My have to think about the brownie hunt in Kamchatka again now that the flight is slated to resume..
A 4hr flight as opposed to 3 days. I like that!

http://www.adn.com/2011/12/01/...plans-anchorage.html

Scottyboy,

just returned from a hunt out of juneau and was reading about the flight. i agree totally with you about the 4 hrs being much better than 3 days. The only bad point is they only are offering the flight in August and September so that rules out a Spring Bear hunt.

hawkeye47

I have a few friends who are going after Kamchatka Bighorns Sept 1st and I think they just checked into this and it was still up in the air. Would sure make things a bit more easy if it works out.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kelly:
I have a few friends who are going after Kamchatka Bighorns Sept 1st and I think they just checked into this and it was still up in the air. Would sure make things a bit more easy if it works out.

Hi Jim,
this route is possible till 13th september.
if you friends are going after 1th september - so i think - its not good idia to flight from Anchoridge direct.
But i think the best time for snow sheep hunting is in august.

Hmmmm.........looks interesting........

Brett

Scotty do you think a Kamchatka hunt are better than Alaska hunt ? Size ? Price ?

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Scotty do you think a Kamchatka hunt are better than Alaska hunt ? Size ? Price ?

Not sure about being any "better", Anton.. Same exact bear as AK has. Price is a bit cheaper, but that will go by the wasteside by the time airfare is wrapped into the cost..

My opinion is that Kamchatka is just one of those wild places on earth that just has to been seen at least once in a lifetime. A bear or sheep hunt there would be just the excuse to make the trip a reality..
The experience of just going and seeing the place would be as much of the adventure as being able to hunt whilst there.

This question would best be asked to the members here who have done one, the other, or both.
I am looking hard at a brown bear hunt in '14. Thus far, AKshooter here on AR has got me wanting to pull out the checkbook!

I agree with Scot on the experience of a new land. They advertise kamchatka as being like Alaska 100 years ago!

Hawkeye

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Scotty do you think a Kamchatka hunt are better than Alaska hunt ? Size ? Price ?

Not sure about being any "better", Anton.. Same exact bear as AK has. Price is a bit cheaper, but that will go by the wasteside by the time airfare is wrapped into the cost..

My opinion is that Kamchatka is just one of those wild places on earth that just has to been seen at least once in a lifetime. A bear or sheep hunt there would be just the excuse to make the trip a reality..
The experience of just going and seeing the place would be as much of the adventure as being able to hunt whilst there.

This question would best be asked to the members here who have done one, the other, or both.
I am looking hard at a brown bear hunt in '14. Thus far, AKshooter here on AR has got me wanting to pull out the checkbook!

Agreed on the experience. You might want to talk to Bob Hodson owner of Barney's Sports Chalet here in Anchorage. He helped open up Russian hunting in the 80s. He might be a good resource especially when camparing and contrasting with Alaska since he's hunted ALL over Alaska his entire life.

Brett

I've done 2 Brown Bear hunts to Kamchatka. The first in 05 we flew from Dallas to Anchorage to Petro. The second in 07 we flew Dallas, Chicago, Frankfurt, Moscow, overnighted, then Moscow to Petro (11hrs).

Bears, there are A LOT of them. I've heard concerns lately that the size expectations are not what they used to be but it would be best to check with someone who has been there since me.

Yep, it is one of the wildest places on earth. A true wilderness experience and worth the trip. When I did my trips, I would say the cost was about 60% of the cost of a Peninsula Hunt in AK. $10,900 including airfare and helio to camp in 05. $12,900 in 07 including the helio roundtrip, but excluding the roundtrip to get to Petro as well as hotels going and coming in Moscow. Airfare was $2,400 and the Moscow hotels were $350 per night per person.

The Moscow route is a real pain in the ass. On the other side of the coin, there is much to see such as Red Square. I would do the trip again if the flights from Anchorage to Petro resume. I will not do it again through Moscow. Once is OK, but it's also enough!

The hunt itself. Good and bad. I ended up with a small bear on the first trip, 7 & 1/2 footer. Did much better in 07 with a 9'3". One guy out of 5 on the first trip took a 10' 4" on the last day. All bears on the second trip were over 9' but the day after we left and the new group came into camp, a hunter took a 10' 5" in the spot where we were all fishing 2 days previous. So there are lots of bears there, but you still have to hunt for the big ones. And therein lies the problem as explained below.

You will have a Russian interpreter in camp, but not in the field. You need to pull your guide and the interpreter aside before heading into the field and let him know EXACTLY what you are looking for. They will encourage you to shoot the first bear you see. I got the feeling on both trips that they wanted to get it over with and maintain their 100% success record, regardless of the size of the bear. Don't expect the guides to be very friendly either.

Because of the number of bears and lack of communication, I don't recommend this trip for a new bear hunter, which is what I was in 05. I do recommend the hunt, but you'll need to do quite a bit of research on how to judge bears for yourself. Learn how to say "Neyt" and stand your ground if the bear appears smaller than what you want to shoot.

If you do a spring hunt, expect to ride behind a snowmobile on a sled until spotting bears. I didn't want to hunt this way so both of my hunts were in the fall. Fall hunts will be mainly walking trails, spotting and stalking the streams looking for feeding bears. You'll be walking narrow trails with 10' high grass on both sides, often with about 5 yards visibility ahead as the trails twist and turn. It will be wet and rainy most of the time. Good Stuff!!

After the hunt, if you have days remaining, you'll experience the absolute best trout fishing you've ever imagined. At one point, I had made 28 casts and caught 27 fish. Thankfully, now days, they encourage catch and release. You'll probably keep 2 but throw the remaining back.

Expect to be greeted in camp off the helicopter, with FRESH caviar and vodka. Yep, that's right, they expect you to drink several toasts in the traditional Russian manner, rest up for a couple of hours, then go hunting. The first day is the only time I saw them drink and hunt with the exception of having a beer for lunch everyday. You'll be amazed at how much vodka the guides drink throughout the week! But it never slows them down.

The food is plentiful but quite a bit different. Cabbage pancakes for breakfast with sausage and spicy mustard. The cooks had learned to make scrambled eggs by the second trip, but it was unheard of on the first trip. Lots of fish soup and bortsch.

All in all, you'll experience some great culture in a true wilderness experience. You'll have plenty of opportunity at taking a bear but need to be familiar with judging them yourself. It's best to judge them in the stream instead of making a size determination while they are in the grass.

Here are some pics from my second trip:

quote:

I would do the trip again if the flights from Anchorage to Petro resume. I will not do it again through Moscow. Once is OK, but it's also enough!

Hello Todd,

if you want to hunt this year, so we have very good offers:

16th-30th August
30th August- 13th September

Combo hunt
snow sheep +brown bear.
included helicopters and flight Anchorage-Petropavlovsk :

11000USD
+ snow sheep 5000USD
+ brown bear 5000USD

You can book the direct flights:


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Igor
I'd like to hear more about this hunt you had posted here.
I am thinking hard about a sheep/bear/moose hunt in Kamchatka.
I'm gathering info at this point.
Thanks