I hunted with Cerf Sau in 2001, rained sideways for the first 3 1/2 days, my father and I ended up shooting 4 scrubber bucks between us, about the size we kill in Pa. or NY. Accommodations and food was great, I did see some very nice deer taken although they were not very common. The one thing that pissed me off is I wanted to hunt the coast and was told "it is not in your guide's rotation". I didn't like the 1 guide to 4 hunter ratio and felt that the repeat hunters were treated better. It cost $3000 in 2001 to hunt, I don't know what it cost to hunt there now. I'd rather pay $3400 to hunt elk and mule deer in Colorado than deer in Anticosti, just my opinion.
You are not very likely to kill big deer on Anticosti, though some nice deer are taken. To get big, deer need nutrition and age. The quality of browse on Anticosti is poor and frequent hard winters kill off bucks before they can get old. Last winter was such a winter. I have been to Anticosti almost 20 times and my buddy even more than that. We have never seen so few deer and, with the exception of a very big spike or maybe 4 pointer, I saw no bucks. If I saw a dozen deer this year that was a lot. My buddy saw fewer and we hunted hard and we hunted an area we know very well..
Anticosti is about the hunting. If you want a trophy that is big, there are better places. If you want a trophy that you have to work for, Anticosti is the place for you. It is about being in a place where you are the only person for miles. While there are stands and binds in the sector I hunt, for me it is hunting on the move. It is about spot and stalk. It is about seeing a a deer across a peat bog that may be a mile across. It is about working your way into position for a shot and hope that the deer does not amble off or gets spooked. Or it is about bumping into a deer as you walk through a spruce and fir forest and having only seconds to take the deer.
