Got a question for any of you members that live in Alaska or hunt there often. A buddy of mind has talked me into a Brown Bear hunt up there and I'm trying to get any recomendations on "The" place to hunt for Good bears and who to contact to arrange such a hunt? Also wanted to get your opinions on hunting the islands such as Afognak? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Regan

regan;

great, everybody should be b.b. hunting at least once. if you are fit enough and do it safely , i am certain u will enjoy it.

i have hunted afognak is., a lottery area, successfully and it is very steep, dense, difficult terrain. not sure of your age, condition, determination. maybe better choices for a first b.b. hunt. there are bigg bears there though. i think the # of non res' permits is very low, but so is the # of applicants. hunts there tend to be a little cheaper than kodiak is where huns do go for as much as $14k. there are about 4 outfitters that hunt afognak. of those the best is probably, aleutian island guide service, tim bootch. lives on kodiak.

as for kodiak, the hunting would be easier and the number of outfitters much greater. do your research carefully to ensure a successful/enjoyable trip. choose your equipment wisely, buy the best and break it in well ahead of time. no place for new gear that is untested. i have hunted there numerous times.

f.y.i. i heard that spiridon bear camp on kodiak has now recently had their insurance canceled and would be a poor choice due to a rash of well publicized problems.
there are many other good outfitters to choose from.

bring a .338 w.m. with 250 gr. and low power scope or larger weatherproof gun.

if u are interested in the pennisula. alaska trophy adventures. takes relatively few hunters. takes b.c. bears every other year and prices are very reasonable. they do no adventising or shows, purely word of mouth. 100% booked.

good luck, be safe, practice much. trip of a lifetime.


cold zero



cold zero

Hi!

I can help you organize a brown bear hunt in several locations with great operators one of which is in my backyard. Prices range from $9500 to $13900 depending on what type of hunt you choose. With all these guys your chances are very high of shooting a nice representative bear that you would be proud of.

If you need more info. or want to talk about areas, expectations etc. give me a call.

Regards,

Mark

ishoot:
As Coldzero stated, Afognak is a tough place to hunt. Most of it is thickly timbered with visibility severely limited. Climbing the mountains is sheer agony with alders & pecker brush constantly present. You break out of the alders & you hit the pecker brush then perhaps more alders. It seems as if they grow facing downhill. Walking in the forests at the lower elevations is relatively easy with game trails but visibility is severely limited. We had a large boar jump us last Oct. at about 30 yds. He was hidden under a downed log & couldn't be seen. He slowly walked to within about 10 yds. of us then turned & walked off. That's the closest I've ever been to a large bear & definitely don't want to do that again. My partner has suggested we try for a bear tag for Afognak & I just told him "no way, period".
If I were you, I'd much rather go for a Kodiak Island tag. The areas I've been to on Kodiak are much more open with little timber. Not as much chance of being jumped by an animal in the heavy timber. I myself, am trying to talk a friend into putting in for a BB tag for Kodiak even though the chances of a resident being drawn is quite remote. Hope this helps some. Bear in Fairbanks

Here's a black bear I shot quite awhile ago in Alaska and it will give you some idea of the brush you need to go thru. http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=649911&page=2&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=21&fpart=1



If you look closely you can see the angle of the hillside and trying to move upward can be a real chore. I might add that the stuff you see isn't really all that thick compared to what you can run across.



If you aren't hunting shore area from a boat you will find that Brown Bear hunting can absolutely wear you out quicker than most any other hunting...the terrain can be steep, the bush can be thick and high and of course there is always the weather.....low clouds affect visibility and when I mention wind and rain I really mean WIND and RAIN. You can spend your whole trip wet or at least damp and you will begin to dream about taking off your hip boots and throwing them away.



Sitting on a ridge trying to glass for bear when the ever-present wind is blowing the rain, which is cold and feels as hard as pepples, into your face horizontally is not the most fun in the world.

Bill:
The photo looks kinda familiar, nuthin but miles & miles of nuthin but alders. Too bad ya didn't have a photo showing the pecker brush better. Nice bear too.
Bear in Fairbanks