2009 December | Under Armour :: Athletes Hunt

Athletes Hunt: Home

Archive for December, 2009

December 30, 2009
THE LAST FRONTIER
Posted: Whitney Isenhart

It was a snowy Sunday afternoon in Green Bay, Wisconsin where I was cheering on the Packers at Lambeau field. My phone rang with the exciting news that I was invited to go to Kodiak Island, Alaska to hunt Sitka Blacktail deer. I was overwhelmed with excitement and could hardly wait for the adventure to begin. Since I had never been to Alaska before, I had a lot of preparing to do in order to make for a successful journey.

When I first arrived in Kodiak, I met up with Jason Hart, Kevin Perry from Under Armour and Mark Nelsen of Cabelas. We all had to wait several hours before our final flight into Larson Bay. Due to the severe weather conditions, our flight was cancelled and we were forced to stay over night in Kodiak. This was only a minor bump in the road, but our eagerness to get the hunt underway made me want to arrive at our final destination!

At ten o’clock the next morning, we gathered our belongings to board a four seat plane that was so small I was honored to sit in the co-pilot seat. We were set to fly into Larson Bay. On the first attempt, we had to turn around due to the weather again. Because I was sitting next to the pilot, I was able to use the headphones to hear everything the pilot was hearing and saying. At first it made me nervous to hear the concerns of landing with the poor weather, but it also put me at ease to hear the pilot had everything under control. After hours of waiting patiently, we finally made it into Larson Bay later that day. The breathtaking views of Alaska put a big smile on my face.

Our next means of transportation consisted of a 42 foot commercial fishing boat that was home to the group for the next seven days. Inside the boat were very close living quarters. The doorway to get into the bunkroom was extremely tight that I had to unpack my entire bag and store it on my bunk. Despite being small, it was comfortable and cozy enough for the crew, hunters and cameraman.

It was now time to begin the hunt! The next morning we boarded a skiff, which transported us to the island. I was hunting with Mark and the Cabelas camera team. It was tiny and made for a rough ride, but remaining dry was essential to starting out our hunt. After arriving we were informed by the locals that the deer were moving towards the beach since it had snowed so the hike to get to the deer would be short and fairly easy. This was definitely not the case. Instead, we had to climb for two hours through extreme climate changes consisting of 30+ mph winds and challenging terrain. The ground was four feet of knocked down grass covered by two feet of snow. Combining the blizzard conditions with the sinking ground made it difficult to keep a consistent, steady walking pace up the mountain.

Once reaching the top of the mountain we would glass. We noticed quite a few deer on a mountain across from us that was separated by a valley 225 yards away. We would have to move in. When I first saw a buck, I put my backpack down and rested my gun on it to keep steady. Not only was I concerned about getting my shot, but there was so much more put into the calculation. Due to the extreme hunting terrain I was unable to only think about the deer. I also had to think about how I was going to get the deer safely back to the boat before dusk since it could be extremely dangerous to hike back in the dark. I also didn’t want other hungry animals to smell the deer and become interested in it. Taking everything into consideration, I kept my sights on him not knowing if he was going to give me the shot since he was so far away. I waited patiently for what seemed like forever until he finally turned broad side and gave me the perfect shot. I fired, and watched as he fell off the side of the cliff and ran towards the thick brush. I didn’t see him go down, which made me think was it a good shot? Did he go down? Then we started down the mountain towards him. It was a challenging 45-minute walk, which felt like 2 hours since I just wanted to answer all the uncertain questions running through my head., I just couldn’t be sure until I had him in my hands. Sure enough, it was the perfect shot and I had an 8-pointer in my hands, and the rest was history.

I am honored to be a part of this hunt. It was one I will never forget and I have learned so much from my seven days in the beautiful land of Alaska. I look forward to another exciting hunt to come in the future!

See you soon,

Whitney
- Comments (1)
- 595 Views
- Posted in In the Field
December 29, 2009
DECEMBER GALLERY
Posted: Athletes Hunt
- Comments (3)
- 813 Views
- Posted in In the Field
December 28, 2009
North to Alaska
Posted: Athletes Hunt

If you had asked me in mid-July where I’d be spending the third week of November, I would have undoubtedly responded, “somewhere in the Midwest with bow in hand.” Bowhunting whitetails is my passion, but when approached in late September with the opportunity to hunt Sitka Blacktails on Kodiak Island, my thirst for an Alaskan adventure overwhelmed my passion and my brain immediately shifted gears. Even while enjoying a couple of early season archery hunts, the thought of Alaska stayed foremost in my mind.

On November 13th, Jason Hart, fellow UA associate and buddy, and I boarded a plane for our first trip to the 49^th state. We made it to Anchorage, but unfortunately due to weather it would another day to make it to Kodiak city, and yet another to make our final destination of Larson Bay on the western side of the island. During our stay over in Anchorage, we took the brunt of several tauntings from locals regarding Kodiak’s famous Brown Bears. Like something out of a Bill Engvall joke, each one asked if we were going hunting as we hiked through the airport decked out in camo, carrying 75lb duffles and rifle cases. That question was immediately followed by what and where we were hunting. One friendly gate agent even asked what caliber firearms we brought? After telling her “.300 mag. and .308,” she gave us a rye smile and a condescending “good luck!” We knew about the bears, and were pretty sure the locals do this to everyone heading to Kodiak from the lower 48, but it definitely heightened our anxiety a bit. While sitting around the airport, we took to the opportunity to question returning hunters on their tactics. Although Jason and I both have a background in deer biology, we knew very little about blacktails. The advice seemed to be the same from everyone, get as high as possible and cover as much ground as possible. We also learned the bucks were rutting hard so every doe could have a buck close behind her.

On the 15th, we finally made it do Larson Bay, joined up with UA prostaffer Whitney Isenhart and Cabela’s Mark Nelsen, and began loading our gear on the Artic Endeavor. The Endeavor is a 43 foot commercial fishing boat operated by Ninilchik Charters and would serve as base camp for the four hunters, a cameraman, and three crewmen for the next 7 days. Ninilchik Charters operates as a licensed fishing guide service and licensed hunting transport service. As licensed transporter, the crew is not allowed to scout, accompany the hunters in the field, or handle the game once it is brought aboard. In short, they cater to the “do it yourselfer” that merely needs a way to get to Alaska’s remote wilderness, a hot meal, and a warm place to sleep. Shortly after the gear was loaded, we left the docks and began formulating a plan. We decided to hunt in teams for safety reasons. Mark and Whitney were paired together and would be hunting for a Cabela’s TV show while Jason and I hunted as another team.

By the time we made it across the inlet to our hunting area, we only had a couple of hours of daylight left. Our last question to the crew prior to boarding the skiff was “what about the bears?” The crew assured us that the recent snowstorm would have the bears pushing up the mountains to prepare for winter denning and push deer down to lower elevations. With that we loaded the skiff and headed to shore. Jason and I made it 5 ft onto shore when we saw our first bear track in the snow. My size 12 boot fit comfortably inside the track and it was fresh. I guess they hadn’t headed up the mountain yet. With our senses on full alert, we decided to head up the hill in the opposite direction of the tracks. We hiked straight up for about 45 minutes through the thick alders and cottonwoods when we finally came to an opening. Although fresh tracks were abundant we didn’t see any deer on the way up though this wasn’t surprising as we weren’t exactly stealthy while navigating the steep terrain and thick brush. We sat and glassed for about and hour when Jason spotted the first deer over a mile away. Knowing we didn’t have time to put a stalk on him before dark, we slipped back down the hill to watch a creek drainage leading to a small beaver pond we’d found on the way up. Jason had graciously given me the honor of being the first on the trigger. After 15 minutes of watching the draw and darkness closing in fast, a grey fox appeared working his way around the beaver pond. With no deer visible, I opted to use one of my 2 fox tags. I dropped him in the snow at 122 yards. I now had a beautiful hide and some tremendous crab bait. Unlike Jason and me, Whitney and Mark had deer all over them the first afternoon including an encounter with a big blacktail buck at 40 yards. Unfortunately, they were cursed by the camera and Whitney had to hold off. After only a half day, it was obvious that this was going to be an extreme hunt. It was cold, the topography was steep, and the brush was thick but our enthusiasm was still very high.

Day 2 started off clear and calm with temperatures around 10 degrees….that would change! I’ve been to a lot of places that use the expression “if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change.” Never has that saying been truer than on Kodiak Island, AK. One moment we’d have 30+ mph winds and blizzard snow conditions only to revert back to clear and mostly calm 30 minutes later. This cycle continued throughout the day. It was a true test of our gear and from head to toe, UA performed flawlessly. By noon, I could tell that we were getting much stealthier at navigating the terrain as we were able stalk within shooting range of a group of does before being spotted. We finally settled on a high spot overlooking a large draw. After about a ½ hour of glassing, a buck came trotting through with his nose to the ground. He disappeared down the same trail the does had left on before Jason could get on him. After a short sit, we decided to make a move and peak over the next ridge top. Jason commented numerous times that this ridge top spot and stalk hunting reminded him chasing whitetails in the mountains of West Virginia. Over the next ridge we found a series of frozen beaver ponds and were able to move in on a group of does undetected. After watching them for more than an hour without seeing a buck, I grew impatient and started thinking about what our friends in the airport had said about covering as much ground as possible. However, Jason was the triggerman and it was his call. Eventually we decided to make a move. We spent the hour navigating the terrain making nearly a full circle to where we had spotted the buck earlier in the day.   After a few minutes of glassing and daylight fading, we were both questioning our decision to leave the group of does. Suddenly, at the bottom of the draw in the thick alders I saw a doe and then a buck right behind her. Despite only sitting a few feet to my right, Jason couldn’t see the buck from his vantage point. As he shifted to my left the deer spooked towards the other ridge directly across from us. A sharp mouth bleat and the buck stopped his assent to look back. Jason steadied his rest and fired. The result was Jason’s first blacktail.

            That night over dinner we celebrated Jason’s success and debated strategies eventually coming to a couple of conclusions. First, the rut was in full force. Every buck that had been seen (by both groups of hunters) had been on the trail of hot doe. Second, we were having a lot more success seeing deer by slowing down and glassing than we were running and gunning. So it was decided that we should spend less time moving and more time sitting. This would prove to be a painful decision. I awoke on day 3 with renewed anticipation as I was back on the trigger. We opted to hunt a couple of miles away from where we spent the first day and half. Shortly after hitting the beach and clearing about 200 yards of thick alders we spotted several deer on the hill above us. Encouraged by early activity we found a good vantage point and settled in. Before noon, the water in my hydration pack had frozen solid. The rest of the day came and went with very little deer activity, so we headed to the beach for our late afternoon pickup. We would later find out that the temperature was recorded at -15 on the mainland 35 miles to our north.

            By day 4, the aches and pains associated with navigating the Alaskan terrain were in full affect and we still hadn’t completely defrosted from the previous day. We elected to go back to the area where Jason had found success 2 days prior. About half way up our initial climb I realized I’d left my pack on the boat. I decided that going back down would be more painful than going without lunch so we proceeded on. We made it to the beaver ponds and again found several does in the same places they’d been previously. After watching them for most of the morning, we decided to head closer to the area where Jason had taken his buck. A couple hundred yards into our transition we spotted a doe bedded in the snow across the ravine. She had seen us but didn’t seem alarmed. I ranged her at 212 yards. After only a few minutes of glassing we noticed that her attention had shifted away from us and then Jason called out that there were a few more deer approaching her. Almost simultaneously we both called out “there’s a buck.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t been prepared to shoot. I was standing on an awkward decline and couldn’t get a solid rest. I finally got the buck in my crosshairs, confirmed he was a shooter, and pulled the trigger. I checked the time….it was 1:20 pm…plenty of time to get him out before dark. We crossed the ravine and found my deer buried in the snow. A magnificent trophy! We later green scored him at 88 inches and aged him at 5 1/2       years old. For those not familiar with this species, an 88” sitka blacktail is the equivelant of a 150+” whitetail.

            Once aboard the Artic Endeaver, we learned that Mark and Whitney had also connected with mature sitka blacktailed bucks earlier in the day. You can see their hunt on Cabela’s Ultimate Adventures next fall. The great part about this trip is that it didn’t end when the deer tags were filled.   We spent the next day and a catching crabs, eating crabs, shooting trophy ducks, processing our deer, and taking in Alaska’s majestic wilderness and wildlife. Oh yeah….on the last day we did eventually have an encounter with one of Kodiak’s famous bears….thankfully it was from the comfort and security of the boat!
- Comments (0)
- 413 Views
- Posted in In the Field
December 21, 2009
Unda Arma GERMAN STYLE!
Posted: John Dudley

Last time I posted I had said I was off to Europe to start doing some work again after the hunting season. Although I am a diehard hunter I make my living representing archery internationally. As some of you may well know I have shot competitively for most of my life and although I have somewhat retired from shooting professionally now I am still neck deep into it. I usually spend the non hunting months traveling the globe working with Shops, Clubs and School helping build archery. Above and beyond that I spend a lot of time contracted to work with National and Olympic level athletes and coaches. At times this schedule can get seriously busy and mentally draining. To be honest most of my salvation comes when I can find a gym or place I can get a workout in. No matter where I am I make sure to find a place and get it done. I speak for many of the UA Outdoor Athletes when I say that fitness is my LIFESTYLE it’s NOT just a thing I do when an elk hunt is coming up or a New Years Resolution. It is part of my life. Personally, I don’t feel complete when I eat like crap and start to look like crap, if I do that a few days it is enough for me. I have found that regardless of what I have to do in everyday life, I HAVE TO INCLUDE FITNESS in my daily routine. This past trip to Germany I had a really cool Under Armour encounter when finding a workout and I thought it was worthy of a share.

I was in route to a dealer and made a turn down a small road in a small German town when I saw a sign that I think said “Eignung-Mitte” with a picture of a barbell underneath. I think it means “Fitness Center” but regardless, the barbell told me all I needed to know. I went in to the gym and managed to do enough charades and hand gestures to let them know I wanted to get in a workout. The guy behind the counter was a really cool dude and had a really nice gym. I was the only person in there and throughout my entire workout this dude just stared at me non-stop. It was to the point where I was feeling a bit uncomfortable to be honest. Finally the guy got his nerves up to come over and talk to me about what was on his mind. In his really broken English and Arnold Schwarzenegger voice he points at my cold gear collar and says

“Unda Arma, COOL!”

I laughed and gave him the thumbs up and say “Ya very COOL”. That kind of broke the ice and from then on he was talking to me about how cool America was and how much he liked fitness over here. He then went on to say that it was really hard to find Under Armour over there and that he has really been trying to find a shirt like the one I had on. Heck, it was hard to hear someone that desperate and not help him out. I literally gave him the shirt off my back! I apologized of course that it was a little sweaty, but he didn’t care at all. He put that sucker on right away and couldn’t stop shaking my hand. Hey, it’s a UA World and I am all about spreading the love. You never know where you will find a new friend or a new place to work out. I am sure if I ever pass through there again I will have a place to relieve some stress and push some weights around! Christmas is a few days away and I am going to enjoy every second with my family! I got them some new UA stuff under the tree and I know they will be pumped to open it. After Christmas I am heading to Mississippi to visit my mom and finish up on a bunch of writing I have coming due. Hopefully I will get in a hunt on the family place as well. Following that I have a big tour coming up in Europe after the ATA show. If any of you are reading from Europe be sure to stop in.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Pictures Of People
- Comments (0)
- 391 Views
- Posted in In the Field
December 15, 2009
Migration Day
Posted: Kelley Powers

This past Wed will go on record as one of the biggest migration days that I have ever seen. Hunting close-by to the Mississippi River, we literally sit directly under the heart and the lifeblood of the MS Flyway. The days leading up to then created an ideal scenario for our area to receive and witness a massive migration like no other.

First off…the southern states have had a real shortage of waterfowl that normally would already be here. Our Oct. and Nov. migrations were relatively weak due to milder temperatures in the northern states and Canada.
Secondly, water levels around the mid south and southern states are at an all time high meaning that most low lying areas are under water and there is an abundance of waterfowl habitat and food awaiting there arrival.
Finally….forecasters were predicting a massive arctic cold front and winter storm to pound northern Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois among other states.

All of the above created the perfect scenario to force birds to migrate out of the areas that they have been relaxing in for days and weeks. After the system moved thru, there were tremendous winds that were almost treacherous on some big water impoundments. The migrating waterfowl took advantage of these high winds and rode along with them headed south. All day long, we saw flight after flight of migrating mallards with most bunches being rather large….some consisting of over 250-500 birds each. The high winds made for some tough hunting however as it was really difficult for the mallards to work their way into the timber, but the end result yielded success…as limits were achieved for all.

I can’t even begin to describe how many ducks that I saw that day headed south, but to witness first hand the magnitude of the migration was something special. One thing is for sure…events like these are the reasons us waterfowlers’ keep heading out on the water day after day.
- Comments (1)
- 379 Views
- Posted in In the Field