Look at the sizes here!!!
If we could get Phil to tell the stories please.

Just proves what I always say - "Ain't no such thing as a little bear."
Bear in Fairbanks

That is my foot in a size 9 LaCross hipboot

The bear was taken last fall season and I measure the hide at 10'3" and AK F&G sealed the skull at 28 3/16"

The hide is fleshed but not salted and hung from the 12' ladder it stretched a bit.

Thank you Phil! 28 3/16" that'll make for a big set of chompers!!

man big bear pics are cool...dang ain't that why we fight alders in the first place....awesome.
i once measured a front track on kodiak that was 11" across, by far the biggest track i've ever seen to this day...woulda loved to seen the bear that made it....

Wow great adventure to say the least.

Yep Thats why I built a 416 taylor for the time if I ever go on a Brown bear hunt.

They have been killed with a lots smaller guns but when one is standing next to full body mount of one of the big ones You'll decide something big is in order.

What a beauty Phil! All hunting is rewarding but a big BB is the tops in my Book.

The next question is, how did you get it packed out of the woods? That must be really heavy and awkward too.

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Turnbull:
The next question is, how did you get it packed out of the woods? That must be really heavy and awkward too.

Doug,
After the kill, Phil calls in the heavy lift specialist AKA "Taj".

This Machine can carry more than double his body weight for miles provided he is fed a good supply of snickers bars and soda. I will see if I can find a photo...cool little maching Phil made early in his guiding career.

On my 2004 hunt at Phils place I shot my bear (9ft 8.5in)several miles from camp. Taj was my guide and Marty Myerotto was the packer.

The bear skin was wet because the bear had just come out of the stream in this picture. It had not been fleshed out yet etc. so all this made it extra heavy.

As we got within a mile of camp I kept pestering Marty to let me carry the hide for a while. He kept saying "no, thats my job".

But finally within a quarter mile of camp as we rested on this ledge in the picture he agreed to let me have a go at it.



I slipped into the straps and ... couldn't even stand up. I said ok you can carry it now. Marty packed it on up the hill, dropped it off at the camp and without even sitting down picked up a 5 gal. bucket and headed back to the stream to fetch some water.

Meanwhile Taj who had carried the skull, Martys rifle and backpack as well as his rifle and backpack and I believe my backpack also calmly started supper.

Those guys are tough.

Allen,

Hope you don't mind as I lightened up the picture you posted. Wanted to see the guys in the pix better.



Don

Thanks Don - good idea. Thats Marty in the foreground and Taj behind him. Marty has the skin folded up in the pack frame. All of Taj's stuff is in the grass somewhere.

Allen,

Two fine young men!!!
Should be more just like 'em.

Don

[/IMG]

Taj with one of amny loads, he makes it look SOOOO easy.

quote:

Originally posted by Palmer:
On my 2004 hunt at Phils place I shot my bear (9ft 8.5in)several miles from camp. Taj was my guide and Marty Myerotto was the packer.

The bear skin was wet because the bear had just come out of the stream in this picture. It had not been fleshed out yet etc. so all this made it extra heavy.

As we got within a mile of camp I kept pestering Marty to let me carry the hide for a while. He kept saying "no, thats my job".

But finally within a quarter mile of camp as we rested on this ledge in the picture he agreed to let me have a go at it.



I slipped into the straps and ... couldn't even stand up. I said ok you can carry it now. Marty packed it on up the hill, dropped it off at the camp and without even sitting down picked up a 5 gal. bucket and headed back to the stream to fetch some water.

Meanwhile Taj who had carried the skull, Martys rifle and backpack as well as his rifle and backpack and I believe my backpack also calmly started supper.

Those guys are tough.

Thanks Palmer, Phil deffinatly comes across as a straight shooter and a class A guy.
I would percieve no less of the people in his outfit.

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Turnbull:
[/IMG]

Taj with one of amny loads, he makes it look SOOOO easy.

See if this works for you.

[IMG]<a href="http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll300/colorguns/?action=view¤t=IMG_2735.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll300/colorguns/IMG_2735.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/IMG]

quote:

Phil deffinatly comes across as a straight shooter and a class A guy.

You are right about that .366.

The whole family is class A as far as I can tell. Taj recently returned from Africa where he has been working in the safari industry.

Tia (I have not met her) is evidently one of the better fly fishing guides in the area, guides hunts also and can pack out more than the average hunter.

One of the things I have never heard Phil mention was revealed to me while looking through his library where I ran across a bronze star given him for singlehandedly holding off a contingent of VC when his platoon was ambushed in Vietnam. His action allowed the platoon to relocate to safer position.

I will mention one anecdote that also supports Phils character. I was the last of the hunters in camp to get a bear (every hunter got one). Phil had to fly in more supplies for us because we were still out on the hunt.

When he landed he did not mention anything about seeing bears close to our position on the flight to camp. We only found out about that a few days later after we had taken our bear in an entirely different area.

I would have thought some outfitters would have dropped a hint about looking over on that mountain or whatever - but he did not. He let us find our own thus leaving us with a fair chase memory as well as complying with the law.

However, the whole operation is held together by Phils wife Rocky who is a very interesting person in her own right (not to mention a terrific cook).

Phil also has some fantastic guides working for him also. Its too bad that on a short hunt one does not get to spend more time getting to know them all.