Hello guys. My father is 60 years old and has been talking about a brown bear hunt. He has hunted outside his home area, but only due to me. He probably will never book a hunt. I know he will regret not going on a hunt for Browns, once he is no longer physically able to undertake the hunt. I have a large shed antler collection that I may sell to book and pay for a hunt. Here is my idea or what I think would best suit us.

Not needing or wanting fancy accomodation, travel, food, ect. Can rough it just fine. I’m fit although Dad isn’t overly fit but if a hunt was booked with time I know he would train and greatly improve his fitness level. He got a wake up call a couple years ago when we did a DIY Tahr hunt in New Zealand. Probably be s once in a lifetime hunt for us both even though only he would pull the trigger. So probably looking for a good chance at a big bear.

If anyone knows anything that would suit us I’d be very pleased to hear.

Regards CM

Alaskan terrain, especially on the peninsula and Kodiak where the largest bears are found. A boat based hunt in the SE may provide a little more creature comforts than you ask for but would maximize your chances.
If he has a desire for a real trophy size boar there are a few outfitters in the Kodiak Archipelago, like Afognak Wilderness Lodge, who also use boats.

Western Alaska has some river systems where they whack some great bears off salmon streams on float type hunts or river boat hunts. I’d recommend a fall trip where your food source might be more concentrated and your not spending as much time glassing the skyline.
If you have never shot s bear, don’t get hung up on 9’ or 10’ numbers. Find the best hunt you can that will fit your budget and plan. Shooting a 8’ bear is exactly the same as shooting a 10’ bear. Only difference is when you go to tell someone else the story...
Your gonna wish you had done this trip sooner so you had time to do it again! Brown bears are great.

He is not saying anything but I would recommend Jakes baited Griz hunts.
Read his post from his past hunts.
Nice bears and very successful.
Seems the best hunt for some of us older but much wiser hunters.
Try it you might like it.

I'm older but I don't know about wiser. I'm going with Jake again in 2020. I killed my 1st grizzly with him in June 2017. Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Joeblack2345:
He is not saying anything but I would recommend Jakes baited Griz hunts.
Read his post from his past hunts.
Nice bears and very successful.
Seems the best hunt for some of us older but much wiser hunters.
Try it you might like it.

That's a great idea!

The baited hunts are a great adventure but not the coastal brown the guy is looking for. Even though it’s about 10k cheaper than most coastal brownie hunts....
I will say, that baited hunt is a lot funner than I ever thought they would be when I first started them.

Thanks for the replies guys. It is still very early stages but have to get the ball rolling sooner or later.

The other issue you have is that a majority of the top guides are booked a year or two out.
We have a cabin on a Salmon stream where we have taken numerous large bears with clients as old as 85. But our next opening for the fall season is Oct 2021.

I would imagine that earliest we would really think about going would be 2019. And it may even be longer than that as well. 2021 isn’t that far away but this is why I’m starting to get the all rolling now, because if I leave it too long it might be too late.

CM

You are correct, the only thing there is a real shortage of is time.
a few years ago we took another serious hunter who was over 80. Money was not an issue with him but mobility was.
We hunted from the cabin and within 10 days had been able to get him within 100 yards of two 9-91/2' boars. But he wanted larger and the last day I was able to get him within 70 yards of a good, honest 9 1/2' boar that was walking up the river . He looked at it through his scope and turned toward me and whispered that he was hoping for something larger. He turned it down, but went home happy and is still talking about another hunt.

IF YOU WANT TO HUNT, DO IT WHILE YOU CAN
YOU CAN BORROW MONEY
BUT YOU CAN'T BORROW TIME

My cousin was 72 when he got his bear with Phil's crew.

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Yea, but he had a girl for a guide

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
Yea, but he had a girl for a guide

So did I. Another vote for Grizzly Skins of Alaska

You must mean Tia!





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I had a major magazine contact me to do a big hunt for a feature piece they were writing about Alaska hunting. They were even gonna pay for it! I said sure when? They said this August (four months away)! All I could do was chuckle and wish them the best finding a reputable outfitter on such short notice.
Plan ahead. Plan ahead. But then actually move ahead! Nothing is shot from the couch (not usually)!

Jake, was it Cosmopolitan? I don't think you hunt the kind of bears they want for that article. Could be wrong.

CM, good on you for getting after a hunt with your father. My dad injured his back when I was 13 and it really changed what we could do together. There is a big difference between just having dad drop you off, or having him hike in with you. Wish you the best getting this worked out.

Jeremy

It was maxim magazine, now that you meantion it, they did spell bear wrong. It was bare in all the emails,
I just figured it was auto correct. Man glad I was booked up now....hindsight’s 20/20!!

On a related note. My dad and I never did much hunting together until I was in my mid 20’s and now we have done maybe a half dozen little trips together, I wish for anything we would have done more. We are trying to now, he has came on a guided hunt with me once to help out and it was awesome. Whatever you do with your dad, make it low pressure high fun. Hunts like this mean so much more than numbers in a book.

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
It was maxim magazine, now that you meantion it, they did spell bear wrong. It was bare in all the emails,
I just figured it was auto correct. Man glad I was booked up now ....hindsight’s 20/20!!

On a related note. My dad and I never did much hunting together until I was in my mid 20’s and now we have done maybe a half dozen little trips together, I wish for anything we would have done more. We are trying to now, he has came on a guided hunt with me once to help out and it was awesome. Whatever you do with your dad, make it low pressure high fun. Hunts like this mean so much more than numbers in a book.

So are we!!

quote:

Originally posted by x-caliber:

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
Yea, but he had a girl for a guide

So did I. Another vote for Grizzly Skins of Alaska

Darrell, We enjoyed seeing your story in a couple of big bore handgun books. Thanks for posting here with a photo of Tia also. She still says your shot was one of the most impressive kills she has seen

That’s a beautiful bear to top it all off!

So I think I’ve figured this much out, spring hunts are most likely not an option. Dad farms and seeding in generally the entire month of May. It’s his livelihood so he can’t just drop everything for 12+ days.

CM

Depending on where you hunt your probably going to need at least a solid two weeks for this whole trip from start to finish. If your one plane ride from anchorage it will be shorter but each Bush flight you add adds a risk for delay and is more time consuming. There’s a few hunts that can be had with no airplane use. Eliminates almost all risk for being weathered in or delays.
If your looking at the Alaska Peninsula or western Alaska fall is likely a better option than spring in my experience in those places. If your looking at Kodiak its the other way around. Spring is much better than fall.

Well that’s great bit of info on the weather. Greatly appreciate thanks.

Sorry my second paragraph was referring to quality of the bear hunting. The areas I have hunted the hunting on the peninsula has been better for condensed numbers of bears in the fall. Kodiak fall hunt is hit or miss but Kodiak spring hunting is typically great.

Oh, ok, well still good information though.

Spring hunts on the peninsula typically have better weather and long days, almost 20 hours of daylight. But often involve longer stalks as the patterns of bears, searching for mates or food, involves covering more territory.

Fall hunts can be pretty exciting and fast paced, and the patterns are typically food based. Either following Salmon streams or berry patches. And because of that usually involve less hiking .

There phil laid it out much more eloquently than I did. He’s comment mirrors the peninsula bear hunting I have done from
Upper peninsula to cold bay, albeit a more limited amount of experience than phil has in his boots.

I'm still uneasy about Jake using the words bare and hindsight in the same paragraph...

quote:

Originally posted by Acer:
I'm still uneasy about Jake using the words bare and hindsight in the same paragraph...

I do apologize for the vivid picture that paints....

When I was a young guide my wife and I were visiting her parents in Florida and were invited to attend the Miami, Palm Beach SCI banquet and give a talk.
In my slide presentation I mentioned that I had a great bear area. And throughout the rest of evening I was asked to show it !

I really appreciate the information, and how you fellow guides, are not trying to lean me one way or the other, never made bad mouthing a location or outfit.

CM

There are a lot of great guides in Alaska, and very few rotten ones !
But there are so do your homework

Hunting Alaska is a big investment of your time and your money. Research it as best you can. I’ve worked for some of those rotten outfitters and felt so bad for the clients, never could understand how those guides stay in business. But there’s enough guys
Out there who will believe a lie and not do their research to keep those rotten guides booked.

Ok guys, I’d like to know the dates at which a bear hunt can happen, more along the lines of when an outfit/guide feels as though success can be had. As this will be a major deciding factor in booking a hunt. Dad farms and the month of May is not an option, as this is our only chance to seed. Any earlier the ground isn’t warm enough, any later there is too big of a risk of frost before the crop ripens. In the fall August and September are also not an option as that is harvest.

CM

The state sets the dates and on the peninsula were I guide we only have May hunts during the even numbered years , 2018,2020 etc and October hunts in odd numbered years 2019,2021. The dates can change a little but are typically around two or three weeks and include the middle weeks of the months.
By alternating seasons F&G has been able to keep the bear harvest at a sustainable level without going to drawings.

On Kodiak they have an April season and a November season every year but it requires a drawing. Which, for non-residents who have to go with a guide, is not much of a problem

So a spring brown on the peninsula is not an option, what about fall or does that hunt take place in August and September as well?

CM

No, the seasons are only two or three weeks long and always in Oct on the peninsula and Nov on Kodiak
Those are the only choices if you want the chance at an honest, (cut correctly and not stretched) massive ten foot bear with a B & C skull.
But other game units have longer and different seasons with a decent chance at getting a solid 9 foot brown bear.
There are a few areas where the state wants to reduce bear populations for political reasons, (i.e. public demand for more moose)for residents, that have relatively long seasons that might work for you.

Just be sure to do your homework as most of those areas are difficult to hunt successfully ( which is why they make special seasons) and compared with Kodiak and the peninsula, don't have the population density of bears.

But there are some hard working guides who specialize in those areas and do well !

Wayne woods of woods outfitters operates in eastern prince William sound and he pulls out some fantastic bears. You don’t hear much about that area as there is very limited number of guides working it. But they have bears over 10’ as well. Oct I believe is his fall season. Second half of April on Kodiak is some great bear hunting as well.