Tony Lee/Westwind Guide Service had a client back out of a hunt leaving a gap in Tony's schedule 9-20 Sept '13. These dates are the absolute height of the moose rut and a great date for brown bear also.

The hunt is offered in Alaska Unit 17 and 19 where I lived for 22 years. There are loads of bears there and good numbers of moose. Expectations should be for a moose of 60" plus with a monster approaching 70" possible. Bears should square out 8.5'-9' and you should have multiple shooting opportunities.

Pricing:

1x1 12 day brown bear/moose combo $15,500 was originally priced at $24,500 This can be split between two hunters with each paying $7,750 each. An additional brown bear can be added for a $2,500 trophy fee.

OR

2 X 1 12 days brown bear only with the option of a second bear each for a $2,500 trophy fee.

Extras:

License $85
Brown bear tag $500
Black bear tag $225
Moose tag $400
Wolf $30
Wolverine $175

Extras:

Hotels as necessary
Trophy/meat shipping
Airfare to Anchorage

This is a great hunt in an area I know intimately with a longtime Alaska operator and the price is excellent. $15,500 would be a very fair price for the bear or moose by itself.
Contact me anytime with your questions.

Mark

I"m dying here! That's a helluva deal I wish I had the funds to jump on. Should go quick.

If an offer like this would appear again, please send me a pm

Roger that!

I did this hunt last year. I guess the fact my contract had the completely wrong dates should have been a red flag that attention to detail was somewhat lacking...and the fact Tony never spoke to me on the phone before the hunt even though he told me he would call. I did have some concerns about this hunt after checking references; one guy had hunted with an older guide and was not happy. I told Mark I didn't want a guy who could not keep with me (I am 54).

All I can say is paying 13K and getting a 70 year old guide that had to rest every few minutes put me in a really shitty mood right off the bat.

That was, incidentally, after I was the last of three hunters to be flown out to spike camp. I can't help but wonder if it was because I was on a ten day hunt and the others were on six day hunts - if weather blew in and I got stuck, I still had nine more days. Who cares that I spent nearly twice what those other guys did. That pissed me off too - why not at least draw straws?

Tony put us along the King Salmon river, which could not be waded. He assured us the bears would be feeding on fish in the river. Never saw a single bear or track by the river. We did see a giant 9.5 foot bear headed that way, but he didn't cross the river. Didn't matter, as my guide couldn't walk that far anyway, at least not very quickly. I made the 1.5 mile walk one hour ahead of him.

After a few days of solid rain and not seeing a single bear on our side of the river, we were waiting to be moved. I spotted a bear up the valley about 3.5 miles. Not huge, but given the rain and Tony's inability to move us, I thought I should shoot it. We took off after it. Had to stop constantly as my guide had to catch his breath. We got to within 285 yards of the bear but then he went into a huge alder patch. If we would have been 10 minutes earlier, I think we would have had a shot. As we were hiking back to the tent, I spotted the bear coming out the far side of the alders. The guide said he was too whooped to go after that bear, so I went after him myself. Never did catch up to him, as he went over the saddle and a least a mile beyond that.

Yes, I did shoot a bear (that I spotted while my guide was in the tent - in fact, I spotted both the bears we ended up stalking). The bear was quartering away slightly; I tried to break the off shoulder. At the shot the bear dropped (his off leg flipped into the air). Guide shot after the bear got up running but he was in the alders in a heartbeat. But it was late in the evening and the guide elected to wait until morning. It poured that night and we found only three drops of blood.

The first time we stalked this bear my gun malfunctioned; I whispered to my guide my rifle would not fire. He was totally deaf in one ear and could not hear me (I am guessing a younger guide would have heard me and given me his rifle). I lifted my bolt to clear the rifle and the gun fired. Bear ran. My backlash screw was rusty; I fixed it back at camp.

Tony has only one Super Cub, and trying to ferry three hunters and three guides is pretty difficult. On the seventh day he landed. I asked if I could just terminate my hunt, get credit for two days, and return (with a different guide). He agreed, but before he took off, he changed his mind.

It was my impression that nearly all of the bear hunters were booked at the last minute...I know all three of us the week I was there booked at the last minute.

Neither Mark nor Tony seemed concerned I had a 70 year old guide. Mark said he had "30 years experience." I told him in another 20 he will have 50 years of experience, but he won't be better than he was 20 years ago.

I thought long and hard about this hunt. I will take my lumps for not icing the bear. But I won't book with Tony Lee again, and would not recommend him. I am sure there are others who had a great time. But getting stuck with a 70 year old guide on a 13K hunt is bullshit.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but it sounds like you did do diligence booking with Mark, but it was his job (what he was getting paid for) to ensure you had no questions, and were getting the hunt you thought you were paying big bucks for. It's hard to get a full perspective of things from a forum blog, but it would be enlightening to get a perspective from Mark's point of view. He posts lots of hunts here, and I'd surmise that he'd do all he could do to ensure that what he sells is what you should expect. We'll see...

Don't know this guy offering the humt.
I only wanted to mention Sheep hunting could be a little more difficult and we have 1 guides in his mi 60's
And 2 in their early 70's and they all are top notch hunters and guides.
The oldest guide in one year guided to 6 For 6 sheep not bad for an old man.
Oh his name is Bob Graham he has guided some of th most well known tv hunters.
The point guys don't get discouraged if your set up with an old fart to hunt with.
Just remember most guys that can afford these hunts are old farts like me.
Just a think to keep in mind.
No comment on the group offering the hunt other than it sounds cheap.
Larry

AnotherAZWriter's guide gave POOR service during
his hunt. I'd be very angry too.

Sorry for your bad hunt. One piece of advice I got early on about guided hunts is this, " The really good outfits are normally booked years in advance. Beware the guy always hawking "last minute cancellation hunts". There's usually a reason he's not booked solid. I'm not saying bargains don't come up but the buyer better be wary. Either not a good outfitter or less than prime dates etc. Remember a great product usually sells itself. The very best guides use past clients to sell their hunts not "booking agents".

John,

This report is interesting as you talked to both Tony and myself about returning for another hunt and we had a plan to meet in Dallas to talk face to face about your concerns and a future hunt. Tony even had a particular Guide in mind for you.

The only thing I can figure is that this report is your way of avoiding a face to face where Tony would be able to address your concerns. There are always two sides to any controversy.

Happy Thanksgiving

Mark

AZ
I am not sure you are painting a good picture for outfitters in Alaska in general.
Like I said before many of the most experienced guides are older. I don't know of many outfits that would have more than one bush plane to service 3 hunters. We have one for drop camp delivery and we service 20 hunters +
Just sounds to me like the atmosphere and personalities did not click on your hunt. Don't get me wrong that happens and usualy the hunt goes sour. I recommend the hunter stay in contact with the people they sign up with months before the hunt. Worth a few phone calls, text or emails. These contacts give you a good indication of who you are dealing with. Ask questions every thing that comes to mind don't expect something and when it is not provided think you are being shafted.
Probably would not hurt to set up a nice line of communication back with the outfitter and maybe you guys can come up with An agreement may not be free but you did see game and sounds like you wounded one. Hunt over in every camp I have been in. As for tracking wounded bears in the alders would you crawl thru a rattlesnake pit naked. Not a good deal.
Well I hope you all get together and work it out
Life is to short have fun.
Great hunting days ahead.
AZ these comments are not a criitizism but hints for others reading this. Not taking one side or the other.
Larry

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
John,

This report is interesting as you talked to both Tony and myself about returning for another hunt and we had a plan to meet in Dallas to talk face to face about your concerns and a future hunt. Tony even had a particular Guide in mind for you.

The only thing I can figure is that this report is your way of avoiding a face to face where Tony would be able to address your concerns. There are always two sides to any controversy.

Happy Thanksgiving

Mark

No Mark I thought about it a long time, and I really don't want to hunt with him again. I booked with someone else.

There is nothing I said above that is not true. Some is my opinion and I could very easily be wrong (like trying to move 3 hunters/guides in one Super Cub), but other is fact. It is a fact my guide was out of shape (did I mention he had smoked for 30 years?). He was a really nice guy, and I gave him a $600 tip (certainly not a great tip, but a tip). I have no issue with him personally.

My big beef here is that I paid more than the other two guys but got the least capable guide - not because Tony wanted to screw me personally, but that is just how the schedule lined up. The "best" guides already had hunters coming in the start of moose season. My guide told me he was a "fill in" guide. His previous client struck out; I don't know what the next guy did, but maybe I will contact him and find out. If that had been explained to me before I booked, I would not have booked.

If Tony had a particular guide for me he should have contacted me after the hunt. But he never did. He and you seemed totally disinterested.

This is really the first "negative" thing I have said about a hunt on AR. Most of them have been great. This one was not. Tony has lots of satisfied customers, or he wouldn't be in business.

I am certainly not afraid to meet Tony face to face. I brought up my concerns on day 2 of the hunt after I saw how out of shape my guide was (along with the fact that there was zero activity along the river). He told me to give it time. I did.

In the end, I freely admit that I should have anchored that bear. Like I said, I will take my lumps.

Sorry to hear your hunt didn't turn out the way you were hoping. Having lived in AK for awhile I have heard of the outfitter, hope your next trip up is more on par for ya.

Great post AZ
Hope things go well on the next hunt.
I love Alaska
Larry

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
The guide said he was too whooped to go after that bear, so I went after him myself .

Wow! That should NEVER happen on a guided brown bear hunt with a non resident.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by elk88101:
AZ
I am not sure you are painting a good picture for outfitters in Alaska in general.
Like I said before many of the most experienced guides are older. I don't know of many outfits that would have more than one bush plane to service 3 hunters. We have one for drop camp delivery and we service 20 hunters +
Just sounds to me like the atmosphere and personalities did not click on your hunt. Don't get me wrong that happens and usualy the hunt goes sour. I recommend the hunter stay in contact with the people they sign up with months before the hunt. Worth a few phone calls, text or emails. These contacts give you a good indication of who you are dealing with. Ask questions every thing that comes to mind don't expect something and when it is not provided think you are being shafted.
Probably would not hurt to set up a nice line of communication back with the outfitter and maybe you guys can come up with An agreement may not be free but you did see game and sounds like you wounded one. Hunt over in every camp I have been in. As for tracking wounded bears in the alders would you crawl thru a rattlesnake pit naked. Not a good deal.
Well I hope you all get together and work it out
Life is to short have fun.
Great hunting days ahead.
AZ these comments are not a criitizism but hints for others reading this. Not taking one side or the other.
Larry

When you book via an agent, you/me expect this to be researched and sorted. I try never to hunt with someone that my agent has not hunted with or one he has had extreme amounts of business with.

My 2 bad hunts happened when I violated this "rule".

On the guide - I ask the standard as you - "be able to keep up with a 59 year old in decent shape". This is part of the deal or I do not pay. Never needed to enforce or threaten so far but I am adamant and will go to the mat on this. No substitute guides without my approval in writing.

If you need an outfit for another hunt in Alaska, I can refer you to the agent I use that will put you with an outfit that meets my standard.

BTW, I have no issue with Mark and he has a good reputation. So , my post was not a comment on Mark.

Well, I violated your two rules. Live and learn. Thanks for the post.

Years ago, we went moose hunting in Sweden with a friend.

We got a father and son guides, The old man was in his late sixties, and the son was in his thirties.

My friend could not walk very far, so he immediately picked t5he son, as we were told the father tends to wear his clients out.

It was true, me and that old man almost never stopped walking all day.

So I suppose age is never a guide of who is fittest.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Years ago, we went moose hunting in Sweden with a friend.

We got a father and son guides, The old man was in his late sixties, and the son was in his thirties.

My friend could not walk very far, so he immediately picked t5he son, as we were told the father tends to wear his clients out.

It was true, me and that old man almost never stopped walking all day.

So I suppose age is never a guide of who is fittest.

I had a 60 year old elk hunter this year and this man was in some of the best shape I have ever seen. He stuck to his diet and did Lean Fit which is just like Cross Fit about 5 times a week. There were some younger guys in camp and they all said they wished they looked like him when they were his age and I just laughed because they wished they looked like him now. Dude was JACKED! I watched him do 50 pull ups on the porch and he weighs over 200. Age definitely doesn't matter

That being said, I would be pissed if I showed up to an expensive bear hunt and got a 70 year old smoker that was a "fill in". Hope you guys come to an amicable resolution that works for both parties

Just to set the record straight, the guy was an ex smoker. But he wasn't in good shape. He claimed I was in the best shape he had ever seen. I am sure every girl he dated was the most beautiful he had ever seen too.

I will also say that age is logarithmic; a 60 year old is a lot younger than a 65 year old, and a 65 year old is even more younger than a 70 year old.

If I were an outfitter planning on using a 70 year old guide, I would at least bring it with the client, and let him make the decision. If I was a booking agent, I would broker that. Neither happened.

Hunting is all about mindset, and I will be the first to admit that my attitude goes down the crapper right away when I show up and am flown out last (with no explanation as to why) and then my guide turns out to be 70 and admits he isn't the best around. On that hunt, during that week, I not only paid the most, but was first to buy.

AAW - Have you ever gone on a hunt that you REALLY liked? Have you ever met or know of a writer you REALLY liked, not including YOURSELF?

Just wondering as you always seem to be down on everything and everybody. Just wondering?

Larry Sellers
SCI (International) Life Member

Larry
How is it going my friend
Hope you had a great thanksgiving
Larry

Larry - Had a good Thanksgiving and hope you did the same. See you have lots of things going in AK. Need to talk about some of them when we get a chance. Will you be at DSC?
Later and have a great day.

Larry Sellers
SCI (International) Life Member

quote:

quote:

quote:

Originally posted by elk88101:
Larry
How is it going my friend
Hope you had a great thanksgiving
Larry

Larry
Things are great
Did you find the delivery day of your grandchild yet?
When you are ready send me your address and we can send you a contract for the sheep hunt
I will be in Dallas
Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
AAW - Have you ever gone on a hunt that you REALLY liked? Have you ever met or know of a writer you REALLY liked, not including YOURSELF?

Just wondering as you always seem to be down on everything and everybody. Just wondering?

Larry Sellers
SCI (International) Life Member

Good guided hunts:
Fritz Hein (deceased)in Namibia
Moose in the Yukon
Moose in BC
Two of four Tanzania hunts, one of which was the best hunt of my life
Namibia hunt this past April
Mongolia was excellent
Scotland for red stag
New Zealand was awesome
Elk in AZ (even though the elk I shot was smaller than the 375/380 I passed on day 4)
Packstring elk in Idaho (been a few times with this outfitter, probably go again this fall)
Austria
Maybe some others I can't remember; a lot of DIY hunts were great, like caribout, sheep and grizzly in AK, elk in Colorado, etc.

I will admit I don't write hunting reports and normally keep quiet about good operations that I intend to visit again. And I don't post pics of myself and my animals; just doesn't interest me.

As for writers, my favorites:
Alive:
Ron Spomer (but I wish he would mention his wife less)
Dave Petzel (I don't necessarily like his writing, but I really like him as a person)
John Barsness
Norm Johnson
Jim Carmichel (mostly retired)

Dead:
John Wootters (all time favorite)
Jack O'Connor (best writer of all IMO)
Gene Hill
Bob Brister
Gordon McQuarrie

And my favorite booking agent:

Wendell Reich. May not have the experience of some, but he really wants you to be happy. No knocks off anyone, just my opinion.

quote:

Two of four Tanzania hunts, one of which was the best hunt of my life

What happened to the other two?

Were they bad?

How?

Just curious.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
AAW - Have you ever gone on a hunt that you REALLY liked? Have you ever met or know of a writer you REALLY liked, not including YOURSELF?

Just wondering as you always seem to be down on everything and everybody. Just wondering?

Larry Sellers
SCI (International) Life Member

Larry:

How would you feel if that happened to you?

The plane matter I can understand . The others I can not comprehend. I would not be happy.

That' what I like about this website.
Any agent or outfitter screws up with AR member and we all know it and adjust accordingly.
Trust and verify.
Gotta love this cyber age. no escape for screw ups.
And agents and outfitters learn hell of a lot quicker to treat EVERY clients better.
Of course, there is always the fact that not every client will be satisfied no matter what. Can't be done.
Anyone that has business knows it.
We all have been there on the wrong receiving end, including agents and outfitters dealing with impossible clients.
That being said, good luck on next hunt to everyone here on AR.

Boarkiller
Well the only problem with what you describe is good in only getting one side of the story out there.
You know that 1 person can write anything in this dark cyber space with no proof of what they say. Guess what!!!! I heard it on the Internet!!!! Have you heard the saying "its like feathers to the wind"!! Meaning there will be people that never will hear the other side of the story.
People need to do personal contacts, Internet comments especially derogatory I take with a grain of salt.
Remember guys look how long an outfitter has been in business. Contact the state license division see if there are any complaints or court actions. Do your homework.
I believe if you see a guy thats been around for 10 years or more or in Alaska is a Master Guide odds are you are in for a good hunt.
Accusations on the internet without proof are just that accusations.

Just My 2 Cents
Thanks
Have Fun Hunting
Larry

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Two of four Tanzania hunts, one of which was the best hunt of my life

What happened to the other two?

Were they bad?



How?

Just curious.

One was okay, but the PH had never hunted the area and was not good at estimating trophy size. A 40 inch buff turned out to be 35. We saw an ele that he thought was too small that another party ended up shooting (at least we think it was the same) that went 70. Otherwise, it was okay.

The bad one was a hunt with an American PH; my first buffalo hunt. My first buff he had me shoot from behind without seeing the front. I didn't know any better. He was only 26 inches and soft as hell. On the sixth day we chased a herd that had a huge bull. He got tired of chasing the herd and had me shoot a small bull. Solid boss, but small. Had me head shoot it at 45 yards while he was standing on a termite mound. I put the bullet right up his snout and brained him, but not sure I would do that again. On that hunt, a lot of the details were screwed up; I was not told there was a charter flight, my first buff was prepaid but they had no record of it, etc. At first they had me going into the Selous in early July; hell the camp wasn't even open. And knowing what I know now, even late July is not the best time.

I booked through Cabelas over a decade ago. I will say this for them: they paid for the charter fee and the first buffalo fee.

That hunt was probably the worst of my life.

As for the hunt I mentioned above, everything I said is pretty accurate and not afraid to say so. Also not afraid to take responsibility for not icing the bear right away. I was okay with not going into those alders (but I would have been okay going in right away too, as I did when I shot a grizzly back in 87 while stationed in Alaska). I won't question a guide's judgment on those issues.

I agree Larry
My point was Everyone ought a be on their best behavior because of today's instant info age

Obviously, I have no dog in this fight, but simple observation from what AAZW has written:
Brown Bear hunt in 2012 for $13k (usually goes for $18k-$26k)
Stalked a 9.5' bear
Stalked a 2nd bear, got within 285 yds, then got to stalk him a 2nd time but couldn't close the distance.
Stalked and got a shot at a 3rd bear but hunters gun malfunctioned, fired and spooked off bear.
Stalked and shot the same bear later, but lost it.

stated issues were, 1 taxi plane for 3 hunters, a guide who was old and slow, yet hunter still managed to get on bears, a "bad call" by a guide to not stalk a wounded bear into the alders "late in the evening", the guide not hearing you state that your rifle was broken, stopping you from messing with it and misfiring and giving you his rifle to use instead.

I went on a spring BB hunt last spring that cost the higher end of the average with one of the most prominant bear outfits in Alaska. The owner ferried 2 other hunters out of base camp in his cub before me. I patiently waited my turn and made it out to camp in due time. We spent 14 days in 1 valley despite the fact that it wasn't crawling with bears, under the premise that we were seeing sign and some bears. Stalked to within 50 yards of a 9' boar and passed on the 1st day hunting (100% my decision). Saw an absolute beast of a boar mid way through the hunt and had a fleeting running shot at 300+ yards but made the personal decision not to take it not wanting to miss and shoot up our valley or even worse, wound the bear and blow the opportunity at a better shot at this same bear later (understanding fully this might mean going home without a bear). Stalked to within 30 yards of a 9-9.5' boar with 3 full days left in the hunt, made the personal decision (against the guides advice) to pass in hopes of the monster showing back up. He never did. I went home without a bear, but remember the hunt as a stunning success, it was a blast.

My experience in hunting Alaska is that the terrain, climate and remoteness is rought with challenges, many of the people "in the business" there, be it hunting or transportation don't make it any better. If you want to go hunt Alaska and find a reason to bitch or find excuses for failure, you will have plenty of opportunities. However, the trick is to go, relax, not stress about the road blocks and fly out of there with a trophy regardless of the obstacles you encountered. Just my $.02

505
No truer words have been spoken
Great post
I agree 100%
Larry

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:
Obviously, I have no dog in this fight, but simple observation from what AAZW has written:
Brown Bear hunt in 2012 for $13k (usually goes for $18k-$26k)
Stalked a 9.5' bear
Stalked a 2nd bear, got within 285 yds, then got to stalk him a 2nd time but couldn't close the distance.
Stalked and got a shot at a 3rd bear but hunters gun malfunctioned, fired and spooked off bear.
Stalked and shot the same bear later, but lost it.

stated issues were, 1 taxi plane for 3 hunters, a guide who was old and slow, yet hunter still managed to get on bears, a "bad call" by a guide to not stalk a wounded bear into the alders "late in the evening", the guide not hearing you state that your rifle was broken, stopping you from messing with it and misfiring and giving you his rifle to use instead.

I went on a spring BB hunt last spring that cost the higher end of the average with one of the most prominant bear outfits in Alaska. The owner ferried 2 other hunters out of base camp in his cub before me. I patiently waited my turn and made it out to camp in due time. We spent 14 days in 1 valley despite the fact that it wasn't crawling with bears, under the premise that we were seeing sign and some bears. Stalked to within 50 yards of a 9' boar and passed on the 1st day hunting (100% my decision). Saw an absolute beast of a boar mid way through the hunt and had a fleeting running shot at 300+ yards but made the personal decision not to take it not wanting to miss and shoot up our valley or even worse, wound the bear and blow the opportunity at a better shot at this same bear later (understanding fully this might mean going home without a bear). Stalked to within 30 yards of a 9-9.5' boar with 3 full days left in the hunt, made the personal decision (against the guides advice) to pass in hopes of the monster showing back up. He never did. I went home without a bear, but remember the hunt as a stunning success, it was a blast.

My experience in hunting Alaska is that the terrain, climate and remoteness is rought with challenges, many of the people "in the business" there, be it hunting or transportation don't make it any better. If you want to go hunt Alaska and find a reason to bitch or find excuses for failure, you will have plenty of opportunities. However, the trick is to go, relax, not stress about the road blocks and fly out of there with a trophy regardless of the obstacles you encountered. Just my $.02

505:

Let me clarify a few things...

1. No, we didn't stalk the 9.5 foot bear because he was on the other side of the river and it was not possible to cross (therefore after day two we stopped glassing across the river). He started to move toward the river, so we moved over there in hopes of catching him. But he didn't cross. It didn't matter, because my guide couldn't make that hike to the point to where he looked he would cross.
2. Yes, we got within 285 yards before he disappeared. But if would have got there sooner, we might have had a shot. On the second try, the guide said he could not do it; he was too tired.
3. Malfunction with my gun is correct. My fault for not checking (I had been checking ever day due to the rain, but forgot that day). A guide with normal hearing would have said, "Here, take my gun." He couldn't hear a thing from his right side; he was left of me.
4. I will take my lumps for not icing the bear. I am not arguing that point at all and have said that over and over.

As for the price, for 26K you can go to the Peninsula; this was not the Peninsula. The three bears in camp I saw when I arrived were no bigger than 8 feet, if that. I don't know where exactly we were, but I suspect we were on the verge of grizzly bear country.

As for the alders foray, I am not complaining about that (where did I say it was a "bad call?"), simply recounting what happened. I said I was totally okay with anything he wanted to do.

Yes, you are supposed to go out and relax. My whole point here is that getting a guide who is 70 years old, without being told ahead of time, was tough for me to swallow. Theoretically, I would have been better off hunting by myself; after all, I spotted the two bears we ended up stalking, and I wouldn't have had to wait on the first stalk. Other readers may not have a problem with it; if not, go on the hunt.

If the only measure of a good hunt is having the chance to shoot a bear, then this was wildly successful. How is that?

Hi AAZW,
I was one of the hunters waiting to be flown out with you. It was nice meeting you. I was the first one flown out. I saw 3 bears in my 8 days of hunting. 1 male about 7ft.

I thought Tony was a really nice guy and I would have a beer with him anytime. I would not hunt with him again.

I agree the bears we saw in camp when we arrived were all 8ft or smaller.

Happy Holidays and good hunting!

AZ
Where you hunting brown bear or inland grizzly?
Not sure what unit you hunted.
If inland an 8 ft griz not bad
Larry

I was told by my guide, that area we were hunting was grizzly. Not brown bear like we booked. He said anything over 8ft is a shooter.

quote:

Originally posted by MotorCity:
Hi AAZW,
I was one of the hunters waiting to be flown out with you. It was nice meeting you. I was the first one flown out. I saw 3 bears in my 8 days of hunting. 1 male about 7ft.

I thought Tony was a really nice guy and I would have a beer with him anytime. I would not hunt with him again.

I agree the bears we saw in camp when we arrived were all 8ft or smaller.

Happy Holidays and good hunting!

Hey, Happy Holidays to you too! Good luck next time! I must say, spotting bears from a long way off and then hoofing it over to them is a blast. Not my last trip to AK...but I will ask questions next time.

I think there are a lot of bears in Tony's area. I don't think they are very big, except that 9.5 footer we saw (he was every bit as big as bears I have seen on Kodiak). If Tony would have called me after the hunt and asked, "What could we do differently? How can we make our operation better? What did you like? What didn't you like? then I might have booked again. But he didn't, so I am not. Maybe he was waiting to meet me at DSC. If he called you, then I guess he was. If he didn't call you then it didn't matter if I was going to DSC or not - not his style to follow up.

In my business, we had one customer not renew their remote data analysis services with us. I took time to find out why. Tony is not alone in not doing this; it seems endemic in the industry. If he would have done this, I might have returned. It isn't like I hopped on the keyboard to post a report as soon as I got home.

AZwriter
I finialy see the major problem with this hunt you went on!
YOU BOOKED IT WITH JEFF BLAIR********

Ok just kidding
Larry