My Kodiak Brown Bear taken 2009

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flyfishingak

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LAST EDITED ON Feb-23-11 AT 05:06PM (MST)[p]Here are a few pictures of the bear that I shot on Afognak island in the spring of 2009. This is part of the Kodiak draw, in 2009 they split the area into 3 hunting units and I was lucky enough that after 5 year of putting in for this tag I drew out. As an Alaska resident I was lucky to not have to hire a guide, we did however pay for a transporter out of Kodiak. We went with Sam Catt with Midnight Sun Charters and used his boat for the 8 days of the hunt. I shot this bear on the last day of my hunt and had to extend a extra day to get him off the mountain. I shot him with a 375 H&H not to bad for my first Brown Bear huh? He squared out at 10' 1". Oh yeah the pack that the bears head is on is the Badlands 4500 his head makes it look small.

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Congrats on an awesome bear.
I took one the same size on Kodiak ten years ago.
When checking the bear in at the Kodiak bear station, another hunter was checking in a 10ft 6 monster from Afognak.
That overlooked Island puts out some toads occasionally.
Again, congrats especially on doing it yourself!
Great Job!
HH
 
Congrats on the bear. He is a hog! I haven't yet drawn for anything on Kodiak or surrounding area. Maybe this year. Incidentally, what did Midnight Sun Charters cost you for your time with them? I find as I get older, the thought of a dry bed on a boat becomes more appealling.

Take care,
Garion33
 
Midnight Sun Charters was a full service transport and it was nice I looked at both options for that area and it was either going with a transporter or getting a flight in and drop off. The flight from Sea Hawk air was just about the same price as going with Midnight Sun Charter, the biggest advantage with the transporter is that you can hunt a different area every day and you do have a warm place to sleep after putting in a hard day for hunting. We covered allot of ground in the 9 days of hunting and when it was all said and done the GPS said he had hiked over 90 miles. There was a group of 3 of us and we ended up splitting the bill on the transporter was $6200.00 for the 9 days that included all the food and snacks. The only other expense was the flight from Anchorage to Kodiak. I think that if you end up drawing that tag you have to do all you can to do give your self the highest success rate of killing.
 
Thanks for all the comments on my hunt and pictures. I forgot to tell you his skull was a 27 and 9/16" B&C Bear.
 
Even though the skull on my bear is a tad bigger at 28, your's trumps mine because you did it on your own.
Again, Congrats on a hunt & trophy of a lifetime.
HH
 
HH, I want to see some pictures of your bear. It sounds like a Toad too, What part of Kodiak did you get him on?? What year did you get him?
 
HH,
That was a awesome story. I should put my story into this spot sometime. I really do need to write it down so I don't forget it when I am older. Did you turn your bear into a rug or a full mount? Thanks for the read that was awesome..
 
Nice trophy's you guy's have taken. I went to Aliulak peninsula in the fall of 2005 and shot a 9'7" with 26 5/16 skull.I hunted with Dennis Harms and it was a good hunt.
 
Dennis Harms is a good guy & has lots of big bears down from his many years on Kodiak.


I did my bear upright lifesize.
Ever since I was a kid I stared at those giant bears.
Still hard for me to believe I took one of my own....

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Man HH That is a awesome looking bear. That's a great looking mount to. Thanks for sharing the pictures with me.
 
Congrats on the hunt draw. Do you have your trip planned already? The hardest part about drawing the spring tag is the wait....
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-11 AT 11:43AM (MST)[p]Congrats, that's a huge bear. Here's 264mag's 2005 Kodiak Brown.


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Man that is a great looking bear you got there 264 Mag. So you took him in 2005 where in Kodiak did you get him what area? What did it square at? The mount is awesome what taxidermy did it for you??
 
Thank's I went to Aliulik Pennsula .My bear was 9 foot 7.I saw a lot of bears and one maybe bigger but it was a long way off.I couldnt pass this one up.He was a big hog to me and was a hunt I always dreamed about. I had animal artistry in Reno Nevada do my mount.He does excellent work.
 
anywhere between $4,000.00 to $6000.oo You can go on line ANIMAL ARTISTRY and it shows a lot of bears.Phil Soucey in Montana does nice work also.
 
>anywhere between $4,000.00 to $6000.oo You
>can go on line ANIMAL
>ARTISTRY and it shows a
>lot of bears.Phil Soucey in
>Montana does nice work also.
>


Phil did my bear.
Back in 2001 it was under 5 grand if I recall.

Doctor?

LOL!

I'm a butcher in a grocery store.
Some things in life are worth sacrificing for.
I brown bagged my lunches, sold my paid for F-350 4x4 & drove a POS Subaru wagon around for a while so I could swing it.
 
I'm not a Doctor or a millionair.I keep bee's and it has been good to me.Good job Harry on getting your bear.
 
Hey .264,
would love to hear your story. 300WSM?
Looks like I'll be taking my .300Win. this fall for B/B.
Was looking at a .375 , but spoke with the outfitter
and he said to bring the .300 with good 200gr. bullets.
I shot my oryx a couple weeks ago with a .200gr. Partition.
Impressive!
I think HunterHarry got his with some flavor of a .300 too.
 
Upon arriving in Kodiak I met master guide Dennis Harms and packer Brandon.We then sighted my gun and checked in at fish and game office to register.We loaded are gear up in a beaver and landed on a small lake.I Met my guide Jake and set our camp up.The hurricane tent with a electric fence would be home for my ten day hunt.Their was no shortage of bears everyday was exciting.The sixth day we spotted a nice boar about 400 yard's away on a small creek.The bear worked his way to the top of a hill and layed down out of sight.The only part of the bear we could see was his head as he would stick his nose straight up in the air trying to catch wind of some danger.After about a careful hour and a half stalk we were downwind and at the base of the hill.I chambered a round and we slowly got to the top of the hill.Their he was only sixty yard's away he was facing away and never saw us.I was shaking just a little bit and my first shot was behind his right shoulder hitting towards his left shouder.The bear let out hughe roar and bringing his right arm up I gave him another.Afther taking pictures and skinning we packed up and headed for camp.We were about half way and it was about nine oclock and dark.We decided to cape the head out to lighten the load for Branden.We cooked up a small meal to warm us up it was windy and cold.We loaded the pack's up and started back to camp.We were following a river and heard a splashing coming toward's us my maglight caught two geen eyes coming at us. I yelled at jake and he fired a round over the bear and he took off.We got back to camp about midnight.I slept good that night.The next morning Jake and Brandon fleshed the hide out.I made a short hunt to see if I could find a deer but didn't see a decent buck.The weather was getting colder.The beaver picked us up and headed back to kodiak. That was a great hunt with great guides.
 
Thanks .264, good stuff. Any insight after your trip as far as gear, clothing, do's - donts? I'm taking all advice trying to get ready for september.
 
Man 264 Mag that was a good story. It is crazy to spot and then stalk the bear up to within shooting distances. I first spotted my bear at over a mile away and we we ended up belly crawling the last 100 yards to my bear and he kept standing on his hind feet and sniffing trying to get wind of what we were. My first shot was at about 240 yards and my last shot was at about 18 yards!!! But one thing I was told and is so true once you fire that first shot keep firing until that bear is down and DEAD!!! We were 6 miles for the beach and by the time my bear was down and we had a few pictures and the bear was cooling out we hiked out in the dark. We hiked back up the following morning me and my 2 other hunting partners hoping to find another bear on or close to my bear to fill their tags. We skinned him out and drug him out. Take a deer skidder with you it's easy to put in a pack and you can drag it easier then putting 250 pounds of hide and skull on your back. All and all this was by far the best hunt I have ever done. I am also glad for my trophy of a lifetime...
 
Awesome story and bear! Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

WP

"My only regret in life is setting my goals too low"
 
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Check out his Ivory claws, he as an old bear.
 
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Got the skull back last week and got him scored. My bear is just under World B & C at 27" 2/16 but he did make B & C 3 year. I am quite pleased with that, not too bad for a self guided hunt. Also check out how big his claw is...

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Lets see some rug pics when you get it back.
I'm starting to get a little antsy for my trip.
Purchased my airline tickets today and i still
cant believe I'm going.
 
That's a huge claw in my book.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
 
Here are a couple more pictures just to show you how massive that skull is. Let me know if you would want this thing snacking out on your head!!

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Here are a couple more pictures just to show you how massive that skull is. Let me know if you would want this thing snacking on your head!!

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I finally got my rug back. Tell me what you think of it. Done by Erik from Kodiak Taxidermy.



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nice looking rug!not everybody has a kodiak rug.Thank's for sharing all of your picture's and your story.
 
The pic of the jaws agape puts everything into perspective. You begin to truly appreciate these brutes by the sheer size and mass of their skulls. Congrats on a tremendous trophy.

Eldorado
 
Thanks for all the comments. I have been extremely grateful for my chance to not only draw the Kodiak tag but to also fill it with a 10 footer. That was truly a hunt I will never forget and I am excited that I have this awesome rug and the memories of the hunt.
 

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