alf
Well-known member
I decided to start a separate thread for my dream hunt for Alaskan Brown Bear, & add more pictures.
It all started when I went to the annual Deer Expo in Wi, and there was an outfitter advertising a cancellation hunt for 2/3rds off. The hunt was to take place 200 miles north of Dillingham, Alaska. Evidently it was a hard sell, as you had to leave in a week. As I always wanted to go, it was a no brainer, all I had to do is buy a pair of hip boots, book the flight, & I was covered.
I already had the gun part taken care of, a custom 700 stainless in 358 STA, shooting 250 Partitions.
This was home:
The first 11 days were basically hike and glass. Not much to report except getting in the middle of the amazing caribou migration.
Day 12, we finally spotted a bear laying on top of a moose kill in the wide open. In the kill pic, you can see the treeline in the background from where we first saw him.
My biggest concern when hunting was that the guide would be quick on the trigger to back me up, & I repeatably told him that I wanted to do it myself if at all possible. I understood circumstances dictate actions.
We snuck across the open ground trying to keep hidden behind small bushes & drifts. We eventually got to the point that the guide stayed back, and I kept going. When we parted, I told him "This was like sneaking up on the world's largest coyote".
I got to about 100 yards, sat up, and as I rested my elbows on my knees, I realized my bullet might not clear the snow in front of me. So I scooted ahead a bit till I was sure I had a clear shot. I glanced back at the guide, & nodded that I was going to shoot. I actually took my eyes off the target, paused, & took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down.
The bear was laying down, left side quartering to me, eyes closed......I fired..... He jumped up, and spun around so fast, I thought I had missed. He was now standing broadside quartering away, and the 2nd shot hit center mass breaking the off shoulder. Down he went, only to jump right back up, and offer the same shot, so I hit him a third time. He finally appeared to be down for the count.
The guide came up to be & congratulated me on my shooting, & I thanked him for not shooting. I reloaded, we circled him, and I gave him an insurance shot that ultimately wasn't needed, but better to be safe than sorry.
As we walked up to him, the guide keep saying, holy shit, you realize what we have here!!!!!
We had no idea he was as big as he was, no ground shrinkage here.
While skinning him out, we found one bullet just under the hide on the off shoulder, so either the 2nd or 3rd shot.
Picture perfect mushroom with 75% weight retention.
After skinning him out, we contacted home base, and they flew in to whisked me back to camp in the Super Cub to catch the afternoon flight for home.
I had to leave the bear in camp, which was later air freighted back home after fleshing & salting.
The fabulous mount by done by Garry Senk Taxidermy here in Wisconsin.
It all started when I went to the annual Deer Expo in Wi, and there was an outfitter advertising a cancellation hunt for 2/3rds off. The hunt was to take place 200 miles north of Dillingham, Alaska. Evidently it was a hard sell, as you had to leave in a week. As I always wanted to go, it was a no brainer, all I had to do is buy a pair of hip boots, book the flight, & I was covered.
I already had the gun part taken care of, a custom 700 stainless in 358 STA, shooting 250 Partitions.
This was home:
The first 11 days were basically hike and glass. Not much to report except getting in the middle of the amazing caribou migration.
Day 12, we finally spotted a bear laying on top of a moose kill in the wide open. In the kill pic, you can see the treeline in the background from where we first saw him.
My biggest concern when hunting was that the guide would be quick on the trigger to back me up, & I repeatably told him that I wanted to do it myself if at all possible. I understood circumstances dictate actions.
We snuck across the open ground trying to keep hidden behind small bushes & drifts. We eventually got to the point that the guide stayed back, and I kept going. When we parted, I told him "This was like sneaking up on the world's largest coyote".
I got to about 100 yards, sat up, and as I rested my elbows on my knees, I realized my bullet might not clear the snow in front of me. So I scooted ahead a bit till I was sure I had a clear shot. I glanced back at the guide, & nodded that I was going to shoot. I actually took my eyes off the target, paused, & took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down.
The bear was laying down, left side quartering to me, eyes closed......I fired..... He jumped up, and spun around so fast, I thought I had missed. He was now standing broadside quartering away, and the 2nd shot hit center mass breaking the off shoulder. Down he went, only to jump right back up, and offer the same shot, so I hit him a third time. He finally appeared to be down for the count.
The guide came up to be & congratulated me on my shooting, & I thanked him for not shooting. I reloaded, we circled him, and I gave him an insurance shot that ultimately wasn't needed, but better to be safe than sorry.
As we walked up to him, the guide keep saying, holy shit, you realize what we have here!!!!!
We had no idea he was as big as he was, no ground shrinkage here.
While skinning him out, we found one bullet just under the hide on the off shoulder, so either the 2nd or 3rd shot.
Picture perfect mushroom with 75% weight retention.
After skinning him out, we contacted home base, and they flew in to whisked me back to camp in the Super Cub to catch the afternoon flight for home.
I had to leave the bear in camp, which was later air freighted back home after fleshing & salting.
The fabulous mount by done by Garry Senk Taxidermy here in Wisconsin.
