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Adak Island Caribou

Hi All, I'm new to the site. I've done a quite a bit of hunting in various states and provinces but i thought for the very first time I'd check in with any other hunters who have Caribou hunted on Adak Island? I did see some picks from 2019 and that may be the last pics as 2020 was just strange in terms of what was open and available. Any one out there who may be willing to provide me with a bit of information on bow hunting the Island? like which zones are the best for bow hunting and or numbers of animals in general? I'm being dropped via boat to hunt. Not road or ATV hunting.. late sept-oct.... Thanks, Steve

I hunted Adak back in 2005 by boat drop off. My buddy and I camped near the dilapidated, rat-infested FWS cabin at Slaughter Alley and hunted that area and down the peninsula. The second year after we were there the quality of the hunting and bulls rapidly deteriorated, doesn't sound likes its recovered from what I've heard. We were there in mid August. The weather really deteriorates after August so be prepared for delays both in and out of the field.

Adak's herd used to be kept in check by the Navy tug taking parties to Ulnaga Bight (slaughter alley), Three Arm Bay, Chapel Cove, and Hidden Bay. They typically brought back over 200 bou each year. And of course there were some unrecovered. This kept the herd numbers down but since 1994 there hasn't been much pressure on their numbers. Overgrazing has caused their size to drop.

I've stayed at all four cabins while the Navy was still there and they were in marginal shape then. I imagine they are junk by now.

As Steve said, boat pickups get iffy after September so if you go, plan your food and plane tickets accordingly.

The mount from the biggest I ever took is in a friends cabin. The hind quarters on it weighed 65# on a good scale. It was bigger than a cow elk, about the size of a 3 year old bull elk. I scored on Fish and Wildlife confiscated and it came in at 418 with very large asymmetry deductions. One top point was over 35" with a couple long points off it. I don't think there is anything like that now.

Are you booked with a hunting charter or hitching a ride with a private boat?

I don’t think there is any secret with Adak- I hunted there in 2018.

Wet and Windy place, but definitely bow hunt able. Caribou will be throughout the island. There has been a boat operation the last couple years. I don’t think there are any true monster caribou like back in the early 2000’s. There is a lot of habitat degradation so the food source isn’t there to grow them. I had a friend spend two weeks all over the south side looking for a big one and never saw anything over 325”

An Attorney friend of mine went last year with her Coast Guard boyfriend and she was unable to connect on a bou with a rifle, but she has minimal experience hunting.

Thanks to all for the messages- Yes I'm using a local outfitter not a private party boat drop off. My brother and I aren't looking for an outsized trophy by any means. The hunt will be 12 the adventure the other half is the fishing part. We're headed there Sept 20th. I agree there are no secrets on Adak but I'm trying to zero in on the areas with the best populations recently and the most bow friendly (stalking opportunities). Looking at the available data (quite old ) it shows some areas without many Bou' at all so I'm trying to avoid a big mistake.

I assume your local boat transporter will know what's up. You can hike pretty far if you want to find caribou, just depends on how far you want to pack it back. I hear the fishing is outstanding out there. The main problem will be weather, but late September should be good (as in less fog)

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