Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Anticosti 2017

Well, I really don't know where to begin, so the logical place it the beginning. The trip up was OK at best. Weather plagued us most of the way heading north. First rain, then snow, then both mixed with heavy winds. As we approached the Gaspe, the sun broke out and things were looking up. We checked in at the motel LeGaspesiena and had a wonderful room looking over the Gulf of St Lawrence. What we saw was "almost" unbelievable to me. Early in the morning on Sunday November 19th I thought I was looking at a group of whales, then I thought seals. I didn't have my glasses on. What it turned out to be was a group of SURFERS................. What the hell, are they nuts???





On Monday the 20th we were to fly at 10:40 AM. We woke for breakfast and looked out. It was snowing very hard and the winds were a steady 40 MPH. The snow was sideways. We booked it to the airport and checked in. The organizer said she had some bad news. The plane was delayed 1 hour. I said, "bad news?" To me that was GREAT news. Another long story short. ONE hour turned into almost 10 hours. The snow intensified as did the winds. I figured NO WAY would they fly in this. The reason for the plane delay was not weather related, but mechanical. The plane taxied out to the runway in Montreal and powered up for takeoff when they lost all power. They towed it back to the hanger and swapped to another plane. THIS next plane also had mechanical issues. FINALLY they got one into the air and reached us in Mont Joli at about 8 PM. We boarded and headed to the island. I was absolutely amazed they would fly in such conditions.

The picture of the wind sock was about noon time.





All of the reports we had heard was the the deer herd was down. Down was an understatement. Nan and I BOTH decided as long as it didn't have spots it would end up with a tag. We never got to bed the night before until around mid night and I was up at 4 AM for coffee. When the guide showed up with our placements, I was to go to one of my favorite tree stands. It is on a very well used run that is used year after year. I was only in the tree for about 45 minutes when this nice doe showed herself. Honestly, I didn't give in much thought considering what we had been told. I fired at her and it was about 70 yards. I could tell my shot was good. There was about a foot of snow on the ground and I could see blood from about 30 yards.





I learned from a member here of this German custom. I have always respected the deer I kill. I decided to do the same this year and will continue to do so.

It is a custom from Europe (Germany) Where the Jagermiester ( master hunter ) after killing an animal would honor the animal by placing an evergreen sprig in the mouth to honor the life cycle of the animal. He would also place a sprig in his hat. Putting the sprig in its mouth is giving the animal his final meal before you consume the animal. It is just a way of honoring the cycle of life.


There will be more of the story to follow, but I am at work right now and have to get back to business. Thanks for your patience.

Yes!! Can’t wait to hear the rest of the hunt!

It always interesting to hear stories about Anticosti.
Love the 99! is it a 99F? what caliber is it?

Yes it is an F in .308 Win.

Now to carry on a bit more. I apologize for the bits and pieces, but it's about the only time I have right now.

About an hour after I shot my doe, I heard a shot from across the river valley. I had no idea who shot, but a period of time went by and I heard a woman's voice calling for Francis the guide. My problem was that this was the first time we ever had a second woman in camp and hearing the voice over the radio, I did not recognize the voice as my WIFE. At any rate, several times she made the call before I picked up and asked who was calling Francis. My wife said "Steve, it's Nancy and I just shot a deer". There was blood, but no deer. I took the track and we followed but soon, I lost the blood trail. The guide showed up to relocate his hunters and I told him what had happened. He said for me to go back to my stand and he would help find the deer, He was sure it was dead. I left and he and Nan continued. Sure enough, after about another half hour or so, they found the deer. Another doe about 75 or 80 pounds. My wife was happy and that's what matters to me.

So far so good LBK!

Will check back for the rest of the story...

Day 1 ended on a GREAT note. We BOTH had our deer.

Day 2 was a hunt further into the territory more towards the north end of the island. I managed to see a deer and I missed the shot. No hair no blood. A clean miss. The guide was not happy. I was hunting alone, and they just aren't happy with a miss. They feel it's a reflection on them. He brought me further in and dropped me off. This was a tough spot because the blind is backed right up to the National Park. Hunters are not permitted in for any reason. A guide can go in for a recovery of a legally shot deer outside of the park, but he must go in without a gun.

Well, I was sitting and about 125 yards, downhill, out pops this good looking deer. I could NOT see horns, but took the shot. The deer mule kicked very high. It took one jump, hit the ground, and again, kicked out. I figured heart shot for sure. The downside was the the deer went into the park. I walked over to where the deer went in and as far as I could see, a blood trail was visible. When the guide came back I showed him what had happened. He said we would pick up the other hunters and he would return after dark with another guide and they would try to find the deer. At about 6 or 6:30 PM the waitress came into the living area and said the guides had found my buck. I was amazed to here is was a buck................................Well, a "spike" buck. I know it's not a very good picture, but under the circumstances it was the best I could do.

Always look forward to your Anticosti report LBK.


Glad you had a fun trip.

The evening of the 2nd day brought on heavy rain. As I said there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground up until that point. When we woke Thursday morning , all the snow had vanished. This was another ATV day. I was tagged out, but my wife wanted me to hunt with her so out I went. The trails were wet ans the packed snow on them quickly turned to ice. It was treacherous to say the least. If it weren't for the ATV bridge across the river it would have been a short hunt. We got to the trail head and parked the machines. It's possible some of you remember the year (2 years ago) we hunted and everything was flooded.. The place we were hunting this morning was the same meadow that was flooded so badly then. We got to where the stand was and it needed some cutting for better visibility. I got my wife set up and I sat away looking in the opposite direction. About a half hour passed and I saw my wife raise her rifle. I could not see an animal. Then she mouth bleated and the rest was history. She had shot a button buck, so now we were both tagged out and we would have a day and a half to relax. Here's a couple pictures of the meadow and her deer,

In the 1st picture almost in the center is where my wife shot from. The number 2 picture is a zoom to show the milk crate were she was sitting.

The afternoon pictures of this day will follow tomorrow while I'm at work. Thanks for your patience.

Cool beans LBK! You know I look forward to this thread every year!

Great story and pictures, thanks for putting the effort to share them.

Always a great read LBK, congrats on a successful hunt

This year we had a new girl in camp. The guides fell all over her. One asked her to stay on the island and one actually cut a ring from a copper pipe, deburred it and polished it up and THEN PROPOSED to her. She was a GREAT sport and hunter.





AND as you can see, the bucks were few and far between but they WERE there.

Nan and I spent the last day and a half just chilling out and having a great vacation. The food was second to none this year and the guides really worked hard to make sure everyone was in the best place to see a deer. The killing part, well, that was up to you.

This is a new house blind to be used in REALLY bad weather.



This is a picture of Nan holding a seal skin mat. This would be a fun place to be, just to see the effort that went into it.

Nice write up buddie! Congrads on the Venison!

Congrats. Awesome scenery. I should go there one of these years.

During our down time, I couldn't resist taking a stand in the head. It wasn't long before this little fella showed up.





Meal time is always a great time when everyone shares their experience of the day. Here;s the group from Canada that shares our time.



This is one of them. A lawyer, only you'd never guess it if he didn't tell you. He bought himself a new scope and was showing it off. I had never seen one like it. It is a Burris. Just LOOK at the size of it.

Every year, the trip comes to an end and every year I wonder what the future holds. I think I re-book time after time just to give me something to look forward to. Even with the deer numbers down we STILL have a better hunt than we ever would here at home. The scenery is spectacular and I still can't believe we hunt so close to the ocean and see deer on the beach. It will be a long year waiting for next November.

Here are a few shots of the Jupiter River on Anticosti, famous for it's Salmon fishing.

Thank you for posting the story and the great photos! I enjoy your Anticosti adventure more every year.