I'm looking for some fall action. I don't have the time to get up the Haul Rd. for caribou so my options this fall are deer and black bear. I shot a black bear this spring and I'm still a non resident so units 15, 7, and 14 a & b are out for black bear. So my questions are:

1. What other mountainous areas would be good for a spot and stock black bear hunt within reasonable driving distance of Anchorage? I was considering either along the Richardson Highway or along the Alaska Highway west of Palmer towards Glenallen.

2. Can I hunt deer anywhere from the road system along PWS that's drivable from Anchorage? (I don't think so, but if it's doable let me know. My understanding is that most if not all the deer are on the islands. Correct?)

Brett

I think you may have your highways mixed up.

Its hard to find blackies on the parks (wasilla up to fairbanks) due to the flatness and thick trees.

As for heading east along the Glenn, its not exactly known for big #'s of blackies. they are in there though. a couple of years back I seen a big ole blackie at sheep mtn, unfortunately it was on private property.

If you have a 3-4 day weekend drop down into the copper river valley on the way to valdez. nice bears in there.

I've seen many black bears along the Parks HWY, seen a few around Kashwitna lake, Willow, Montana creek, Troublesome creek, Chulitna, and Honolulu creek. head up towards NENANA and your right smack in Bear bait heaven in the Spring just off the river. But yeah, I would go down to PWS area towards Valdez.

Sorry I meant east of Palmer not west. Are black bears readily visible from the road on the way to Valdez or in the Copper River valley? Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming.

Brett

Brett ; Yes , sometimes . Yes . Sometimes you can see a couple few at a time on some mountain sides .... Now for the tough part , Land ownership , What a zoo ..... We have , the State of Alaska , your good to go there . Federal Land . Theres BLM beauro of Land Management , National Parks . and National Preserve ..... And then theres AHTNA Corporation land , Its posted with orange placards nailed to trees ... They don,t let non shareholders trespass on their land as a general rule ... And finally there is individually owned private land .... Beli,, Oh , almost forgot , the state feds and corporations are doing a land swap this fall .... However , Don,t despair there is land , that has game on it you can hunt ........................ The best glassing will be south of Glennallen from 80 mile Richardson Hwy south toward Valdez ..................... A friend was telling me about place down in the 70s that has alot of bear in it ...... Berries havn,t come in full yet and the season is open so . I wouldn,t drag my feet much past Sept 1 as the old timers here are calling for an early fall /ect .. We won,t say the W , word yet . I spent 8 months in it this past w..... .........
..
. The BLM office here has some maps they will give you , and I think the Park will also .. The State also has some info ..... You can probably call the troopers here and ask for F&G enforcement ... His name is John Simeon and he's a real good guy and very knowledgeable and helpfully ..... Remember , when you are bear hunting you are also logging data on moose ,bou ,sheep and goats ... Were pretty pro bear hunting here so come ahead ....

Oh and I don,t know of any where you can drive in PWS to hunt deer . Thats a boat or plane show ......

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
Oh and I don,t know of any where you can drive in PWS to hunt deer . Thats a boat or plane show ......

That's what I figured. I just wanted to rule it out.

Brett

gumboot458,

What's the time frame on berries down your way? Mid August on? Since I haven't been down that way yet are the berry areas glassable from the road or will I need to pick a likely spot and hike up to glassing range? Will they be decent eating this time of year? I know the Copper River runs throught there with all the salmon in the world, but I wasn't sure how many bear fishable tributaries there are to fowl up the bear meat.

Brett

Brett,

I pretty sure the AK regulatory year starts July 1. That means if you shot a spring bear in 7 (as I believe you did), that you are eligible to shoot another bear in 7 this fall. (A new year) Of course, if you are successful this fall, then you will have filled your non-res quota for the coming year, and won't be able to hunt in 7 next spring. (Unless you have residency by then.)

Make sense?

Bill

.. No , as this is Brett's first year ,he is classified as a non resident ,but he can still kill 2 more black bear this year in Unit 13 , And let me just say , there are black bear all over the place , Tho there arn,t the population densities there are in Rowan Bay , or Kake .......

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.
. I wouldn,t worry about eating one of the things in the fall , You don,t need according to the law , and as far as the hide goes , salmon fat makes for nice hides on bears ....... As this is my 2nd fall here and last fall I was working , I don,t know many spots , in fact I would say I don,t garrenteed know any spots yet ............... .. It would take some driving and leg work ,and glassing .. But thats what finding your spots is about here ,,,besides , if I had a perfect spot , I wouldn,t tell all and sundri .........
.. Tho the place gets over run with people , The Mat valley has ALOT of game in it and bears also .......The big problem is it,s harder to hunt because there are limited glassing opportunities ................... But it sure beats sitting in town .....
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. Also , tho you didn,t ask . I will share what I have been learning about OVERLAND TRANSPORT .., accessing your hunting areas ...... MAX ,ARGO ., With Tracks .. Polasri 6x6 with tracks ...... 4 wheelers are stuck , track vehicles are mooving , all there is to it !!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by llamapacker:
Brett,

I pretty sure the AK regulatory year starts July 1. That means if you shot a spring bear in 7 (as I believe you did), that you are eligible to shoot another bear in 7 this fall. (A new year) Of course, if you are successful this fall, then you will have filled your non-res quota for the coming year, and won't be able to hunt in 7 next spring. (Unless you have residency by then.)

Make sense?

Bill

I'm still a non resident and as such am only allowed 1 bear per year in unit 7. Residents are allowed 2 per year in unit 7.

Brett

Any ideas on the time for berries in the Copper River Valley?

Brett

I've also seen black bears along the Parks highway, had 3 run out in front of my truck on our way to moose camp a few years ago. I'd also look into hunting near Byers Lake, LOTS of bears in there to include grizz. If you've got access to a wheeler that really opens up things for you. Good black bear hunting near the Gerstle and Johnson Rivers down near Delta too. What page in the regs does it say you can't hunt unit 7, 14, 15 for blackies?

Any area that is 1 bear a year for non residents is out for me as I already took a bear this spring. Those areas are 1 per year for non residents. 7 is 2 per year for residents, but 1 per year for non residents. 13 & 11 both have 3 per year resident or non resident, so I'm good there. Look at the bag limits for each of the units. Beside the bag limit you will see a B = both, N = non resident, or R = resident. I think the 1 bear per year for non residents is new for unit 7. I think it used to be 2 for both, but I could be wrong.

Brett

. Some of the berries are ripe now , , some of them will come ripe at the first frost ......Are you going to hunt moose this year ??

No. Off road transport is a no go for me at the moment. Outside of my Tundra I'm self propelled at the moment. I'm not very sure how or where I'd go about a moose hunt with out transport. I'll probably start putting in for Kodiak bears and goats next fall and sheep somewhere, so if I don't draw my back up will probably be a caribou or moose hunt. Thank you for all the info.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:
Any area that is 1 bear a year for non residents is out for me as I already took a bear this spring. Those areas are 1 per year for non residents. 7 is 2 per year for residents, but 1 per year for non residents. 13 & 11 both have 3 per year resident or non resident, so I'm good there. Look at the bag limits for each of the units. Beside the bag limit you will see a B = both, N = non resident, or R = resident. I think the 1 bear per year for non residents is new for unit 7. I think it used to be 2 for both, but I could be wrong.

Brett

Bag limits are for regulatory year....if you shot one in the spring, your bag limit "reset" July 1. Hunting license and tags are calender year. If you shot one in the fall, and the bab limit is one, you may not shot one in the spring.

quote:

Originally posted by akperrydog:

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:
Any area that is 1 bear a year for non residents is out for me as I already took a bear this spring. Those areas are 1 per year for non residents. 7 is 2 per year for residents, but 1 per year for non residents. 13 & 11 both have 3 per year resident or non resident, so I'm good there. Look at the bag limits for each of the units. Beside the bag limit you will see a B = both, N = non resident, or R = resident. I think the 1 bear per year for non residents is new for unit 7. I think it used to be 2 for both, but I could be wrong.

Brett

Bag limits are for regulatory year....if you shot one in the spring, your bag limit "reset" July 1. Hunting license and tags are calender year. If you shot one in the fall, and the bab limit is one, you may not shot one in the spring.

Does anyone know a good lawyer that specialized in ADF&G regulations? I think I need to have one on retainer just to figure out what's going on. I called F&G today and you are infact correct! My hunting license goes from Jan 1- Dec 31. The regulatory year goes from Jul 1- Jun 30. So my spring black bear was on the last regulatory year. This fall is on the next regulatory year and by spring I will be a resident, so I can take my second blackie this spring. Thank you all for the info. I will probably go back to what I know unit 7. If I decide to change it up I'll let you know. Thanks.

Brett

No Prob. my unsolicited comments are ever at the redy !!!!!!
.. Moose hunting ,and inflatable rafts . Back pack to the raft ,,,,....... Now a days Google Earth can help give a look at country you want to hunt .. But flying around in a plane going slow is tops IMO .. The track vehicle is the way to go for the overland stuff , You really want to hunt Kodiak ,,,,><><> How big are the goats they have been getting from there ????

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
No Prob. my unsolicited comments are ever at the redy !!!!!!
.. Moose hunting ,and inflatable rafts . Back pack to the raft ,,,,....... Now a days Google Earth can help give a look at country you want to hunt .. But flying around in a plane going slow is tops IMO .. The track vehicle is the way to go for the overland stuff , You really want to hunt Kodiak ,,,,><><> How big are the goats they have been getting from there ????

Yeah. I think it would be my top pick for goats. RELATIVELY easy terrain as far as goats go and a good chance to throw in some deer hunting if the hunt is successful early. The only problem is it's an ordeal to get there! If you where to drive down and take the ferry across you could drive the meat back and save on the shipping bill!

Brett

Brett,

I'm glad AKPerrydog confirmed what I was trying to say. The regulatory year (July 1 - June 30) is what yo uneed to worry about, not the calendar year. Since you are familiar with 7, why not go after another bear in that unit this fall? As you already know, there are lots of good trials with access to productive bear country. I shot an average bear in 7 last year while on a goat hunt. Unit 13, as well as several other inland units with 2 bear limits for nonresidents are other great options.

Be careful which unit you take your first bear in, however. If you shoot your first bear of the (regulatory) year in a 2 bear unit (limit), you may continue to hunt, even in other units with a 1 bear limit. On the other hand, if you shoot your first bear in a one bear unit, you are done hunting bear for that regulatory year, even in other units with a 2 bear limit. I know it doesn't make sense (at least to me) but I have been through this with personnel in Anchorage in exhausting detail. After talking with several supervisors, I am reasonably confident the above info is correct.

Just remember, it doesn't have to make sense to be enforced.

Good Luck.

Bill

quote:

Just remember, it doesn't have to make sense to be enforced.

I know this is correct, but.....

"Be careful which unit you take your first bear in, however. If you shoot your first bear of the (regulatory) year in a 2 bear unit (limit), you may continue to hunt, even in other units with a 1 bear limit. On the other hand, if you shoot your first bear in a one bear unit, you are done hunting bear for that regulatory year, even in other units with a 2 bear limit. I know it doesn't make sense (at least to me) but I have been through this with personnel in Anchorage in exhausting detail. After talking with several supervisors, I am reasonably confident the above info is correct."

....is this correct? Can anyone else confirm or deny this? I will be calling F&G Monday to hash this out for sure regardless. My impression was 1 bear anywhere in the state = no more bears in 1 bear units, but a second bear anywhere open to 2+ bears regardless of location of original bear harvest was ok. Some one get me an attorney!!!!!

Brett

Not true!! Go to page 17 of the new rules and regs. It clearly illustrates with an example the exact situation I will encounter. I've been helping a friend for the last couple days and today as payment for the help he invited me to his lodge on Chenega to hunt black bears this fall from his boat. Since it is one only I can take one there and I'm done for unit 6. After that I can take a second bear this spring in unit 7 as my second of the two bear limit for resident (which I'll be by spring) in unit 7. I could then go over to unit 13 if I wanted and take a third bear as it is a 3 bear limit.

Brett

I had a wildlife office call me back this morning regarding the distance off a roadway one must be to shoot and he verified that as long as your take of an animal for the regulatory year has not equalled or surpassed an areas bag limit you can hunt there. If you are still in doubt please call fish and game Monday.

Brett

Brett,

I like the clarification in this years regulation to which you refer. I agree it is quite clear from their example.

While I am certain the fuss I made in Anchorage earlier this year about this situation had absolutely nothing to do with this clarification, I think we all now have something in writing to hang our hat on. All I can say is the folks refused to take my money as I tried to buy a second bear tag, after telling them which unit I planned to go hunt. It caused quite a commontion, as several officers contradicted one another, and was finally settled by several supervisors.

Given the wording in the current regulations, I wouldn't even ask the question again. I would rely on the printed regulations, and consider that as gospel.
Good luck on your bear hunts. As a (soon-to-be) resident, some of this will have less inpact on you very soon.
Good Hunting,

Bill

quote:

All I can say is the folks refused to take my money as I tried to buy a second bear tag, after telling them which unit I planned to go hunt. It caused quite a commontion, as several officers contradicted one another, and was finally settled by several supervisors.

The sad part is I'm not even shocked!! I tried to figure you how far off the road you need to be to hunt in Chugach state park and national forrest. I found the state park info online, but the national forrest....... Unfreaking believable!!! No one has any idea what's going on. I finally spoke to a forrest ranger who got it half right and then by luck and chance a person I had previously call returned my message latter and explained the forrest ranger was full of it.

Brett