller animals I've had them tear as well. I do hope we see some bear as that would be the highlight of the trip. I have thought of bringing a .22 magnum or something like that for the fox. Normally it wouldn't matter but as you've indicated the foxes there seem to be somewhat special in nature and a full mount would be pretty cool. I probably wouldn't bother mounting a red fox though. | |||
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22lr. The fox there are not smart. | |||
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So we are leaving Sunday the 19th for Kodiak. Firearm selection has been narrowed down to a Ruger american in .308win shooting hand-loaded 130 grain tsx. A cz527 youth carbine in .223 shooting hand loaded barnes tsx bullets. Also bringing a Dan Wesson Bruin long slide 10mm and I hope to be able to get a chance at a deer with the pistol. | |||
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Where are you going? The grass is ridiculous tall right now but there’s some wind and possible snow in the forcast. I’ll be back down tomorrow till thanksgiving. | |||
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Hope your hunt went well. I was fortunate that my family could make the time so we could do the same. I had to come back in to do some flying the next day but my wife and daughter are still out looking for black foxes. Anyone who claims the 30-06 is ineffective has either not tried one, or is unwittingly commenting on their own marksmanship Phil Shoemaker Alaska Master guide FAA Master pilot NRA Benefactor www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com | |||
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Phil the hunt went well and we had a great time. Kodiak is unlike any other place I've hunted in Alaska. I learned quite a bit on this trip. We never saw any age class deer but my daughter took a little 2x3. I shot a 2x2 and a 2x3. I should have prepared a little more physically as the deer were still up high and it was not the beach hunt we were led to believe this was more fun though. Still we gave it all we had and I'm satisfied with that. My daughter is a trooper and she outdid a lot of the guys from other groups. After a week in Larsen bay we rented a uhaul cargo van for a week so we could check out the road system and camp inside it. There were a few roads we couldn't get into with that P.O.S. Dodge Promaster. The last night on the island I got it high centered with the drive wheels off the ground in a hole. It was stuck pretty well. I had no tools but a scissor jack. After 6 hours of trying to get it out, we gave up and went to bed. The next morning a great kid from the coast guard was heading out duck hunting. He thought it so funny he turned around and checked to see if anyone was inside. Fortunately he had a tow strap and gave us a tug. I'm glad that happened on the last night because it completely wiped out what little I had left. I only saw three foxes and never did get one. Never saw any bears and never saw a track until we got back to the road system. | |||
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I will say I am very disappointed in the Ruger American .308 I took as a primary rifle. Granted this is a budget priced utility gun and I took it because it shot well and I wasn't worried about banging it up. I missed an opportunity at the largest buck I saw because of this gun. I set up my pack for a dead rest and perfect shot on a buck slightly over 200 yards away and cycled the bolt to chamber a round. I pulled the bolt back quickly and it came out from the back of the action and flew into the snow. I found the bolt, cleaned the snow off and put it back in the rifle. It picked up a round but when I went to close the bolt, it wouldn't turn down. I thought maybe there was a problem with my brass sizing as I had loaded this ammo myself. I still had a great shot at this buck so I extracted the round and tried to chamber another. Same problem again. I did this with all four rounds in my magazine, the bolt never closed on me. I pulled the bolt out and fiddled with it thinking maybe snow or ice on the bolt was keeping it from closing. I saw nothing that would affect it. I put the bolt back in and reloaded my magazine. By this time the nicer buck was gone but a 2x2 came out behind him and I was able to take it with a single round. Upon inspecting my rifle, I noticed the roll pin located in the bolt release/bolt stop button had drifted nearly out down between the stock and action. This was preventing the bolt from staying in the action. Back at the lodge I was able to put the pin back in. I think I was very lucky not to have lost my bolt on this hunt as the alders had grabbed the bolt handle and opened it several times previously to this. What I learned from this is to never hunt thick brush with a rifle that doesn't have a bolt locking option in the safety. Also a quick search shows that there have been numerous people complaining about not being able to close the bolt down on Ruger Americans. I am still of the assumption that my bolt flinging into the snow did something to cause this. Afterwards I tried all four rounds that wouldn't cycle previously and they did so with ease, so I know it wasn't an ammo issue. | |||
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You really expected a U-Haul cargo van to be any type of off a main road vehicle. No tools and your complaining about getting it stuck. | |||
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Historically the Kodiak deer hunt has become rumored to be a “easy” hunt. There is nothing easy about that island, occasionally the conditions make it a less physical hunt but typically the Deer require some strenuous effort. I remember my first trip to the south Alaska Peninsula for bear. Outfitter flew me Around showing me the area, I asked if this was actually where I was going to hunt? He said ya why? I said I’d never hunted brown bear is such easy country! Was so used to Kodiak that south ak Peninsula tundra and willow river valleys was like a vacation. | |||
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I'm not complaining about getting it stuck and I didn't expect it to be an off road vehicle. I'm saying it was a P.O.S. because it was. 14,000 miles and the doors were falling off the hinges and it had lots of other problems. Even the Uhaul guy told me what junk they were before we left with it. Next time I'm going to bring a handyman jack, chains, come along and tow strap in my carry-on bag  air tools and a compressor might be a good idea as well. | |||
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Still all & all day it looks like you had a great time, had some adventure and got to spend some quality time with your daughter.  Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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We had a blast. My daughter has been hunting with me since she was three and our triplets were born. I love watching her take a shot. She is calm and cool. She hit her Sitka buck dead center in the heart, it went about 20 yards, reared up and tumbled. She is terribly afraid of heights but she did well on conquering her fears. We chose some pretty bad places to come down to the beach in the dark a couple times and once going up. She did it though  A couple other guys quit hunting after the first and second days but she never did quit. She did take some time to go fishing though. Of all the other deer hunters we spoke with, it seems like the majority went home empty handed so we do feel lucky. | |||
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I know a good guide for Deer.....lol | |||
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I just spoke this last week with two operators on Kodiak. One has been doing boat hunts on Afognak and the North end of Kodiak. He's not hunting deer there next year because the numbers are way down. Conversely on the South end numbers are very strong and they're taking some great bucks. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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You get what you pay for. I do not get the rush to buy and the lubricious praise that has been slathered on these Ruger American rifles. They are cheap, gonna fail pieces of shit. Just like Savage 110 series and Remington 710’s. Cheap, poorly made, cut rate junk! | |||
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I can't say that I disagree with you Surestrike. Of all the piece of shit, price point rifles out there, the ruger seemed to stink the least. I got the Ruger thinking it would be a cheap starter, utility tool for my kids, that I wouldn't stress if it got banged up. I had thoughts of giving it to my daughter until I had these problems with it. I just wouldn't feel good about her having a problematic P.O.S., That being said I think a tighter roll pin will solve the problem. I don't care for the cheap plastic magazine. Locking it in place doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling that it's always going to stay there. | |||
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Guys, I'm sure everybody's mileage will very but I bought a Ruger American for a guide friend of mine and gave it to him as a gift. It was no Swiss watch but it functioned and shot nicely plus it was lightweight which is what he wanted. Just under $700 for rifle, 3x9 Leupold and rings, sling, extra mag and 2 boxes of the load it liked. Hard to not be happy with that if you're on a budget. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Guns are like everything else. They work till they don’t. I have a ruger American in 243. Shoots good, Kills fine. Two moose two caribou and a black bear. It’ll keep killing till it breaks I suppose. | |||
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Of course the use of a "roll pin" in its design may be part of the problem. They are used as a cheap replacement for a solid one - nothing else. They sure aren't there because they're better. Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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I will say however I was very impressed using the 130tsx's I loaded for the .308; None of our 3 bucks went more than 30 yards and as usual, no bullets were recovered. Barnes triple shocks have been my go to bullet since they came out and I have never lost an animal with them or had to track one far, even though I hear this quite a bit. I always shoot them light and fast. I think the problem people have is staying with heavier weights and running them slower. | |||
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My boy dropped his moose with a 80gr tsx from His 243. Recovered on the opposite side in the leather. Shot was a bit far back but took out the liver. Moose walked about ten yards and laid right down. Zero petals left on that little bullet! Lol | |||
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I get that they shoot pretty good. I also get that a Geo Metro gets good gas mileage. I'd rather comb the racks for a good used rifle, than reward Ruger for making a plastic fantastic, cheap pot metal and polymer rattle trap. Like all things in America the Wal Mart version of a product is quickly drowning out quality. I don't begrudge anybody for buying one but I'll take a pass, thank you very much. Both of my kids got well made and super accurate, custom,stainless, composite stocked model 70's for their first rifles. They are rugged and can take a beating. These are rifles that they can use for a lifetime and pass them on to their kids. | |||
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The Howa and Tikka rifles are pretty good budget rifles and I'd take one of those over the RAR. If you aren't confident, for any reason, the hunt could suffer. | |||
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+1 The Howa is what a new Remington 700 should be. | |||
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