Hi guys, im a European hunter and have been dreaming with hunting a huge (9-10ft range) bear. I was wondering where would I currently have the best chances; Kodiak? Kamchatka? Spring or Fall? Any further recommendations on a specific outfitter would be greatly appreciated.

I understand that being a nonresident alien hunter, to hunt in the Kodiak archipelago I would need to apply for a tag after hiring an Alaskan guide?

Many thanks in advance.

Becharof National Wildlife Refuge

Contact Phil with:

https://grizzlyskinsofalaska.com/

https://www.glacierguidesinc.com/hunting/

You could shoot a lot of bears in Kamchatka for what it cost to shoot one in Alaska.

Western Alaska South of Nome to Katmai would be the cheapest in Alaska. $15,000-25,000

https://www.huntafognak.com/bear-hunting/

https://www.mikeodin.com/coast...owngrizzly-bear.html

SE Alaska on a boat or Kodiak the most expensive. $20,000-40,000

Kamchatka would be $10,000 cheaper if not more.

https://worldwidetrophyadventu...-deluxe-lodge-hunts/

https://www.timberkingoutfitti...ussia-hunt-packages/


From what I have seen Brown Bear hunts in European Russia are the cheapest (but these are 250-400 kg bears), and Brown bear hunts in Alaska the most expensive.

Most folks want the biggest for the least.
Alaska is pricey but has some great bears and experiences worth the money.
Phil would be the best place to start. I’d assume he’s booked several years out. But that’s a great first contact.

It's a good thing Kamchatka is less expensive than Alaska, because you will have to shoot two bears to make the same sized rug .

Look at any record book and see how many Russian bears there are .

The largest bears in the world are on the Alaska peninsula and Kodiak Island

I am heading Bear hunting to the Peninsula October 2021. Researched this hunt for years.
A lot of great areas and outfitters / guides.
My biggest suggestion is get in the best shape you get in. Alaska is not a walk in the park.
This will be my 4th trip and all previous hunts through out the state were challenging for a flat lander.
A lot of area. Kodiak and all the way down south of cold bay on the Penn.
If you are looking at costs; the logistics add up quickly like going to cold bay. Tie up a lot of change in flights.
In and out access can be tricky with the weather,
That being said it would be a walk in the park relative to logistic for a Russian hunt.

EZ

Another thing to factor in for anyone considering a Russian hunt- As it currently stand you either have to travel from west to east. This option is 3 days each way to Petro. There may be a route through China - certainly not a picnic. 15 or so years ago was floating a major river in Kamchatka. We came into an established camp one evening and I stumbled upon the caretakers stash of bear parts .For the oriental market, as usual. Was told this is a common practice and looked at as a supplemental income opportunity in the bush. Executive summary- There is zero enforcement of season and bag limits for bear in that part of Russia.

quote:

Originally posted by crane:
Another thing to factor in for anyone considering a Russian hunt- As it currently stand you either have to travel from west to east. This option is 3 days each way to Petro. There may be a route through China - certainly not a picnic. 15 or so years ago was floating a major river in Kamchatka. We came into an established camp one evening and I stumbled upon the caretakers stash of bear parts .For the oriental market, as usual. Was told this is a common practice and looked at as a supplemental income opportunity in the bush. Executive summary- There is zero enforcement of season and bag limits for bear in that part of Russia.

He is a European hunter, so none of the travel problems we have in North America heading to Eastern Russia apply to him.

I have never heard of a pleasurable experience crossing Russia.
My sister and brother in law adopted a little boy in Russia and travelled to a small town near the large lake (forget the name) close to Mongolia. This was roughly 20 yrs ago.
Something they would like to forget.
It was not getting to Moscow. It was the logistics while in the country.

Thank you all for your insight. The impression im getting is that Kamchatka, as I suspected, seems to have much greater hunting pressure than the premiere areas of the US for big bears.

I would say that is accurate.

The bears are genetically very similar, and eat the same food, so pressure would be the only thing making one hunt more difficult than the other.

https://www.garylarose.com/ala...brown-bear-hunts.htm


Husband hunted three times with Gary Larose,
caribou (when it was open on the Penninsula), brown bear and moose. He had a great experience and was successful on all hunts.

His bear made the three year B & C record book.
Bear hide was 9 foot 2.

Best of luck on your hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by Aurelium Fitch:
Thank you all for your insight. The impression im getting is that Kamchatka, as I suspected, seems to have much greater hunting pressure than the premiere areas of the US for big bears.

I've hunted Kamchatka for brown bears twice. In speaking with the outfitter I went with, he always said, and from the bears I saw taken while in camp there, that the bears are similar in size to the Alaskan brownies but with smaller heads, which is what dictates book entries. I'm not an expert on brown bears by any stretch but from seeing several of that particular outfitter's bears mounted, and my full mount, he described the difference in the two area's bears as the Kamchatka bears could be thought of like having a pro basketball player's build while the Alaska bears were more like a pro football player's build. Kamchatka bears being taller but not as filled out and thick.

If you do the Kamchatka hunt, you WILL shoot a bear. BUT, and it's a big BUT, I didn't find the hunting experience that great, at least with the outfit I hunted with.

First, as mentioned already in this thread, getting there, and back, is a living nightmare. The first time I did it, I went through Anchorage and that was no problem. The second time, and I believe the way you get there now, is through Moscow. That meant after a very full day of flying, including a stop and plane change in both Chicago and Munich, an overnight in Moscow which entailed 3 hours clearing customs with rifles and ammo, followed by a 2 hour ride in traffic to the hotel. Then the same thing in reverse the next morning to proceed on to Petropavlosk, an 11 hour flight in itself. And you have that same route in reverse to look forward to after the hunt.

For the hunting experience, I was in camp with 4 other hunters and a total of 3 guides. So each day, one hunter got a 1 on 1 and the other 4 got 2 on 1. As bears were taken, more 1 on 1 days were spent afield. But the biggest problem I had was the guides didn't really care how big of a bear you took, just that you shot a bear so they could get it over with and maintain their 100% success rate.

I had my reasons for going back with the same outfitter again and I do believe I told that story here on AR if you care to search for it. The article actually got published in the main SCI publication a few years back.

Bottom line IMO, if you do the Russia trip, spend a lot of time learning the tell tale signs of a big bear on your own as you will more than likely not be able to lean on your guide for help with that. I shot a small bear the first day on the first trip. I shot a 9'3" on the second trip, 4th day, after turning down 33 bears with the guide telling me I could shoot any one of them if I wanted. Judging the size will probably be on you 100%. And there will be a ton of bears to look over ... at least there were 11 years ago.

I want to do another brownie hunt and for sure, I'll be going to Alaska next time. I haven't gotten serious about it yet as I'm still enjoying Africa but Phil is probably #1 on my list for when I get around to it.

+1 for Phil on the peninsula. Great area for big bear and great people. One of my most memorable trips. sending you a PM

I've only heard great things about Phil, but there are also some excellent guides on Kodiak Island.

Aurelium- Alaska's management system on Kodiak and the peninsula works. To take it a little further you could source(here) who is outfitting on limited entry and who is operating in an area without restrictions. It seems to me that in these areas that are "wide open" there are a fair number of smaller bears taken. That is not to say there are not big bears taken in these areas but would be willing to bet that, on average, the competition is influencing the average size. There are outfitters who have 10 plus hunters in the field at one time. These are my opinions only and some here have forgotten more than I know.

Guys,

Prince William Sound has been producing big bears. Some of which were taken by my clients.

Mark

I had dreamed about hunting Russia for moose and bear.

Over the years I did a lot of research. Much (not all) of the hunting in Russia I found to be full of problems and some of the Russian hunting techniques used are not in my opinion sporting.
What totally convinced me not to go to Russia is the helicopters used to access these remote areas. Most areas are accessed by the Russian Mi-8 cargo helicopters. I hunted with the Lancaster’s in the NWT and shared a camp ,where Clay Lancaster was my guide, also in camp was a father and his son a well known hunter. Both Clay Lancaster and this father/son team had just been (a year or two earlier) on a sheep hunt in that part of the world.They accessed their area using a Russian Mi-8 along with about 20 other people. The chopper crashed killing the pilot and several of the passengers in a very remote area. Really by a act of god Lancaster and one of the guides with their wilderness survival skills and training was able to hike out for help and survive saving many. While this was in Kyrgyzstan not Russia, many Russian camps use these old Mi8 helicopters. After hearing the story first hand along with other reports I lost all interest in hunting that part of the world. Helicopters are dangerous enough let alone but one wonders how these cargo helicopters are maintained and serviced, or how trained are the pilots.

I don’t know Phil Shoemaker or his family but I have friends who do. I would seek out Mr. Shoemaker or one of the other top outfitters and hunt Alaska before taking a risk on a Russian hunt.
Just my opinion.

I have looked through the data books of Russian bear biologists and out of hundreds of bears, there were only two that even approached the 27" minimum B&C skull requirements.
I asked two biologists if they had ever seen one with 28" and they said never.

I hear similar big bears but small skull story from a lot of inexperienced and/or prevaricating guides also. But the same time they insist they are the same bears and just as big, or even bigger !

Hunted fairly any mature bear can be a trophy.its your choice. You can have a fantastic hunt anywhere from the Yukon across Alaska. But if you want a particularly large size you will be best off to go where the largest bears live. Kodiak or the Alaska peninsula.

Just for an example, these 3 bears were taken out of the same camp I hunted in 2007 and 2009. The first 2 were taken prior to my first hunt in 2007. The last was taken after my 2009 hunt. I have no idea of the current trends BUT, there is no doubt there are big bears there, but they don't have huge skulls.

There was also a 10'6" bear taken by one of the hunters on my first trip in 2007. I'll try and find photos of that one.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://www.garylarose.com/ala...brown-bear-hunts.htm


Husband hunted three times with Gary Larose,
caribou (when it was open on the Penninsula), brown bear and moose. He had a great experience and was successful on all hunts.

His bear made the three year B & C record book.
Bear hide was 9 foot 2.

Best of luck on your hunt.

+1

I have been three times and have yet to see a shooter. Go with a reputable outfit, hope for success but success runs less than 50% for hunters and less than 25% for 9’ plus bears.
I am going one more time in 2022 and that will be the last bear hunt regardless of outcome.

Russia or Alaska? Well since I am 50% and a tiny bear could be Alaska as well...

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55:
Russia or Alaska? Well since I am 50% and a tiny bear could be Alaska as well...

Right GS. You can get a giant bear in either place and you can get a small one in either place as well.

My experience is that the Russian guides are less likely to assist you in holding out for a giant bear. Again, limited to my 2 trips, but I've also spoken to quite a few others who've done the Russian Brownie hunts, and they all tell a similar story, in that the guides there are more interested in you getting A bear as compared to you getting A GIANT bear.

I've got another Brown Bear hunt in my future. I'll probably go with Phil when I get around to pulling the trigger on the trip. Whether I score a bear on not on that hunt, I expect the experience will be more of what you'd expect a brown bear hunt to be. I can't, in all honesty, say that about the Russian experience. I'm glad to have done the Russian hunts as it's an experience in and of itself ... seeing Red Square, and some of the country's other sights, including Petropovlosk as a former Naval officer.

My 2 cents, put in for the draw permit on Unimak island.It took me 10 years to draw and was worth it.I killed a 10 ft 7" squared bear with 28 9/16 skull.It is a trophy bear draw.Read my hunting report from oct of 2014

quote:

Originally posted by hvrhunter:
My 2 cents, put in for the draw permit on Unimak island.It took me 10 years to draw and was worth it.I killed a 10 ft 7" squared bear with 28 9/16 skull.It is a trophy bear draw.Read my hunting report from oct of 2014

your report story and pictures make this adventure so great. thank you for doing it.

Trophy hunt or trophy bear.

I would much have a great hunt and a smaller bear.

Then a poor hunt and a big bear.

Ideally one has both.

For me the older I have become the quality of the hunt has become far more important then the size or amount of game I shoot.

I ended up booking with Phil Byrd (Arctic North Guides) who some years back acquired a hunting area previously owned by Gus Lamoreaux.
Phil is far from the least expensive entity to book through however the references he provided were extremely insightful.
He provided clients who were successful and those that were not.
He only takes six hunters a season on the Peninsula.
Equipment is first class.
My understanding from references that Phil is very accomplish pilot as well.
I did a lot of research.
Grizzly skins was booked for years.
I think this area is about 100 miles south of their area.
About 9 months away from stepping on the Peninsula.
Been practicing shooting in the DFW this winter which should be similar in temperature to the hunting area in early October.
Taking one gun and two scopes. Gun has Talley detachable's and I am amazed how close the scopes come back to point of aim after detaching and re-attachment. I bet within 1/2 MOA.
Win stainless Mod 70 in 375 Weatherby. Handload 300 TSX @ 2800 FPS @ 40F.
Practice, practice!

EZ

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
I ended up booking with Phil Byrd (Arctic North Guides) who some years back acquired a hunting area previously owned by Gus Lamoreaux.
Phil is far from the least expensive entity to book through however the references he provided were extremely insightful.
He provided clients who were successful and those that were not.
He only takes six hunters a season on the Peninsula.
Equipment is first class.
My understanding from references that Phil is very accomplish pilot as well.
I did a lot of research.
Grizzly skins was booked for years.
I think this area is about 100 miles south of their area.
About 9 months away from stepping on the Peninsula.
Been practicing shooting in the DFW this winter which should be similar in temperature to the hunting area in early October.
Taking one gun and two scopes. Gun has Talley detachable's and I am amazed how close the scopes come back to point of aim after detaching and re-attachment. I bet within 1/2 MOA.
Win stainless Mod 70 in 375 Weatherby. Handload 300 TSX @ 2800 FPS @ 40F.
Practice, practice!

EZ

Phil does a good job and has a great area not far from us

Always interesting in visiting with references and what is brought up in the discussion.
A topic all these folks brought up was the exceptional moose in the area I will be hunting.
Always noted up to what they were seeing high 60"-70" moose.
Not sure Phil shoots moose in that area? Could be if it is that good he does not have to market those hunts.
If that is the case I may look into that option in years to come.
I shot a couple of large moose up NE of Kotzebue not far off the Noatak +30 years ago and packed them out along with a hunting partner. NOT doing that at my age any longer.

EZ

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Always interesting in visiting with references and what is brought up in the discussion.
A topic all these folks brought up was the exceptional moose in the area I will be hunting.
Always noted up to what they were seeing high 60"-70" moose.
Not sure Phil shoots moose in that area? Could be if it is that good he does not have to market those hunts.
If that is the case I may look into that option in years to come.
I shot a couple of large moose up NE of Kotzebue not far off the Noatak +30 years ago and packed them out along with a hunting partner. NOT doing that at my age any longer.

EZ

Not to hijack a thread, moose numbers really don’t mean much of anything. I’ve had clients pass on 70” bull because it wasn’t impressive. And hammer 55” moose because they look awesome. Spread is just a number but doesn’t equate like the number on a bear square size does.

The other issue with going just by squaring the bear is that the hide can be stretched.

The bear I shot in AK, in the Togiak WR was “big” to me when I saw him, and the guide said he’d square 9 feet.

I get him to the taxidermist, and ask just what he did measure... the comment from the taxidermist was, well, what do you want him to square? Then told me about stretching . I asked for whatever he actually was, I was happy with him. He was under 9, with a (from memory) 24” skull.

It was by far the largest bear I had ever saw at that point.

OTOH, having seen a few 10’ bears now, mine is not a monster. I’d think mine is pretty representative of what guided clients do get, and it was an Alaska adventure... I wouldn’t get all worked up over a number, but if you are fixated on a specific size minimum, be prepared to not get one at all then.

Personally, out in the Bush, they all look pretty dang big!

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:

OTOH, having seen a few 10’ bears now, mine is not a monster. I’d think mine is pretty representative of what guided clients do get, and it was an Alaska adventure... I wouldn’t get all worked up over a number, but if you are fixated on a specific size minimum, be prepared to not get one at all then.

Personally, out in the Bush, they all look pretty dang big!

Bingo!

quote:

Originally posted by kurtbe:

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:

OTOH, having seen a few 10’ bears now, mine is not a monster. I’d think mine is pretty representative of what guided clients do get, and it was an Alaska adventure... I wouldn’t get all worked up over a number, but if you are fixated on a specific size minimum, be prepared to not get one at all then.

Personally, out in the Bush, they all look pretty dang big!

Bingo!

Well, they do all look big but they're not.

The worst commentary and advice we I've heard third hand from bear hunting trips is regarding size. Small, immature bears are complimented and promoted for their pretty coats, nice figures and ofcourse ease of acquisition.

In my mind bears are similar to cape buffalo. Scars and generally bad hair are the mark of a mature male. Poor teeth, broken claws and a generally worn ugliness indicate a trophy.

Doc's 24 inch skull was a nice sized boar. I've killed a 24 1/2" and a 27 3/8" locally. Fortunately for me the 27 had a perfect, beautiful hide. Looks like a mink.

I know the "Scrum Cap bulls" in africa are popular with some and that has nothing to do with inches and score. That is a very old and past prime trophy bull.

The old boars of Alaska can be the same. If your bear hunt is a trophy hunt, well pick a good one. A knarly one If your meat hunting I guess any old doe or young buck will do.

Cabot Pitts has a concession around Katmai. I believe Cabot is very well thought of.
I believe he is booked in that concession through 2014.

Would be nice to have a map of the Alaskan Pennisula with the guiding concessions drawn / mapped out.

Do a little looking on the AK, F&G website. All the Units are mapped out there.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Do a little looking on the AK, F&G website. All the Units are mapped out there.

Mark

Guide areas and game units are not the same thing. Concession areas are designated by the land owner. Guide use areas are designated by fish and game for regulation purposes.

There are many great places and outfitters here in Alaska to kill a large boar. Ive guided on both the peninsula and Kodiak. Both produce big bears but Im more about kodiak than the peninsula. That being said what are you looking for on a hunt? Lodge based, tent camps,fly in remote hunts, etc..
There are many areas where guys are "turning and burning" hunters. Doing your homework is very important.

Kodiak's southern end produces a great amount of large boars and is on the kodiak national wildlife refuge, which only allows one outfitter per area and very limited on how many hunters can hunt per year.

On Kodiak I would recommend Fletcher's Guide Service, Jake and Dacia Fletcher run a very small successful, professional and personable outfit.

On the Peninsula I would recommend Alaska Wild wind Adventures, Cabot Pitts runs a small successful and professional business.

Hope this helps

Can't beat Kodiak, that's where I got my bear, 10' 2.5" - Steve Perrins II was my guide - fantastic experience and we had a dry cabin (they also have a more luxurious cabin they hunt out of).

I'm interested in Unimak Island for my next bear - it just looks like a cool place! But gotta get my moose first. Moose and baboons - can't seem to get either though I've tried many times.