Outfitter: Ron Aldridge - Caribou Unlimited

Guide: Dean Hendrickson

Location: Alaska Peninsula - Port Moller (Bering Sea Side)

Dates: May 8 - 19, 2012

Species: Alaska Brown Bear

Weapon/Ammo: .375 RUM with a Trijicon 2.5 - 10 x 56 / using 275 gr Cutting Edge Bullets (CEB) Non-Cons


I would have preferred to get this report done alot earlier, but after returning home from this hunt - I had only 36 hrs before I was off to Zimbabwe for 6 weeks. So, getting this done prior to that - just wasn't possible.

This was my 5th Alaskan Brown Bear hunt, and one I had looked forward to since scheduling it roughly 2 yrs ago. Although I had hunted and taken a couple of brownies in the past, I was still looking for the elusive 10 footer! Dean's last 2 hunters in this area (Hoodoo Lake) had both taken bears over 10', so we had confidence that our odds were good!

Our hunt was based out of Bear Lake Lodge, made famous by Don Johnson - and now operated by his son Warren. Ron Aldridge and Warren have been long-time friends, so Ron does 1-2 hunts per year in the area, always hunting out of Hoodoo Lake. The arrival point via Penn Air is Port Moller International, or at least that's what they call it. Then Ron took us from the landing strip to the lodge, via his bright yellow super-cub. The lodge, what an amazing place! One look inside, and you get a real feel for the history of this place over the past 30 - 40 yrs.

The Penn Air plane that brought us to Port Moller.


Ron's super-cub


Bear Lake Lodge




Whale Skull


Inside the Lodge


View from the lodge



Getting to the lodge on May 8th, two days before the season opened - was the easy part. Now, the same weather that had plagued Alaska all winter long, had returned. In fact, most of Alaska received more snow than they had seen in the past 50 yrs, and the Peninsula was no exception! So, for the next 4 days we were stuck in the lodge - with screaming winds and horizontal snow, the cubs were grounded, and so were we. But, finally on May 12th we arrived at Hoodoo Lake - late in the afternoon. Our guide Dean, and the packer Mark - had been there since May 7th, so they too were happy we finally arrived.

Flying into the hunting area at Hoodoo Lake


The real problem was, spring had never arrived! When we got to camp, it was simply a winter wonderland. Tons and tons of snow, and not a single bear track anywhere. Although Dean and Mark were stuck in the little cabin most of the time, Dean told me he had yet to see a single bear or a single bear track. Which frankly didn't surprise me at all, as it looked like the dead of winter - and I was gonna be shocked if any bears were out at all!!

My first look at our little cabin




View from the cabin on the evening we arrived


Now we just had to wait for the next morning, and hope the weather would hold? May 13th, and finally a real break in the weather. We awoke to bright blue skys and calm winds, a most welcome change. One we weren't sure would last long, so we needed to get out and make the most of it. So about 8am we headed south of camp to a knob about 1 mile away. We were trying to get a good feel for the snowshoes that we all had to use, and spend a little time glassing for bears.

The morning of May 13th


Glassing for bears!


We spent a few hrs on the knob, saw nothing - and finally headed back to camp in the early afternoon, hoping for something hot to drink. Fact is, we could glass just as good from camp, so we decided to hang by the cabin for the rest of the afternoon. Which was fine by me, as warmth was always just a few yards away. Then, roughly around 3pm - I finally spotted a bear. I was the only one outside, so I got Dean to come out and have a look. He was a LONG ways off, so it took some time to determine he was in fact a bear. Then, finally he lifted his head - and we were sure he was a bear. Problem was, he was roughly 6 miles away, and getting later in the afternoon. So our only option was to watch him for the rest of the day, and hope he was still there in the morning.

Glassing the bear from camp


May 14th (my 40th birthday) and we again had a decent day for hunting. We got up, got dressed and stepped outside to glass for our bear. Sure enough, he was in the EXACT same spot as the day before. In fact, he hadn't moved 2 feet. So we got prepared, loaded up the packs and put the snowshoes on - for what was expected to be a very long day.

It took us roughly 3.5 hrs to get within 1,000 yards of the bear, but we finally made it. All the while, the bear never moved a muscle. We glassed him for awhile, and decided he was a respectable bear. Even though judging him was difficult as he laid in the snow, we felt with the conditions - and lack of bear activity, if we could take this bear, we should do so.

So as we approached within 400 yards, the bear was definitely hearing us in the crunchy snow, but would only look up periodically - and then lay his head back down. We finally got to 300 yards, but getting closer was not possible - as our visability of the bear was starting to get blocked by the alders. I got set-up on the bi-pod, hoping I could thread one through a 12" gap in the alders, and let one fly.

At the shot it was obvious that he was hit, but we couldn't tell where? He immediately got up, and starting moving up hill and to his left. Doing so put him behind the alders again, so for a minute or two, I had no shot. As he got close to the top of the hill, he was again in the clear from the alders right in front of me. I shot, hitting him again, and he immediately turned 180 degrees and ran down over the hill and out of sight.

The bear, just an instant before my 2nd shot!


We weren't sure, but we thought he was probably down - but in the gully he ran into, from the top of the hill. Then, all of the sudden there he was again. Man, this guy's tough! Now he's going parallel across the opposite hillside at a good clip, at roughly 200 yards. The following pics are in sequence as I fired at him two more times, and finally claiming our prize.





Just as my 3rd shot hits him




My 4th shot - and that was it!


Approaching the downed boar


He's an 8'6" boar, not a monster - but a beautiful bear just the same!




It took a couple of hours to finish the filming, the pictures and all the skinning - but finally we were on our way back to camp.


The day was long, easily 13 miles roundtrip on snowshoes and 12 hrs from the time we left camp, until we returned. It was a spectacular experience, and I have already signed up for a return trip to Hoodoo Lake - still hoping for that infamous 10 footer. Hopefully next time, the weather is normal and so is the bear activity. Fact is, Ron brought in one more hunter after my departure from Hoodoo Lake. He and Dean saw only 2 bears, but one of them was a whopper - measuring an honest 10' 1", with a 28" plus skull. Maybe next time????

That is one of the most awesome set of hunting photos I have seen.

Thanks for taking the time to write it and post it.

And congrats.

.

+1, absolutely awesome! Grat bear. Thank you for sharing!

Beautiful Bear Aaron,great action photos.

congrats Aaron, I left a message for you with one of the pilots, hope you got it.

Well done and in tough conditions!

Amazing photos, thanks,

Way to go Aaron!

Nice hunt report Aaron. After 2 attempts, I'm still trying for the 10' club as well. It's a great quest however, eh?

great bear for tough conditions, Your guide is not to bad as well. thats a long day on snow shoes that foresure.

Thanks guys!

Beautiful bear. great report and super photos...

Congratulations Aaron - nice bear

Aaron:
Great set of action pictures esp for 'stills'.
Beautiful country and fine looking bear.
You have no room for any disappointments at all.
Thanks much for sharing with us.
George

Awesome hunt, photos and lodge.

That lodge looks like a real rustic home with memorablia from 30 years or more!

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Awesome hunt, photos and lodge.

That lodge looks like a real rustic home with memorablia from 30 years or more!

Ya, the lodge is a really cool place! Lots of Walrus tusks, Japanese Glass balls, even a Sea Lion skull - just lots of really neat/old history.

AAron, congrats but seeing it I am glad I waited as those shoes would probably killed me or at least given me another knee replacement but I will get one in the fall

Glad to see this report after you mentioning it on another part of the site. Great bear, really great bear considering the conditions.

Justin

Nice report. Isn't brown bear hunting one of the greatest adventures out there?! The size of the bear isn't as important, IMO, as the size of the adventure, and Kodiak and the Peninsula serve up trophy quality adventure, that's for sure.

nice job aaron, one question, where they all outa the big scopes when you bought yours??!?!

Great bear; congrats!

Looks like that .375RUM knocked the stuffing out of him! Bears are tough...

Since this report is posted in a public forum and is open to comment from anyone, I'll post my .02

In my opinion a few of your pictures verge on butchery; they highlight you shooting at long range and having 3 questionable hits at long distances. Moreover, your photos show, in my opinion, the animal in prolonged agony.

I think you would be better served to show fewer pictures, and exclude everything between "and my 3rd shot hits him" to "My 4th shot..."

I understand that the terrain was open and that getting closer was at least difficult, perhaps impossible. But isn't that part of the hunt, that sometimes you can't get close enough and you tip your hat to the bear & try again another day?

Well, that's how I see it. You posted this in a public forum, and while I have given my honest opinion, I hope you'll agree that I've tried to be respectful in doing so.

I do wish you all the best,

friar

Sorry, but any "god-bothering" bugs the shit out of me.

Not every animal shot dies in 30 seconds. Get over it. My mother suffered 6 months. Life is not fair.

This was an ethical hunt, in my estimation. Now if he'd waited on his 2nd/3rd shot until "the bear decided how he wanted to die" I MIGHT have an issue.

I have to say: "Not perfectly done, but well done!" So bite me friarmeier. Who died and voted you God?

Don_G. +1

The God Bothering coven can add my name to their list with pride, right after Don's.

I envy Dons saying it first.

I covet Don's sense of justice.

Had enough?

quote:

So bite me friarmeier. Who died and voted you God?

A person can't disagree and not hear this sort of thing in response?

friar

Why don't you put me on IGNORE?

I just did it for you!

As Don was kind enough to PM me & share his viewpoint, and keeping his comments in mind, I'd like to clarify my earlier comments.

First, I do not wish to suggest that Mr. Neilson is in any way unethical or a poor hunter. Let me apologize to him at this time.

My critique, and this is not to pass judgment, is that 300 yards was too far for his 1st shot. This, of course, is my opinion. My other comment regarding the pictures concerns the graphic nature of the shot-impact photos. Yes, this happens with every animal we shoot, but usually this is not captured on film/video. Showing this highlights the brutality of being shot with a high-powered rifle, and some who are "undecided" about whether hunting is ethical may look at this sort of picture and decide hunting's not for them.

Yes, all of what I've written is subjective, both with regard to shooting distance & interpretation of photos. Your opinion may be quite different. In offering my point of view I don't wish to pass judgment or suggest that Aaron or anyone else is a poor hunter or an unethical sportsman, so please don't take it that way.

Again, I wish you all the best,

friar

Friarmeier - After numerous days of waiting for the weather to break, just to get to the hunting area, and getting only a 36 hr break in said weather to hunt, and knowing full well this is the only bear that had been seen in a week whilethe guide had already been there - I chose to take the shot/opportunity I had on my $19k bear hunt! In the 24 plus hrs we watched the bear, he never moved at all, so no - getting closer was NOT possible.

I decided to shoot him where he laid, and I felt confident I could make the shot at 300 yards. Was it a perfect shot, nope! Did I get my bear, yep! Was I willing to pass, hoping for another day? Not considering the weather forecast was BAD for the next 4 days, and that's exactly what happened - then I would had to leave. We had a 36 hr window to hunt, we took full advantage of it, and got our bear. We snow-shoed roughly 14 miles RT in one day, and we were pleased with our efforts, and the result.

Sometimes "hunting/shooting" conditions are NOT perfect, especially in places like Alaska (where I have hunted numerous times). Perhaps you would have chosen to pass the shot? I chose otherwise based on conditions, etc! Making the best of the opportunity presented to you, is often the difference in success vs non-success. I consider it being a "killer", versus just wandering around in the woods with a gun in one's hand. I've guided hundreds of guys over the past 20 plus yrs, and I've seen few guys that can take advantage of difficult hunting opportunities/situations that are presented to them. Many times, they just "can't get with the program", under difficult conditions. I generally chalk it up to lack of experience, just my take on it. We did our best, claimed our prize, and all's well that end's well, IMO.

Aaron, that is well said, and I wish you the best. God bless,

friar