By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
Whether you're grizzly hunting, deer hunting or just want to see the beauty of nature, the Kodiak Island in Alaska is the place to be. Just ask Kent Kaiser.
Though the most famous resident of the Island is the grizzly bear, which you can see on average 1-2 times a day, Kaiser admits that hunting for blacktail deer is what he prefers.
Blacktail deer are a subspecies. They are a smaller deer in both the rack and the body with a black skullcap and a shorter snub nose.
The bucks are very handsome. For size comparison, a white tail deer rack that scores at 170 is Boone and Crockett worthy while a blacktail deer will make Boone and Crockett with a 108 score.
For the past few years, Kaiser and a friend have gone on a blacktail hunt on the Kodiak Island and have taken their limit of three bucks each.
In Kaiser's experiences, a hunter only needs a few days to limit out on the bucks as the mild winters of the past have produced a large deer population. The best time to hunt on the island is from November to December.
Because of the dangerous presence of the wildlife on the Island, especially the grizzly bears, one should never hunt alone.
Kaiser was born in Niles and grew up in Alaska. He now divides his time living in Kalamazoo and running a fishing and driving tour business in Alaska.
In his free time, Kaiser enjoys not only hunting blacktail deer, but moose, caribou and bear as well.
Each year Kaiser rounds up a group to hunt the blacktail deer.
"You can stay in a lodge and have top of the line meals cooked for you or cook meals in your own kitchen. We take a boat to the hunting spot from the lodge, get dropped off in the morning and picked up in the evening. Sometimes even going forty to fifty miles from the lodge in the bay," Kaiser added.
Anyone interested may contact him at 269-353-8127, on his cell phone 269-484-4527 or e-mail him at kent61@kaiser-adventures.com.
Kaiser also has a website available at www.kaiser-adventures.com.