BW:

Yup! That's lower than a snow snakes belly to the snow. Frankly, I'm surprised the CG even went to the effort of replying to this slob. Just hang in there bud, I'm sure most if not all of the guys here on the board are behind you. Bear in Fairbanks

I also initially tried to correspond with the guy but by the second e-mail he was foaming at me and was completely off his rocker. He was a great reminder that - Those who choose to argue with fools soon lose track of who the fool is.

HI,

BW,have know many like this person.And these kind of men are the first to run there mouth and step up to another person,but if things do not go there way, are the first to run to the police crying.And everyone is to blame,but them,better off to pay no mind to this jerk,but sending messages to your work maybe harassment and that is something he could get in hot water for,I understand one hates do something like that, but man to man will not work for a cry baby,Kev

not to start a flame here, nor defend or condemn the hunter involved. but, to state a few facts and not opinions on what may have happened or was said.

the outfitter involved was a horrible, unethical, unsafe operation that time and again did not care about their customer's satisfaction or their reputation. here are the facts.

they did not have the proper insurance that the law requires and that slipped by the administration and is one of the reasons that they recently lost their area to a guy, hirsch that has it now. spiridon was awarded their area again , until the insurance issue was discovered and the rash of complaints was brought to light, on appeal hirsch won.

they have had several commplaints that i am aware of besides the above. including one man involved in an a.t.v. accident who received a back injury that was caused by unsafe poorly maintained equipment that could have been avoided.

the guide involved in the above incident was not the only guide that was not up to par. they hired guides that have never guided nor lived on kodiak. including one guide that had one eye. while this is legal......the guide lost 50% of his vision and is supposed to glass/spot game for the paying client? is this the best staff they could find that was looking for work?

this outfit is a laughing stock and an embarrassment to the people in kodiak. according to the locals i spoke with while weathered in there for several days last nov. this subject has been discussed a lot there, the firm has a bad reputation. it seems in a small town there are no secrets.

this company continues to solicit new hunters from their web site. even though they do not have an area anymore? ethical?

the company's brochure guarantees success on the hunts. legal? i do not beleive so.

there were several other complaints made with a.p.h.a., hunt report, s.c.i., etc. against this company. not a record to be proud of.

there are many fine outfitters out there. this was not one of them and the hunting community is better off with this firm out of business instead of giving hunting another black eye that it does not need. hopt the above sheds some light on this operation. m.h.o.

Cold Zero,

I think there are a couple of issues here. One of Bill G main beefs centered not just about the outfitter/ guides conduct, but about the defination of "take" in the Alaskan regs and whether in general guides had the right to make a follow up shot when the client louses things up. He also made some pretty broad statements about guides in general in Alaska. BW put the counter points across and like everybody is entitled to his opinion.

It seems to me that because Bill G did not like BW opinion he has gone crying to the USCG trying to stir things up. What ever the rights and wrongs of the original argument, I think that is a pretty low underhanded thing to do and speaks volumes for his character to me.

If BW had been one of the original guides on the hunt I could perhaps understand it although its not something I would do myself. Brian G is certainly not somebody I would care to share a hunt with.

regards,

Peter

Old Fart I think a few here might side with Wild Bill if they were willing to accept that the guide positively believed that bear wasn't hit. I really doubt that was the case and the guide was doing his job and doing it well. Based on every thing I've seen Bill publish on several web sites I wouldn't believe him if he told me he put gas in his car today ! Sorry to hear BW had to put up with Wild Bills verbal assaults. Perhaps Big Bad Bill should spend some of that pent up hostility actually learning to shoot instead of blameing others for his being so inept! On the other hand maybe we should send a sympathy card to his wife or boyfriend !

OldFart,

Sure wish I could help with the high costs of hunting Brown bears in Alaska. Unfortunately the high cost involved with running a guiding operation demand that prices are high just for guides to make a decent living.

Yes, your right. At first I sided with Bill, but as things unfolded, the sympathy he received from me waned quickly.

Perhaps you can arrange a black bear hunt up here. It's still hunting in the great State of Alaska, and can provide all the experiences and memories that really make hunting up here a 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity.

Quote:

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Subject: Punk

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Bawaahaaaaa!

This is from an allegedly grown man? Geez-some people have more money than brains. Bill-can't hit shit-G should spend a few bucks at his local proctologist for stick removal.

His actions, web site, nor email put any tarnish on the reputation or brave actions of the USCG. He's a punk piece of shit that's using oxygen we could all be breathing. His mouth is movin' but I don't hear nuthin'!!

--Mike

Here's another view, which I figure is more to the truth...
bill shot at his bear, thinking he hit it (after all, he's such a great shot!). The bear ran. The guide, not wanting it to get away (and thinking it was wounded), had to shoot. At this time bill jacked another round.
Once the guide shot, bill's one-shot-kill ego went down the drain! It angered bill that the guide shot twice, going on a third even before bill could chamber his second round (bill is too slow). At this point in time, bill realized his guide will kill-off his bear, not himself. Which explains why bill decided to shoot the ground instead (to emphasize his anger) with his second shot, rather then continue shooting at the bear (you see, he can't miss the gound ).
bill, figuring he'll never miss and expecting the bear to drop with one shot, became enraged when his guide did what he failed to do - kill the bear. For this bill chose to cause trouble. ~~~Suluuq

Coldzero:
You've already scratched it by continuing your post. Fine by me - I enjoy your comments anyway.
The only thing I might add is something based on my experience.
The last time I went as an assistant guide was with my friend when he had a sheep hunter and we were hunting in the Brooks. The client arrived in Fairbanks several days ahead of time and I took him to the rifle range to check his rifle out. This guy was experienced in deer & elk hunting in the Lower 48. His rifle was right on the money and he got very good groups. I remember thinking to myself- "If we get within 500 yards of a sheep - we've got a job on our hands". Well, guys, towards the end of the hunt, my partner got him onto 4 rams at what I'd estimate was about 150 yds. - maybe less. The 4 were standing broad side, in the open. The client ended up shooting 7 times. YES! 7 times - my partner showed me the empty cartridge cases to prove it. My partner thought he saw blood across the brisket from 1 shot but the animal ended up running off. We looked & looked & found neither blood nor dead sheep. Where the sucker went, I'll never know. I'll add that it was a rather steep uphill shot but the client was able to lean against a boulder & had a solid rest.
I still think, assuming our "hero" on the bear hunt was a good shot, that he suffered from bear fever. It could happen to anyone but he's not man enough to admit it. Also as an aside, I lost a bear on Kodiak in the late 70's due to a bad shot. We both surprised each other & I took the shot. I hit him but not hard. We found blood & we tracked him the rest of that day & went back the next as well. I was really sick about that but I'll admit it.
Bear in Fairbanks