I just got home from a 6 day boat hunt in Unit 4, inside drainages..two of us shot very good brown bears. We estimated that my partner's bear squared at 8 feet and mine squared 7.5 feet. After I dropped the hide off at the taxidermists today (Saturday May 7th, 2005), he took some quick measurements and said mine would square about 7'9". These animals are beautiful and scarey.

Here is a quick summary with some photos. Three of us hunted in Unit 4, inside drainages (that is Admiralty Island, and the east sides of Chichagof Island, and Baranof Island) in SE Alaska. We rented a 32 foot boat in Juneau and drove it south. On the first day we spotted one bear at about 8:15pm while in route farther south but could not get close to it. The second night, my partner, Mike Holley, shot a huge 8'+ bear. We saw three other bears that night. We did not see any bears on Sun, Mon, or Tuesday...I got depressed and was convinced this would be another bear hunt with no bear for me...We headed back to Juneau Wed morning and at the end of the day we pulled into a small cove to spend the night. This was the last hunting evening. While eating the late meal of the day at about 5:00pm, I spotted a bear walking out of the woods about 1.5 miles across the bay. Slightly disorganized, we went after it fast...I got within about 100 yards of the bear in the open and shot and killed it with one shot from my .378 using a 260gr NP. The bear travelled about 15 yards inside the tree line (out of my sight) and died. It was all very exciting.

Our friend and colleague in Juneau, who organized the hunt, past up about five bears that I would have shot...he wants one bigger than 8'...It turns out that he posts here on AR as ANTLERS...If he talks about bear hunting you should listen to him. I could not have gotten this bear without ANTLERS. He is a bear hunter who carries a custom .416 Dakota-actioned rifle and knows what he is talking about.

The first four photos below are of me and my bear. The last two photos are of Mike Holley and his bear. Both are beautiful specimens.

I will tell you now that both of these animals still scared me when I first got close to them, even though they were dead as a door nail. I was not really convinced they were dead until their heads were off their bodies...the hides weighed well over a 100 pounds apiece...I was amazed by this. Mike used a 300 gr SAF in a 375 RUM to kill his bear. Both bears ran about 15 yards out of sight into the woods/alders after being shot...both died quickly with good shots to the heart/lungs...but I hated it when they ran out of sight...I conclude that a .416 or .458 is not too much gun for these animals. There is more to the story but here are some photos for now.









This is Mike Holley's bear.

Looking forward to your report!

Wow! Real nice bears, you guys are lucky to live where you can hunt them (affordably too!)

Great story, great pictures, brings back my dream hunt near Cold Bay a while ago. Nothing ever made me feel as exposed as the Big Bear, even the Buffalo in Africa. There is just something about their power and strength, and the tracks with the long claw marks that made my hair stand on end the entire hunt. I salute my treasured rug each and every morning, and relive that exciting day. "You can shoot anything you pick up, regardless of size, with practice.

Ann: This was a very affordable hunt, even by Alaska standards. I spent right at $1870 on this hunt, which included boat rental, gas for the boat, food and supplies, a plane ticket to Juneau from Anchorage, and shipping charges to get the hide and skull home. The taxidermy work on the hide and skull will cost $1800 or more.

Phurley5: You are right about those bears...and the ones out near Cold Bay are BIG.

Robert,

Good show! Looks like you guys picked up some beautifully furred bears and had a great adventure.

One thing about Alaska and being a resident there is the availability of serious adaventure in a true wilderness. These adventures come at a price but to know you took brown bear, dall sheep, moose etc. that would cost a small fortune to hunt for a non-resident is priceless.

Regards,

Mark

Mark: Both bears are absolutely and stunningly beautiful. I was with Mike (above) when he shot his...when his bear walked out of the woods onto a small patch of grass we were watching, it was as if a huge gorilla had stepped into my living room..I was stunned by its beauty and the apperance of sheer strength..it looked powerful and confident and in charge of itself.

The fur on both bears is black and brown and thick. These are excellent specimens.

The cost of this trip is reasonable..but it does not take into account the fact that I have spent about 26 days hunting brown/grizzly bears here in Alaska over the past 4 years before shooting this bear. I estimate I have spent about $2000 a trip for 4 trips..so I have about 26 hunt-days and $8000 invested so far in brown bear hunting. It takes lots of hard work, money, time, and knowing what your are doing. And some good luck.

rwj,

Can you be more specific about where you hunted? As a local, I find the info helpful. As a future Transporter I (if the new regs don't ruin everything) I may find the info very 'interesting'!

Thanks!

P.S. I hunt from Sitka, not Admiralty.

BW: I think we may be in for a real shocker when the new regulations come out...I am not sure how they will affect the SE but I think some big chunks of the interior are going to see some big changes for residents and nonresdients alike...I think most of it focuses on moose hunting.

What type of boat do you have that you will use as a transporter?

Here is a photo of the beast on his back just before skinning..



He is a toothy bugger. When I get the skull back I will post photos of it...it is something out of a bad dream..I am using my .416 Wby next time with bigger harder bullets.

rwj,

Actually I was referring to the Bill which will establish a new Big Game Commercial Services Board, and the fact the new rules are filled with little changes designed to make it hard for Transporters to take hunters. I'm going to give it a shot though, as it's not a main source of income, just a side job.

Here's a couple pics of my boat...




...nothing fancy, but safe and comfortable.

BW: I clearly was not thinking of the changes to the regulations that you are talking about. I was talking strickly about the ADF&F regulations. I think it would be unfortunate to restrict individuals from starting small transporter businesses. I hope you can start your own business. I might be a customer.

And your boat looks comfortable and seaworthy.

Great hunt - especially since you were successful at the last hour.

What is a typical distance to see bears in unit 4? It looks quite wooded in your photos.

That must have been one fine hunt! Sounds to me like you forgot the first rule of hunting, though; it isn't over until the gun is cased and you are at home. I've seen plenty of times when a week and more would go by and it seemed that all the bears had moved to the far side of the Moon, then something happens and you are hip-deep in them.

Ah, the joys of hunting.

rwj,

Great trophies.........Uncle John would be proud!

Joe

Palmer: It was a great hunt. I spotted this bear walking and eating along a narrow grass strip that lies just between the tree line and high tide. He was probably 2 km or about 1.5 miles away when I spotted his black form walk from the trees to the grassy strip. He might have been less than 2 km out when I first spotted him, but not by much.

Below is a photo of where I spotted the bear and shot it, taken from the boat the next morning. The tide is up in the photo. In the center is a rocky outcrop just in front of the trees. I spotted the bear coming out of the trees to the right of the rocky outcrop and by the time I got to the bear to shoot he was on the left side of the outcrop. He ran just inside the trees to the left side of the outcrop after being shot.



This type of hunting basically consists of glassing as much area as possible and looking for a black dot that was not there before or that is actually moving. You can also sit over a small patch of grass and wait for the bear to come out to eat that particular patch...but you have to be pretty confident that there is a bear working that particular patch of grass.

After I spotted my bear I got into a skiff and we motored as close to the bear as possible. Since the tide was out and we were on a shallow tidal mudflat, we could only get the boat within about 500 or 600 yards of the bear...then I just walked right up to it in the open. There was no cover at all on the mudflat. He looked right at me three or four times but just kept eating and was actually walking slowly towards me at an angle. He either could not see me or he did not care that I was there. When I got within 100 yards of the beast I sat down in the mud, lowered by bipod, took a steady aim, and shot him.

He recoiled with the impact, bit the wound, and melted into the tree line, all in a second. He did not go 15 yards, but I did not know that until a little while later.

Typically, you do not want to encounter these bears at close range, at least while they are alive. The photos above of him on his side is how I found him inside the tree line. You can see the entrance wound where blood was pushed out by his lungs. He had a similar wound on the far side. I would not be willing to be closer than 50 yards from one of these animals...at least when we are both on the same piece of land. It is possible to make a lethal shot on one of these bears and still have the bear get to you and hurt you before he expires.

RupertBear: You are absolutely right about not giving up until everything is really over. After I shot my bear, I had to go back to main boat to get a packframe...on that short skiff ride we saw three other bears, all shooters in my book. We drove the skiff within 70 yards of one of those bears just to get a good look at him. They are beautiful animals.

Ovis: Thank you. And you are right, Uncle John would be happy for me. He said that no matter what you are hunting you are hunting grizzly bears.. if you are hunting caribou you are hunting grizzlies, if you are hunting moose you are hunting grizzlies, if you are hunting sheep...

He liked hunting bears. And so do I.

Congrats on the fine trophies, I am quite envious.