Anyone tried deer hunting river islands?

[mcseal2]

I fish the KS river a lot, and am curious about deer hunting the islands in the river. They are sand islands full of willows, plus there is plenty of timber between the high banks and the crop fields. Anything inside the high banks is public access. They are opening a short early season to thin down herds near the more urban areas in late October and I was considering taking the boat down and rattling to see if I could draw something out onto the public. The river gets hit hard by duck hunters, so the sound of boats, motors, and gunshots is something the deer will be accustomed to. Anyone tried anything like this and have any pointers or success stories?

[bsites9]

i myself have never done this. But I do know of people saying it can be really productive. And I know those older bucks love places that a person never steps foot on. Not sure how big the islands are you're talking about, but i'd assume you'd stay at the very edges, but yes, i believe it can be really productive. I live and die deer hunting, and i'd try it for sure if i thought deer were there. should be fairly easy to see if they're going to it though.

[Poppa]

Check the regs. for your state. In my state the Army Corps of Engineers
have permits for the islands and river banks. For deer its bow hunting only.

[mcseal2]

Some of the islands are fairly large, I have bowhunted one that is over a section, but most are 2-8 acres. There are also some that are connected to the bank that would be considered inside the high bank. I have seen deer and their tracks on them lots of times, and seen big bucks cross the river when we did a drive on the fieldside timber above the high bank. The permit is not a concern in my state, the tags are the same. I will just have to try it and see how it goes. One nice thing is that you can hunt different winds depending on which side of the island you come up to.

[Paraguayguy]

My brothers and I have shot a 100 deer easy walking abreast on Islands in Virginia jump shooting deer with buckshot like giant rabbits. Its way Fun!

[NJ CLAD]

If you find deer on the smaller islands, just get a few friends, and do a drive. you can post shooters at the end, or if the island is small enough, you will hear the deer get to the river. You hurry to the bank, and pop them as they come out the other side. On the large rivers out west, we hunt this way, we just do the drives on the small peninsulas. It is really a productive way to hunt. If the deer have to swim, it really slows them down.

[Grimpuppy]

I have recovered a couple deer off islands in the Republican before. But never hunted them on the islands. I am fortunate enough to be able to hunt some river bottom land though.

[mcseal2]

I will have to try that, I can haul 3 in my boat so that should be enough for the smaller islands. We walk lots of draws up in the pastures, so we are used to hunting that way, it will be nice walking on a flat sandbar instead of up a big hill.

[cumberlandcat]

I have some decent sized islands out on the river where I hunt, but I haven't been able to find any sign of deer on them. There are tons of deer out in that area I took quite a few last fall, but never saw anything.

[flathead willie]

I hunt islands in the James River and they are full of deer.