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The Alaska Draw and Hunting the Big Bulls of Afognak

Eric Pawlak
|  
  • Eric Pawlak
Species: Mountain Goat, Roosevelt Elk
Location: Alaska

Let’s begin by covering the upcoming Alaska big game draw for limited-entry tags. The deadline to apply for 2024 hunts is December 15, 2023. That’s only one month from now! WTA TAGS offers application services for Roosevelt elk, mountain goat, Dall sheep, brown bear, caribou, moose, bison, muskox, and emperor goose in Alaska. The draw areas of Alaska typically offer the best hunting for these species. There isn’t a point system in place, so you should only apply if you’re serious about heading out on an Alaskan adventure in 2024. Our WTA TAGS consults can answer all of your questions about big game hunting in Alaska. They’re just a phone call away.

I just returned from a Roosevelt elk hunt on Alaska’s Afognak Island and I want to give some extra attention to this species. For the past 20 years, I’ve traveled almost exclusively to hunting-related destinations. After dozens of hunting adventures, this Roosey hunt on Afognak makes my top 5 list for pure adventure and high-quality hunting. This yacht-based hunt for this magnificent species of elk was completely awesome.

WTA TAGS client George Davis, who resides just outside Cleveland, Ohio, was fortunate enough to draw both a mountain goat tag on Kodiak and this Roosevelt elk tag on Afognak in the same year. I was a little nervous about the expense and time crunch George would face. I felt a bit intimidated when I dialed his number to tell him of his incredible fortune. George, being the hardworking businessman and ardent sportsman he is, booked ’em both!

I had personally never laid eyes on a Roosevelt elk. And while I’ve been to Kodiak twice before, I’d never hunted Afognak. I asked George and our WTA TAGS-endorsed outfitter if I could come along on this epic adventure. WTA TAGS consultant Jordan Roche also accompanied us. A Roosevelt bull elk is, on average, 30% heavier than its Rocky Mountain cousin…so the more packers, the better! Another first for me was hunting Alaska from a 65-foot yacht. If you’ve never experienced one of the boat-based hunts in Alaska, I highly recommend adding this to your bucket list.

The entire experience was fantastic: prehistoric-looking elk, color phase fox combing the beaches for food, breaching killer whales all around, gorgeous collector species sea-ducks, fantastic food, and an awesome crew. It truly was the trip of a lifetime. I hope these images do justice to what a special place Afognak Island is!

If hunting Roosevelt elk is something you’re considering, this is one of the best hunts in North America for this species. The odds of drawing the tag are reasonable, but you can’t miss the December 15 application deadline. For more information about this hunt or any of the species I mentioned, please feel free to call WTA TAGS to discuss these adventures in detail. Make 2024 your best year ever!

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Estate Hunting: A Closer Look at a Misunderstood Hunting Option

Estate Hunting: A Closer Look at a Misunderstood Hunting Option

Estate hunting, often referred to as high fence hunting, is one of the most misunderstood segments of the modern hunting landscape. The term can carry strong assumptions, but those assumptions rarely reflect the reality of what these hunts actually involve.

At its core, estate hunting offers hunters access to large, privately managed properties where wildlife is carefully stewarded, and hunting opportunities are predictable, efficient, and highly successful. These hunts are not intended to replace traditional public-land or limited-entry experiences. They are meant to provide an alternative option for hunters with specific goals, time constraints, or physical considerations.

Understanding estate hunting begins with recognizing how the properties operate and what the experience looks like on the ground.

What Defines an Estate Hunt?​

Estate hunts take place on privately owned ranches or preserves enclosed by a perimeter fence. These properties can range from several thousand acres to well over 100,000 acres, depending on location, species, and management model.

Within these boundaries, wildlife populations are actively managed year-round. Landowners and outfitters focus on habitat improvement, water development, herd health, genetics, and balanced harvest rates. The result is a stable wildlife population with a strong age structure and consistent hunting opportunity.

Because animals remain on the property, outfitters can offer hunts with a very high harvest probability. In many cases, hunters can pursue specific age classes, horn characteristics, or species that would otherwise require years of applying or limited-entry permits.

What the Experience Is Actually Like

One of the most common misconceptions about estate hunting is that animals are easily located and harvested quickly in a confined space. In reality, many estate properties are vast, and hunters may never see the perimeter fence during their hunt.

These ranches often feature diverse terrain of rolling hills, timber, brush country, open plains, canyons, and river bottoms, allowing animals to behave naturally. Hunters glass, stalk, track, and pass animals just as they would on large private ranches or expansive Western properties.

Once on the ground, the hunt feels far more like a traditional spot-and-stalk or guided private land experience than what many imagine when they hear the term “high fence.”

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