Three generations of my family were able to head to the Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, including my father, Mike Rocko, my brother, Austin Rocko, my grandpa, Gene Bates, and my great uncle, Charles Bates. Two family friends, Jimmy Head and Jeff Head, also accompanied me on this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
After being invited on the trip in February of 2021, I started the long, agonizing wait for September by watching every video I could find on the Prince of Wales Island and Sitka blacktail deer hunting. I also researched every article I could find on blacktail deer and the equipment I would need to have a successful hunt. It was clear that this New Mexico desert rat was in for an amazing experience. I spent nine months getting ready for my first experience in a rainforest chasing the allusive blacktail deer. I had to get all new hiking gear, camo, raingear, and jackets to accommodate the amount of rain that was expected. I also spent hours looking for places to hunt on onXmaps, studying the roads and high-country terrain for spots that would potentially have deer.
Finally, after nine long months, the day arrived. We left Silver City, New Mexico at 12 p.m., and it was 91 degrees Fahrenheit. We landed the next day in Ketchikan, Alaska at 3 p.m., and it was 60 degrees and raining. From there, we took a ferry to the Prince of Wales Island and arrived at our lodge at 10 p.m. that night.
The first day of the hunt, after talking to the locals, watching videos, and making game plans, my family and I decided I was going to shoot the first league buck I was able to. We started out driving up roads that would get us closer to the alpine to eliminate as much walking through the thick brush that was mixed with rain, making it extremely slick and muddy. We had made it to a ridge just below the alpine when my brother, Austin, (who was hunting with a bow) froze and said, “There’s a buck!”
We all looked up, and at 97 yards, there he was looking right at us. There was no time to waste. I threw my .243 Weatherby up, settling my scope to make sure it was a legal buck. Once I confirmed it was, I squeezed my trigger, making a perfect shot through both lungs. The deer jumped and ran five yards around a tree before dying in a creek about two feet wide. It took about 20 minutes for my dad and me to walk through the brush up the side of the hill to get to him.
This hunt will always be one of the most exciting because of the new experiences and the family members who were able to hunt with me.
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