Hey all, I am thinking of booking a hunt for Brown Bear, and was looking for some advice as to where to go. Kodiak vs. Peninsula. And any outfitters you have any experiences with. I have researched about a dozen, and they all seem pretty good. Where does a guy start when dumping this kind of green on a hunt?

Are you looking for a representative trophy, or are you after the biggest bear you can get with the chance going home empty?

If it was my money, (it ain't!) I'd go to Kodiak. The Peninsula might have bigger bears, but Kodiak has charisma. When I think of Brown Bear, the 375 H&H and Kodiak Island comes to mind. It's a beautiful place, with lot's of bears.

I would want a bigger bear, something 9' or better. Most the reason for this is, if I wanted an 8' bear, then i would save a whole pile of money and go after a mountain grizz, an 8' mtn grizz may be tuff to get (I have guided only 2) but it would be a big savings!

Contact BUTCH MIELINGER at 610 863 5678 he has
anything you want and good hunts for brown bear.
they produce good bears every year.

another vote for kodiak.

i think you will also lose less time due to weather on kodiak than on the peninsula...

Get on the ADF&G website. There is a webpage with all the stats for the various units on Kodiak. You will find that the success rate for guided non-residents is not high for many of the Kodiak units and the "average" size of skulls taken is not that impressive. So if you go to Kodiak pick your outfitter wisely and with your eyes wide open. Those huge bears are not that common.

Rob, where would you recommend if not the island? I have heard that about Kodiak as well, I just want to start researching now. But its pretty tough, most ALL outfitters (no matter what you hunt) claim to kill the biggest and most of everything.

if you are looking for another option. how about afognak island? lightly hunter by non residents. i think 2-4 per year and by lottery. lots of big bears. hardest terrain for b.b. hunting in the state, bar none. if you are up to the task?

there are only about 3-4 outfitters licensed for that area. this is slightly cheaper than kodiak prices as well. however, you will have an additional charter from kodiak to afognak to apy for unless your outfitter picks that up in the price of the hunt. lots of old , bigg bears...good luck.

If you are after a trophy bear, then you need to pick up one of the current copies of Boone and Crocket Awards Books and see where the big bears are coming from right now.

Then find a guide who hunts that area. 458Win posts on this site too. Phil Shoemaker is his name. You wouldn't go wrong using him, he is a Master Guide.

You can get in contact with him here...

http://www.atkinsonhunting.com/alaska.htm

If you go to Kodiak, hunt the spring hunt (except for the wide open stuff on the south end like Ailitak(sp?) Penninsula). Look for good success rate and large skull sizes for the guided hunts on the website (residents like me may pass on everything but a hotel lobby bear, or just be plain incompetent - not me, lol - so resident stats may be misleading). There are good guides and areas on Kodiak, just be particular. It is too bad Andy Runyan died last year, or I would recommend him. I have hunted his area and seen a lot of bear (but passed on all of them, looking for a monster). Have also hunted Karluk Lake in the spring, and saw numerous bears including some large ones.

As for the Penninsula, I have no personal experience there, so would be reluctant to give you an opinion. There are outfits like AAA, Butch King, Tracy Vrem on Becherof, R&R on Unimak that have been there quite a while, but can't tell you what you could expect with them. Phil Shoemaker is well thought of from what I can gather as well.

I'd give Warren Johnson a call. He runs Bear Lake Lodge near Port Moeller. His Dad, Don started the Lodge in 1957. They kill a lot of big bears there. Warren runs a first class operation. He has a site. I think its bearlakelodgealaska.com. His phone number should be there.

butch king has a long established record of producing really big bears. check the book/s. pricey, you get what you pay for.

as said above, if you can get a slot, phil shoemaker has a fine long established record and good reputation. about as much experience of any active outfitter currently working.

andy runyan was another good choice. he is gone now. r.i.p.

whoever you go with, do thorough research.

good hunting.

Andy Runyan still around and guiding?

Nope. Passed on to wherever it is that big time bear hunters go a few of years ago. Last I heard his mounts were up for sale. Don't know about his wardrobe .

Go to Kodiak. I hunted Kiluida Bay which is a draw area and they only have 2-3 tags for the Spring and Fall so there is literally no pressure. I killed a 9ft 8" on my 3rd day. The outfitters name is George Wescott. PM me if you want more details and a phone number. I also have some video of the hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by cold zero:

andy runyan was another good choice. he is gone now. r.i.p.

Was this not clear....

Hey Guys,
Just did a BB Hunt the week of May 15-25 2007.
Shot a wonderful 9' Bear. Extremely large Head. We were filming a hunt for the Television show Driven 24/7. We are also trying to promote our Spring & Fall BB Hunts as we just created our New Website a couple months ago. We offer great hunting at a Good Price for Bears, Moose, & other Species as well. Please check out our site @ www.nwaoutfitters.com and contact us if you are interested. We have been in business for 23 years and this is the first time in years I have convinced the Owner to start advertising. I originally started hunting myself with him in 1997 & started guiding for him in 2001. Pleas give a look see and let me know what you think of the site. I hope to get some feedback.
Thanks

I have hunted bears a great deal in Alaska, Russia and in Canada. I have been brown bear hunting with several guides. Been on the Kodiak and the Penn. as well as the southeast and west coast and interior.
I would go down the coast if i were you starting north of Bacherof lake, at Katmai. Anywhere from there south has good bear.
Three guys i would recommend are,

Phil Shoemaker
Preston Cavner
Mike Vanning

If you are
1. physically able to walk a little bit.
2. Able to shoot
3. Follow directoins if needed and do NOT GUIDE THE GUIDE
4. and finally do not loose confidence even on the last day.

Then you will shoot a nice mature bear with either of these three. PERIOD.

Do not put a minimum size on a mature bear that you are willing to shoot. Instead, endeavor to shoot a mature bear, preferably a boar. Hunting on the Penn or the Kodiak helps insure that a mature bear will be the size you hope to have, but do not do an injustice to the bear by passing a mature animal that does not make a minimum you have set.

Crank him, then celebrate.

I see that a few guides offer bear hunting trips from boats. Any of folks tried any of these?

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Albert:
I see that a few guides offer bear hunting trips from boats. Any of folks tried any of these?

I have, and they can be very comfortable and enjoyable hunts.

cmfic1,

Have you considered Kamchatka/Russia? It's quite a bit cheaper than Alaska, and IMO you have a much better chance at a 9'+ bear. I went in the spring of '06 and shot one that squared 9' 4" and had a 27" skull. There were two other bears in my camp that squared larger but the skulls were between 25-26". PM me if you would like some details.

Mike

Bowhunr,

I've seen some ads for these trips but I've been a little leary about hunting out of US. Could you give all of us some details about your trip? Outfitter? Language problems?

Looks like a nice bear in your picture.

Grizzly

Grizzly Albert,

Here is a link to my original hunt report. I kept a detailed journal that is way to long to post. If you would like a copy of the journal PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy (it is a MS Word document).

Mike

Since we are revisiting the Russian bears I'd like to say we represent the company BOWHUNR hunted with last year Profi Hunt. They seem to be maintaining excellent trophy quality where some of the Russian outfits are shooting consistently smaller bears now. They also seem to be pretty well organized for Russia.

As I see it you would book Russia as opposed to Alaska because it is a different adventure and you could take a second bear. I don't think in the long run you are going to save a bunch of money. Here is one example. If you want to leave early because you have your bear or everybody has their bear and has left you get stuck with a helo cost of $2350 per hour. Also the rough condition, lengthy travel, travel delays and hassles make the hunt less appealing to some than an Alaska hunt.

Below is an itinerary for a fall hunt that is still open with Profi-Hunt at $10,500 if you are interested.

29.08. Arrival to Moscow, flight to Petropavlovsk with Aeroflot flight SU
825, 9 hours non - stop flight
30.08. Arrival to Petropavlovsk, eight hour drive to Esso, check in to
hotel.
31.08. Arrival to Esso, Helicopter charter to the hunting area,
approximately 1 hour.
01.09. - 10.09 10 days of hunting
11.09 Fly to Esso, transfer to Petropavlovsk
12.09 Arrival to Petropavlovsk, overnight
13.09. Departure Petropavlovsk with Aeroflot flight SU 826 at 12.40,
arrival to Moscow at 13.20, flight home or stay overnight

Mark

Mark,

Are they still using a bus from Petro to Esso? There was some talk when we were there that they would be switching to vans as the busses were so uncomfortable. They tell you it is an eight hour bus ride, but I'll eat my own turd if a bus can make it in less than 9 1/2 hours. Before we left camp we had our interpreter call ahead on the sat. phone to Esso and arrange for a couple of vans and drivers to take the five of us back to Petro. It cost us $265.00 US a piece and was the best money we ever spent. Even with stopping to repair three flat tires we arrived a full five hours before the bus. In a nutshell, Profi-Hunt was great, and the bus ride sucked!!

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Albert:
I see that a few guides offer bear hunting trips from boats. Any of folks tried any of these?

If you are able to walk, even if the guide carries some of your gear, i would not do a boat hunt.

Grizzly Albert,

A boat hunt in my opinion is a good option for anyone not having the ability or desire to do the necessary hiking required for the normal bear hunt. You'll see good numbers of bears and be able to look them over easily. Also the boats offer what is usually very comfortable accommodations with private staterooms, hot showers and nice food. The only drawback is these hunts are mainly in SE AK and the bears average a litte smaller.

The Russian hunts are interesting from a cultural viewpoint but I'm not sure they are for most people. In the end, costs are close to AK hunts and the experience is very different. Most people would not enjoy being pulled around on sleds all day or traveling for 60 hours to reach a hunt.

Having said that, I would still be interested to try this hunt sometime but I like experiencing other cultures and I already live in AK.

I did a hunt in Russia on the peninsula last year and it sucked, three americans before us ended shooting there bears from a chopper, the canadians in another camp shot small bears...all we saw were small bears, the guides sucked....dont touch any russian hunts
we saw a momumental amount of bears but ALL SMALL !!!!!!
daniel

M98,

What guide service did you use? I'll steer clear of them if I go to Russia (not likely but a possibility)

Thanks,

Grizzly