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I'm going to be hunting brown bear around Admiralty Island this coming May, & am beginning my preparations soon. I'll be staying on a boat, & I will be doing spot & stalk hunting (never been there, just what I've been told). Can anyone shed any light on (1) how far I'll be shooting, (2) what clothing & other gear I should take, and (3) what's the smallest caliber that I should take ? I know what the outfitter has advised, but I'm looking for advice from others who've done similar hunts like this ...... thanks for your help. ____________________________ .470 & 9.3X74R Chapuis' Tikka O/U 9.3X74R Searcy Classics 450/.400 3" & .577 C&H .375 2 1/2" Krieghoff .500 NE Member Dallas Safari Club | ||
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To answer your three questions: 1) From you to the bear. 2) What your guide told you. 3) What your guide told you. Smart arse answer, but you're paying someone to guide you on a bear hunt, so listen to what he's telling you. If you get clothing and gear according to what he's saying, you better be good to go. If not good to go, then bad on him, but I don't think that's going to happen. When I was in the business of guiding here I changed from a "recommended gear list" to a very specific list. My clients brought what they were supposed to bring and life was good. Good luck on your bear hunt. First time to AK? Ken | |||
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Frank, below are my recommendations based on my experience hunting from a boat on the ABC (Admiralty, Baranof, Chichagof) Islands. 1. 100yds is a long shot. I always try to get to 50 or less and that's usually not too difficult. 2. Breathable waders or good hippers (LaCrosse ankle fit are my favorite) depending on what your guide recommends. I actually take both. Very good rain gear - most like HH Impertech. 3. 338 or larger - I've used 9.3X62, 375, & 416. Your Chapuis 9.3 or your Searcy 400J would both be good options. I will be hunting with my new Heym PH 400J next May. I normally carry a plastic stocked bolt and one "pretty" rifle - the weather can be really snotty that time of year, but you usually have some nice weather when you can tote the nice rifle. Believe me, if you have to go into the thick stuff to trail a bear that's been hit, the 400 or the 470 will be a real comfort. This scenario is one of the big reasons I went for the double. Antlers Double Rifle Shooters Society Heym 450/400 3" | |||
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Alasken, I agree with you on following the guides list to the 't'. But have you looked at what some guides send out for lists? Some leave a little to be desired and getting add'l advice never hurts. | |||
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Well after being on 2 Brown bear hunts this year.. (One in the spring, One in the fall) Here is a recomendation of stuff for the spring Lots of gloves.. It will be raining and nothing works. The so called water proof ones made my hands clammy. the other ones got wet. Either way extra pairs make it better. Get a water resistant toque. This was invaluable to me. Kept my ears and head warm/dry. Good RUBBER rain gear. We didnt spend hardly any time walking the heavy stuff, so Rubber will work. Knee high rubber boots. You will be in and out of the skiff so much.. Its nice not to worry about the depth. UNDER ARMOUR for a base layer. It actually keeps you smelling better. We did 10 days without a true shower.. This stuff works. I used a 375 on both hunts. One shot.. one kill in the fall from 25 yards. If you want, I can send over my whole packing list, just let me know. I kept it light and my guides appreciated it. Now this little tip will really help. Get yourself a collapsable walking stick. These aqre not "beaches" as I know them. on Baranof island I dont think I saw any sand, but I sure as heck saw lots of BIG rocks. When I left my camp I noticed my guide had picked up a few of these sticks for future clients. It just stays in the skiff the entire time. Get glasses you will be very comfortable with. I wouldnt recomend going out and buying new Binos due to the fact if they are at all uncomfortable, you wont use them near enough. I spent hour after hour after hour behind my glasses. so much so that the sea salt rubbed the bridge of my nose to the point it was sore. When you do find a bear and need a better look, just borrow the guides. (if he has a beter pair) Get a water proof bag for the skiff. Leave the back pack at home. When you do get out of the skif, you probably wont be going very far. Feel free to let me know if you want to talk about this further. I might not know everything, but I do have some idea of what you are going to be into. Calgary Guy | |||
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 Very good point! The "beaches" can be treacherous walking. Beware rocks covered with grass. Another good tip: get yourself a waterproof gun slip - I think one brand name is "Gun Boat"? Regarding knee-high rubber boots, I never recommend these to buddies coming up - it's just too easy to go over these getting out of the skiff in a hurry. Just my experience. Antlers Double Rifle Shooters Society Heym 450/400 3" | |||
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If you can shoot your 470 well,, bring it .... . The perfect bear hunting rifle is a 416 or there abouts , with a good tough bright scope , preferably with a red dot reticle ..... , If you can shoot one well .. if not , either learn,, or go down to a 375 something the lighter weight bullets for caliber work as well or better than the heavy weights , they also reduce recoil .......... . No cotton clothing other than for flying on jets and being in the city .. Polyester ... Bring extra handkerchiefs.......... Be good at shooting now , , when you see the trophy bear , you need to be able to dump it right now ,,,., .. The bear may not stop moving and trust me ,,nothing can disappear as fast as it can in Southeast, Alaska .............. Is your 400 scope sighted ??...... ... Good pig skin gloves .... They don,t get slimy when they arewet like cowhide does ... .If it can,t be grown , its gotta be mined .... | |||
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I was in Sitka area this past May and used my 338-06 w/250 gr A Frame, my bear thought it was plenty. As stated your shot should be 120-50 yards and probably on "the beach"! If anyone needs to go into the rain forest it probably will NOT be you! We did have some rain but very little. I wore ankle fit hippers the entire duration although the guides and other hunter wore the 14" rubber Alaska "sneekers". Ironically, I asked my guide the afternoon I took my BBB if he had been in water yet with his boots, no! When we got out of the skiff I couldn't help but to look over and both guides were up to their hip in water!! Almost laughed but the situation at the time was much too tense. Yes, I did shoot off sticks that were about still three feet under water when I fired. It will be chilly in the skiffs as the Westerly will be howling at 30+ most days - end of May. Temps were moderate. Beautiful country and very nice people and was lots of lovely bears. Enjoy and feel free to ask any question. | |||
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Breathable, lightweight waders. You can always layer under them for add'l warmth. No neoprene - too hot and movement restrictive. Good wading boots with drain holes in them. Good head lamp to come back in the dark with or to hopefully help with skinning and packing out your trophy. outfitter,southeast Alaska, brown bear, black bear ,mt goat | |||
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Not trying to stir the pot or anything, just wanting some opinion, but what about something like a 200gr Partition out of a 300WM, or Double tap's load of a 240 gr Woodleigh out of a 300WM at 2600 fps for brown bear? Provided someone is very comfortable with the rifle and their ability with it? | |||
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Works just fine   | |||
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I am a big fan of wading pants and the wading boots with drain holes. If you wear hip boots you still need to wear a second waterproof garment to cover your butt when you are in the skiff. So I found that wading pants and a light weight waterprooof jacket to work very well with layers underneath. I would also get a medium size dry sack and use that a the bag to stor your gear while in the skiff. Brown bear is not the knid of animal that I would bething about the lightest possible caliber. Understand I have killed all of 1 brown bear but I would think .338 is the absolute minimum bore diameter of choice. Not saying a 30 cal won't work but if BB was my intened target that is where I would start. I think with most DG animals at close range (under 100 yds)once you get above 9,3x62 shit placement is going to be a hole lote more importan than cartridge selection. I think just about veryone here would say they would rather have A+ quaility shot placement with a 9,3x62 than C+ shot placement with a 416 RM. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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bring your 2 babies : 9.3*74R & 470 NE  J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent | |||
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Not really a gun guy but been hunting browns for a will and seen a lot of guns work well from a three hundred to 458's. Had a hunter this year shoot one (one shot)with a 320 short mag. I like to see people with a 338 mag and bigger though . I still use my 375 mag and has worked for me. Don't bring a gun that is to pretty to Southeast Alaska though salt water and conditions are hard on guns. I always give clients a gun boat for skiff riding . Floatable water proof case. Stainless is best outfitter,southeast Alaska, brown bear, black bear ,mt goat | |||
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Nice rifles jb , I view CLOSE RANGE on a brown bear as 20 yards or less......Any thing over 100 yards is LONG RANGE ... You may need to take a long range shot , but hope you don,t ......... So many people whine like little girls about minimum recoil that it is pretty disgusting to read .. A 375 is the classic brown bear rifle caliber for Alaska ..... Just about the most perfect brown bear client rifle available is a 375 Ruger Alaskan with a 1.5-5 or 1.75-6 x scope on it .......... Shoot the 270 gr load... get so your rifle is just part of you and put the time into learning to hunt brown bear ......and being useful at putting out the crab pots ,shrimp pots and jigging for Halibut ..... .If it can,t be grown , its gotta be mined .... | |||
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Spring hunts,weather maybe nice or not to much fun.My two spring hunts were good one friends was wash out. Cal. 338. or larger makes them leak real good.I used 330 dakota 225 gr. swift on 1st 375 hh 300 gr. swift on 2nd. Sinthetic under gar. woll outer layer, have worked well for me. best advice practice off hand shooting with your cannon. Get in good shape, you might have to clime up a mountain so you can shoot down at him.Your guide will like it if you can keep up. | |||
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Been there a couple of times. The main thing is to keep dry. I tell all to buy waist high stocking foot waders and you can wear whatever boot that you would like. They are tough and will not rip. Good Luck  www.african-montana-taxidermy.com life member of SCI life member of NRA NTA Master Scorer SCI Scorer for Rowland Ward www.african-montana-taxidermy.com | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Alaska Hunting Forum Preparing for a brown bear hunt ......
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