Island bow hunting

I'd say a canoe...light enough you can portage it yourself, get it on and off your car without help.

I've taken a number of trips that have involved portaging, repelling down dams, and even some ocean travel up in Maine. I haven't hunted from one though.

Your biggest problem sneaking up to an island is noise...unless it's a raging river, while you make landfall and bump a rock, they'll be spilling out the other side. Of course, wind direction is generally up or down river, so depending on your approach, you may have trouble with scent too.

Wow.
what a beautiful dilemma.
1. does it flood?
2. How does the deed to island property read>>>do you get clear title and mineral rights??
3.How big is the water, and how dangerous in full cold-weather hunt gear etc?
4. Does the water around it freeze? getting there could be a problem on thin ice cover.

I would think a 16ft jon with 25hp outboard would haul you, a buddy, gear, and deer.

Interesting. Owning your own hunting property is a joy. You may have a diamond in the rough. Not just any Joe Blow is gonna park his truck and sneak in to that, like they do mine.

Camping is your best bet, but take whatever you must to stay warm. That's critical. A quality canoe will hold a lot of stuff including your harvest.

A short narrative about my friend who hunted a river island. He used a small outboard boat to get there. Killed a deer. Too big to put in the boat, so he decided to tow it back across to his camp. The weight of the animal dipped the stern of the boat. Filled with water and capsized. Lost his rifle. Freezing temps. He was unconscious from exposure on top of the up-side-down boat when another boated came along and saved him. He made it back to camp, but left the big deer on the shore, too exhausted to fool with it. The next morning, he found that bears had torn apart his trophy. That is a true story. Not related to island hunting, but during his hunting trip his best friend abandoned the camp and went home without notifying him. When he got home, he found that his wife had left him.

Those events give me the shivers when someone mentions island hunting.

Sounds like fun to me.

I wouldn't worry about the stealth part with an island that size, plus the animals are probably used to the traffic on the water. I would want a boat big enough to handle the worst water conditions that I might encounter. That way if the weather blew up a storm I could still get back to the mainland. Hunting island deer is not that different from hunting mainland. Scout, find the rubs, scrapes and trails. When all else fails get a couple of Buds and make a drive. Even if you run the deer off the island they will return. It is home.

1/2 acre is 320 acres, that would be 1 mile long and 1/2 mile wide. I wouldn't think the game would be that spooky unless they are experiencing a lot of hunting pressure. I wouldn't expect your scent to carry that far either. Good luck on buying the land & enjoy.

Captcurt said:

I would want a boat big enough to handle the worst water conditions that I might encounter. That way if the weather blew up a storm I could still get back to the mainland.

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There is a lot of truth in that statement. I spend a lot of time on the water...and when the wind gets a good bite on the water it can turn it into a heaving fury in no time.

Consider the size of body of water you'll be navigating. I've been on plenty of lakes where a canoe would be impossible to use on windy days. The last thing you want is to capsize during hunting season...when it's generally very cold out. You could lose your deer, your gear, and maybe your life.

If you get a small boat you could always just hunt when the weather is good. Just know before you go.

Sounds like a really cool way to hunt...I'd be all over it.

Sounds incredible. I own 50 acres and hunt it. I've dealt with folks running dogs through my land and trespassing. It can really suck.

But hunting deer on dirt that is yours is something special.

I've had deer run right through my campsite on the river while I was lounging in a hammock. You'll be fine on 350 acres.

Just have the correct survival equipment and a SPOT device wouldn't hurt.

Get a cabin cruiser and you won't need to worry about camping, or a boat that's too small.